“Twelve years.” Her eyelashes lowered to hide her eyes. She always had expressive eyes. I suspected she was hiding from me.
I rubbed my nape, suddenly feeling like an inept kid who didn’t know how to deal with his emotions and carry on a grown-up conversation. “Do we… talk?”
Her expression turned to stone. The change was so fast I almost took a step back. “I’m here professionally. The only person I need to talk to is Jaden Cole.”
I gazed at her, taking in her frigid expression and tone. So, she wanted to forget that we had history and be… strangers? Fine. Putting on my professional mask—the one I used to negotiate deals my clients deemed impossible—I took a step closer to her.
“I’m his agent. You’ll be dealing with me quite a lot.”
To her credit, although she had to crane her neck to keep eye contact, she stood her ground. “And why is that exactly?”
“Jaden is new to this whole fame thing. I’m here to make sure no one takes advantage of him. Predacious journalists included.”
Her lips parted. “Predacious…? I’m here to do a feature. Afavorableone.”
“I don’t know your true intentions. Until I do, I’ll be watching you.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Protecting your ten percent, are you, Linc?”
“This isn’t about money.”
“Well, if your client has nothing to hide. What are you so worried about?” She hiked her handbag up onto her shoulder. “This unnecessary meeting is over. If you need me, I’ll be doing my job.”
With one last seething glare, she was gone before I could respond.
I stared at the door she closed with a little too much force. Admittedly, I’d always been captivated by her sass. Ava hadn’t changed much. She was just more… confident. She had a tougher attitude, too. I liked it. But I was still wary of her.
A pang of remorse set in the longer I stood there. I inhaled sharply. We reunited—something I never thought would happen. At least, not anytime soon. We didn’t even catch up.
I love you, Lincoln,the ghost of her from my past whispered.
We went from that to being practical strangers, to being enemies.
Shaking off the hurt, I went after her—not her, but the problem. I didn’t want her sniffing around for potential dirt like so many others did.
Downstairs, the party was in full swing. It didn't take long to pick out Ava in the crowd. She stuck out like a sore thumb inher practical outfit. To my chagrin, she was making her rounds, engaging with other guests. At the moment, she was with a player’s girlfriend.
I quickly made my way over to them to hear if Ava was prying into something she shouldn’t be. “Ava.”
Her back stiffened. I couldn't hear it over the music, but I was sure she let out an irritated sigh. “Lincoln.”
The teammate’s girlfriend excused herself, leaving us to glare at each other.
“If I had known that this job involved being stalked by my ex, I wouldn’t have taken it,” she said.
“You’re here to do a feature on Jaden. I’m just making sure you’re not sticking your nose anywhere else.”
“That’s right, I’m here to do a feature, not a takedown. Talking with people around Jaden—brace yourself for this shocking news—is how features work.”
“Talking to peopleIapprove—staff, teammates, and family if they consent. Not random people.”
“This is his house. These people are around him. Fair pickings.”
I scowled. “Your job doesn’t officially start until tomorrow.”
She looked skyward. “Are you going to get in my way like thisallthe time?”
“I’ll keep you close enough to get what you need. There’s no need for you to go hunting for anything else.”
