“What is it?” Scott said when Cam ended the call and got to his feet.
“Someone must have papped us through the windows,” Cam said tersely as he walked into Scott’s bedroom to grab his suitcase. He’d have to catch the first flight to the UK.
“Fuck,” Scott said softly, following him. “Are you in trouble?”
Cam grimaced. “With my team principal? For sure. But this might be bigger than TMZ. The pictures might leak somehow anyway. I need to talk to Daniel, find out how bad it is.”
“Do you want a lift? I can have my jet ready within the hour.”
Cam hesitated. The urge to say yes was nearly irresistible, but arriving in the UK on Scott’s private jet probably wasn’t the wisest idea—not until he knew how bad the situation was.
“No need,” Cam said. “There are plenty of commercial flights from Geneva to London. I should be able to catch one.”
The light in Scott’s eyes dimmed. “Oh,” he said. “All right.”
His jaw working, Cam stared at him for a moment. He kind of… he wanted to pull him close and kiss him goodbye. But that would be… it wasn’t something theydid. Kissing Scott goodbye would eliminate any pretense of this being a casual friends-with-benefits thing—which itwas.
“I’ll text you once I know more,” Cam said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Right,” Scott said, blinking. He chewed on his bottom lip. “Of course.”
Later, Cam would regret the way they’d parted.
But he didn’t know that yet as he turned and strode out of Scott’s apartment.
Chapter 20
Daniel Simmonds wasn’t a man who lost his temper easily. Cam could count on his fingers the number of times his team principal had become angry over the course of his career.
This was one of them.
“I don’t give a fuck where you stick your dick in, Cam!” he bit off. “But I do give a fuck when you do it in public and get papped!”
Cam’s jaw clenched as he stared at the photographs in front of him. He and Scott in Scott’s living room, half-naked, kissing. Scott’s hand stroking Cam’s cock over his pants. In one of the pictures, they were captured just talking: Scott’s head thrown back in laughter, Cam’s back to the camera as he pulled him flush against him.
Scotty looked so happy.
Cam tore his gaze away from the picture. “It wasn’t a public place,” he said, very evenly. “It was private property. We thought no one was around.”
“Well, you thought wrong!” Daniel snapped. “You do realize that your career will be over if this gets out?”
Cam bit the inside of his cheek. He’d have liked to argue, say that Daniel was being overdramatic, but he knew he was right. Formula One had never had an openly gay driver for a reason—not an active driver at least. Homophobia aside, Formula Oneraced in four Middle East countries, and not being able to race there meant kissing one’s championship chances goodbye.
“I know,” he said tersely. “But the pictures didn’t get out. Everything is fine now, isn’t it?”
Daniel huffed. “Everything’s fine? No, everything isn’t fucking fine, Cam. What if this pap won’t keep his word and sells the pictures to someone else?”
Cam’s stomach knotted up. “What do you suggest?” he said, his hands balling into fists.
Alice, the team’s PR officer, cleared her throat and spoke for the first time since Cam had entered the room.
“We move preemptively. Cam, we’ll arrange an interview where you’ll be asked about your support for LGBT rights, specifically your friendship with Scott Palmer. You’ll obviously say Scott has your full support. Then, almost in passing, you’ll mention that Scott’s latest boyfriend bears a striking resemblance to you and that it’s led to a few awkward moments when people mistook you for him.” She glanced at the photos spread across the desk. “That gives us plausible deniability if these pictures eventually leak. They were taken from a considerable distance, and the quality is poor. For all anyone knows, it could just be a lookalike.”
Cam frowned. That… could work. Some people wouldn’t be convinced, of course, but they didn’t need to convince everyone; just the majority.
“All right,” he said, getting to his feet. “Is that all?”
Daniel gave him a flat look. “No, it isn’t all. You’ll stop associating with the man.”
