Page 74 of Caught Looking

She might have bought this team with her husband, but there was no denying it was Kristin’s team. “So you’ll go ahead with the documentary?”

She nodded. “Owen must have had his head up his own ass so far he didn’t realize we owned his footage.” Her eyes glinted. “An advantage of being in the entertainment industry as long as I have, I can write a mean contract, and I’m adamant about retaining my creative control.”

Annalise sat forward. “Owen doesn’t own his own footage?”

“Nope. It’s ours. So everything his team shot so far is ours to use. But only if our new team wants it.”

“Do you have any candidates?” Something tickled at the back of my mind.

“We have the original slate, but I’m not sure any of them have that,” she shrugged, “something special I’m looking for. In the meantime I want you to know that I’m deeply sorry for everything that has happened. We’ll keep security at a high level for the rest of the season and my security team is keeping tabs on Montgomery.”

Was I being selfish for wanting some sort of compensation for Annalise? The emotional trauma and stress sucked, but then again, it was the reason her hand was in mine. The reason I was happy again.

I hated that Owen fucking Montgomery had anything to do with us.

Annalise ran her thumb over mine, soothing me. “Thank you for the update. I feel better knowing that you didn’t mean to hire him.”

Kristin frowned. “From what I’ve heard from friends of mine, he’s not a good man.”

“He’s a sick fucking bastard,” I muttered. How I wish I could go back to every golf invitation and turn him down. I felt so damn guilty every time I thought about going along with his damned games.

Kristin gave me a sad smile, her gaze dropping to our intertwined hands. “This won’t be made public for a few more weeks, but I’m going to tell the two of you now. We’re giving every player an ownership stake in the team. There will also be social media bonuses for anyone spreading our presence online. Your viral post just so happens to be receiving the first bonus.” She shrugged with a smile. “Keep up the good work.” She handed Annalise an envelope that made my woman blanch.

“This is too much.” Annalise tried to hand the envelope back.

But Kristin wouldn’t have it. “It’s not enough. I value you immensely as a player, as a member of this team. I feel a tremendous amount of guilt that a woman I work with was hurt by my neglect, all while working hard for this team we both love. Take the money. It’s not a bribe. It’s…stupid, I know, but having a little extra cash can make all the difference. Take this guy on a vacation. Buy a car. Do whatever makes you happy and know that it came out of Owen Montgomery’s paycheck.”

How big was that check?

How big had Owen’s been?

“He’s not getting paid?” Annalise closed the envelope and set it on her lap.

“He got his initial payment, for which my lawyers are already preparing to sue. This was the next payment he was to receive.”

Annalise smiled. Just a little. “Wonderful. I’ll keep posting.”

“I look forward to seeing your following grow.” Kristin’s eyes dipped to our hands again. “And can I just say, as someone who has been in your shoes, I’m sorry for the paparazzi hounding you, but also, I’m kind of fangirling seeing the two of you together.” Kristin Holt blushed. “Yes, even I am caught up in your story.”

I pulled our hands to my lips and dropped a kiss on the back of Annalise’s. “If a shit-ton of good things comes out of Montgomery’s crap, he eventually disappears, right?” That’s how the world worked, wasn’t it? Leftovers, garbage, and shit became the fertile ground that gave life to new plants in the spring?

Well, consider Owen Montgomery manure. We were the beautiful fucking flowers that would grow over it until everyone forgot he even existed.

“That’s exactly right,” Kristin said quietly, then stood. “I won’t keep you any longer. Mr. Butler, can I interest you in my owner’s suite for the game?”

I wanted to sit right on the field, maybe even the sidelines, but my security team had already lost their shit over it and forbidden me from trying. “I won’t say no.”

“Wonderful. I’ll let security know you’ll be up in a bit. Thank you both for meeting with me.” She blushed again.

It must be weird to care about a celebrity couple when you yourself knew the pitfalls of being a celebrity couple. “Any advice for making it last?” I pulled Annalise into my side and wrapped my arm around her. She nuzzled right into me like she belonged there.

Because she did.

“Be painfully honest at all times, even when it hurts. I swear the paparazzi can create a scandal out of nothing, and it is so easy to let it get to you, especially if one of you is having a bad day.” She raked her eyes over us, assessing. “Respect each other. You both have high profile careers and are at the top of your game. Travis and I have the advantage of working together, but it can still be hard. The real secret ingredient is the one I can tell you both already know. Love each other fiercely. There’s no substitute for it.”

That, I was starting to realize, was the ultimate truth.

I walked Annalise down to the locker room, giving her a long, hard kiss goodbye, trusting that Mercedes had things under control. Then I swung by the team store and stocked up on more Tangerines gear, swapping out my generic team shirt for one with Ryan across the shoulders.

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