by Bianca Vix
James stretches in his seat, his open jacket revealing his flat stomach. I know he spends a lot of time at the gym. His way of unwinding, he says. I’d give anything to see the results of that, in the flesh. If his body is anything like what I saw of Rob’s in those beach photos, it’s got to be killer.
I shouldn’t be thinking like that, about either one of these men. I take another sip of my beer and try to focus on the game playing out in front of me.
“Are you having a good time?” James catches me off guard with his big grin. I blink in surprise, just because it’s so unexpected. And as warm as the summer sun. He’s out of work mode and it’s like he’s done a 180. It’s so different to see him relaxed and happy. It’s not how he usually is at work. “Enjoying your first ever game?”
My forearm is resting on the armrest, and my breath catches as he gives it a quick squeeze. I have to get a grip. He’s just being friendly. Nothing more to it than that.
Swallowing hard, I smile back at him. “Very much so.”
More so than I can ever admit to you.
Rob digs into the popcorn container that rests on my leg, his arm pressing against mine. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to get my attention away from James and onto him.
Rob’s laugh is rich and deep as thunder. “That’s good. It’ll make it a lot easier to talk to the reps afterwards.”
“Helps that they’re playing pretty well today,” James adds.
They start arguing over who has the better college team, just like long-time friends would. I can’t even pretend to have anything to add to the conversation. Sinking into my seat, I let my daydream that I’m somehow on a date with both men play out in my mind.
Chapter 6
James
What a fucking long week. Everything’s heading in the right direction as far as getting ready for the upcoming client event, but every moment that I wasn’t totally focused on work was painful.
And it all started with Rob asking Melissa to the game. All I wanted to do was relax and have some fun for the first time in way too long. To lose myself in watching a good game for a couple hours. The schmoozing we had to do afterwards wasn’t that important, and Melissa didn’t need to be there for it.
I don’t know what he was thinking by inviting her along. Especially without letting me know beforehand.
I only found out that something was up when he took a wrong turn after picking me up.
“Where are going? The parkway will be faster.”
“Slight detour. Melissa’s coming with us.”
And from the moment we picked her up, I was right on edge. I couldn’t get into the game. She’s just too distracting. And the way Rob was flirting openly with her was pissing me off even more than usual.
It shouldn’t bother me. He doesn’t have a clue about how much I want her. And I know that as much as Rob likes to push the boundaries of what’s acceptable, sleeping with an employee is one line that even he wouldn’t cross. Not any more than I would.
At first I was annoyed that it wouldn’t be just him and I hanging out. It didn’t take long before I was wishing Rob would leave so Melissa and I could be alone. The thought of having her all to myself, outside of the office for once, was overwhelming.
Probably for the best that we weren’t alone, though. Then it would have been way too easy to do something stupid, like make a move. No good could come of that. Even if she is interested, it’s a non-starter.
Besides, she seems to like the way Rob pays attention to her. At least she keeps him at a distance.
That’s something.
One reason Rob and I have stayed friends for so long is that we’ve never fought over a woman. It’s a strict rule and we’ve always stuck to it. The first one of us to show interest in anyone, the other guy backs down right away. No hesitation. It’s always worked for us, so I know for sure he’d back off if I told him to.
There’s no point in doing that this time. This time’s different. It’s not like Rob to be so focused on one woman. Especially for this long. Usually he spreads his attention around so much that he doesn’t ever work his way back to the same woman ever again.
But not with Melissa. For some reason, Rob’s been ignoring everyone else in the office in favour of her. And he hasn’t mentioned anyone new since he and Stella have been over.
Not that I’ve asked who he’s sleeping with. I couldn’t care less, as long as it’s not her. Him inviting Melissa out with us is sure as fuck not helping me get over whatever these feelings I have for her are. And the last thing I need right now is any kind of distraction. Our big event for the association is coming up fast. There’s so much to be taken care of, everyone will be working feverishly right up until the very last moment. I’m confident we’ll pull it off if everyone steps up and gives it their all to make it a huge success. But there’s no letting up until we do.
Nothing can stand in the way of this level of success. It’s always been about the job for me. After Rob and I graduated from college, we started our own company with nothing. Absolutely nothing behind us, no backers and virtually no money. Hell, all I had to my name was the debts I’d racked up from student loans. Working hard got us to where we are today.
Ever since then, I’ve been determined to be the best at what we do. Always. Failure is not an option. Not for me. The farther I get from the way I grew up, the better. My mother did her best, but working too hard is what I believe sent her to an early death.
I know Rob and I couldn’t have gotten this far if we were doing it on our own. Our success is tied up with each other.
We’re better together than apart.
Stamping down my attraction to Rob is second nature now. I just have to do the same thing with Melissa. Why that’s proving to be so difficult, I have no idea. I thought I had it under control, and I did. Until I ended up spending Saturday afternoon with her.
Maybe it’s because Melissa is unlike any other woman I’ve ever met. She’s beautiful and very sharp. Her head’s together, and she knows what she’s doing. She’s as driven as Rob is. Hell, she’s nearly as determined as I am. With her around, anything feels possible.
I’d like her to be around me all the time.
All day. All night. Every night.
This weekend’s going to be totally different. I’m working the entire time, and so is Rob. We’re meeting at my place soon so we can hammer out a couple of difficult issues. Then the staff will be able to run with our solutions first thing on Monday.
I was going to hit the gym early, but I have to change that plan. It’ll be best to stay at home today. Whenever I can squeeze in a workout, I always spend half my time in the gym and the other half running. But today the weather’s too terrible and I don’t have much time. So instead of circling around in Central Park, I’m going to have to do my running here.
Jogging inside can’t even compare to being out on the soft pathways filled with other people. The city views that I get when I’m on my usual loop are inspiring. An early run is my favorite way to start the day. It’s even better than industrial-strength coffee first thing in the morning, every single time. I’d be so much happier if I was out there right now.
Still, running at home is better than not running at all. At least having my own treadmill is convenient, if nothing else. When I got it, I thought I’d be on it every day. It quickly became a last resort.
I’m keeping a steady pace, going just fast enough so that I can still read the tablet I have propped up in front of me. Once I’ve gotten through the recent events of the sports business world, I pause to take a drink of water. I do a quick search for anything new that might have been written about NovaTeam. I also want to make sure that any lingering images of Rob and Stella are not what comes up high in the search results.
So far, so good. I’m about to stop scrolling through pages when I stop short after the last click.
I nearly choke on my water as I swallow it suddenly. Every single one of the top results on
that page are about Rob.
And there are pictures.
Brand new ones.
Ones I never would have expected. Not in a million years.
Oh, jesus fuck. I never imagined for a moment that there could be anything worse than Rob’s photo with Stella.
How wrong I was.
Chapter 7
James
Jumping off the treadmill and racing to the living room, I nearly drop my phone when I seize it from the coffee table.
There has to be some way to contain this.
There has to be.
I’m hitting refresh obsessively on my tablet even as I speed-dial our legal department. Only one site seems to have the photos posted so far. That won’t last very long, but at least there’s a chance that we can get out ahead of it.
After I’ve ordered legal to drop everything else and get on this until it’s fixed, I call Melissa. If legal can’t get this under control, she has to be ready to stop us from being buried under the fallout.
As if that would be possible.
Thank fuck she answers on the first ring. “It’s about Rob,” I say, not even bothering to say hello. “And it’s bad.”
Our call ends only a couple minutes later. Melissa has to jump on this right now.
If there was something else I could do, I would. But it’s out of my hands of now. If legal can’t fix it, it’s not only our new client that’s done, but quite likely our future in the sports industry.
Dropping down on the sofa, tablet still in hand, I refresh my search again. The images are still only on the one site, and still buried in the back of the search results. So far they only come up when Rob’s name gets searched specifically. There’s no direct connection between them and NovaTeam.
At least, not yet.
I can hardly stand not being able to do anything about this myself, but it’s out of my hands now. All I can do is to try and get my head around what’s in the pictures. I still can’t believe what’s right in front of my eyes.
What I don’t get is how these pictures came into existence in the first place. It’s Rob for sure, although I can hardly believe it. For one thing, he’s outside on a balcony that’s attached to a rustic-looking cabin in the woods. I can’t even imagine where exactly he is. He’s never been the outdoorsy type, not in the entire time I’ve known him. His idea of nature is a Caribbean beach. Parties in Manhattan are where he spends his time, not out in the middle of the wilderness.
What in the fuck? I can’t stop staring at the single picture that’s filling my screen. And it’s not because Rob’s shirtless. Well, not just because of that. It’s because he’s not alone.
Far from being alone, he’s there with another man. Who is also shirtless.
And he has his arm around Rob’s shoulders.
It’s not a picture of a couple of friends who are away for the weekend. The way they’re standing. The way they’re touching. Their bare torsos are too close. It’s pretty clear that they’re together. They look like lovers.
Hell, the way they’re standing, it looks like an ad for a gay vacation spot.
Except they definitely don’t look like they know that they’re being photographed.
I shake my head, which does absolutely nothing to clear my thoughts. I can’t believe this. The evidence is right in front of me, and I still can’t fucking believe it.
Rob is with another man. He does men? Since when? This could have been taken anytime, although from the way he looks I’m guessing it was before CrossVibe’s Hottest Bachelor story was published.
Vaguely I wonder why it’s surfaced now. If one of our competitors is playing dirty and trying to take us down this way, they could have used this picture instead of the one of him with Stella Wellington. Quick and clean. We’d be done already.
I should be flipping out. All I feel is numb. It’s almost like it doesn’t matter. Of course I care about the company that we’ve built from the ground up and the effect this will have on it. But I can’t get past seeing Rob with another man.
All this time I’ve had a crush on him, he could have been open to the idea of us.
The thought that this is going to be one hell of a PR nightmare is clawing at the back of my mind. That should be all I care about. If Rob’s thing with Stella was going to hurt our chances with the association, this is going to absolutely murder them.
Another search shows that somehow, they’re still only on the one site. And it’s an obscure one. None of the mainstream ones have picked it up.
Not yet.
I haven’t moved from where I’m sitting when the buzzer sounds. I buzz Rob in without saying a word to him. By the time my door’s opening, my numbness is broken.
The moment Rob enters the living room, I’m overcome by mind-numbing fury. It’s all I can do to hold back the urge to punch him.
He walks right by me and plants himself down in a chair. “Hey there. You all ready for a fun afternoon of strategizing?”
He must not know about it. Even Rob won’t be able to shrug this off. I’m the one who gets the constant alerts about anything to do with our company. I keep a good handle on that. He’s the opposite of me.
Rob frowns when he catch a glance at my expression. “What’s up? I thought you’d be happy that we’re spending most of the weekend working.”
Without a word, I hold up my tablet so he can see what’s on it.
Eyebrows shooting up, he reaches over to take it from me. My eyes are glued to my friend’s face. I need to know that he cares about this and what it means.
“Where did you get this?” Rob almost drops the tablet on the coffee table as he sets it down. As if he can’t get it away from himself fast enough.
“What?” I ask the question right before I realize that the picture is filling the entire screen. There’s no way to tell that it’s not just a photo I have.
“It’s not mine.” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own. It couldn’t be any colder. “It’s online.”
Rob’s jaw hits the floor. He’s more shocked than I’ve ever seen him in the entire time we’ve known each other.
“How. How the fuck did this get out there?” The words choke out of him as if he’s being strangled.
“So it is you.” I want to hear him say it. Just in case he has a twin out there somewhere. Because I still can’t believe what’s right in front of my eyes.
“Yes. It’s me. Is this…everywhere?”
For once in his life, Rob’s actually truly worried. That’s almost as unbelievable as the image on my screen.
“It’s only posted on one site.” I hit refresh on my search once again to make sure that’s still true. “Yes. It’s still only in one place. And it’s some tiny, half-assed site. Although it definitely won’t stay there for long.”
“We have to get this down.” Rob’s going for his phone, as frantic as I was when I found the damn photo.
“I’m on it. Calls have already been made. Everyone who can try to stop it from spreading around is already working on it.”
Hearing that doesn’t do any more to calm him down than it did for me. His jaw tight, Rob shoves his phone back into his pocket. He presses his palms against his eyes, slumping onto the sofa. I can’t even imagine what’s going through his mind.
“I can’t believe this,” he mutters. “What in the fuck.”
“Yeah, about this.” The ice in my tone finally catches his attention. “Care to explain just what in the hell you were doing here?”
He must be completely thrown because he doesn’t even try his usual tricks of deflecting or even joking about the problem at hand. “I don’t want this out there.” His eyes are wild. “This wasn’t supposed to get out there.”
“Who is this guy?” I blurt out. I didn’t mean to ask that question. I shouldn’t care. This is the last thing that should be on my mind.
Right now, it’s the first thing.
“And what are you doing out in the woods? What the hell is that about?” I try t
o cover up my excessive interest by tacking that question on. Like I give a rat’s ass about what he was doing in a cabin. I’m in no mood to be mocking him for that.
Rob squeezes his eyes shut like he’s trying to calm down. But his hands are balled up into tight fists.
He actually looks pale.
“It was taken awhile ago. Long before that bachelor piece in that magazine came out, so I wasn’t being photographed everywhere I went. I went away with a friend. You remember that guy John? From back in college? We wanted to get out of town for a while, just get away from the city and everything. The cabin was his idea, it was way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere. I just went along for the hell of it.”
It’s not my imagination. Rob is right on edge. He keeps on talking, the words spilling out of him like a waterfall. “It’s not really my scene, you know. The wilderness thing.” His laugh comes out in a short bark.
So this is what Rob acts like when something actually stresses him. All over the place.
Out of control.
I have no idea who the hell he’s talking about. I don’t remember meeting the guy in the photo. And I don’t even care. In spite of the hundreds of questions I have bubbling up inside of me, I wait for him to continue. Maybe soon he’ll say something that makes sense.
But he doesn’t. Rob just sits there as if he’s explained everything. I grind my teeth. “So what exactly were you doing with this guy on your little weekend away? Because it looks to me like you spent a fair bit of time inside the cabin. Like in the bedroom. Doesn’t look like there’s a hell of a lot of anything else to do around there, does it. You look pretty comfortable with him. Pretty cozy in that picture, huh.”
Rob’s head jerks towards me. He looks afraid, like he’s been caught at something. I’ve never seen him act this way before. It’s as if my ultra-confident friend has disappeared and been replaced by someone I don’t even know.