“Because both of you care about your careers too much to risk them.”
The door opened right after Amy’s too accurate statement and before Victoria could muster up a response Cooper was walking toward them with his eyes bouncing between the two of them like he was watching a tennis match.
“I’m going back inside.” Amy smiled at her as she stood, and Victoria could see how happy Amy was with herself. “I think I saw an old friend at the bar earlier, so I’m going to go say hi. Just come find me whenever you’re ready to leave.”
Cooper caught Amy by the arm, and even though she could tell he was trying to be discreet Victoria heard him whisper.
“Stay away from him, Amy.” Clearly Amy didn’t like her brothers warning because she narrowed her eyes, and whispered back.
“I said I’m going to say hi, not get high. I swear you’re worse than dad.” Victoria looked away, feeling like she was intruding on a very personal conversation, and thought about her own conversation with Amy.
If everything Amy said was true then the caring and concerned Cooper from a little bit ago was the real him, and the pain in the ass she had been dealing with for the last three months had all been an act. Even now, as Cooper stood with one hand shoved in his pocket and the other running through his hair like he was warring with himself, Victoria still couldn’t get a handle on the situation so she decided to test the waters.
“Your sister seems nice.”
“She is.” He responded a bit defensively, but then he took a deep breath and blew it out. “Sorry. Yes, Amy is nice. Even if she is a stubborn pain sometimes.” From just her few minutes with Amy Victoria could tell she was a force to be reckoned with and it made her smile.
“Look Victoria…” Cooper shoved both hands in his pockets. “I owe you an apology for how I’ve treated you the last few months. I’ve been an ass, but if you could find it in your heart to move past what has happened, I would like nothing more than for you to stay on as my image consultant.”
“Why me? I’m sure Richards would be more than happy to find another consultant.”
Cooper’s hand was back to rubbing the shaggy strands hanging against his neck as he seemed to be considering her question.
“You already know me and I wouldn’t feel right if somebody else got the paycheck that you’ve more than earned.” He cupped both hands behind his neck and sighed. “Plus, if you tell Richards you want to quit there’s a possibility of serious consequences for me.”
Victoria wanted to say yes so badly, but the evil side of her wanted to make him sweat a little bit.
“I don’t know. How do I know things will be different this time?”
This time Cooper didn’t even have to think about his answer.
“My family is depending on me. Especially my mom and sister. If I were to get fired, I would possibly have to move away again, and I can’t do that. I’m willing to do whatever the big boss expects of me. I just need you to show me what that is.” Victoria wanted to make him squirm more, but his answer struck a chord with her and she finally gave in.
“Alright.” Cooper started to step forward, but Victoria held up her hand. “I will do this on two conditions.”
“And those are?” Cooper crossed his arms over his chest.
“First, you have to go to Mr. Richards before the game tomorrow and explain exactly what happened last night and promise him that it won’t happen again.” Cooper opened his mouth, but just as quickly closed it and nodded.
“I can do that. What else?”
Now came the fun part.
“You will do exactly what I ask of you, without complaint, or I quit for good.”
“That’s it?” Cooper asked skeptically.
What was he expecting? A blood oath? Victoria felt like adding a few more stipulations just to spite him but she was ready to get back inside and on with her night.
“That’s it. You do those two things and we will get along just fine. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Great. I’ll come by the stadium tomorrow and we can talk after the broadcast.” With that taken care of Victoria turned to go back inside. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few apologies to hand out inside.”
“I’m sure they will understand.” Cooper smiled, but then his expression turned almost sad. “Thank you for agreeing to this. It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” Victoria reached for the door handle, but stopped and turned back. “Oh, one more thing.”
“Yeah?” Cooper asked cautiously.
“I’d like to keep what happened out here just between us.” Victoria looked toward the gate then back to him, and Cooper’s sad look brightened immediately.
“You have nothing to worry about.” Cooper laughed. “I’m not dying for anyone to know you kicked my ass more than you are. You’re secrets safe with me.”
Victoria had a feeling he was talking about more than just the incident by the gate, but because she was anxious to get back inside Victoria simply took him at his word and thanked him.
“You go in first.” She told him. “Just tell everyone I’ll be there in a sec.”
“You sure?” Cooper asked as he opened the door, and Victoria nodded.
“I won’t be long.”
“Alright.” Cooper said then reluctantly went inside. Thinking hard about what she wanted to say to Stella and the rest of the group, Victoria took a deep breath and headed back inside.
****
Chapter 4
The next afternoon thunder shook the sound booth while heavy rain pounded down on the diamond below. Cooper and Bob were stuck recapping the two previous games in the series to kill time before the re-runs of some Eighty’s sitcom came on.
“Today’s game has been cancelled before the first pitch could even be thrown. The storm system moving across most of Illinois shows no sign of letting up until later this evening, so the Crush and Cyclones will make up this game late next week when the season ends. We hope you’ll join us in the Sunshine State when the Crush start their six game road trip Tuesday against the San Francisco Gladiators. From all of us here at Ripley Field, I’m Cooper Wilde. Have a great day.”
The red light dimmed on the camera and Cooper put his microphone down. With today’s rain delay he would possibly be able to make a few Sunday open houses with Amy. Once she had finally stopped pouting about him interrupting her conversation last night they had discussed what kind of place they both wanted on the way home. She said she would look through the paper this morning, and Cooper hoped they would find something soon.
He was waiting for one of the assistants to remove his mic pack when a flash of platinum blonde hair caught his attention in the doorway.
“I’ll just be a minute.” Cooper said to Victoria, but her phone began to ring and she stepped into the hallway. He thanked the assistant for her help and she nodded before stepping over to where Bob was talking to their producer Becky.
Cooper picked up the itinerary he was handed earlier and headed for the door. Looking all around he couldn’t see where Victoria disappeared to until he heard her soft voice drifting out from the open dressing room door.
“Of course, I understand.” Cooper heard Victoria say as he entered the room. “We will be there in...” She pulled the phone away to look at the screen and after it lit up she brought it back to her ear “about ten minutes.” Another pause. “Thank you for calling Grace. See you soon.”
As soon as Victoria ended the phone call her smile fell away to be replaced by a glare directed at him. From the part of the conversation Cooper overheard he could deduce that the Grace Victoria was talking to was Mr. Richard’s secretary, and that whatever she was told hadn’t made her very happy.
Cooper went about grabbing his things, and completely ignored the stare he could feel Victoria burning into his back. When he picked up the last of his belongings it was finally time to face the music. Victoria was still standing in the same spot near the makeup table, but now her phone wa
s on the counter and her hands were firmly planted on her hips.
“I thought we had a deal.” Victoria snapped before he could say anything. “Grace just called to inform me that Mr. Richards wants to have a meeting with both of us right now. You told me you would see him this morning before the broadcast to explain everything, so why would he need to see us?”
Cooper started to snap back, but thought better of it seeing how Victoria was already pissed off. Instead he counted to ten and waited for the annoyance to pass before he responded in a calm steady voice.
“I did speak to him this morning. I told him about Amy and promised to be on my best behavior from now on. When I left he seemed to accept everything I said to him, so I don’t know what this meeting is about.”
But being called into a meeting with the big boss was rarely good, and Cooper was already mentally preparing himself for what the uptight old man could throw at them. Victoria let her hands fall from her hips, but didn’t lose any of the rigidity from her body.
“He’s going to fire me, I just know it. I knew calling a truce with you would never work. I might as well call Grace back and tell her I quit. Save all of us some time.” Victoria reached to pick up her phone, but Cooper snatched it before she could unlock the screen.
“Hey, give me that.” She tried to grab it but he was a good eight inches taller than her and kept the phone high out of reach.
“I’m not going to let you quit when you don’t know what he wants. Who knows, it could be good.” Victoria stopped the adorable little hops to grab her phone and gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. “Okay, so more than likely it’s bad.” Cooper sighed. “But at least have the meeting. If he tries to fire you I’ll do everything I can to change his mind.”
With one more useless attempt at her phone, Victoria blew out a breath and leaned back against the make-up table. “You know, we wouldn’t be in this mess if you would have listened to me from the beginning.”
“I believe we established what an ass I am yesterday. I’m sorry, but I can’t change what’s happened up until now. All I can do is try and make up for it.” Cooper’s arm was starting to tingle, so he lowered it but still didn’t give her the phone. “Now I will give you this back if you promise not to cancel. Otherwise, I’m keeping it until we get to Richards office.”
Victoria rolled her eyes and held out her hand, but when she realized he wasn’t going to give her the phone until she agreed, Victoria sighed.
“Fine, I promise. Now can I have my phone back?” Cooper thought about making her say please, but he knew getting to their meeting as soon as possible was important so instead he placed the rectangle phone in her upturned palm.
“Thank you.” Victoria pushed the button on top to brighten the screen. “Now if you’re done acting like a ten year old, can we get going? They are expecting us any minute.” Scanning the dressing room area once more, Cooper didn’t see anything else he would need and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Victoria took the lead and started down the hall toward a bank of elevators that would take them up to the third floor, but when Cooper started to follow he noticed a beige line stretched from one side of her black skirt to the other and a small chuckle escaped before he could pull it back. When they reached the elevators Victoria stabbed the up button quite aggressively then turned and shot him a glare.
“What part of this is funny to you?”
Cooper tried to stop smiling as they entered the elevator, but when he saw the line of what he assumed was make-up, he couldn’t. After pushing the button for the third floor, Cooper placed his hands on Victoria’s shoulders and turned her around then began swiping at the line on her skirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Victoria screeched and tried to get away, but Cooper wouldn’t let her. He held her in place until he had done everything he could. Then he finally let her turn around and showed her his hand. Victoria’s eyebrows furrowed adorably as she looked at his hand.
“Would you prefer I let you walk around with make-up all over your butt?”
Victoria looked horrified as she craned her neck to see the back of her skirt, but when she started going in circles like a dog chasing its tail Cooper had to stop her.
“Don’t worry, I got it.” The elevator dinged their arrival a second later and Victoria headed for the first thing that had a reflective surface.
“Are you sure?” She asked, turning side to side next to the metal sculpture.
“Yes I’m sure.” Cooper rolled his eyes, and with one final attempt to see the back of her skirt Victoria righted her clothes and groaned.
“I can’t believe I did that.” She smacked her forehead. “Thank you.” Cooper wanted to tell her the pleasure was all his because he got to touch her perfectly shaped ass, but he didn’t think now was the time or place. Not to mention Victoria would probably lay him out like she had last night.
“You’re welcome.” He said then gestured to the long hallway. “Now, are you ready to get this meeting over with?” Victoria looked uncomfortable at first, but then Cooper watched her slip seamlessly into her professional mode.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She said, and before he knew it they were standing in front of Grace’s desk with the older woman smiling sweetly up at them.
“If it’s possible you look even prettier than you did this morning Grace.” Grace blushed and Cooper heard Victoria scoff softly behind him.
Hey, it never hurt to be nice to the people that worked for your boss Cooper thought.
“Cooper Wilde I am old enough to be your mother.” Grace chided and smacked his hand. “But thank you. I’ll see if Mr. Richards is ready for you.” He gave her a smile and wink before turning back to Victoria who was shaking her head.
“What?”
“You just can’t turn it off, can you?
Cooper shrugged and saw Victoria try to disguise a smile behind her hand as a yawn. A phone hanging up was followed by Grace’s soft voice informing them Mr. Richards was waiting.
Like he had been this morning, Wilson Richards was sitting behind his large mahogany desk as the entered and made no attempt to get up. Two leather chairs were situated in front of the desk and the older man motioned for them to take a seat. Once they were comfortable, Mr. Richards didn’t waste any time getting down to business.
“Miss Howe, I’m sure you are aware that Mr. Wilde came to see me this morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
“He has assured me that there will be no more unpleasant news stories or photographs, but I would like more reassurance than just his word.” Cooper and Victoria shared a look before Victoria turned her attention back to the barrel chested pain in the ass.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, sir.” Richards seemed smugly satisfied with himself as he leaned forward and folded his arms on top of the desk.
“From now on I would like you to be wherever Mr. Wilde is. With you by his side, I won’t have to worry about my lead commentator making the front of the sports pages anymore.”
Cooper called upon every ounce of willpower not to reach across the desk and slug his boss. Not only was his word being called into question, but also the old bastard was suggesting he needed a babysitter. He was twenty-nine, not nine. This whole situation was insulting enough as it was, now with this new twist it would be embarrassing as well. Unfortunately, it seemed Richards wasn’t done talking so Cooper made sure to pay attention.
“I understand you have a business to run Miss Howe and if the travel involved is going to be a problem we can certainly find another consultant to fill the position.” Cooper chanced a look at Victoria, but her professional smile was locked firmly in place. Giving nothing away.
“That won’t be necessary. Mr. Wilde is my top priority right now, and I can take care of any other business through email and phone calls with my assistant.”
“Very good.” Richards gave a curt nod, and for the first time since sitting down Mr. Richards turned to acknowledge
him. “I fully expect you to cooperate with whatever Miss Howe asks of you Mr. Wilde. As I explained before since you arrived our ratings have increased dramatically, but I won’t sacrifice this team’s image or sponsors for you.”
Cooper didn’t trust his voice or temper, so he simply nodded and said “Understood.”
“Great, I’m glad we are all in agreement. I will have Grace make all the travel arrangements and fax them to your office within the hour Victoria.”
“Sounds perfect. I look forward to talking to you again soon.” Handshakes were exchanged before Richards dismissed both of them and went back to the paper work on his desk.
Victoria smiled at Grace as they passed her desk, but even Cooper could tell it didn’t reach her eyes. He couldn’t get a read on how she was handling this new twist in their business arrangement, but as soon as the elevator doors closed she slumped against the wall.
“I have got to be out of my mind. That is the only explanation for why I just agreed to that. I am a business woman, not a goddamn babysitter.” Victoria started pacing around the small space and Cooper was scared to interrupt the conversation she was having with herself. The elevator doors opened once they reached ground level and Victoria started making phone calls almost immediately.
“Michelle, I’m going to need you to meet me at the office in about an hour. I know it’s your day off but something has come up and I’m going to be out of town for a week.” There was a short pause before Victoria hung up.
“I’m really sorry, Victoria. I know I keep saying that, but it’s true.” They had reached the door that led to the staff parking lot, when Victoria finally slowed down and looked at him.
“I’m trying really hard not to be mad at you right now. If Richards needs me to play nanny to give him peace of mind that you will stay out of the papers then that’s what’s going to happen. Hopefully the grouchy bastard will be happy after this road trip and it will be the only one I have to go on, but make no mistake if you do anything to make me look bad there won’t be enough medicine in the world to take away the pain I inflict on you.”