Page 31

Peyton

It’s been a week since our second interview went semi-viral, and I jumped into Hunter’s lap in front of Bethany.

Maybe I was a little jealous, or maybe I was just holding up my end of the deal. It’s hard to say.

Now, with five weeks left on our fake dating agreement, and my subs list now at eighty-six thousand, I’m so close I can taste it.

The Daily Sports podcast is still in the lead at ninety-three thousand subs and the Mobile Mayhem podcast had a great interview as well. I’m not home free—not even close.

Stepping into Serendipity's, the familiar warmth of the cozy café instantly puts me at ease. I spot Penelope, Cammy, Kendall, and Isla already gathered at their usual table, mugs in hand and laughter filling the air.

I head for the barista, put in my order, and then head for them.

Penelope catches my eye and waves me over.

I take a seat in between Isla and Kendall as they discuss Trey’s nanny situation.

“Couldn’t you ask Vivi if she has someone in her office who could help Trey out?” Kendall asks.

Isla nods. “I could, but the thing is, he still technically has a nanny, and Adeline is attached to her from what I understand. Trey hasn’t asked for my help yet, and the last thing I want to do is take someone from Adeline. She’s honestly the sweetest girl, and she’s been through so much.”

“Vivi owns a nanny service, right?” I ask, only having heard something like that weeks ago when I first met her.

“She started out as a nanny service, but as her clients have needed more help, she’s brought on a lot more.

Now her business is a full range of household services: nannies, private chefs, chauffeurs, personal assistants…

you name it. Half of her clients are pro athlete families, the other half are CEOs. ”

“That’s impressive. She really has that many professional athlete clients? Do you think she would be interested in being on my podcast?”

“She’s not an athlete. And besides the occasional yoga class, she’s not all that athletic. Are you sure you want her on your show?”

I don’t have to consider it. I think it’s a great idea.

Fans of the show are always interested in the inner workings of the day-to-day life of celebrities and athletes, but not many of them want to discuss their private chefs, tutors for their kids…

the things that run in the background of their lives because they like to shield their personal lives from the media.

But Vivi could give an inside that not many fans get to see without an athlete having to speak into it.

I think my listeners would love to get a better idea of the infrastructure that keeps these high-producing athletes able to focus on their craft instead of concerns like grocery shopping and laundry…that sort of thing.

“I think people would love to hear her point of view on what it's like to support a professional athlete's family.”

Penelope turns from her conversation with Cammy. “Speaking of interviewing athletes, how are things going with Hunter? You two look cozy, sitting in his lap and making out in the middle of the bar.”

“You saw that?” I ask, my cheeks warming.

“Are you kidding? Everyone saw it,” Kendall barks out with a laugh, as if it were the most shocking thing she had ever seen.

The moment I saw Bethany head for Hunter, I didn’t think about much else except to make sure she knew that I’m still in the picture, even if it is fake. I hadn’t thought about who else witnessed it, besides Trey.

“You should have seen the look on Bethany’s face,” Cammy interjects. “Like she ate something sour when she saw you sucking face with the player she’s after.”

“Something sour?” I joke.

“Like she sucked really hard on a lemon,” Isla says back.

All the girls laugh.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to find a message from Rebecca, the executive producer at the network.

“Excuse me for a second. I need to take this,” I tell them and stand from my chair, heading for the front exit of the coffee shop.

Large snowflakes start to drift down, and it has me wondering if we’ll get a white Christmas. Though, Christmas is still a couple of weeks away.

“Hi, Rebecca,” I answer.

“Peyton. So good to hear your voice. How’s it going with the podcast? I’m seeing a lot of movement on the subs list, and that interview from last week hit big views.”

“Thanks. I think it went really well, and the viewers seem to love Hunter.”

“Who wouldn’t? He’s very charismatic on audio…

and that voice of his… Well, I don’t have to tell you.

You’re dating him.” She laughs. “He’s never opened up in an interview like that before.

That was podcast gold, and I can tell you that you swayed the other execs in your favor just a little more with that interview. Great work.”

“Thanks. I think I also have a really good lead on a unique take on the behind the scenes of how these athletes run their day-to-day lives with private chefs and—”

“Does she work for a big name? Like the quarterback for the Seattle Sentinels, or a starter on the Seattle Rainiers baseball team?”

“Technically, yes, those are some of her clients, but she's the CEO. She places personal assistants and chefs with them, but she doesn’t handle the day-to-day.”

She stalls for a second.

“Yeah, sure, let’s revisit that after you win over the other execs and you have the syndication deal firmly in place,” she says quickly, putting the idea off.

I get it’s not the clickbait she’s hoping for, but I think it would be interesting.

“Okay…right,” I say, not masking the tone of disappointment in my voice.

“Listen, I know you can do this, Peyton. I’ve already mentioned that I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I just see how big you’re going to be, and I know the network is going to be disappointed if they pass on you.

Right now, you’re the only female podcaster on the list, and it was a fight to get you here.

I don’t have to remind you that this is a male-dominated industry, and it took everything I had—late hours, failed relationships because I worked too many hours—to get me here.

But your podcast is proving that there is an untapped demographic of sports fans that want a female podcaster’s perspective on it. ”

She’s right, she's been cheerleading for me this entire time, and I need to remember that she’s trying to push me to the end.

With the other two podcasters being male, I know that I’m not the instant favorite for the network.

I have to prove that I’m the best podcast for the network harder than ever before.

And with such little time left, I need to follow her suggestion here, though I still think Vivi would be an interesting guest. Who knows what kind of stories she could tell of past players, even if she kept the names anonymous. I bet she has juicy stuff.

“So what do you suggest I do next?”

“The other two on the board want to see more between you and Hunter. They want to see how much more you can get him to open up. This will be a good indicator of what you can do with other guests on your show in the future. And we want to see you two discuss the WAG lifestyle a little. Like how you two are navigating this attention on your relationship when he is so private about his serious relationships from the past.”

“You’re right, he’s really private, and our relationship is still new. Discussing how we’re handling our relationship in public is probably something I can get him to talk about. I’ll see what I can do.” I say, though, dreading the idea of it.

“The social media team is going wild with the photos from the last home game with you in his jersey. Let’s work on getting you and Hunter out there more as a couple.”

I feel my stomach twist with a familiar mix of excitement and trepidation. The network is finally taking notice, but at what cost? I know Hunter won't be thrilled about the increased public scrutiny, even if it's part of our agreement.

Chewing my lip, I consider how I’m going to sell this to him for our next interview…and the last one he agreed to.

“Of course. I can do that.”

“Great. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you put together, and also, seeing more public photos of you will get your subscriber list where we need it. You’re so close, Peyton.”

I tell her I’ll keep her posted on the interview, and then we say our goodbyes.

I pocket my phone, dreading the conversation I know I need to have. Somehow, the lines between fake and real have become even more blurred, and I'm not sure how much more I want to push him. Could I stand him storming out on me now if I pushed him past what he’s comfortable with?

I head back inside, my coffee sitting there waiting for me, and I spend the next hour listening to the conversation around me.

Though I barely hear a word because I can’t stop thinking about how I’m going to get Hunter to warm up even more than he has.

And what will he think if I ask him if we can be photographed together more often?

Will I feel more like Bethany to him—using him to get something else I want?

I suppose that both of us are using the other person at some level. Only now, I’m starting to wonder what that means for us. This is only supposed to last for a couple more weeks.

When I pull into the driveway, the sight of Hunter wearing camo Crocs in the front yard, with a bucket of soapy water at his feet, and a sponge in hand instantly brings a smile to my face as he’s washing down his own truck.

The image is both ridiculous and strangely endearing—especially since he's wearing nothing but a tiny Speedo, his broad shoulders, muscular frame, and tattoos on full display.

I never noticed the one on his calf before now.

Not to mention that it’s less than thirty degrees outside and the bulge in his speedo is still impressive, even in this frigid weather.

"What are you doing?" I call out, unable to hide the amusement in my voice.