Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
He was smiling like a kid in the candy store, and she was mouthing something I couldn’t quite understand.
“Well, here I was thinking my chance to finally meet the Travis Carter in person was all a ruse!” The man held out his hand. “I’m Franklin Stuart, the newest vice president at Nike.”
I immediately stood up to shake his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said. “I happened to run into your publicist at a brunch event here and mentioned how big of a fan I am, so she insisted I come up to see you.”
Madeline looked between us. “I was also hoping to hear that Nike is one hundred percent onboard as a sponsor for Mr. Carter.”
“Well, we’re still processing things,” he said.
“What type of things?” she asked. “Anything we can address at this time?”
“Um, well…” Mr. Stuart shifted his feet. “We like to make sure we have an authentic image of our brand ambassadors. To be frank with you, the past few months have made us question everything we thought we knew about Mr. Carter.”
Ralph motioned for the poker dealer to leave the room.
“I can assure you that the real Travis Carter is a nice, wholesome guy who is under an immense amount of stress,” Madeline said. “The Punisher is the asshole who lashed out after the loss to Juarez. Right, Travis?”
“I’m definitely under a lot of stress…”
“Juarez is becoming quite the rising star,” Mr. Stuart said. “He’s a trash talker with rough edges, but he’s a family man who hasn’t had a single scandal. Now, of course, his career isn’t an illustrious as Mr. Carter’s.”
“He hasn’t been in this sport long enough to have an image, no offense.” Madeline interrupted him. “The real reason behind Mr. Carter's distress is that a rematch would take away from his family time … He even has to push back his wedding.”
What did she just say? I crossed my arms.
“Wedding?” Mr. Stuart raised his eyebrow.
“He’s kept his private life pretty low key, sir,” she said. “His fiancée has been more than supportive, though. Even though they’re desperately trying for their first baby—because they both want a large family, she knows that keeping certain professional sponsorships is a chief priority.”
I shot Ralph a “What the hell is she doing?” look, but he seemed more confused than me.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear this at all.” Mr. Stuart looked surprised. “Our CEO, Mr. Truss, has the final say in things, so I’d love for him to see this family side of Mr. Carter before we handle negotiations.”
“That’s not a problem.” Madeline smiled. “I’ll reach out to you and set up a date for the three of them to get an intimate dinner.”
“Sounds good,” he said. “Mind if I step out of the room and call him?”
“Absolutely not.”
He disappeared, and Madeline clapped her hands.
“Well, don’t jump up and down all at once.” She looked at us. “Who wants to ask me how I managed to smooth things over with Nike?”
Silence.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!” She squealed. “I bribed his secretary for his personal calendar, stalked him the moment he landed, and snuck into that private brunch to make my move.” She was officially the most unhinged person I’d ever met. “Impressive, huh?”
“Miss Dawson…” I tried to keep my voice firm. “Now is the perfect time for you to join Mr. Stuart in the hallway and tell him that everything you told him was a lie.”
“A lie?”
“Yes, as in something untrue and far-fetched, something that’ll never be real.”
“I’ve told you that I pride myself on complete and utter honesty.” She still looked excited. “Those words were one-hundred percent real, and I’m pretty sure that Mr. Truss really wants to meet you and your fiancée over dinner.”
“You can still save this moment with a punchline,” I said. “You’ve got ten seconds to tell me this is a joke.”
“There is no punchline,” she said. “As long as you bring your fiancée along to the dinner, I’m sure they’ll stay aboard as your sponsor. Are you having trouble understanding that?”
“How the hell can I bring along someone who doesn’t exist?”
“Oh, I…” Her face paled. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“You’re not thinking at all.” I was moments away from losing my shit. “Go out there and take back everything you said. Now.”
The door swung open before she could move, and Mr. Stuart returned.
“Mr. Truss is thrilled about this development!” He smiled. “He’ll be in touch with Miss Dawson soon, and he promises to keep your secret under wraps.”
“I don’t have a secret, Mr. Stuart,” I said. “The truth is—”
“We look forward to his call!” Madeline cut me off and walked toward him. “Can’t wait!”
I watched them exchange a few final pleasantries, and my blood boiled as she escorted him to the exit.
“You should get on your knees and thank me, Mr. Carter.” She returned. “I just ensured that you won’t lose out on millions of dollars from your top sponsor.”