Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

We couldn’t lose him. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my skirt and pulled my jacket together, covering my chest. There were two men having a conversation next to me in what I thought was Italian. They were clearly athletes. Arms and legs like that put them in the track and field category, but I wasn’t completely sure.

I wasn’t sure about a lot of things as the minutes ticked by.

7

Lachlan

I pushed through the door. I’d lost my appetite for partying tonight. Rick pissed me off. The team pissed me off. The media pissed me off. Everyone was coming at me and I couldn’t find any relief. I was knackered from the entire fucking day. I’d sleep it off.

But as soon as I stepped over the threshold, I heard my name.

I thought this place was supposed to be media-free. Did someone let one of those pissers in here?

I turned my head as a blonde ran toward me in a tight skirt. Her ass was poured into it. She was the only one in the lobby in a suit. I noticed her long legs were tan and firm. My eyes landed on her high heels.

“Lachlan, I’m Aspen Pitch from Revolution.”

I stopped. Holy fuck. This was who Revolution sent? I had done everything over the phone. I’d never met a single one of them. I let Rick handle it.

I raised my eyebrows after raking over her body. Her tan legs disappeared under the hem of her skirt. Her long hair fell in waves over her shoulders. She had the kind of lips I’d seen on enough models, but these were real, lush, and ready to be kissed. Was this some kind of a set up?

“How did you get in here?” I asked, skipping over the introductions.

“I have a pass.” She held up her badge as if I gave a shit about her credentials. “I’ve been waiting almost two hours for you.” She looked annoyed.

“Did you try calling?”

She glared at me. “Of course I did. You didn’t answer your phone. Neither did Rick, your agent. It’s been impossible to get in touch with you. We need to talk.” She sounded like a damn headmistress.

Rick warned me this was coming. I wasn’t in the mood. I hadn’t taken a call since I spoke with him. My phone was turned off for the rest of the day. But I couldn’t stop eyeing her. She was annoying, but sexy as fuck.

“I’m going to bed. I have practice tomorrow.” Truth was I hadn’t decided if I was going back to the stadium in the morning.

I tried to walk past her, but she jumped in front of me. “You don’t seem to understand how serious this is.”

“Sleep is serious.”

She sighed. “Your contract with Revolution is more serious. We need to discuss it. Do you not care about your game launch? It’s in jeopardy.”

She was gorgeous. I’d give her that. But I wasn’t going to let some American chick start dictating my life. I’d had enough of that today.

“Another time, love.”

Her blue eyes flared. “I’m not leaving until we speak.” She looked at her phone. “I only have fifteen minutes before they kick me out anyway. Let’s get started and schedule a meeting for tomorrow.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Curfew,” she huffed. “I don’t see how we can get this settled in fifteen minutes. There are a lot of items to go over. I’ve never had to work through something this radical before.”

I arched my eyebrows. She sounded like the kind of person who played by the rules.

I saw two suitcases next to the couch.

“Are those yours?” I asked, pointing to the bags.

She nodded. “Yes, I came straight from the airport. I haven’t checked into my hotel yet. Our meeting was my first priority. You need to realize this is my only interest in Rio.” She took a deep breath. “I have to tell you your game could be pulled from production. Do you have any idea what that would mean? Do you understand the amount of work that’s gone into it? The money? The creativity? This game is going to change soccer in America. Don’t you see that? Don’t you care?”

I took a step back and let her get the speech out of her system. She had probably been preparing it while waiting on the couch. The girl could talk.