I followed her instructions and flipped my wrist, but the ball didn’t go five feet.
“Maybe we should work on shooting first.”
“Really? You think that’s all I need work on?” I asked her teasingly.
“Well . . . no. But I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Get out of here.” We both turned at Aaron’s booming voice. I saw the same guy who had been screaming questions at us outside. Out of instinct, I put myself between the stranger and Ireland until Aaron could reach us.
Aaron was racing toward us, shouting even louder, “Security.”
The man curved his camera around and was snapping photos of Aaron, who swatted the camera out of his face.
Two men in security uniforms came running downstairs from upper-level rooms. Several people came in from the same direction Aaron had. Ireland took off and rushed to Aaron’s side. Pretty soon, there were at least fifteen people huddled around Aaron and the photographer.
I stood there, watching from the peripheral of the group. One minute passed, then two, then five, and still no one turned to see me, they moved in a group toward the door that we had come through.
Aaron
My knees were bobbing, the leather of the seats squished when I moved, and my hands were leaving sweat prints on the large glass table. This was the same conference room that Carmen and Coach Hargrove had used when we negotiated my contract for the Lightning. This time, I was just as nervous, but for entirely different reasons.
I sat straighter when the door opened and Miss Romero and Coach walked in, followed by Dylan, the head of public relations, and John Savage, our attorney.
I stood and held out my right hand to greet them before we settled into chairs.
“First, Aaron how are you doing?” Carmen asked.
“As well as can be expected.”
“What ended up happening?” Carmen looked as if she were genuinely interested, and not just placating me until she could ask when I was coming back.
“I have a seven-year-old daughter who will be coming to live with me, but I’m going to hire a nanny to help get her to and from school and stay with her when I’m gone.”
“You sure you can handle both a child and this career?” Carmen raised one brow and waited for my answer.
“Absolutely. Ireland is my biological daughter, so there is no other answer than yes, I’m ready for this.”
“If I may interrupt, what about the latest tabloid images?” Dylan asked.
“The woman in the picture was the family law attorney who was helping me get everything settled. I’m not sure how it became gossip or why someone thought we were together. That picture they are claiming was a ‘tender moment’ was when she patted my hand, reassuring me that we had this.”
Dylan opened her laptop and started typing. “You know that the media is going to be hounding you, especially when they learn you have a seven-year-old daughter, right?”
“I know, but I’m ready for it. I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Then let’s get to the real topic at hand: your team needs you,” Carmen jumped right in. “John is here to assist with any changes that we need to make to your contract.”
“I’m ready to come back. For the first several games, I may ask that Ireland come with me, but after I hire a nanny that shouldn’t be an issue. Her life has been turned upside down, so my main priority is to help her settle in and feel at home.”
“I don’t see any problem with her joining us, do you, Coach?” Carmen asked.
“Not as long as his head is in the game.”
“Agreed,” Carmen added. “Now, what did you want to add, Dylan?”
“I need us to decide how we want to present this to the public. Aaron, as you know, it is always best to get ahead of the media so we control the story. Have you given this any thought?”
“I’m thinking a quick press release or short conference, no questions. I will see if Ireland wants to do it with me or if she wants me to do it alone. My private life shouldn’t be up for public consumption, so we should make it clear that I am asking for my privacy in this matter. Are you okay with that?” I glanced over to Carmen because I wasn’t stupid, I knew who my boss was and had no problem kissing ass.
“I think that sounds doable, do you agree, Dylan?”
“Absolutely, when would you like to schedule that for?” Dylan asked.
I thought about it for a second, it had been thirteen days since I had gotten the news about the accident. “I guess we could do it tomorrow.”
Carmen waited for Dylan to answer. “Let’s schedule it for tomorrow at ten a.m., but we need to decide what you’re going to say and how much information to relay.”
I had no clue how Ireland wanted me to refer to her. I pulled out my phone and sent Vivian a text and got worried when fifteen minutes had passed and I still hadn’t received a reply.
Vivian
Slowly I took a step back and moved toward the other doorway. I scooted back even more when no one noticed me, and the small throng of people was almost off the basketball court.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I pulled up the Uber app and requested a car to meet me outside.
I needed to analyze what I had just seen. It wasn’t that Aaron only had eyes for Ireland, it was strange people following and invading his privacy. Inviting reporters and photographers back into my life was something I promised myself that I would never deal with again. My hatred for them was genuine, and their tenacity was equal to that
