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“Morning,” Harper say cheerily, greeting us. She pulls us into her living room where Meadow is sitting with her, but I see no Felix anywhere.

“Hi, I’m Meadow, second in charge of The Rose Agency. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances,” she says to Pierre in greeting, giving him a wide smile as her eyes rake over him. What does she think she’s doing checking him out like that? I glare at her, but she doesn’t notice it.

“Have your lawyers heard back from Bill’s lawyers?” Harper asks him.

“Not yet,” he says, shaking his head.

“Looks like Kitty is playing nice and has kept to the script. You’re just going to have to stay low, so the media doesn’t find you here. At the moment, they think you’ve gone back to Canada,” Harper explains.

“Aren’t they going to question why she’s not with me?” Pierre asks.

“We can say she is dealing with the wedding stuff,” Harper advises.

“Won’t they see Pierre’s family traveling around Italy?” I question.

“I’ve asked them not to share anything online until we have sorted all this,” Harper adds.

“This buys us some time. Don’t you think they are going to have questions if I’m released from my team?” Pierre asks.

That’s my thought too. The public is smart and will likely put two and two together.

They are also going to think Kitty did something wrong because Pierre fled the wedding and is asking to move from the team.

They will probably think it has something to do with one of his teammates which sucks for them but is probably a win for Bill.

“My hope is you can get signed with The Mavericks. Felix has gone for a run with my brother to get him on board to help convince our father, who is on the board of The Mavericks, to push for a deal with you. But we can’t do anything until we find out what is happening with Bill,” Harper states.

“Fucking Bill,” Pierre curses.

“Okay, say this all works out. Don’t you think they are going to wonder why Kitty hasn’t moved to New York?” I ask because right now, there is no talk regarding a press release announcing their break up. Is Pierre going to pretend they are still together until the dust settles?

“If Bill agrees and lets me go, I’m happy to say I got cold feet and that I think Kitty and I are better off as friends,” Pierre states.

“Women will crucify you. Actually, everyone will. The golden boy persona will be tarnished, which will make it hard for your sponsors, which could mean they drop you, and once that starts happening, it’s all downhill,” Meadow explains.

“I’m going to be crucified either way,” Pierre says.

“Not if you tell the truth. I’m surprised Bill didn’t respond straight away to your request which is a fricken nice request. I think he thinks he has you over a barrel and that you won’t blow up everything,” Meadow states.

“You think?” Pierre asks Meadow.

“Men like him think they hold all the power in the world because of their money. He knows you do not want to ruin your career. He knows how much your image probably means to you, and I bet Little Miss Gold Digger is in his ear telling him, he’s Canadian, he’s too nice, he’s not going to do shit.

The question is, how far are you willing to go? ”

“All the way. I want out,” Pierre says confidently.

“Think about this, Pierre, don’t let your anger or revenge sway you. This could mess up your career,” I warn him. Look, I hate the bastard, but he has worked hard for this career.

“And what happens if Bill decides he’s going to punish me and make me stay playing for his team? Two years of utter hell, I will give him my worst, I will not let him win any silverware. Me playing shit is going to ruin my career also,” he explains.

“We need to speak to Jackson and find out if his wife knows about his affair,” I ask Harper.

“Already on it. He said he should have something for me by lunch,” she says.

“You sure about this, Pierre? Because once this gets out, your world is going to implode,” I ask him again.

“I will go anywhere in the world as long as I don’t have to stay there,” he says, and I can see the determination on his face. Nothing is going to sway him from this.

“Right. Okay. Guess we wait and see if Bill is going to come play,” I say.

“Pierre, if you need my plane to get your dog you can use it,” Harper tells him.

I glare at my friend, she really has lost her mind over Felix because that is awfully generous of her.

“Harper,” he says her name in surprise, “I … I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you, is a good place,” she says.

“Of course, thank you. I don’t know how I’m going to repay you for your kindness.”

I want to throw up seeing these two be nice to each other.

“There’s one condition,” Harper adds.

“Anything,” Pierre answers quickly.

“Take Issy, she’s been working hard, and I think she needs to get out of the city.”

Excuse me. Did I hear her correctly? “No,” I shout at Harper.

“Yes.” She smirks

“Fuck you, Harper. I agreed to him staying for the week, and I agreed he could bring his dog there, but I am not jumping on the plane and going to pick it up. You have just increased my workload,” I yell at my friend.

“That’s my condition,” she tells me.

That is some bullshit. “That’s not fair. You’re being a real bitch you know.”

“I know.” Harper grins.

“You can work from the plane,” Meadow adds.

“Stay out of this,” I snap at her.

“I can rent my own, Issy, you don’t have to come,” Pierre says.

I throw my hands up in the air. “How am I now the bad guy? This is so unfair. Come on, let’s go get the fucking dog and whatever else you need from your home,” I shout as I stomp out of the room. I will not cry. I will not cry.

“Oh hey, Issy.” Felix grins as he steps inside Harper’s townhouse, looking all sweaty.

“Fuck you,” I says as I push past him. He looks confused.

“Issy, wait,” Pierre says.

“What’s going on?” Felix asks his brother.

“Don’t worry about it,” Pierre tells him. He grabs my arm and pulls me back to him.

“Don’t touch me,” I yell at him. Don’t cry. My emotions are all over the place right now. This has been one messed-up morning.

“Issy.”

“Don’t,” I warn him.

He rubs the back of his neck, he’s nervous. “I’m not trying to complicate your life.”

“Well, you are,” I snap at him as a ball of stress sinks its teeth into my shoulder blades.

“I don’t deserve your help, but I sure as hell appreciate it and you right now,” he says.

Damn him. That was nice. I ignore him and walk out of Harper’s home toward the car, and Pierre follows. He gets in the car with me, and we are silent all the way back to my apartment.

It’s not until we are back inside that he finally speaks again.

“Issy.”

“Yes,” I answer irritated.

“I’m going to head to South Dakota tomorrow,” he explains, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, and I hate the way his arms flex when he does it.

His biceps tense, his forearm veins expose, urgh, I shouldn’t be looking.

“I know you don’t want to go, but I could really use your help.

I don’t know if I can do this on my own. ”

Oh. I wasn’t expecting that.

Then I watch as Pierre clutches his chest. “I can’t breathe,” he says, gasping for breath.

Do not have a heart attack on my watch as I rush toward him.

“You’re going to be okay. Quick, sit down,” I say, dragging him into the living room where I pull out the dining room chair for him.

“Just breathe.” He continues to gasp, the panicked look on his face is terrifying.

“You’re having a panic attack.” I realize, and make him put his head between his legs as I drop to my knees and rub his back.

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure him as he continues to freak out.

“It’s not,” he says through strangled breaths.

I’m surprised he hasn’t had a breakdown earlier, he’s been too collected since arriving this morning.

Maybe the adrenaline of the flight has finally worn off, and the reality of what’s happened has hit him.

I stay with him, talking gently until his breathing returns to normal.

“Shit, I don’t know what happened,” he says, looking down at me.

“You had a panic attack,” I explain to him.

“I haven’t had one of those in a while,” he confesses.

“It’s understandable, you’ve just flown in from Europe on a day that is supposed to be your wedding day.

You’ve been running on adrenaline, and your body is now crashing.

You probably didn’t get much sleep on the plane either.

I can’t imagine what’s going through your mind, not only about your relationship but also your career. ”

“You mean that,” he asks quietly.

“Yes.” I nod. I’m not a total monster. He gives me a small smile.

We stay there looking at one another, and I hate that my eyes are clocking every change on him since the last time we were this close.

I notice the tiny creases on his eyes, the freckles across his nose, the squareness of his jaw with the odd bit of peppering coming through on his five o’clock shadow.

The way his body fills out his tee, the muscles upon muscles, his dark hair which has grown longer and the way it curls up on the ends, I hate how silky it looks.

Pierre reaches out and cups my face. I still. Hating the way one touch from him still makes my body tingle. It’s not fair. “Thanks for coming to my rescue,” he says as his thumb slides along my cheek. I swallow hard because my body betrays my heart.

Instantly, I stand up and put distance between us. “I’ll grab you a water.” I quickly disappear.

This week is going to be hell.