Page 59 of Worth the Scandal
Scarlett doesn’t know.
She doesn’t know my parents own half the media in Australia. Not her fault I don’t go by the family name for that exact reason. Kingsley Media always ends up having a trail of groupies bigger than the football line following it, and people give me a free pass and a ride to wherever I want to go. Ever since I was a teenager I had to question if girls really liked me or if they liked what came with me. My date to the year 12 formal spent the whole night dancing with someone else and when I asked her why the fuck she came with me then, she said it’s good for my rep you know you being a Kingsley and all. That was just the tip of a very big iceberg of problems with this name. I needed to earn my place in the Rugby League world, and legally now my name is Kingston anyway—so is it lying? Yeah, look it absolutely is withholding the truth, but what if she looks at me differently…there’s more she doesn’t know.
She doesn’t know I’m rewriting her reputation while she’s getting shredded online.
She doesn’t know I’m doing everything I can to protect the woman I’m not supposed to love.
She doesn’t know that’s how I feel either, I love her.
But she will.
And when she finds out?
I just hope she forgives me for not letting her get to the top on her own merit. This is the type of scandal that can ruin a management business before it even starts. Heck the photo even made me question where I stand, which I still don’t know where that is after our text messages.
Chapter Twenty Four - Scarlett
It starts with a gut feeling.
One of those annoying, nagging hunches that just won’t let up. Shell’s back in her suite asleep, and I should be too—but I’m sitting on the hotel bed with my laptop open, fingers hovering over the keyboard. Just do it.Type his name Scarlett.The little voice in my head eggs me on.
Asher Kingston.
I’ve never Googled him before. Stupid, right? I’ve been building a business around trust and instinct—and now I’m relying on search engines like a lovesick PI. But something is willing me to look, if he will not tell me his secret on his own, whatever it is Caleb keeps banging on about, then I’ll give myself a heads up.
I press enter.
First: photos. Glorious, shirtless ones—his old agent really was playing a thirst trap angle. Interviews, scouting reports, press about his early transfer to Dawson’s Ridge, and…
“Ridgebacks’ Rising Star Linked to Fatal Car Crash Two Years Ago”
I freeze. The article has caught my attention. I forgot about that story, when it broke Dad was desperately trying to find out what happened and who was involved but the club executives sealed it shut tight. He lost a lot of players that season so no one is for sure who was a part of it.
I click.
It’s vague. His name is mentioned, but so is anyone who was signed that season and never took the field, it’s not confirmed. “Unnamed athlete.” “Sources close to the team.” “Behavioural bond.” The story’s been carefully scrubbed. Like someone tried to squash it and hide whatever really happened. Interesting, was this what Caleb has his knickers in a knot about? Is the star athlete Asher? Is that why it’s taken him so long to be eligible for debut?
I read every word.
And feel the world tilt beneath me.
I slam the laptop shut. My pulse is roaring in my ears. I don’t know anything I’m speculating.It’s all speculation, I tell myself.
Needing a distraction, I pick up my phone ready to scroll through TikTok—and that’s when I see the tag.
Scarlett Walker featured in ‘People to Watch’ –Maroon Management’s founder gains major attention after NBL player endorsement and season launch success.
Wait, what? This is very different to yesterday’s article in the same paper.
I click the link.
It’s beautifully written. Highlights my career, my firm, my goals, my clients. There’s even a quote about how women are redefining power in sports. It’s… glowing.
And at the bottom:
Published by the Kingsley Media Group.No direct journalist.
Hmm. I click open safari on my phone and search “Kingsley Media Group”
