Page 107 of Lucky Puck

“Besides letting a few gossip-inclined people believe we were married, the worst thing I did—and that was solely on me—was invite a woman I didn’t know back to my room for the night. By the way, she was a willing woman who happily accepted my invitation.” A smattering of chuckles in the room proves that my sense of humor never rests.

“Predictably, it was an ill-advised invitation and led to the unfolding of the caper like knocking down the initial domino in a long line of dominos, and one thing led to the next. So if you, the media and the public, want to hang me for my poor judgment that night, go for it.”

“Brooks is blameless and even tried to stop me from inviting the show girl to my room, so do not put any of this on her.”

My eyes are on her as she bows her head. I know she wants to say something, and so does Sabien, who puts a hand over hers. But I give him a warning look to keep his word and not say a thing. Because in spite of my irritation at his instigation, we both know I didn’t need to go along and could have shut it down immediately or at any time along the way, no matter what he said. Same with Brooks.

“We were never married, so we have no need to get a divorce. I’d be perfectly happy if Brooks would continue as my agent with or without the Jett agency.”

Jett squirms at my words, and I acknowledge him.

“But she gets to decide where she works and who she takes on as clients.

Jett is willing to keep her on and to have her start a new music talent division.”

She looks at me with her mouth open, then grins and turns to Jett. He nods in confirmation.

“They’ll work that out between them. In the meantime, my lawyer and the Jett agency’s PR people, as well as myself and Brooks, will be executing a social media campaign that will tell a much different story than what’s out there now. I’ll also be accepting numerous podcast invitations to spread my message.”

“We’ve apologized to the people we needed to apologize to, Cavalaro Motors and the Speck ad agency for lying to them specifically, and most of all, to our families, friends, and my teammates and coaches.

“I’m sorry if misleading you hurt you or inconvenienced you in any way. We will be returning all wedding gifts.”

“What about your message? Where do you and Ms. Brooks stand now?” Martino asks, and everyone in the room looks to me expectantly for the answer.

I put up a hand.

“I don’t know the answer about where we stand.” I meet her eyes and manage to keep my cool, even in the face of her sadness.

“But I’ll tell you what my message is. I don’t know why I allowed myself to get swept up in the fake marriage caper, though I’m working on figuring out that answer, but I can tell you two things.

“First, none of it was Brooks's idea nor her fault. I swept her up with me, and she did everything she did to help me and protect me, going above and beyond what a professional agent is expected to do, and I have all the respect in the world for her for that.

“And I apologize to her for taking advantage of her decency, her hard work, and her willingness to do whatever it takes to please her clients.”

There are a few snarky smiles from Stubichuk and Martino, but I meet them with my game face, as expressionless and menacing as a shark.

“Brooks is a professional through and through. If there was any blurring of the professional lines, it was all my doing, and that’s all I’m going to say on that subject.”

The reporter, who I invited for this reason, asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Was there anything real about your relationship? You two looked⁠—”

I put up a hand again.

“Here’s what I’m going to say about my relationship with Brooks. Though I’ve apologized for the lies, I would, God help me, do it all over again because I treasure the time I spent with Brooks and getting to know her. I hope that we can still…” I push a hand through my hair, emotions overwhelming my ability to speak, not exactly sure which words to use or how much.

Turning to her, I watch her eyes, study her expression as I choose my next words from somewhere deep inside my chest, possibly my heart. “I would like to continue my relationship with her, pick up where we left off, if she’s open to that.”

Turning away, I heave a breath and push back from the table, standing. I don’t even want to see her expression or any hint of how she feels right now. I need to steel myself for possible rejection before I can handle knowing how she feels.

“That’s all. Send questions to Heidi’s office for a response.”

I retreat from the conference room at a brisk pace, not stopping for anyone, not Jett, not Ax, not Sabien. And especially not Brooks.

Chapter Thirty-Four

BIANCA

After Brody left the conference room without looking back, I came home to cry all over poor Kat, inconsolable because I feel abandoned by Brody and by all my hope for something between us to last.