Trevor looked her in the eyes. “So how about you stop feeling sorry for yourself and go to that party Jared mentioned? Despite how you feel about Derek, it’s an accomplishment for you.”
“I don’t know.”
“Charisma Reed never turns down good parties or accolades.” He grinned.
“You know what? You’re right.
I worked my butt off on that project. Would you like to be my date? I don’t want to go alone. I’m sure he’ll be there with someone.”
“Maybe he won’t. Maybe he’s been missing you just as much.”
She shook her head. “Derek isn’t one to let moss grow under his feet. He’s moved on. I saw a tabloid report that he’d hooked up with some model.”
“It could be a total lie. But either way,
I would love to be your date.”
“Now that my interrogation is over, I have a few questions for you.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Is there anyone special in your life?”
“I’m way too busy for that.”
“I don’t believe that for a second, given your track record with the ladies in the past. I bet there’s a trail of lovelorn women all over the globe.”
“I’m in a place
in my life right now where a relationship would be a huge complication, and it wouldn’t be fair to initiate something and not have the proper time and emotional range to invest in it.”
“That’s unflinchingly honest, and I respect that. But I will be secretly hoping for a phone call or text that you’ve met someone great,” she said.
“If I do, you’ll be the first person I reach out to
with the news.”
Having Trevor there would take the sting out of seeing Derek and his new girlfriend. It was no surprise he’d moved on to someone else. She wondered if he were still looking to play the field or if his brother’s tragedy had made him realize that life is short. He deserved to be happy.
* * *
Derek yanked the silk fabric from around his neck and fished
for another one. He’d brought several ties with him tonight, but none of them seemed to pull the ensemble together. It was an important night for him and he wanted to look good. Deep down he knew he was going through all this trouble because Charisma would be there. Jared had called yesterday and left a voicemail confirming her RSVP.
Something must have changed her mind. Jared had told Derek
he wanted to make a special toast to Charisma during the evening. The Slap Shot was her accomplishment and it had started her on a new career path. Derek was happy that she’d found something in her life that she enjoyed doing. She seemed to be searching for so much at one time. Love. Redemption. Acceptance.
There was a knock on his office door. It was Steve, one of his bartenders. “Erin
said to tell you most of the people on the guest list have arrived and the kitchen is ready to go.”
“Great. Thanks, Steve. Do you know if Charisma arrived?”
“I haven’t seen her, but Jared and his girlfriend are here.” Steve turned to leave but stopped. “Oh, you may want to check out the sports channel. Looks like Brayer is his own worst enemy.”
Derek turned on the flat screen
in his office and tensed when a picture of Lamont appeared on the screen. It was no telling what he’d done this time.
“Lamont Brayer, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Titans, was involved in a car accident early this morning on his way home from a night of partying with friends. The Cadillac Escalade was so mangled they had to use the Jaws of Life to extract him from the vehicle. An inside
source who was in the nightclub says the football player was indeed intoxicated and he’d been spiraling after having a heated discussion with a man they’d never seen before. He continued to drink heavily and refused to give his keys to anyone. Brayer suffered a broken leg and arm. The passenger, believed to be one of his infamous ex-girlfriends, suffered injuries as well. There was no word on
the extent of her injuries.”
His heart thudded out of his chest. Had Charisma been out with Lamont? Derek raced down the corridor in search of Jared. Surely he would have information if she were in the crash. Derek waded through the crowd in search of his friend, but his fear quickly turned to relief and then annoyance when he saw Charisma walking through the door, arm-in-arm with some well-dressed
guy with a phony smile. Not the basketball player the media had rumored her to be with, but someone he didn’t recognize. She looked beautiful, but he hadn’t figured she’d go for the pretty-boy type.
He wanted to go over there and kick the guy’s ass. Yeah, he could try and be mature if she’d moved on but to hell with that. She belonged with him. The anger coursing through him was threatening
to explode to the surface, but he didn’t want to draw attention to us. Derek dipped behind the bar and began chatting with his bartenders when he saw Charisma coming his way.
“Derek, the place looks great!” she called out over the music.
“Thanks to you. You look great.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’ll admit, this place came together nicely. I think you’ll find an uptick in business.”
“Even if it doesn’t, the place looks good, and I retained its core purpose. This is my haven.”
“Exactly.”
He pretended to mop up the bar with a towel. “Did you hear about Lamont?”
“I got a news alert on my phone. Sounds like it was a terrible accident.”
“You’re not going to the hospital to see him are you?” He furrowed his eyebrows.
“Heaven’s no.” She winced.
“Why on earth would you think that?”
“The report said infamous ex-girlfriend…” He shrugged.
“And you just assumed I’d run back to Lamont? Besides, these days I am referred to as the woman briefly involved with Derek Popovich. I don’t know if that’s a step forward or backward.”
“Considering that you dumped me, I’d say it was a step forward.”
She put her hand on her hip.
“I didn’t dump you.”
Screw niceties, she’d brought another man with her. “No, you just made love to me and made all sorts of promises with your eyes and then decided it would be too much work to be with me.”
“Lower your voice. You’re going to make a scene. The last thing we need is more pictures of us circulating.”
“Isn’t it a little late to worry about decorum when the male
model you brought with you is only a few feet away?”
She looked back to her date who was waiting a respectful distance away, then back to him. “It doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I thought you’d at least like to be friends. You were friends with Michelle when it didn’t work out.”
“That was different. My feelings for you are different. I—” He stopped when he saw Charisma’s date
approaching and gestured toward him. “I think pretty boy is looking for you.”
“You were saying something about how you felt?”
“Forget it.” He threw the towel down. “Mark, get the lady anything she wants. I have some pressing things to take care of in the office.”
“Don’t tell me,” she snapped. “You have one of your hockey bunnies in there waiting for you?”
“And what if I
did? You certainly didn’t waste any time finding someone new.”
“Then you’d be an idiot.” She marched over and grabbed her date by the hand and came back with him. “Derek, I’d like you to meet someone very special to me. This is my brother, Trevor. I told you about him.”
Derek felt like an ass. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you Trevor.” Trevor had a firm grip.
“Good to meet
you too. I’m a fan,” Trevor replied. “I saw you play one time in Ontario. You were unstoppable. The Pirates are off to a good season. I think there’s another Stanley Cup title in your future.”
“Thanks. I hope so.”
“Yeah, nothing can get past you. Except maybe my sister.” Trevor raised an eyebrow.
Derek had to laugh at that one. “Would you like a drink?”
“As opposed to the
punch in the face you were gearing up for?”
“Well, yeah.” He scratched at his beard.
“Maybe later,” Trevor said. “I’ll give you two some privacy. I think you need to talk. Try not to destroy all this hard work.” Trevor looked around then moved to the other side of the bar.
Derek knew he deserved that ribbing, but he wanted to run for cover from Charisma’s stance. She looked like
she wanted to strangle him.
“Is your new girlfriend is in your office?” she demanded.
“There’s no one in my office.”
“Is she on the way? The tabloids said you two were inseparable.”
“I’m not dating that model. She was waiting for me outside the locker room after a game.”
“You looked really cozy with her.”
“I hear you were spotted having lunch with some basketball
player.”
“No. I was having lunch alone, and he was dining with friends. We passed each other in the corridor leading to the restrooms and now we’re in love. I too am a victim of random gossip.” She smirked.
“It seems like we’re bound to each other in the media for the foreseeable future.” He rounded the bar and closed the space between them. “I can’t believe you still read those rags.”
She laughed. “They’re filled with entertaining misinformation when it’s not about you. Fingers crossed for a new celebrity feud or sex scandal.”
“I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, but it was for the best. The court of public opinion will always villainize me. You’d be better off without me.”
“Do I get a vote?”
“No, you don’t. You won’t be rational.”
They were
going in circles again. There had to be something he could do to show her how much he cared about her, not her reputation. Then he had it. Derek turned off the music and climbed on top of the bar as she watched, wide-eyed. “Can I have everybody’s attention?”
The room came to a halt.
“Get down!” Charisma pulled on his pant leg.
He ignored her and addressed the crowd. “Thank you
everyone for coming tonight. I thought about making some improvements for a long time, but it took my good friend Seth using my place as a boxing ring to convince me that it needed a facelift.”
The crowd laughed.
“The best thing to come from this renovation is that I met the most wonderful woman named Charisma Reed. She’s beautiful, spunky, and a true force of nature. We’ve been linked
in the media in the past, and while the story that broke about the love triangle wasn’t true, the feelings that followed were. It was the best time of my life. And I’d be a damn fool to let her get away again.” He hopped off the bar and went to her. “Let’s see where this goes.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. But if we’re going to be together,
we have to work on having a thicker skin. Misery sells. We can’t live our lives according to the perception of random strangers who have no investment in our happiness. I just want to show you how wonderful we can be together. Whatever grief I have to take is worth it.”
Derek kissed her and the crowd went wild.
“You are crazy,” she said, smiling and a little breathless.
He caressed
her cheek. “Let’s go to my office so I can show you how crazy I am about you.”
“No. You have a party to host.” She clasped his hands in hers. “I’d like you jumping onto the bar to be the highlight of the evening, not making out with me in your office.”
“I love you.” He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.
“Stop right there.” Her eyes widened. “You’re coming
off the heels of an emotional speech with an announcement like that. It’s—”
“I love you. And I’m not taking it back. If you need some time before you say it to me, that’s fine. But how I feel won’t change. You don’t have to be afraid that I’ll leave or have certain expectations of you. I want you to be yourself and I won’t accept anything less.”
“OK.” She kissed him.
“I’m going
to check on things. I shouldn’t be too long.”
“I’ll be with my family.”
Derek went into the busy kitchen and tasted a few of the sample dishes the chef had waiting for him. He gave the chef a thumbs-up. Then he touched base with his hostess and got an update on the wait staff. The food was flowing and everyone was happy, but no one could find the special champagne he’d ordered. He
informed her that he’d put the cases in his office and not to worry about it, he’d retrieve it.
As Derek retrieved the champagne, Trevor appeared in his office doorway with a couple of bottles of imported beers in each hand. “I have to say, that was quite a declaration.”
Derek looked up from the box. Trevor was pretty light on his feet; he hadn’t heard him approach. “I meant it. She’s
a remarkable woman.”
“Yes, she is, and despite how she acts, she’s more delicate than she lets on.” Trevor handed him a beer.
“I know. We’ll take things as slow as she wants.”
“I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If you don’t treat her right, I’ll be back.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a member of the Reed family, especially her brother.” Derek clinked beer bottles
with him and gave him a quick once-over. For some reason, the occupation photojournalist didn’t seem to fit the man. For example, Trevor was at an event where athletes and stars were bound to show up, but there was no sign of a camera on him. Derek watched him float around the room, but it seemed more like he was looking for the exits than enjoying the ambiance. He was no more a photojournalist than
Derek was a costumed character in an ice show. Charisma’s brother had a secret.
“I must say you have a fascinating career,” Derek finally said. “Charisma tells me you’re quite the globetrotter. She never knows what country you’re in or for how long. That must be grueling to move around so much.”
“It’s a nomad’s job, but I go where the story takes me.”
“You must have seen some
interesting things on your travels. I had an uncle who was a photojournalist. He always complained about the camera lens making a bulge in his suit jacket,” Derek mused.
Trevor raised an eyebrow and adjusted his jacket. “I know. Uncle Anton, is it? I did some checking.”
“It is what it is.” So Trevor had done his homework on him. He knew his family had a colorful history, and his father
had done his best to shelter them from it but he knew his uncle had worked for an intelligence agency. He just didn’t know which one.