I grab my phone and check the screen, my gaze locked on Keeley as she scrolls through her own, the smallest of smiles pulling at her lips.
And fuck. I really need to keep our conversation more professional. Less flirting, more work.
Chapter Fifteen
KEELEY
Sal hangs up from his call and paces the floor in front of his wall of windows, his usually perfect hair messed up from how often he’s been running his hand through it.
Before I left to collect our dinner from downstairs, he was laughing, and now, he looks like someone killed his cat.
“Fuck, it just gets better and better, doesn’t it?” He spins to face me, his expression pleading for me to make it all work out. And I’m trying.
“What happened?”
“Apparently Gregory didn’t just mention our poor culture. He was specific in what he said.”
“What?” I grab my phone, searching through my alerts, but nothing comes up other than the information I already knew. “I don’t have anything here.”
“The book hasn’t been released yet. This is coming from a friend of mine that got early access. She’s a sports critic.”
“She?”Jesus, what does that matter? “I mean, who?”
“Bronte Welles. Do you know her?”
“I don’t, but I know who she is. Was that her? What did she say?”
“She was giving me a heads-up. Gregory mentions substance abuse and bullying. He said he only agreed to the TV show if they promised to keep that information out of the narrative. He claims he wanted to get ahead of the issue and promote the team in a positive light before someone found out. Apparently, he washelping.”
I stare at Sal, my eyes wide as his words sink in. Then I laugh so hard that I snort.
“Please tell me you don’t believe that garbage? While I’m certain no team is untouched by substance abuse—even us—our starters, the guys on the roster? Hell, no. Some would say they need a little corruption in their lives. Except maybe Zane.”
Sal frowns, and the little crease between his brows is so prominent that I want to rub it away. “Of course I don’t believe it. The problem is…I don’t think I’m the one he’s trying to convince.”
He drops his head into his hands and I regret laughing. It’s so hard to picture these guys as the team he’s portraying them to be. The closest they’ve ever come to bullying is Easton and the guys hating on Zane for sleeping with Easton’s girlfriend at the time. And that was warranted in my opinion. At least it was until I got to know Zane. Turns out, he was misunderstood.
“I didn’t mean?—”
“No, you’re right. I should be laughing about how preposterous this all is. But instead, I want to rip that fucker to shreds.”
His eyes blaze with a fierce protectiveness, and my heart jolts. Ignoring it, I cross my arms over my chest, as though that’ll help calm my reaction. Icannotallow myself to process this new side of Sal because I like it a little too much.
Sal shakes his head as his entire body stiffens.
“Your shoulders are tensing again,” I muse, smiling in sympathy.
He drops them and stands tall, towering over me without my heels on. “We have to get ahead of this.”
“We will. I promise. You need to relax.”
“Relax?” His eyes bulge as though I’ve offended him, and I almost tell him to suck it up until he smiles, his fingers massaging his neck.
My hands itch to touch him, to relieve some of his tension, and before I can run through all the reasons why I shouldn’t, I’m moving toward him, acting without processing the consequence.
“Let me.” I remove his hands, replacing them with mine, immediately brushing my thumbs against his neck.
“You don’t have to do that.” Sal tries to step out of my grasp, but I move with him.
