Catching Cameron: A Love and Football Novel (18 page)

“Coach, I’d really like to interview you in the next couple of days for
NFL Confidential
. Do you have a little time in your schedule?”

“There’s a press conference in ten minutes. Would it be possible to ask your questions there?”

“I’d really like some one-on-one time. Is there a way to make this happen?”

He rubbed one hand over his face. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes late this afternoon. I’m thinking closer to dinnertime.”

“Perfect. I’ll make the arrangements.” The Sharks PR department probably knew more about his schedule than he did, so she’d be talking with them about an exact time. She stuck out her hand to shake his. “Thank you so much. Also, congratulations.”

His voice dropped. “I probably don’t need to tell you I wish this had happened another way.”

“Of course not.”

Coaches in the NFL got a promotion because someone else got fired. It was a rough and difficult business. She was a bit surprised he’d mention his misgivings, but she could ask him about it later.

They shook hands again, and Cameron moved off toward the knot of media shouting questions at Tom Reed. She saw Zach approaching her out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey,” he called out. “I need to talk to you.” He wasn’t smiling. Unless she was wrong, he was really mad, and he blocked her from moving any further by standing in front of her.

“Good job on the sack.”

“I don’t care about that. Why the hell were you talking to my sisters? If that guy was filming them, there’s going to be a problem.”

Livid color bloomed on Zach’s face. He folded his arms over his chest. Even more than his obvious anger, she saw hurt in his eyes.

“You
know
I don’t allow media to interview my sisters, let alone film them. I thought you’d respect that. They came here to see
me
, not answer a bunch of questions. They deserve their privacy. Of course, you don’t know what that means, do you?” He stared at her. “It’s all about what you want, or what’s going to help your career.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I might have to put up with this BS, but they don’t. Leave them alone. Got it?” He turned and walked away from her. She ran after him.

“I did not ask for an interview. Your youngest sister grabbed my sleeve as I walked past.”

“Bullshit.”

“Ask Logan. He’ll tell you what happened.”

“The guy who’s filming us right now?” He pointed toward Logan, who stood only feet from them. Even worse, Cameron saw the red light on his camera. It was on.

“Logan, shut it off, please.” Logan shook his head no.

“I’m done talking to you,” Zach said. He increased his pace, and she couldn’t keep up with him.

She whirled on Logan. “What the hell was that? Why were you filming?”

“Ben wants footage.”

“That was personal. Ben doesn’t need it,” she said.

“He told me he wants footage of everything that happens here.”

“He might want footage, but he’s not getting personal conversations. Those are off-limits.”

Logan’s expression didn’t change. “They’re open season now. He’s looking for tape, the more inflammatory the better.” He lowered the camera from his shoulder. “This isn’t your first time at the rodeo, Cam. If you don’t give me anything, then we’ll have nothing to use.”

Logan gave her a nod, and walked away.

Z
ACH SPENT THE
rest of the day avoiding Cameron. He was still angry. Even more, he was hurt. He couldn’t believe he’d opened up to her, and this was how she’d rewarded his confidence. He didn’t feel like hanging out with the guys after dinner, either. If he got a little extra shut-eye tonight, he might feel better tomorrow.

He sat down at the computer desk in his dorm room and opened his laptop to read his e-mail. He was a bit surprised to see an e-mail from his sister Shelby, who typically texted or called him. He clicked on it.

Zach,

Cameron Ondine passed the fence in front of us today while she was working. Whitney jumped up and grabbed her arm before we could stop her. Whitney also said some pretty nasty things to her. Just a heads-up in case she mentions it to you, okay?

We love you and miss you. Grandma sends her love. Butter’s trainer thinks he might need another obedience class after this one.

Love, Shelby

Zach stared at the screen. Finally he dropped his head into his hands. He’d jumped to conclusions. Cameron hadn’t approached them after all. That didn’t mean her co-worker didn’t film them.

He searched every major sports website he could think of, starting with the Sharks’ website. No film or photos of his sisters there. PSN’s site and their NFL blog had nothing as well. There were photos and video of a few of the other people Cameron had met earlier, but nothing about his sisters. He did a Google search. The only photos of his sisters were school or yearbook photos.

Cameron hadn’t lied to him.

He owed her an apology this time around.

Chapter Fourteen

I
T WAS DAY
four of training camp, and Cameron was already behind. She needed interviews. She’d had her fifteen minutes with the new head coach yesterday, but his comments weren’t going to fill an hour-long program. She needed to tape her own show tonight, and the only footage she had were the interviews with the two women interested in Drew McCoy and the three little boys. Logan had tipped her off for her own good yesterday. That didn’t mean she wasn’t still angry with him for what she saw as his betrayal of their friendship. Kacee still hadn’t texted her. Maybe she’d been eaten by bears or something. According to Logan, Kacee was fine, so Cameron could stop worrying about her safety. Her anxiety was replaced by irritation. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Ben: DO I NEED TO HIRE A NEW ASSISTANT?

Zach wasn’t speaking to her. She’d tried talking to him at dinnertime yesterday, and he’d walked away from her again. She was back to square one.

Practice wasn’t for another three hours. She had a million and one things to do before taping later, but maybe she needed to go for a run to clear her head. She pulled on yoga pants, a sports bra, t-shirt and cross trainers, stuck her phone and dorm room key in her pocket, and walked into the still-silent hallway. Unfortunately, Zach was leaving his room, too. There was no way to get by him without his seeing her.

He glanced toward her and gave her a nod.

She didn’t smile back, and she sped up in an attempt to pass him through the fire door to the stairway. It didn’t work. He made it to the door before she did, smacked the bar to open it, and took the stairs at a high rate of speed.

They passed through the door on the way to the cafeteria. “Actually, there is something we need to talk about.” He turned to face her. “I was wrong about your approaching my sisters yesterday. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I didn’t realize you weren’t approaching them to interview or film. I thought you did. I was mad because I thought I made myself clear—”

“Why would you think I would do that? You told me not to.” She stared up at him in disbelief. “What kind of person do you think I am, anyway? You
said
you didn’t want your sisters dealing with the press. Did you think I wanted to piss you off?” She let out a huff of breath. “Oh, forget it. Thanks for the apology.”

She took a few steps away from him. He reached out, snagged her elbow, and walked her through the still-silent administrative area. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

“Get
what
over with? You’re the one who freaked out at me. I appreciate the apology, but I have things I need to do right now.”

His voice dropped. He spoke slowly, like he was addressing a recalcitrant preschooler.

“Your buddy Logan talked to me last night before I went to bed. He says your boss needs footage. We’re going to have breakfast together, we’ll let him film us, and then you can spend the rest of the day dealing with the things you have to do. How about it?”

She opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t interested, but “I’m going for a run,” came out instead.

“You can run after breakfast.”

Running on a full stomach was never a great thing to do. He should know this.

Zach pulled her into the cafeteria. Logan was sitting at a sun-drenched table in the corner with his camera, sipping a cup of coffee. He raised one hand in a half-wave. Zach gave him a nod as he tugged Cameron into the food line.

A younger woman in a hair net grinned at them. “You’re early this morning, Zach.”

“It’s good to be first. How’s my favorite Sharks fan?” He handed Cameron a tray, a plate, and utensils wrapped in a paper napkin, and grabbed his own breakfast supplies.

The woman in the hair net regarded him like he’d just cured cancer. “I’m fine. I hope you’re having a good day so far, too.”

“Things are great for me. I get to see your smiling face,” Zach said.

The young woman’s eyes sparkled. Of course she was half in love with him, Cameron thought waspishly.

“I’d like another one of those excellent Denver omelets, if it’s not too much trouble. I’m not sure what Cameron would like this morning,” he continued.

Cameron was still staring at the sheer amount of freshly prepared breakfast items on offer to whoever was eating breakfast in the cafeteria this morning. She made a concerted effort to shut her mouth. Again. She hadn’t seen this much food in the college cafeteria, or anywhere since. She managed to recover her voice. “I’d like some scrambled eggs and fresh fruit, please.”

“How about a croissant?” Zach said, and set one on Cameron’s tray.

“I can’t eat that.”

“Croissant or doughnut. Your choice.” He gave the server another nod. “I’m hoping there’s more of those great seasoned potatoes you make, too.”

“I don’t need a croissant or a doughnut—”

Zach was ignoring her while focusing all of his attention on the young woman. She wasn’t sure if she should be jealous or infuriated.

Cameron saw the server blush and smile. “Of course there are,” she said. “Let me get your order started and I’ll be right back.” She sped away from them. Zach grabbed a few pieces of bacon out of the steam table with a pair of tongs and dropped them on his plate.

“I think you need some of this, too.” He reached in for another slice of bacon and laid it onto her plate.

“I don’t—Zach, you can eat as much as you want, but the rest of us can’t. Stop trying to feed me.”

“You’ll burn it off by lunchtime. You need the calories.”

Cameron did not, but she realized that arguing with him about it was useless.

“Do you know that woman?” she asked.

“I saw her every morning last training camp. I’ll see her every morning during this one.” He darted around Cameron with his plate and loaded up on the seasoned potatoes. “The employees are local college students. She knows my sisters, for instance. They make enough in thirty days to put a nice dent in their fall tuition bill.” The server returned with their freshly-made entrees. Zach gave the server a fist bump after he put the second plate onto his tray. “Thanks, Holly.”

He took Cameron’s elbow and steered her into the seating area. “Want some coffee?”

“I’d really like a non-fat latte, if that’s possible,” Cameron said. Whoever made her plate of scrambled eggs must have used the whole carton. There was an entire day’s calorie count on her tray. Maybe Zach would eat most of it.

“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll do battle with the coffee machine for you,” he offered. He set his tray down at Logan’s table. “Where’s your breakfast?” he asked Logan.

“I already ate.”

“When was that? Get up there and help yourself.”

“I’m supposed to be working,” Logan told him.

“Go talk to Holly, and she’ll hook you up. Everyone around here eats breakfast. Get in there before the other guys clean her out.”

Zach loped away to get coffee, and Logan glanced over at Cameron’s tray. “Did they give you all the eggs in the kitchen?”

“It’s a little out of control, isn’t it?” She draped the paper napkin over her lap. “If you’ll get a plate and a fork, you can have some of mine.” She reached out to grab his forearm. “Zach told me you’re planning on filming our breakfast.”

“I’d like to.”

“What if I don’t want you to?”

“Well, then, you’re going to have to give me another suggestion. Ben made it clear I’d better deliver.”

Cameron’s cell phone chirped with an incoming text. She pulled it out of her pocket.

I’M FINE. I WILL SEE YOU IN AN HOUR OR SO. KACEE

L
OGAN MOVED AROUND
their table, filming all the while. Zach patted his belly after feeding himself and making sure Cameron ate more than three or four bites of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. He’d noticed she picked at any food set in front of her, and he knew she needed more calories. He refused to dwell on why he was concerned about her eating habits. After a few minutes of silence between them, he discovered what got Cameron talking.

“Come on, Cameron.” He picked up the saucer holding a fresh croissant off her tray. “Eat half of this.”

“No. No. I’m not eating it. Maybe you should eat it.” He almost laughed out loud at the obstinate expression on her face. Any second now she’d stick her tongue out at him. Maybe she was so used to having cameras around she’d forgotten Logan, still a short distance from their table and still filming. “You made me eat that entire plate full of food. I’m going to explode.”

“No, you’re not. I haven’t seen you finish anything put in front of you in the past four days.” He picked up his knife and cut the croissant in half. “Eat at least half of this, and I’ll eat the other half.”

She stared at him. “Excuse me. How do you know how much I eat?” Her ponytail swished as she shook her head in outrage. “That’s a little creepy.”

He ignored that. “If you finish this, I’ll go for a run with you before I have to lift.”

“I’m not sure I can stand up right now, let alone run,” she grumbled. She took a sip of her coffee.

Logan displayed a real talent for blending into the woodwork with his camera running while Zach and Cameron bickered over her nutritional needs. Zach could only imagine what the footage would look like. He had to admit her reaction to his goading her into eating was fairly comical. He now knew she quivered a little when she was frustrated with him. At least it was playful bickering, not angry or resentful words. There were other things for them to discuss, but that would need to happen privately.