11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LUKE
Two weekssince the last time I saw Andi. My days and nights have been completely scheduled for me from the time I leave the hotel room until I go to bed at night. Mack and Joe take over my day before daylight even breaks. Doing my five-mile run before breakfast keeps my metabolism high all day. Once I hit the gym doors, the rest of my day is spent doing a variety of calisthenics, weights, and sparring.
Since Lindsey Blair became a national treasure from covering Andi’s foster home story, Travis Malone’s abuse as a child, and the exposé of a prominent politician, she’s branching out into bigger and better things. Her reach has grown considerably, and she apparently gets what she wants. As expected, the commission sent a public relations person to coordinate our press schedules since Lindsey was so adamant about having access to us.
Syndi Roberson is now my very own media liaison. She coordinates my schedule for interviews, photo shoots, promotional ads, magazine articles, and any sponsors I pick up. She is the polar opposite of Andi. Syndi is tall, direct, and what I call a high-maintenance woman. She hates coming in the gym to talk to me because of all the“men who smell like rancid sweaty-ass and ball sacs deep fried in a corn-chip tortilla.”Besides the smell, she can’t stand to see or hear the guys spitting into a bucket, blood from a busted nose, or the grunts from lifting heavy weights.
I guess she drew the short stick in the office when she got this assignment. She looks like the office-type girl anyway. Even when she’s forced to come into the gym, she’s in her three-inch heels, her short, tight skirts, and stylish blouses that are definitely dry clean only. Nothing as common as a washable garment is good enough for her. Her hair and makeup are always meticulously done, along with her long, manicured nails.
Everything about her makes me miss Andi even more.
“Luke,” she calls to me from the gym door. We go through this every time even though I’ve explained that I can’t just leave my workout to be at her beck and call. So I ignore her again today, and she’s forced to come to me.
“Lucas,” she says more forcefully. It almost makes me laugh during the upward motion of my bench press.
“What, Syndi?” I grunt, purposely.
She cringes visibly and closes her eyes in exasperation. “I need a little of your time today to review your upcoming schedule. Lindsey has really been blasting your name across the airwaves, and there’s a lot of interest in your career. We need to ride the popularity wave while it’s peaking.”
“I’ve told you what time I’m available. You should have it in your calendar on the phone you’re constantly looking at,” I reply.
“What are you doing back in here? I’ve told you to quit interrupting my fighters while they’re training! Time for you to go,” Joe commands.
His tone leaves no room for discussion. Syndi inhales slowly and deeply before she turns on her heel and marches to the door. “Meet me at two o’clock, Luke,” she calls over her shoulder.
Looking up at Joe, I smirk. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“I could tell,” Joe laughs and walks back to where Shane is.
“Man, that girl is relentless. I think she gets paid by the picture or something. She always has me posing like a model instead of a fighter,” Shane complains.
“She’s just doing her job, man. Even if she’s way too anal about it,” I reply.
“Easy for you to say. She likes you. She gives me shit every single day,” Shane laughs.
“You’re just not as good as I am,” I joke.
A dirty towel is flung in my face during my bench-press set, and I can’t move my hand to grab it. The gym erupts in laughter when I threaten Shane from underneath it. “Shane, I’m kicking your ass as soon as I get up from here.”
The good-natured ribbing keeps us all going when the workouts get mind-numbingly intense. I’m actually glad that we have a public relations person assigned to us. Preparation is definitely key, but there is a business side to this that I never really considered. To stay in the game, I have to be good, but I also need to have the public on my side. They have to know who I am, what I’m about, and what I can bring. Syndi makes sure they see my best side at all times—and that’s no small feat with me.
I’ve been known to be a jealous, impulsive hothead in the past. That’s actually a fair description. I would’ve been one again a couple of weeks ago had Syndi not calmed me down. During our daily meeting, the TV was on and I was absently listening to it while she droned on and on about an upcoming photo shoot.
When Andi and Travis flashed on the screen, I shushed her so I could hear what they were saying. After missing Andi’s first real concert, I’d been waiting to hear anything about it. Sound Bar and Travis Malone are always in the news. But with their extensive tour underway, I knew they’d be covered even more.
The picture that was frozen on my flat screen was enough to turn me into one of those raging infernos that utterly destroy hotel rooms. Travis was gazing deeply into Andi’s eyes. His hand was behind her head, like he was pulling her in for an intimate kiss. Her gaze was fixed on his and her mouth was slightly open, like she was getting ready to accept his kiss.
I fucking blew a gasket.
Syndi convinced me to calm down because it was most likely staged to look like that just for publicity. She said she would do the same if she thought it would help me. The rock and roll lifestyle is all about sex and love, she said. Just listen to the lyrics, she advised. It’s to play up to the audience and get them to buy the song. They’re buying a piece of true love and everlasting happiness. Or so they’re made to think.
When she pointed out that Andi’s microphone was barely visible in the picture, I realized she was probably right. They were singing one of the duets Andi told me about. I still felt that Travis had crossed the line, but Syndi was adamant that it was all very innocent.
It took a while to calm down, but I had to admit that Andi had been diligent in calling me every morning. It’s hard to lie about where you are and whom you’re with when you’re on FaceTime. There may have been one or two times that I called her at an odd time, when I knew she’d be asleep, but she never failed to answer my call. Feeling like an ass for doubting her, I put that picture out of my mind.
