Prince Pucking Charming

reds of animated images of me online. I’m used to hockey fans recirculating my fights and knockouts on social media. The YouTube videos of my fight with Dean have been watched over five million times.

But Lila didn’t sign up for this.

She didn’t ask for this unwanted fame.

Marcel knocks on my bedroom door and then pokes his head inside. “Everything okay in here?”

“Just dealing with these assholes on Twitter,” I say through gritted teeth, squeezing the phone until it makes my hand hurt. “They won’t give up.”

He strolls into my room and plops down on the bed with me.

I hand him my phone. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

Marcel sighs and gives the phone back to me. “No, she doesn’t. But you can’t stop it. You can’t throw money at this.”

“These people need to get a life.” As if programmed into my muscle memory, I raise my arm to throw the phone, and Marcel grabs my wrist.

“Don’t do it, Duke.”

I take a deep breath and lower my arm. “Thanks.”

He taps me on the back. “You’ll get her back,” he says after a long pause. “She’s probably just waiting it out.”

“Yeah. But I need to fix this now. I don’t want to sit on my ass, waiting for something to happen.”

“Then, take action,” he challenges. “Go get your girl back.”

“She lost her contract with the team because of me. I can’t get it back for her. I’ve already tried.”

“Maybe you need to go above Tom’s head.”

“No way. I need someone with connections.”

“Your dad has plenty,” he points out.

I shake my head. “He doesn’t have enough.”

“Didn’t you say Lila’s ex works for a politician?”

“Yeah. He’s Chief of Staff to Senator Banks.”

He tips his head with a knowing look in his eyes. “There’s your answer.”

“What could her ex-husband do for me?”

“He’s a big fan, right?”

“He was a big fan… until he found out I was fucking his ex-wife.”

Marcel laughs. “Senator Banks has a lot of pull in this town.”

I narrow my eyes. “And how would that get Lila her contract back?”

“Go talk to the ex. I’m sure his crooked boss can scratch your back if you scratch his.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this.”

He smirks. “Sometimes, you need to think outside the box.”