He nodded. "That's fine. PR is your area. I'll do whatever you say."
"Good " she said. "Good." Easy clients were the best ones. Now for the harder part. She reached back and grabbed a pencil, grateful for something to hold on to, and she rolled it between her palms. “When you speak to reporters, whenever that is, they're going to ask about your future plans. You may think they mean baseball, but they'll be talking about your personal life.”
Damian burst out laughing. "At this point, I have nothing to hide."
"All you need to remember is that you learned from the experience, you realize you are a role model to your fans, you're sorry if you disappointed anyone and you intend to go on from here."
"I'm sure I can handle that," he said soberly.
The situation with Carole had obviously scarred him but Micki had no doubt his relief would give way as he reacclimatized himself to his life. She vividly remembered his words back on the island, a time that felt so long ago, she might have been a different person. You need to know that any partner I've ever been with knows the score and agrees to play by my rules.
Who knew his rules would hurt so much?
"One last thing."
He tipped his head to one side. "What would that be?"
"When you resume your…umm…former lifestyle, you should try to be discreet for a while. Don't let the media catch you at clubs picking up women. It'll look like you didn't mean it when you said you were sorry and you knew you'd dodged a bullet."
"Clubs and women?" he asked as if he'd never considered the notion.
He was probably too stunned by the test results to have had time to think, but she knew the inevitable would happen. Micki swallowed hard. Letting him go and meaning it were two different things.
She had to say the words out loud. "Come on, you're Damian Fuller. You made enjoying life and winning baseball legendary. The scandal's behind you. Don't tell me you haven't been itching to get back to living."
"Living, huh?"
She forced a laugh at the way he repeated her words, "You're definitely still in shock."
He shook his head hard. "You could say that Speaking of living, want to get dinner tonight?"
"I'm sorry but once I catch up on work, it's my night to visit Uncle Yank."
He shrugged. "Okay, how about I go with you?"
"I'm not sure that's how you want to spend your first official night of freedom. Go celebrate," she urged him.
He might have gotten used to lying low, but she knew the time would come when he'd be ready to resume a normal life. It wouldn't do her any good to be around him more than necessary.
He blinked, staring off into space, as if he were thinking things through. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. The sooner I get back to ' normal,' the sooner I'll feel like myself again."
Her smile actually hurt. "That's the spirit. So…do you want to go for a press conference or a press release to announce the results?"
"I vote for a release. I'm really not up to dealing with reporters right now."
She nodded in understanding. "They'll find you eventually but I think it's a smart move for the time being." She jotted some notes on the pad she always kept on her desk. "I'll take care of it" she promised.
It was probably the last thing she'd do in her capacity as publicist in charge of Damian Fuller, Micki thought. Once they wrapped up this issue, she intended to turn him over to Annabelle or Sophie, either of whom could easily coordinate with Uncle Yank and Spencer Atkins on Damian's professional future.
He rose to leave, pausing where she leaned against the desk. "Goodbye, Micki."
"Bye," she murmured. With him standing so near, she could inhale his sexy masculine scent and take in his scruffy beard and rugged features up close one last time. Her heartbeat kicked into high gear as she struggled to hold back her emotions.
His steady gaze met hers. For a man who'd just been given a reprieve, he didn't look relieved. But if she asked what was bothering him, she'd be investing herself in his life again and she'd struggled too hard to protect herself from those feelings.
If she didn't put up barriers first, he was bound to wake up and distance himself from her sooner or later.
Better she have enough self-respect to mate it sooner.