“Okay, make sure you remain here. Our intern, George, over there—” He pointed to a young man holding a clipboard and wearing a headset standing about ten feet away. “He’s going to keep an eye on you so you don’t try and peek to see who our other competitors are.”
He held his arms up in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of cheating.”
“Good. Good.” He paused and Brett worked out that someone was talking to him in his earpiece. “Right, I have to get back to my position. It’s show time.”
Ted walked away and Brett took a couple of deep breaths. Nerves and excitement vied for dominance inside of him, the exact same feeling he got before one of his big races. Thinking about racing brought back the failed memories of Rio, but he pushed them aside. He was young. There was plenty of time for him to get to another Games. He planned to make the Tokyo Games in 2020. This time he’d win.
“How’re you doing?”
Brett turned around and found Cassandra standing behind him. He smiled, glad to see her. “Hey, I thought you’d gone.”
“No.” She curled a piece of stray hair behind her ear in what looked like a nervous gesture. “I’m here for the day. Well, actually, I’ll be with you most days.”
His smiled died on his lips. “Why? You don’t trust me? Is that it? You expect me to fuck up.”
“No, not at all. I trust you’ll do the right thing. I said that earlier. I’m here because I want to be here and because it’s part of my job. If there are any issues or requests for you to appear somewhere, I can deal with them here and ask you immediately instead of sending an email or leaving a message on voicemail.”
While her answer made sense, he still couldn’t help feeling like she was acting as a watchdog to ensure he toed the line.
“Fine.”
A determined glint entered her eyes and she strode toward him. “Yes, I want this show to help you, but ultimately I can’t control what you say or do. I’m not going to give you a script or anything. I just want you to be yourself and enjoy your time here. Regardless of Mitch and Drake, and whatever they might think of you being here. It’s a fun, worthwhile show. Don’t do what’s right for me. Do what’s right for you.”
“Stop,” he said when she went to lean in and kiss his cheek. He grabbed her hand when she recoiled like a cobra had struck out at her. “Not that I don’t want a kiss from you, but my face is covered with makeup.”
A light pink blush spread over her cheeks. “Oh, okay. Well, I’d better disappear until your name is called. If either Mitch or Drake see me, they’ll know you’re here.”
He supposed she had a point. After he signed with Star Image, they’d released a press release with her picture alongside his.
“I’ll see you later?” he asked, cringing at the need he could hear in his voice.
“Yep. Once you’ve been introduced, I’ll come out of hiding and hang around the fringes until the end of shooting.”
“Hopefully it won’t be too boring for you.”
“Nope, I’m looking forward to it.”
“How are you getting back to the hotel?”
Cassandra hesitated a second before answering him. “We’ll be riding back together.”
He smiled at the thought of all the things they could get up to in the back of the limo played in Technicolor glory through his mind. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Brett chuckled as her mouth opened and closed. She shook her head and turned away from him. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched her leave, the sway of her hips mesmerizing him.
“You’ve got five minutes, Mr. Hunter,” George said.
He raised his hand in acknowledgement. Time to get in the zone, the same way he did before a race. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out, allowing his shoulders to relax. Next he shook his arms to release the tension, repeating the action with each of his legs. He bounced up and down on his toes. When he opened his eyes, he was prepared for whatever happened next.
“Welcome to Dream Builders. I’m Josh York, your host of this brand new show where we team up world-class athletes with kids from local elementary schools to build projects that benefit their school and community. You, the viewers, will vote on the final products and the winning team will receive $10,000. The runner-ups won’t go away empty handed, though. They’ll also receive a check for $5,000 each.”
Josh paused as cheering sounded loudly. Brett had no idea when other people had turned up, but by the sound they were making, there had to be a decent crowd on site.
Shit, this is real. I can do this. I can do this.
“Now I know you’re all anxious to find out who our celebrity athletes are. Let me tell you, I think you’re going to love who we’ve got lined up to help the kids. This first athlete rose to the top of his sport at the recent summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Not only did he win a record number of Gold medals, he also won the girl.” Brett cringed at that. Could the script be any more cheesy?
“Let’s hear it for the king of the pool, Mitch Osborn.”
If the producer wanted the reveal to be a surprise, why had Ted put him within earshot of the introductions?
It took everything in Brett not to lean around the edge of the trailer to see Mitch. Their paths hadn’t crossed since the Games. Normally after a big event, everyone returned to their own training routines and locations. Brett knew a National team meeting would be happening soon. That was when he’d expected to see Mitch, in his new role as mentor, not on a television show.
Brett tuned back in to his surroundings in time to hear Josh announce Drake’s name. He’d be next. He looked over at George, who was motioning him to step forward. Brett took a few steps before George held up his hand, halting his progress.
“And now for our third participant. This young man really needs no introduction, since his face is all over the media.”
Fuck, even the host was throwing him under the bus. Well, the last laugh would be on them when he proved he would not act the way they expected him to. He could just imagine Cassandra gnashing her teeth in anger at his introduction. It surprised him how much he believed her when she said she only wanted him to succeed.
“Everyone, let’s give a big welcome to fellow Olympian and former teammate of Mitch Osborn, Brett Hunter.”
George slashed his hand down signaling Brett to move.
Showtime.
Plastering on a big, cocky grin the cameras weren’t expecting, he jogged out from his hiding spot and waved to a crowd of about a hundred people seated on wooden risers. He then narrowed his focus onto Drake and Mitch. As expected Drake’s smile seemed friendly. Mitch on the other hand was wide-eyed and, no doubt, a little shocked at his appearance.
Brett immediately went over to Josh, shook his hand before looking in the direction of the cameras and smiling. He’d done enough press conferences to know to look down the camera lens. “Hi Josh, it’s great to be here.”
“It’s great to have you here, Brett. How are you feeling?”
“I’m honored to be part of this fantastic show. I plan to do my best to win for my team.”
“That’s great! I’m sure they’re glad to hear that. Do you have anything to say to your other competitors?”
This was his chance to change the expected script. “Mitch and Drake are both amazing competitors. Both Olympic Gold medalists. I feel privileged to share this experience with them.”
Oh, how he wished he had a camera to take a picture of Josh’s bewildered face. He gave the host a smile and then walked over to where Mitch and Drake stood.
He held out his hand to Mitch. “Hey, this is a surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting when I arrived here today. But it wasn’t you, Mitch. It’s good to see you again.”
Brett wasn’t shocked when Mitch’s eyes squinted in suspicion, but they cleared quickly, as though he could tell that Brett was being genuine. Mitch grasped his outstretched hand. “I wasn’t expecting you to turn up here, either. You’re lookin
g good, Brett.”
Brett nodded and then turned his attention to Drake. “Hey man, good to see you, too.”
Drake, being Drake, pulled Brett into a quick bro hug and slapped him on the back. “And you! This is unexpected.”
Brett laughed. “Yeah, isn’t it?”
“Well, there you have it folks, the athletes who will be our team leaders. After the break, we’ll introduce them to the team of kids they’ll be working with over the next few weeks.”
Josh, the host, held his position and beaming smile for an awkward two seconds before the director yelled, “Cut!”
Brett let out a long, low breath. He looked up and spied Cassandra in the crowd. Her wink and “thumbs up” sign said it all.
Score one for Team Brett.
9
Cassandra closed her eyes as she sank into the leather backseat of the limo, relieved the day was finally over. She was tired just from hanging out in the background, watching take after take. She couldn’t imagine how tired Brett had to be by now. He’d seemed energized throughout the day, smiling and joking around with the kids on his team. She wondered if the reason they had to do so many takes was because Brett kept making them giggle. Although, to be fair, Drake and Mitch made their kids laugh as much as Brett did.
The same couldn’t be said for Ted, the producer. He’d been disappointed a fight hadn’t broken out between the guys. While they hadn’t talked much during breaks, there hadn’t seemed to be any animosity between them.
She sat up as the door opened. Cassandra smiled when Brett slid in onto the bench seat opposite her.
“Phew, what a day.” Brett rubbed a hand down his face, but it didn’t erase his broad smile. The grey button-down shirt he’d worn for the introduction had been replaced by a red t-shirt that clung in all the right places. There were smudges of dirt on his face and his blue jeans. Even dirty, he looked damn sexy.
She needed to get her mind off how delicious he looked. He was off-limits.
“It was intense, wasn’t it?” There you go, nice neutral question. She was proud of how composed she sounded.
“It sure was.”
Cassandra reached over to the small cooler on the floor of the limo. “Do you want a drink?”
“I’d love one.”
She pulled a bottle of water and a can of soda out and held them both up. “Which one do you want?”
“Water, thanks.”
After passing the bottle to him, she opened the can and took a couple of swallows. “So how do you think you’ll do? From my vantage point, it looks like you’ve got a good group of kids.”
“I plan to win, make no mistake about that. My kids are great. After listening to them talk about how excited they were to get on a plane for the first time, and how much their school needs to update the playground, I’m fired up to make their dreams come true.”
His enthusiasm was contagious and Cassandra sat forward a little. “Well, I’m pretty sure Mitch and Drake probably feel the same way. Not to mention they’re going to be as competitive as you and want the win for their team.”
“No doubt.”
With Brett in such a good mood, she didn’t want to be a buzz kill but she wanted to ask about Mitch and Drake’s reaction to him being on the show. While they had looked surprised to see him walk out, they didn’t appear to be too upset about it, either. Had they somehow found out about Brett’s involvement beforehand in some way just like she’d told Brett about theirs?
“I thought you handled your introduction to the show like a consummate professional. Mitch and Drake welcomed you without any drama, which I’m sure disappointed Ted.”
Brett laughed out loud. “You have no idea how pissed off he was. I was sure he was going to burst a blood vessel. He asked me what I was thinking, being so calm. Which basically let the cat out of the bag that he was hoping I’d get angry.”
“Did he ask if someone had given you a heads up about who else was in the show?”
“He did and I said no one breathed a word to me. I mentioned I was surprised when I heard Josh announce Mitch’s and Drake’s names. You should’ve seen his face when he realized his mistake. He hadn’t taken into account that I was going to hear their names being announced, giving me time to deal with it.”
Cassandra laughed. “So in his need to create drama, he’d placed you out of sight but not out of hearing range.”
“Yep.”
“Did you get a chance to talk Mitch or Drake without the cameras around?”
“Nah, I didn’t. I think because of the fact we didn’t give them what they wanted at the beginning of the show, they followed us every minute, hoping to catch us out. Anytime I did talk to them, I kept it casual. I didn’t even ask Mitch how Julia was doing. I knew if I did, they’d edit it so it would look more sordid than it really was.”
“Sheesh, it’s supposed to be a show about the kids, not the past history between you and Mitch and Julia.”
“I know. It bugs the hell out of me that they’re trying to manufacture drama. But I suppose it keeps the viewers watching. If there weren’t any, people would tune out. I hope we can do enough to keep folks interested, for the kids’ sakes.”
Again, Brett surprised her. His concern for the children was commendable. It showed her he had depths to his character that he kept hidden from the world.
Why? Why was he so desperate to make people think he was this bad guy? She’d not seen a sign of the person that graced headlines during and after the Rio games.
What made Brett Hunter tick?
She wanted to ask him. Wanted to know what he was hiding. Only she was worried that if she did, he’d bring that persona back out and she had to admit she liked the Brett sitting in front of her. Not the Brett she’d read about.
“Do you think Julia will turn up at any of the shooting days?”
Brett shrugged. “Not sure. It’s not like we’ll be doing much together. I mean, I don’t think we will be, considering we’ll all be working on projects in different parts of town.”
“Unless they decide to up the stakes and put you all together more than originally planned. As you said, they may want to generate the drama that keeps everyone glued to the television.”
“It’s a possibility, but I’ll deal with it when it happens.” He guzzled back the rest of this water. Her gaze followed the up and down movement of his throat. He squashed the water bottle, the sound jolting her out of her dazed state.
It took a few seconds for her to remember what they’d been talking about before she’d fallen into her little water drinking trance.
Julia.
“Can I ask you a question?” She knew she was taking a risk that might make Brett angry. It was a chance she was willing to take.
“Sure.” His answer was vague as he was looking at his phone.
“What’s the real story with you and Julia?”
He jerked his head back up with a frown. “Pardon?”
“I think you heard me. I asked what the story was with you and Julia.”
“Didn’t you read about it in the gossip rags or online? That’s the whole story.” He straightened and his knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone. He was trying to put his walls back up, but she had no intention of letting him shut her out.
“Yes, I read the stories, but now I’m not so sure they were right. I mean, if the two of you were having the hot and heavy affair the press insinuated, there would’ve been more than one photo of you together.”
“Well, Julia’s a private person. She did—”
“Stop it, Brett.”
“Stop what.”
“Lying. You don’t need to lie. What you say to me won’t go anywhere.”
“Why don’t you think I’m telling the truth?”
“I’ve spent the last two weeks telling you what to do and how to do it. You’ve never complained. I watched you today help those kids relax in front of the cameras. I don’t know why you have to pretend to be someone you’re not.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s to say everything I did today was the real me? I was always in front of a camera, you know.”
Cassandra leaned forward. “If something real did happen between you and Julia, you wouldn’t be trying so hard to get me off the topic. Bad boy Brett Hunter would lounge back on that leather seat, all arrogant and cocky and say, Yeah, Julia and I hooked up. It was fun while it lasted. It was what you did when asked about the Canadian gymnast.”
He opened his mouth, then shook his head before closing it again. The corners of his mouth ticked up in a wry smile. “Nothing happened with Julia except one photograph.”
“One photograph that ended her and Mitch, at least at the time? Why didn’t you say something? Deny the relationship.”
It didn’t make sense to her, even with his reputation for always getting into trouble, that Brett would be happy to go along with the ruse. In fact, now that she thought about it, his notoriety gained momentum after the photo appeared.
“A friend needed some help.” He gave a negligent shrug of his shoulder. “So I helped her out.”
His response made no sense to her at all. “She wanted help breaking up with Mitch?”
“Look, it’s complicated, and not my story to tell.”
“How can it not be your story to tell? You were a major player in the whole situation.”
Brett tapped his fingers on his knee. She wondered if she’d pushed too far and he’d change the subject or stop talking to her. He switched his gaze to the window. Even in profile, he was an attractive man. Any artist would love to draw his strong jaw and straight nose.
Her resolve not to get involved was slipping. They’d shared two explosive kisses. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to understand the puzzle that was Brett Hunter.
Fighting for Redemption (The Elite Book 4) Page 5