Chapter 29
Carolâs Pr
The day drags by at an agonizing pace. My mind is ripped away from the file Iâm reading by the sound of a familiar text tone, I quickly open up my phone to see the message Aiden has sent me.
âOf course, love. I would love nothing more
I let out a sigh of relief. It doesnât seem like heâs seen the interview yet. That still gives me some time to try and explain myself although I have no idea what Iâd even say. I hear another notification as Aiden sends another text.
I have a meeting scheduled at 6 pm today. They called an emergency meeting and requested that I host. Theyâre coming to the house for it. If you have the chance, Iâd love to at least say hello beforehand. After that, the rest of my night is yours.â
Aidenâs warm invitation to come home and see him lifts my spirits after the exhausting day. I try to ignore the nervousness about the fallout of the interview that comes with it.
What will he think? I canât help but wonder. So far heâs trusted me, but what if this makes him doubt my character? Iâm sure heâs more than used to people using him for his fame. What if he thinks Iâm one of those people? I attempt to banish the thoughts, but they keep returning.
The moment I step through the door of the villa, Aiden pulls me into a warm embrace. I let myself relax into his arms as the Tension of the day drains out of my body. My hands twist into the fabric of his shirt as I press against him intently.
Aiden immediately senses that something is off with me. âHey, you alright?â Aiden asks softly âDid something happen work today?â
âNo.â I murmur. âWell sort of Itâs complicated, I guess. I glance at the clock on the wall-itâs 5:30 already. I squeeze Aiden one more time before stepping back.
âHere â your meetingâs coming soon. You probably need time to get ready. Iâll tell you about it later, okay?â I turn and start to head back toward our room. Aiden lingers for a moment by the door.
âYou sure? I can always tell them to postpone, if you need me to
I look
up at him in surprise. âDidnât you say this was an emergency meeting?â
?â I ask. Aiden shrugs.
âThatâs not important. Not in comparison to you, anyway!â
Aidenâs offer warms my heart. Still, I think I need a little recovery time, anyway. Having a buffer to decompress before facing Aiden would probably only make things easier down the line.
âDonât worry about me,â I reassure him. âIâll talk to you after your meeting, okay? Best of luck
As I retreat to the bathroom, some of the warmth of his embrace still lingers, I can only hope Iâll still be able to receive it after he hears about the events of today.
I start the process of washing off my face and unpinning my haiddo. I do everything can think of to try and relax myself. Iâm about halfway through combing through my hair to smooth out any knots when I hear the sound of muffled voices.
I pause. To my surprise, I can just barely hear the sounds of four distinct voices. I try and imagine the layout of Aidenâs house in my mind, It occurs to me that the dining room is directly above our bathroom. The acoustics allow me to hear more of the conversation than I probably should. Unable to stifle my curiosity, I pause for a moment to listen.
âWhat aboutâ¦.. payments, decrease?â
1 frown, unable to pick up more than a few scattered fragments of the conversation, I turn off the sink and listen more
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Chapter 29
attentively.
MJ
Although Iâm not able to make out every word, I start to pick up on the general focus of the conversation. It seems that the group of voices are discussing sponsorship payments. By the sound of it, Aiden and two others are meeting with the spokesperson of one of the teamâs sponsors.
1 focus a bit harder. The two voices alongside Aiden sound somewhat familiar. One seems to be the coach-his gravely and aggressive voice has become more familiar to me as of recent.
I listen for a hule bit longer to try and identify the other members of Aidenâs side in the room. Judging by the track of the conversation, the other is likely the owner of the team. His voice is more calm than the coachâs and he speaks with a more measured authority. Despite this, it seems that the conversation is not going as well as they would like it to.
âThis is ridiculous,â the coach huffs. âYour sponsor has never lowered your sponsorship fees to such a ridiculously low level. This is highway robbery.â
âIâm sorry.â the strangerâs voice says, âbut thereâs nothing that I can do. Our company has come under recent financial troubles. The only way to retai Blaze sports drink as a sponsor is to accept a lower fee!â
Although I canât make out every word, the tension is palpable even from here. The two sides continue to argue back and forth for a little longer. No matter what Aidenâs side says, they canât seem to get through to the representative. The circular argument continues until itâs interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.
âThatâs my pager,â the representative announces. This is important. I may be a while, so donât wait for me.â His voice carries a hint of dismissal as he exits the room.
A suspicion gnaws at me something about the sponsorâs claim doesnât add up, I stand in contemplation. For a moment. almost think I can overhear the conversation the representatives having with the person on the other end of the line. Despite the conversations sounding muffled up until this point, it sounds as clear as day.
âYeah, they bought it. Iâm sure theyâre going to have to settle. All t have to do is seal the deal.
Just as quickly as the forceful image strikes me, itâs gone. I shake my head with confusion. Where did that come from? I think with bewilderment. I just have just let my imagination get carried away.
Still, Iâm unable to shake off the feeling. I spend a few long g minutes pacing back and forth across the bathroom. It seems ridiculous, but the need to do something builds more and more inside me.
At last, I decide that I have to act on my intuition. Fingers flyings across my expressing my suspicions about the sponsorâs honesty.
It only takes a few moments for Aiden to respond.
âWere you listening that entire time? I didnât know you were such a bad girl
y phone screen with urgency, I text Aiden.
My face turns beet red. Iâm frantically typing up a response when the next message comes in
âIâm kidding. I appreciate you sticking out for us. Weâre definitely in a difficult situation, but no matter how much we push, we just canât make any progress. Weâre at an impasse.â
1 largoni pacing again as thoughts fly through my mind. No matter how I try to quell the feeling. I feel like I need to do something. My fingers are typing out my next message and seg i before I can stop imyself.
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