She removed her coat, and my jaw clenched as I realized something that I hadn’t realized before. Chanel was not only a beautiful and intelligent woman; she was sexy as hell. She wore a long-sleeved black bodysuit that accentuated her slim curves.
Every time I saw her, she was always dressed feminine, but professional, and paired every outfit with heels. Today was the first time I saw her in casual attire, and it looked good as hell on her. I wasn’t sure which I preferred most, her professional attire or this.
The bodysuit had a deep V-cut in the front exposing her cleavage and the curve of her full, round breasts. The opening stopped just above her navel, and I had the thought that her skin looked like a river of smooth chocolate being poured into a bowl.
I licked my lips at the thought of licking her and the sheen of sweat that also glistened between her breasts. I wondered why she was so hot when it was a cool day outside. That could have been because of her coat, the car accident, and her race to meet me here before I left.
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been attracted to other women. Zoe and I started dating when we were sixteen and married when we were twenty-three. Of course, I had been attracted to other women, fucked around in my teens, and I even struggled to resist temptation through the years, but I never failed my wife.
The last four and a half years, Muffin had put me to the test and put some things on my mind, but even through our darkest storms, I remained loyal. But since we were going through a divorce, temptation was always waiting around the corner. It didn’t matter, though; I would remain loyal to her until the decree was issued.
“Well, you’re here now, so let’s not waste any more of my time. What’s your game plan, beautiful?”
She seemed to blush underneath my compliment, but she quickly gathered her composure and launched into her spiel.
“Ashton, you’ve always been portrayed as a faithful and loving husband, a team player who boosts team morale, a devoted son and brother, and a dedicated pillar of the community. The story that I want to write will make that my primary focus, helping people remember who you are and why you’re seen as that person.”
The waiter arrived and took our orders before we returned our attention to the conversation at hand.
“That’s not enough. People already know these things about me. When something new and juicy they’ve never heard of before pops up, they’re going to follow that trail.”
“Or we could create something like a red herring for the people.”
“What’s that?”
“A topic introduced to divert attention from the real issue at hand. If you become involved in a new volunteer opportunity that benefits the public, that would divert people’s attention.”
“Only for a little while. When the truth comes out, they’ll forget all about the good I’m doing because people would rather focus on scandal than goodwill.”
“It’s Christmas time, and people love a feel-good story at this time of the year.”
“But the story’s not coming out right now.”
“It’s not, but we can start promoting it now. Build up anticipation so that when something does come out, they’ll be looking to hear your side of the story because you’re at the forefront of their minds. They’ve been seeing you around the community doing excellent things for years, so they’re not going to want to side with the woman who did their golden boy wrong,no matter how she spins things. They never saw her in the community or at charity events. They only saw her on social media flaunting her beauty and spending your money.”
“I don’t know,” I replied, feeling flustered. She was right about Muffin’s behaviors, but I didn’t want to focus on that.
“I’m thinking that if we can come up with something big and revolutionary, you could be the hero in people’s eyes, even when the truth about your marriage comes out. I know that it will work,” she declared excitedly as her eyes grew wide.
“What kind of ideas do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking about a neighborhood tool library and a community managed tech center in impoverished areas. Do you know how beneficial that can be for some of our lower income areas? And it doesn’t have to just be here in Cherokee Springs. You can do it somewhere else, although doing it at home would be expected.”
“I can get behind an idea like that and pour money into it. It aligns with the work we’re doing on our sports management company for athletes. My whole goal is to make sure that people get the best shot to focus on their dreams and build networks and opportunities for advancement. I can get with a few people, my family, and my best friend, Paxton.”
My excitement was growing, and it had nothing to do with saving face or managing my brand image in the face of my divorce.
“The celebrity sports attorney?”
“Yeah. I think all of them will see the benefit in it too. But I definitely want to run this by my agent and get her feedback on it.”
“I would expect you to. But no matter what happens, people will side with you anyway, because she cheated on you and not the other way around.”
I knew that it was almost becoming impossible to keep this shit under wraps with Muffin. Now that she was comfortable being out in public with Alex, it was only a matter of time before everyone learned the truth.
Muffin wasn’t the only factor I had to worry about; the woman Alex was with when I went to his house was a concern too. I had no idea if she was going to tell anyone or not. Coach claimed she signed an NDA before becoming involved with Alex. But I didn’t trust anyone that wasn’t in my inner circle, and now some of them were questionable.
“I know you’re trying to help me protect my brand image, but hear me when I say I don’t want anyone to know about the cheating, if possible. I mean that shit, and I’m not gonna say it again.”
