Page 45 of Worth the Scandal
Applause.
Whistles. Claps.
From the players’ section, Asher gives the faintest nod and a proud smirk lifts at the edge of his mouth.God that mouth.
And then my phone buzzes on the podium.
Asher:
You’re terrifying when you talk like that. And I’ve never wanted to be professionally exploited more.
I bite back a grin, grabbing my phone and step aside as the host announces the team’s captain, who’ll give the next speech.
“Please welcome—Caleb Farah.”
Of course, I wonder if his captaincy will change if he can’t hold that spot of his this season.
He strides up, shaking hands with the board, charming the press with that all-Aussie hospitality, before leaning over me.
His hand slides low across my waist—possessively I might add.
“And how lucky are we,” he says into the mic, voice slow, deep, calculated, “to have this woman back in town. Scarlett Walker—agent, powerhouse, and the only person in this room who has ever beat me in a sprint, even if it was in primary school.”
Light chuckles ripple through the crowd.
He turns and presses a very pointed kiss to the side of my head.
“We’re proud to have her agency here. And trust me when I say—Maroon’s going to be the next big thing in this sport.”
More applause.
I blink, frozen—what is he playing at?
Caleb walks over to the middle of the stage now, cool and collected ready to deliver his captains speech. I have a feeling he knows exactly what he has just done.
I don’t even need to scan the room to know Asher saw everything along with the rest of the people in here—and now that’ll be the latest Dawson’s gossip, they’ll be whispering in the coffee shop that I’m back to rekindle some weird high school sweetheart fairytale with Caleb. Exactly what Idon’tneed.
I couldn’t tell you a word that Caleb said after that because I was too busy looking at Shell who was mouthing “what the fuckwas that” and Asher who was staring so hard at Caleb, he might will him to drop dead right then and there. That’s where the saying if looks could kill comes from, now I’ve seen it firsthand.
VIP Section—A Few Minutes Later
Asher’s leg bounces wildly under the table.
Collins leans over and grips his thigh.
“Jesus, bro. Chill. You’re vibrating like my grandma’s old as fuck washing machine.”
Asher mutters something under his breath, and Collins smirks.
“Relax. It’s not like he stuck his tongue down her throat. Just the side of her head. That’s practically dad affection.”
Asher doesn’t respond.
He’s too busy watching me from across the room.
And I’m too busy wondering if I just accidentally started a very public war. Not that I can be to blame for that.
Chapter Eighteen - Scarlett
