“This Griffin Hayes thing. It’s wildfire. It hasn’t even been an hour since the concert wrapped, and the clip of you and Griffin bantering onstage has already been shared thousands of times. By the morning, there’s no question this will be another viral moment.” Kelsey reaches out and gives Aria’s knee a squeeze. She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Okay, and?” Aria asks gently. She could guess what was coming next, but she knows the song and dance, so she lets Kelsey make her pitch.
“We’d love to keep this thing going. Stage a ‘friendship’ between the two of you. It’d be beneficial to you both. For him, he’s getting off-field press, and all those guys want to diversify these days. They can only play so many years before their bodies give out, but if they’ve got their hand in something else? Easy transition. For you, we’re between albums. Of course,allof yours are megahits, but this will keep the fans close until the next classic Aria Wilder album hits. In this day and age, everyone has to stay relevant.”
Aria swallows the sigh she wants to release at the mention of the next album. She slowly crosses her arms and leans back in her chair to consider this proposal. Admittedly, Aria doesn’t love it. The idea of a fake friendship doesn’t fit with who she is at her core: someone who wants to be genuine, toshow her real self in her life and work. It’s the same desire that lies at the heart of what she wants to do musically by taking a new approach. However, it’s also true that the friendliness between her and Griffin itself wasn’t staged. Bailey was right that although they were intentionally put together, the fun that bubbled up between them in that moment onstage was organic. Griffin Hayes might even be someone she could genuinely enjoy spending some time with.
Aria presses her lips together. “What are the specifics? I don’t want this to take away from the music or the performances I have lined up.”
Kelsey’s head bobbles as she nods. “Oh, of course! Trust me, there’s nothing we want less than to put a barrier in the way of gettingmoreAria Wilder hits! We’d keep it simple. Some shared appearances, social media, maybe a brand collab.”
Aria’s gaze goes across the room and finds Bailey. She sits upright, leaning in toward the conversation.
Bailey lifts her eyebrows eagerly and shrugs, as if to say,“Why the heck not?”
Aria lets her face relax, and it falls into a soft smile. Bailey is a reliable source of good advice, and Aria doesn’t have a good reason to dig her heels in on this one.
“Okay. I’ll do it. Just don’t let it get out of hand.”
Kelsey claps, then pumps a fist in the air. “Yes! Excellent. Now that we’ve got a green light from you, we’ll pitch his team. I don’t think we’ll have problems getting a yes. I mean, your star power way outshines his. But I’ll be in touch with deets as soon as I know.”
Kelsey leaps to her feet, and as she passes Aria, she squeezes her shoulder. “And killer show tonight. As usual.”
“Thank you. As usual. And for everything,” Aria says.
Kelsey calls a goodbye over her shoulder, then pulls the door shut gently behind her.
Bailey smiles wide. “I guess we’ll be seeing more of this Griffin Hayes character after all.”
An incredulous laugh pops out of Aria. “Sounds like it.” She gets to her feet and starts gathering her belongings into her bag. “Let’s work on getting out of here. I could murder a cheeseburger.”
Bailey hops up and grabs both of their coats from the hooks. “I thought you’d never get us out of here.”
Chapter 5
Griffin
The Wardens beat the St. Louis Panthers 28–21 on Sunday, and Griffin walks off the field with his head held high, proud of his performance. The Panthers sure put up a fight, and that’s how Griffin likes it: a fair match. All of his fellow players in the league put in just as much work as he does. Extra training, weights, good nutrition, and appointments with sports medicine, all on top of the existing demanding schedule. It might look glamorous on Sundays, but it’s all the hard work behind the scenes during the week that makes it possible.
As Griffin leaves the field and passes into the shade of the tunnel that leads to the back halls of the stadium, a friendly palm lands on his shoulder before Elliott says, “Griff, nice work today, man.”
Griffin slows his pace to allow Elliott to fall into step besidehim, and together they weave through the cement-walled passageways toward the locker room.
“And two touchdowns for you isn’t too shabby.” Griffin reaches out and returns the slap on his buddy’s back.
As the pair traverse the hallways, Griffin is stopped several times by staff—one asking for an autograph, one a photo, and a maintenance staff member calling out his congratulations.
“You know, for the guy who made two touchdowns, I’m starting to think I’m invisible.” Elliott laughs. “Guess that’s just the Griffin Hayes golden-boy effect.”
“Or it’s all a figment of your imagination. Probably people just know that I’m approachable.”
They make it to the locker room door and file in, Griffin first. Many of the players are already back—some changing, others sitting and catching their breath on the bench. Jerseys have been stripped off. The usual postgame sweat smell pervades the room, and despite the stink, Griffin relishes the post-win locker room. The guys are worn out—some with scrapes and bruises, himself included—but he revels in the satisfied feeling that always follows a job well done.
Griffin stops at his locker, and Elliott slots in beside him at his own.
“Of course, you always have people stopping you like that, but I’m starting to wonder if people aren’t also a little excited about your new friendship with Aria Wilder.”
Griffin turns away. If he starts to blush, he cannot let Elliott see it. Or the other guys. Truth be told, his mind has wandered back to Aria more than once since the concert last night. He might’ve been thrown off by being pulled onstage—and veryout of his comfort zone—but something about being there withhermade it all feel... fun. Surprising in the best way.
