Chapter 26

Chapt er 26

Amber

I reach out and turn off my incessant alarm, scowling at it. Why did I set my alarm for Saturday? I groan and roll over, but it's too late. My body's awake, and so is my bladder. I slowly climb out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. When I come back, my phone is ringing. Again . I silence the call because who calls early on a Saturday. Before I can even climb back in bed, it rings again. I pick it up, glaring at it. It's the same number. I slide the button. "What?"

There's a pause, like I've surprised whoever's on the other end. "Hi, this is Chloe the PR agent for the Green Thunder. I am looking for Amber Campbell."

I know Chloe by reputation only through Stephanie and Bri. "I know who you are."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to bother you on a Saturday morning, but something has come to my attention and I need to speak to you about it."

I sit on my bed. "Okay. Go ahead."

"Oh. No. I mean I need to speak to you about it here in my office. In the Green Thunder practice stadium."

"Well, seeing as I don't currently play for the Green Thunder, I can't imagine what you would need from me that I have to drive over there on a Saturday morning," I respond.

"Well, actually, since you are currently dating one of my players, you are actually under my authority now as well."

I stare at my phone. She did not. " I'm sorry. Did you just say that I'm under your authority?"

"I need you to be here in thirty minutes. Don't be late."

"I can't...hello?" I look at my phone. "Un-be-lievable. She hung up on me." I throw my phone on the bed and debate what to do. After a minute or two, I make my way to the shower. I'm not going because she told me to. I'm going because she and I are going to have a word or two. In person.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm dressed in my stretchy leggings and Rico's sweatshirt that I stole last night. My hair's in a messy bun, and I don't have a stitch of makeup on. I don't care. I'm not trying to impress anybody. By the time I make it to the practice stadium, I am in a mood. I really wish I could have coffee because I need like a double shot of espresso right now. At least a double. Security stops me, but I give them my name. Before I can tell them her royal highness Chloe requested me, he waves me through. I park and make the commute inside. I'm out of breath before I even make it to the hallway where it says the offices are. I've got to start exercising. I stop when I see a bathroom. When I'm finished, I make my way down the hallway, stopping a guy that looks like he works for maintenance. "I'm looking for Chloe's office. She's the—"

"Down the hallway. Last door on the right." He walks away.

"Well, okay then." I start down the forever long hallway. By the time I get to her office, I'm sweating in my sweatshirt, and I'm irritated as all get out. I don't even bother knocking. I open the door and walk inside. "All right, Your Royal Highness. I'm here." I stop when I realize I'm not the only one here.

"Amber," Rico says, standing to his feet, his eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"

I drop into the chair he just evacuated with a huff. "She called me, woke me up out of a dead sleep, and demanded I be here in thirty minutes. Like I work for her or something," I scoff. I haven't even bothered looking in her direction yet.

"Chloe," Rico says, sounding irritated. "What is this all about?"

"Well, if you two would like to sit instead of being dramatic, we can get this meeting started." I finally look up and immediately regret it. Chloe is everything I'm not and more. She is perfectly put together in every sense of the word from her slicked back bun, on-point makeup, and wrinkle-free white blouse covered by a black blazer. I can't see under the desk but I'm going to imagine she's wearing a perfect pair of pants. She stands and comes around the front of the desk. A pencil skirt. And heels. Kill me now. She stands in front of us and leans against the desk, looking as put together as anyone I've ever seen, and I suddenly hate her. I get why Bri and Stephanie don't like her. Well, I got that when she called me this morning. Just now I have a face to go with her voice.

"Are you aware of the fact that you two are trending on social media?"

I blink, certain I've misunderstood her. "I'm sorry, what?" I look over at Rico, but he looks just as surprised as I do. She swipes something on her iPad and turns it around to face us. She swipes through several photos. Some of them are kind of hard to see, but I get the gist of them. They're pictures of when Rico and I went to my doctor's appointment, the one he hated.

"I don't see what the big deal is," I say leaning back in my chair. "It's not like you can tell what we're doing. We're just walking towards a building." She swipes another picture, this one clearly showing the pregnancy center.

"You were saying?" she asks.

I really don't like her. "So what? There's a picture of Rico walking me to a pregnancy clinic. I fail to see what the big deal is."

"You wouldn't," she says, and I resist the urge to flinch. "You don't make a living doing something in the public eye. He does. He knows exactly what this means."

I turn to Rico; he's still staring at the iPad. He finally turns his head to mine for a moment. He surprises me by taking my hand in his. "Whatever the social media storm is, we'll weather it. Together." I'm shocked by his words but not as shocked as Miss Chloe is. She stares at him open-mouthed. I relish in it.

"You really should have just told me this over the phone; I didn't need to come in for this," I say, standing to my feet.

"We're not finished," she demands.

"Oh, yes we are. As I already told you, I don't work for you. There's not a single thing you can do to make me stay here."

She holds the iPad to her chest. "No, but he does."

I cross my arms across my chest. "What are you going to do? Bench him? The goalie?" I smirk when she stays silent. "Yeah, I didn't think so." I start toward the door before I turn back. "Here's an idea. Maybe next time, Chloe , you could not demand me to do your bidding. You could ask nicely. Maybe you'd get more friends that way."

Her eyes flash. "I have friends."

I squint my eyes. "Do you, though?"

She opens her mouth and closes it, and I turn away with a grin on my face. Amber—one. Chloe—zero. I start back the way I came.

"Amber, wait up." I wait for Rico to catch up to me. "Pretty sure you just made an enemy of her." He grins, and I shrug.

"She's not a very nice person."

He shrugs. "Gunner would say she's good at her job."

"Is she, though?"

He doesn't answer that. "I'm sorry you had to come down here. I didn't realize she had called you."

"Yeah, well now I can block her number." He smirks. "Is this really going to be a problem for you?"

"Don't worry about it; I'll handle any fallout."

"So it is going to be a problem," I push. He stops and turns to me, and I stop as well.

"My life is always in the spotlight. So, yes, something will come from it; but I'm not worried about it."

I frown. "Well, maybe we should just—"

"You are not breaking up with me before we've even begun," he says with a look.

I sigh. "That's not what I'm doing. Just if it's going to be a problem..."

"It's not a problem. It just might push our relationship into the spotlight a little sooner than we were planning on, but it's not a problem." It's his turn to frown. "Does it bother you?"

I scoff. "I don't care what anybody thinks about me."

His frown increases. "Just don't go on social media."

I laugh. "I remember from Brielle. There are going to be women that hate me because I'm taking the handsome goalie off the market."

"No, that's not...okay, well some," he admits, and I laugh at his discomfort.

"People are so ridiculous."

"They are," he agrees. "But this is the world I've chosen to be in."

His words sober me. "I know that, Rico; and I won't do anything intentionally to harm you or your reputation in any way. If you think you shouldn't be with me until after the baby comes or even at all, I—"

"Amber," he says, stepping close and cutting me off. "Stop. There's nothing that could keep me away from you." He glances down at my lips, and my body tightens in response.

"Okay, if you're sure," I say, trying to keep the mood light.

"I'm sure," he says quietly.

I yawn, and he smiles. "I don't like her."

"I know; you told me." He takes my arm. "Come on. I'll walk you out." When we get to my car, he opens the door for me and waits while I get settled behind the wheel. "Listen," he says, crouching next to me. "Things might get crazy for us for a little bit while people react to the news of us being together. Don't let it get to you. But if it escalates, you let me know right away. I know both Bri and Stephanie had problems. I know you're a strong and independent woman, but I need to know if things get out of hand. Promise you'll tell me?"

"Rico, I am not a martyr. If I have a problem, I'll tell you." I pause. "No, scratch that. I'll call Chloe and make her deal with it." He laughs and shakes his head as he stands to his feet. I notice he doesn't try to lean in for a kiss or anything.

"Thanks for coming in; I'll see you Monday."

"Bye, Rico."

"Bye, Amber." He shuts the door and sticks his hands in the pockets of his athletic pants that look way too good on him. I shake my head and focus on driving. The meeting stays with me the entire ride home. I hadn't really thought about taking Rico with me to my appointment; I hadn't thought about what it could stir up. That was naive. If I'm going to date a popular player from the AHL, I'm going to have to step up my game. I can't afford to make mistakes like that. I have to be conscious of his career and not just because I don't want to have another run-in with Chloe. Though, I really don't want that either. No, I need to do it for Rico. This is his life, his career. I want to respect that.

When I get home, my mom's sitting in the kitchen drinking tea and doing a Sudoku puzzle. "Morning, Mom."

"Hey Baby, you were out early."

"Yeah because of stupid people." But I don't expound on it anymore. I make a cup of tea and sit with her at the table. After a few sips, I take a peek at her puzzle before stealing the pencil and filling in two of the rows for her.

"Amber," she protests. She hates when I do that, but I can't stand seeing the answers right in front of me and not filling them in.

"Want to do some baby shopping with me today for some little girl clothes and maybe some maternity clothes for me?" I ask.

My mom stares at me before a huge smile overtakes her face. "When do we leave?"'