Penetrate: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Alpha Athletes) (9 page)

It took everything I had not to crumple it in my hand. I lifted the wax seal and pulled the linen paper from the envelope.

“What is this?” I could tell from the swirly handwriting it was already something I was going to hate.

“There’s a charity event tonight for the children’s wing at the hospital. Lexi Wilde is going to perform. Go. Make the highest donation. Don’t drink the champagne. Leave alone, before the event it over. Don’t even speak to a single woman there.”

I chuckled. “You expect me to be a monk and you’re taking over my PR now? Isn’t that below your pay grade, Coach?”

“No, I have someone doing that. You have a meeting with him in the morning at eight. His specialty is cleaning up cases like yours. His name is Roger Maine and he’ll want a full debrief of your first event. It’s black tie, so go home and get some rest before you show up. We need pictures of you being a member of this community in a positive way.”

“This town worships me,” I growled. I didn’t need some prick named Roger to tell me what to do.

“No, they worship the Warriors. Don’t mistake the two.” His nose was almost touching mine.

“And the girl from this morning?” I asked, turning to face Mr. McCade.

“I will pay her to keep her silence, but it’s the last time. If I hear of another one, you’re off the team. I’d rather pay to get rid of you than keep paying off your whores.”

I wasn’t the kind of man to beg, and I was done with this meeting. I’d never met the girl, and I sure as hell didn’t get her pregnant.

“Anything else?” My hand was on the doorknob. There was enough strength in my right arm to rip it off the door. I was angry enough to do it.

“I think we’re pretty clear here. You agree?” Coach asked, smacking gum between each word.

I nodded. “Oh, I got the message. It’s clear.”

I slammed the door behind me, storming to the locker room. By the time I walked in, the place was cleared out. The trainers were gone. The players packed up. And my ice tub was drained.

I shoved the gilded invitation into my Warriors’ bag and got dressed. I couldn’t get out of this shit hole fast enough.

I slide behind the wheel of my truck and pressed the screen on the dash, scrolling for Linc’s number. I backed out of my spot as the ringing echoed in my truck.

“Hey, brother. How was practice? It’s hotter than hell today.”

“Tell me you didn’t know anything about the McCade meeting.”

There was silence. “Linc!”

“Stop yelling. No, I don’t know anything about an ownership meeting. What happened?”

“Applewhite hired some kind of damage control PR expert I’m supposed to work with. Our first meeting is tomorrow at eight. I want you there.”

“You got it,” Linc responded quickly.

“Why do you sound calm about this? It’s bullshit.” I was livid. It felt like everyone was out to hang me.

“Calm the fuck down, Luke. I’m sure they’re blowing smoke. It’s a PR guy, not the league president. I’ll be at the meeting. I’ll talk to him. You have nothing to worry about.”

I stopped at a red light. “They’re threatening to cut me out of my contract.”

That got his attention. “What? Mother fuckers,” he muttered, but it came through clearly on my speakers.

“Exactly.”

“All right. You hang tight. I’ll get someone from the union on the phone. We’ll talk to legal. They can’t threaten you.”

Linc knew if I lost my spot with the Warriors he’d most likely be out of a job. Running my business interests was his only position, and I paid him over a million dollars a year to keep shit like this from happening.

I slowed the truck as I approached the gate to my driveway. I lived on the outskirts of Austin with a hundred acres surrounding me.

“Don’t call the union yet,” I instructed. “Let’s see how tomorrow plays out first.”

My older brother didn’t seem at ease. “They can’t threaten your contract. There are by-laws for this kind of thing. What are they saying you did?”

I pulled into the garage, and put the truck in park. “I didn’t do anything.”

“It’s going to come out. What are they saying?”

“They think I got some girl pregnant, but I didn’t. I’ve never seen her before.”

Linc was silent again. He was thinking. “All right. I’ll take care of this after we have the meeting. They can’t fire you for something you didn’t do.”

“Thanks, man. Look, I’ve got to get ready for some charity event. I’ll call you later tonight.”

“You, charity?” he choked.

“Another one of their damn directives, but I can’t get out of it.” I looked at my watch. I still had to shower and dig through my closet for my tux. “Call you later.”

I pressed the screen to end the call and sat for a second as the cool air escaped the cab. Linc was as invested in my career as I was. I knew I took advantage of him. I trusted him with my money. I trusted him to represent my interests. But most of all, I trusted him to stay out of my way. He never tried to manage me, and that made him the ideal manager.

“
K
eep still
,” my stylist ordered for the third time.

“I’m trying to send out an update,” I explained. It was hard to concentrate on hair, makeup, and social media obligations at the same time when I was in a contorted position.

“Don’t you have a PR person for that?” Helena twisted my hair above my ears.

I grimaced. I wasn’t going to the hospital benefit looking like Princess Leia. “I do, but I try to upload my own pictures when I can. Fans can tell the difference. This is more authentic.”

She clipped my blond locks into place. “I guess that’s why they call you America’s Sweetheart, because you’re just so darn sweet.” She pinched my cheek in a teasing gesture.

“If I hear that one more time.” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s true though. You can do no wrong. Fans love you. The press loves you. I love you.” She smiled at me in the mirror.

“Well, that’s mutual.” I blew her a kiss.

Helena had been with me from my first album cover. The label threw us together, but there was an instant click between us and I hired her on the spot. She traveled with me on tour. She went to all of my press appearances. Some days I had her come to my house before I went out if I knew the paparazzi was going to be snapping pictures of me, which was mostly a guarantee for anything I did.

The sweetheart image wasn’t my idea. The label thought they could sell more music if I was everything that was missing from today’s country superstars. Alexa Wilde, or Lexi, as they started to call me, was born from a list of attributes on a piece of paper and crafted from a manager, tour director, and producer.

When I started I was okay with it. I would do virtually anything to have my songs played on the radio. And if that meant a squeaky clean good-girl image, then I was willing to sign off on that. It didn’t seem like a bad idea at the time.

The crazy thing was that it worked. The label had been right all the way down to the song selections. I sold more albums the first year than any other of its debut artists.

But I was short-sighted. Now I had to watch everything I wore. Everything I said. Everyone I spoke to. It was a nightmare. I couldn’t sing the edgy songs. I couldn’t wear the tight short dresses. They had created the perfect formula and I couldn’t disturb the ingredients. I had to be a role model.

It was like an ironic joke. Me? A role model? What girl would want the life I had before I was famous? If only they knew. But Alexa Wilde was a creation, and no one knew who I used to be. And people seemed okay with that.

I wasn’t sure I was. I didn’t forget where I came from or how my image was born. I wanted the memories erased. The pain. The humiliation. The struggle to rebuild my life. I wanted every trace of the past to disappear. But that wasn’t reality. It was there when I closed my eyes. It was lurking when I fell asleep. I tiptoed through life, scared one day the truth would come spilling out and this dream would be over.

“Lexi, what if we do half up, half down?” Helena asked.

I shrugged, typing away on my phone. “Sure. It’s for the hospital. So whatever is going to make Jake happy.”

“Nothing makes Jake happy, so why even go there?”

“True.” I looked at our reflections in the mirror. “Then do something that will completely piss him off.” I smiled.

Helena laughed. “I don’t want to get fired, but I have something in mind.”

I settled back in the chair while she went to work finishing my hair and makeup for the show tonight.

Jake had set up this charity event for me. It wasn’t often I was in Austin. My Texas tours usually kept me in bigger venues like Dallas and Houston, but this was another opportunity to show how involved I was with children’s fundraising. It was the cornerstone of my platform. Jake didn’t miss an opportunity to exploit my brand’s generosity.

If I wanted I could probably find another manager. It wasn’t as if I was that scrawny girl begging for nightclub gigs anymore. I didn’t have to beg for another thing the rest of my life. I was Alexa Wilde, America’s Country Sweetheart. America’s poster child for sweetness, virginity, and all things pure. I was the girl you wanted your son to date. I was the girl you wanted your daughter to grow up to be. I was the daughter you wish you had.

After three years of managing me, Jake wasn’t going to let me out of his clutches. Our contract was ironclad. I had it examined when he wasn’t around. I had five more years with him. Until then, I had to make the most of the partnership and ride out my pure and virginal image that sold millions of records.

“Speak of the devil.” Helena rolled her eyes as Jake let himself into my suite. We had rented out the entire top floor of the Austin Gold Hotel. It was impossible to keep my location secret, but at least we could keep things secure.

“You’re not going down there like that.” He moved Helena out of the way to place his hands on my shoulders. “Where did you get this idea?”

I could smell his expensive cologne. He was wearing his standard crisp white shirt and a smug look on his face. Jake had sharp cheekbones and sandy blond hair. He almost looked like he could pass as my brother. His eyes were just as blue as mine.

“I like it.” I tucked a flyaway piece of hair behind my ear.

He shook his head. “No way. Too much eye make up. Too much sex. Not happening.” He pointed at Helena. “Fix her before I take her down for the hotel meet and greet.”

“Meet and greet?” I spun in the seat. “You said this was a benefit concert only. You know how exhausting these things are before I perform.”

He opened a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and poured it into a crystal glass. He twisted the cap on and took a sip. Jake was never shaken. Never off his game. My outburst did nothing to change his itinerary. It was a waste of my breath. I knew it before he even opened his lips.

“Your job is to greet your fans. Those people pay to go to your concerts. They pay for your music. Some of them save up every dime of their week’s babysitting money to get your album. So if you have to spend an hour at a meet and greet, then that’s what you’re going to do.” His blue eyes pierced the air. “This is charity, Lex.”

“Fine. Then I’m going like this.” I threw off Helena’s hands.

“Don’t test me,” he warned.

“It’s not a test,” I challenged. “It’s called style. My fans can’t expect the same innocent farm girl act forever. We both know I wasn’t raised on a farm. Styles change. I should change with them. Let me grow with my fan base.”

He huffed. “Sweetheart, you don’t ever have to remind me where I found you.” He threw the water down the sink and straightened his jacket.

My shoulders stiffened. It never failed. Jake would bring up how we met whenever he got the chance. He wanted me to know there was always a card he could play to tug me back in line when I started to step out of the circle he drew for me. Some days the circle was bigger than others. It depended on his mood. I could tell today it was barely enough for me to spin around. I didn’t know what had pissed him off. It we were still friends I would have asked.

My chest tightened. I wasn’t the only one with a secret, but I didn’t know if I had it in me to shred him the way he could rip me apart. What would it take for me to hurt someone like that? Regardless of where our relationship was now, it didn’t start out this way. Three years ago Jake gave me a chance when no one else would. The part of me that didn’t hate him was grateful for that.

He was the first one to gamble on me. Somehow it created a toxic relationship where I always felt indebted, and yet resentful at the same time. Whatever it was we had, it wasn’t good for me.

He turned to Helena. “You, get rid of the eyeliner and put her in something knee-length. I’ll be back to get you in an hour.” He pasted a fake smile on his face. “Be ready, babe.”

“Jake…” I called after him, but he pulled out his cell phone and walked out the room. I hated the way he mixed pet names that should mean something sweet with vicious threats.

“I tried to tell you…” Helena shrugged.

I raised my hand to silence her. I didn’t want to hear it. As long as I was under contract with Jake I was his puppet. I was his slave. I was his Barbie doll to dress and style how he pleased, shoving a mic and a song in my hand.

I watched as Helena started with my hair from the beginning. I knew what would happen. She’d part it down the middle, wipe the makeup from my eyes, and replace the red lipstick with a dab of light pink lipgloss. America’s Sweetheart always had to look the part.

“We could add some charcoal at the corners. It will be a little smoky and sexy.” She tried to make up for it. “With your blond hair it will really pop.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. It wasn’t her fault. “He won’t go for that either and it’s a waste of time. I appreciate it. Just keep with the peach tones. He likes those.”

“At least you get to wear the leather boots.”

I grinned. The boots were my favorite. And for some reason, they had become an acceptable part of my image. I could wear them with dresses or jeans. It didn’t matter. The brown leather was embroidered with a darker thread of brown, printing paisleys along the side of my calf.