Catching Cameron: A Love and Football Novel (23 page)

Zach and her father were glaring at each other about twenty feet away. The guy standing with her father was regarding Zach like something he’d scraped off his dress shoes.

“I’d say it’s good to see you, Anderson, but that would be a lie,” her father said.

“I’d have to say the same.” Zach didn’t smile. He gave her father a nod. He glanced at the guy with him. “Who’s this?”

The guy didn’t extend his hand, and neither did Zach.

“I’m Eugene Redmond,” the guy said. “And you are?”

Eugene worked at her dad’s hedge fund. He was introduced to her at the company holiday party last December. Her parents had been badgering her to go out with him ever since. She was fairly sure other women would enjoy his company, but she’d rather jam her hand into a blender and hit “frappe.”

He was tall, handsome, and had plenty of money. He was also shallow, a social climber, and really impressed with himself. In other words, she’d rather stay home alone with Netflix and the only snack she allowed herself these days—a big bowl of steamed edamame.

Truthfully, she’d rather stay home with Zach. He looked like a guy who would appreciate a big bowl of popcorn and a movie. They could think of many other things to do at home alone as well. Cameron snapped out of her memories of what an evening alone with Zach had meant a few years ago and realized Zach had taken a step toward Eugene. Eugene stepped back in response.

“I’m Zach Anderson. You and your friend should go back where you came from.”

“My daughter has been avoiding her family responsibilities long enough. We expect her to do something more important in life, something that utilizes her education. She’s quitting her job today and coming home with us,” her father snapped.

Zach looked incredulous. “I used to think guys like you only existed in bad action-adventure movies.” He glanced over at Eugene. “What’s in this for you?”

Cameron’s father stared at him. Eugene’s mouth opened and shut. He must have thought better of saying anything at all to a guy big enough to break him in half.

She’d heard enough. She stepped out from behind the trophy case and walked toward her father.

“Maybe we should find somewhere more private to have this conversation,” Cameron said.

“There won’t be a conversation. Go pack your things. You’re quitting your job today. We’ll be on our way home as quickly as we can get to the airport.”

Joanna was trying to pretend like she wasn’t observing all of it. Zach’s fingertips brushed the small of Cameron’s back. It was comforting that Zach was sticking around for her right now, but she couldn’t rely on him to deal with the situation. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. She could take care of herself. At the same time, the fact he stayed was very sweet.

“I’m not leaving, Dad. I love my job, and I’m keeping it.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed even further. “Your mother is terrified. Your sister is embarrassed. Haven’t you taken this far enough?”

“I’m sorry they’re not happy, but I’m not changing my mind.” She gave the same nod to Eugene he’d given to Zach. “Flying to the West Coast? You must have missed your tee time.”

“If you’re choosing him over me, I’m not sure I’d want to date you in the first place,” Eugene said.

She almost laughed out loud. What an ass.

“I’m fairly sure she didn’t want to date you at all, Redmond,” Zach said. “That hedge fund VP job must not be pulling the ladies like it used to.”

Cameron wasn’t even going to ask how he knew what Eugene’s job title was. In the meantime, her father was flushed, his lips were pressed together so hard they were white, and his eyes were barely slits. “You should have learned last time, Anderson. I protect what’s mine.”

“Are you threatening me in front of witnesses?” Zach looked like he was discussing the weather. “I’m not the same naïve college kid you went after then. I protect what’s mine, too.”

“I should have finished you and your family before. It’ll be much more enjoyable now.”

“Leave Zach and his family out of this,” she snapped.

Neither man moved. Cameron still felt Zach’s fingers on her lower back. She let out a sigh.

“What a treat that you stopped by, Dad.” She couldn’t keep the fury out of her voice. “I’m fine. I don’t need your help, and you need to go back to New York. Goodbye.”

Her father wasn’t there to protect her. He was all about appearances—the perfect, socially prominent family. He wanted her to marry someone he could control, too, which was the reason for Eugene’s trip to Seattle. Her father’s concern didn’t extend to Cameron’s happiness, and it never would. Her mother bought into her father’s manipulations, too. She was done appeasing him, because it would never end.

She turned away from him and took a few steps. She heard her father’s voice again.

“This discussion isn’t over.”

She whirled to face him. “Yes, it is. I’m over twenty-one. I have a job, and I have my own money. Go back home.”

Z
ACH WATCHED
C
AMERON’S
father and his guest stalk out of the building to their waiting limo without another word. Preston Ondine must have been late for his next dastardly act. All he needed was a mustache to twirl, and some helpless woman to tie to the railroad tracks. Cameron must have retreated to her room for a little while to regroup.

He’d had no idea that Cameron’s relationship with her family was so strained. He knew there was trouble. She’d mentioned that her parents were mad at her for not wanting to be involved in their various pursuits ten years ago, and he was fairly sure he was the only person in her life that encouraged her to follow her dreams of being a sports reporter. She’d also told him the other night that her father had been after her to quit her job since she got it.

Most parents would be proud of a daughter who worked her way up from a minimum-wage runner to a prominent on-air job in ten years at a hugely popular cable sports network. He realized she’d never had the money challenges he did, but she worked every bit as hard. She had fire in her belly. There was no amount of money that could purchase ambition and determination.

He gave Joanna a wave. She grinned back at him. “You’re a good man, Zach Anderson,” she called out.

“Thanks. You’re pretty great yourself,” he responded.

He exited the lobby and paused in the hallway outside of the weight room. He pulled his phone out of his warm-ups pocket, and dialed a number.

“Shelby Anderson, please,” he said to the person answering the phone.

C
AMERON’S PHONE RANG
less than five minutes later. She glanced at the screen, saw it was her mother, and hit the button to send the call to voicemail. The phone rang again a few minutes later. Her sister. She sent her to voicemail, too.

She had to focus on work right now, but she wanted to talk to Zach. She glanced out a window that faced the practice field. She could hear the sounds of Sharks fans filing in to sit on the grassy hill overlooking the field, and the DJ the Sharks used to pump up the crowd. She grabbed her phone again, hit the text app and his number, and typed in THANK YOU. I OWE YOU. It wasn’t the most romantic thing she’d ever said, but it was true.

She’d taped the latest episode of
NFL Confidential
last night. She needed to do a couple of voice-overs before the episode was complete, and she should interview a few more players today. She hit the button to read the texts that had come in over the past hour. Ben wanted her to know that the Sharks’ head coach gave the okay to start filming
Third and Long
again. She was a bit surprised Kacee hadn’t enlisted him to demand Cameron not fire her, but maybe that was coming later.

She knew next week’s filming would be dominated by the cuts that would be happening shortly after the Sharks’ first pre-season game, and teasing additional cuts after the second game. Hopefully the interest in her and Zach’s “storyline” would wane as a result. In the meantime, she had a list of players she was already building stories around.

The kicker and the punter were practicing at the far end of the field with a portable upright, one of the long-snapper candidates, and an assistant coach. Most football fans didn’t give a lot of thought to kickers and punters unless a game was won or lost because of them. She made another mental note:
Talk to those guys about an interview.

She heard her phone chirp with an incoming text. She grabbed it out of her pocket.

MEET ME IN THE LOBBY AT 7 TONIGHT. ALSO, YOU’RE WELCOME. ZACH

She resisted the impulse to twirl around with sheer happiness. She couldn’t wait to spend some time with him again.

Chapter Eighteen

Z
ACH HEARD THE
final double-blast whistle as he watched Derrick knock the rookie tackle on his ass again. Practice was over for the day. Derrick offered his hand to the kid to help him up.

“C’mon. Let’s go get some water.”

“I’ll be knocking you on your ass soon,” the kid told him.

Derrick let out a laugh and slapped the kid on the back. “No, you won’t.”

The kid nodded to the fans crowding the fence. “I’m at the autograph table today.” The autograph table was typically populated with rookies that spent an hour signing pint-sized footballs for the kids attending training camp practices.

“Have fun with that,” Zach told him.

Zach was going to spend the next hour or so signing his name hundreds of times, too. The fans that lined up at the fence that ringed the practice field were thrilled and sometimes a bit nervous to spend even thirty seconds conversing with a Shark. He got a kick out of most of them. He made a special point of signing for the kids that snuck away from the table to talk with a vet. He’d encourage conversation with the adults, if they were courteous and friendly.

Most football fans would be amazed to know how many people would sit through a practice and wait in line for half an hour to tell you they were still pissed off over a play that went wrong last season, or that you’d screwed something up in a game in college. He kept thinking he’d get used to it eventually, but it was always a shock to have some sweet-looking little old lady demanding to know why he failed to knock Adrian Peterson into the middle of next year.

He trotted over to the huge box of Sharpies that the PR department put out each afternoon after practice and grabbed a couple of them. He caught a glimpse of Cameron inside the facility. She appeared to be scribbling on her iPad, while Earphones One and Two tried to blend into the woodwork again. He stared at her until she glanced up, grinned at him, and went back to what she was doing.

He had a surprise for her. It took an outrageous number of phone calls, making a side arrangement with Earphones One and Two, and promising Cameron’s boss he’d play in the network’s charity pro-am golf tournament next year during the offseason, but he hoped things would go off without a hitch. He wondered if she’d read his text yet.

C
AMERON HEARD A
tremendous cheer from the practice field. She had been told the coach was giving the team twenty-four hours off to rest and relax before the final preparations for their second pre-season game in Oakland. She sent Logan out to Autograph Alley to film a few of the rookies signing this morning, with a special emphasis on Grant Parker, the Sharks’ latest QB prospect. She would have to reschedule tomorrow’s interview with him for later in the day, which might be a challenge. Everyone else wanted an interview with him, too. He was a first round draft pick that the organization hoped would be the heir to their All-Pro gunslinger Tom Reed in a few years. Most Sharks fans greeted Grant’s arrival in Seattle with cautious optimism. He was the Sharks’ third try to bring in a kid smart enough to listen and learn from someone who was winning high school and college championships while Grant was still in Pull Ups.

Grant seemed to have it all: articulate, friendly, and handsome, he had a blemish-free personal life, a rocket for an arm, and he was smart and fast enough to scramble out of the pocket at will. It was Cameron’s job to find out if the too good to be true twenty-two year old was really all that.

Her phone chirped with an incoming text, but this one vibrated as well: Urgent. She pulled it out of her pocket to check.

I’LL PICK YOU UP IN AN HOUR AND A HALF. BRING A TOOTHBRUSH. ZACH

She clicked on the attached photo. She saw a covered wooden porch-style balcony with comfortable-looking wooden chairs weathered to light gray and an equally-weathered table for two. The balcony’s view was of serene water and blue skies. She had a million and one things to do today between another taping of her show and dealing with the continuing filming of
Third and Long
, but she wondered where Zach’s balcony was and how long it would take them to get there.

She was still scribbling notes on her iPad when she heard the click-clack of football cleats on flooring. She heard Zach’s voice: low, sensual, and for her ears alone.

“I’ll be out of the shower and dressed in half an hour.”

The mental images that phrase produced made her blush. She’d been in the shower with Zach before, but it had been a while. Maybe he’d learned a few more moves. She wasn’t going to think about where—and with whom—he’d learned whatever he had in the past ten years, but she was fairly sure she’d enjoy them.

“That’s nice to know,” she said.

His lips moved into a confident grin. His eyes twinkled. “Why don’t you go grab your toothbrush and a change of clothes? I’ll pick you up at your door.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He sauntered away before she could tell him that she had a ton of work, that it wasn’t like she could just leave, that she had to reschedule her interview with Grant, that she . . .

She needed to get a life.

The Sharks’ training camp facility wasn’t unpleasant. The food was good, the room was comfortable, and she wasn’t unhappy. The shows being filmed here were setting ratings records, despite her colleagues’ continual mocking of the Zach and Cameron content. At the same time, she longed for a few hours of relaxation. She hadn’t had a day off since she got here. She’d ended up having to fire Kacee for absenteeism a week ago, so she was handling all the details herself, like scheduling interviews and dealing with the production staff. She’d also like some time alone with Zach.