Page 2
Daisy
It happens so fast, that I barely have time to react.
One minute, everything is perfect. I’m at a high-profile sponsor event, dazzling in an ice-blue gown that shimmers under the ballroom lights, my hair swept into a flawless updo, and my makeup meticulously applied. The cameras flash as I move through the crowd, smiling just enough to be warm but never too much to seem overeager.
This is the game. The balance of charm, grace, and control.
I pretend to sip champagne, laughing lightly at a joke I barely heard. My sponsor, Richard Calloway, a well-connected businessman who funds a huge portion of my training, has been particularly attentive tonight. We’ve worked together for years. He’s always been friendly and professional.
When he offers to walk me back to my hotel room after I mention a migraine creeping in, I don’t think twice about it, a total mistake.
By morning, my name is everywhere —for all the wrong reasons. The headlines are brutal:
DAISY WHITTAKER CAUGHT IN HOTEL ROOM WITH MARRIED SPONSOR!
OLYMPIC FAVORITE OR GOLD-DIGGING HOMEWRECKER?
SCANDAL ON ICE! DAISY’S SECRET AFFAIR EXPOSED!
My hands tremble as I scroll through article after article, each one worse than the last. They paint me as some ruthless seductress, climbing my way to the top by sleeping with the right men. They take a harmless moment—a sponsor escorting me to my hotel room after I’d had a migraine—and twist it into a salacious scandal.
The knock on my door makes me jump. I yank it open, already knowing who it is. Kara, my agent, storms in, her face tight with stress. She doesn’t even sit. Just starts pacing the room like she’s calculating the odds of my career surviving this. “Tell me you didn’t actually do this.”
My stomach churns. “Of course I didn’t! Nothing happened! He walked me to my room, that’s it!”
Kara exhales, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The media doesn’t care about the truth. This looks bad, Daisy. Really bad.”
I sink onto the edge of the bed, my pulse pounding in my ears. “What do I do?”
Kara hesitates, then drops another bomb. “We’re going to spin it.”
I look up sharply. “How?”
She sits beside me, smoothing out her skirt like she’s preparing for battle. “We give them a better story—one that makes it impossible for this scandal to be true. We make you untouchable.”
I narrow my eyes. “What kind of story?”
Kara takes a breath. “You and Finn. We go public with your relationship.”
I recoil like she’s suggested I throw myself off a cliff. “What relationship?”
“The one you and Finn have been hiding from the public eye,” she says calmly. “Or at least, the one everyone is going to believe you have. If you and Finn have been secretly dating, then this whole sponsor affair story falls apart. No one will believe you were sneaking around with some married man when you were supposedly in a whirlwind romance with your skating partner.”
I stare at her, horrified. “Are you seriously telling me my best option is to pretend to be in love with Finn Sullivan?”
Kara gives me a pointed look. “Would you rather be branded as a homewrecker?”
I swallow hard. No. No, I would not. But Finn? He is the last person I want to be tangled up with like this.
Kara must see the panic on my face because she softens slightly. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal. But Finn’s reputation isn’t exactly spotless either. He’s got the whole ‘bad boy of skating’ thing going on. This benefits both of you.”
I scoff. “Oh, I’m sure he’s going to love this.”
The door swings open before Kara can respond, and my stomach drops as Finn strides in, looking annoyingly unbothered by the fact that my entire career is on the verge of imploding.
He raises an eyebrow. “What’s this I hear about us being madly in love?”
I groan, pressing my hands to my temples. “Kill me now.” I glare at Kara, “You’ve already discussed this with him?”
Finn smirks, sauntering closer. He’s still in his practice gear—a black compression shirt stretched over his broad chest, sweat still dampening his hair from his morning skate. He looks like he just rolled out of bed and onto the ice, and of course, he makes that look effortless. “Not the best attitude toward your lover, sweetheart.”
I glare at him. “If you call me sweetheart one more time, I will hurt you.”
He tilts his head, eyes gleaming with amusement. “That a promise?”
I want to hurl something at him. Instead, I clench my fists. “Kara, tell me there’s another way.”
Kara claps her hands together, ignoring me. “Great! I think this is going to work.”
Finn laughs, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know, Daisy, if you wanted to get in my pants, you could’ve just asked. No need to stage a whole national scandal.”
My jaw drops. “I hate you.”
He winks. “You keep telling yourself that.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder.
I shove him off immediately, but deep down, I already know I don’t have a choice. This is happening.