The Game Changer (The Perfect Game 2)

My stomach dropped to the floor. “Hi,” I answered nervously.

“Where’s your phone?” Jack’s voice was tight and agitated.

“I left it in the apartment. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Check it as soon as you get back and then you fucking tell me,” he said tersely.

“Jack? Hello?” I pulled the phone from my ear to look at the screen. “Holy shit, he hung up on me. ”

“What’s going on?” Melissa sounded worried.

“I have no idea. He told me to check my phone. ” My head started to spin as I wondered what the hell could have happened.

Don’t

Jack

My cell phone beeped, signaling I had a new text message. Instead of a return phone number, the sender was an anonymous e-mail. I considered not opening the message, knowing that nothing good could come from an anonymous source. After a short battle with myself, I clicked the message and a picture popped up.

What the fuck?

Matteo kissing Cassie displayed on my screen and violent urges instantly ripped through my guts. My temper flared as a fire blazed through my every pore. I wanted to tear Matteo’s fucking head off. How dare he put his lips on my girl? How dare he fucking even think about touching her?

But she let him. She wasn’t pushing him away in the picture, she was kissing him back. Fuck, even her goddamn eyes were closed!

I dialed Cassie’s number, but it went straight to voice mail. Again. Where the hell was she? I forwarded the picture message to her cell.

She’d bailed on me in the middle of all the Chrystle drama and now this. How would she explain this? I looked at it, clear as day with my own two eyes. Matteo’s filthy fucking lips stuck to my beautiful Kitten’s. Have I been fooled this whole time?

I walked into our bedroom and pulled out the velvet ring box I’d buried in my sock drawer. It creaked as I opened it to peer at the shiny diamond inside. How could she do this to me? To us? Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes closed before opening them again. The image of Matteo kissing Cassie plagued my every thought.

I snapped the box shut and pitched it forcefully through the opened closet door. It crashed against something with a loud thud, and I walked out of our room not caring what happened to the contents.

Maybe it was all an elaborate ploy, her inability to handle the press? How long had she and Matteo been sneaking around behind my back? Had I forced them together by asking him to keep her safe during my games? Was this all my fault? I wondered how long I had until the media got ahold of that picture. With my luck, it was already posted everywhere.

I dialed Melissa’s cell phone, determined to reach Cassie. I listened as it rang three times. Cassie answered, and she sounded nervous when she said hi. I asked where her phone was, unable to hide my anger. Her voice rose, and she actually sounded confused and worried when she told me she left it at Melissa’s apartment and asked what was wrong.

“Check it as soon as you get back and then you fucking tell me,” I said and ended the call. I didn’t want to hear another word out of her mouth until she looked at the same picture I had. I waited. And grew more agitated with each passing minute. The press was already having a field day with all of Chrystle’s accusations, now they’d have even more to talk shit about.

On top of it all, now I needed to find a new driver. Matteo’s work here was finished. No matter what the story, I didn’t want to see his face anywhere near mine again.

I paced our apartment, my anger growing as my patience wore thin. Half tempted to call Melissa again, my phone suddenly rang. I answered the call, but said nothing.

“Jack? Are you there? It’s not what it looks like, I swear. ” She pleaded through the phone, and I found myself surprised at my lack of sympathy.

“So, he didn’t kiss you? ’Cause it looks like he’s kissing you. ”

She hesitated. “Yes, he kissed me, but…”

I cut her off. “How long?”

“How long, what?” she asked, her breathing shaky.

“How long has this been going on?”

She inhaled sharply. “What? Nothing is going on, Jack, I swear. There’s nothing between me and Matteo. He kissed me, and I pushed him away. ”

“It doesn’t look like you’re pushing him away in this picture. Did you like it? His lips on yours. Looks like you might like it. ”