Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (44 page)

Why the thought of Alisa bringing me back to life continued to haunt my thoughts was beyond me, but it did. Her silky blonde hair and dark blue eyes stole my heart, even after all the years that had passed.

Hell, they would have had I not known her at all. She was a gorgeous woman, and her ex-husband was an idiot to have let her go.

I held the door open for a couple of women in suits as they buzzed past me, only to turn and glance over their shoulders. At first, I assumed they were looking at me, which was rather flattering, but the sound of feet hitting the pavement caused me to turn.

A reporter took my attention. “Mr. Kellington. Our sources say that you’ll not be settling with Mills, Canterbury and Viking. Is that a true statement, and if so, why?”

A young woman in a suit next to him pushed just in front of the guy. “Mr. Kellington, is it true that you actually did sleep with Miss Mills? She’s around twenty and you’re almost forty, right, sir?”

Microphones danced in front of me like a pack of pissed off bees. I smiled, nodded and turned to walk into the large high rise. They followed me in and moved in front of me, peppering me with various questions, some really good and focused and others wildly speculative and racy.

I politely moved through the crowd and thanked the three large security guards who moved up to push the press back. I’d been in business far too long to think I had a shot against even the greenest reporter behind me. They were mostly taught to twist the truth, and those who weren’t hadn’t figured out how to get paid to tell the truth just yet.

Waiting for my legal team to guide and direct me as to what message we were sharing was my only option. I didn’t mind so much. I trusted Lizzy like I would my brother, and Alisa would always hold a special bond with me. I was beyond lucky to have them both on my side for the next few months. It was sure to be painful and a bit trying at times, but I rested in the fact that whatever was meant to happen would. The three of us would do our part to push the balance in my favor, but everything still rested on the opinion of a jury.

We had more than enough to shut down the rape case, or so I believed we did. The insider trading was another situation entirely. I dreaded the day Alisa asked me whether or not I did it. I wasn’t sure I could lie to her, and yet I was almost positive I would have to if I wanted her to continue to fight for me.

I let my wayward thoughts go as I rode the elevator up and avoided the odd stares from the three women riding with me. My face had been splashed all over the evening news for the last week, thanks to both scandals rocking our city. If there were wanted ads like the old days, my ass would be on all of them.

The elevator opened and I got off, taking a sharp left and walking into Dellup. The woman at the desk looked up and gave me a tight smile.

“Hi, Mr. Kellington. Who are you here to see this morning?” She brushed her dark hair back and studied me as if trying to discern some hidden secret I was holding.

Hell, everyone is trying to figure that out about me, it would seem.

“I’d like to see both Lizzy and Alisa Manning if possible.” I unbuttoned the navy jacket I wore over my starched white shirt and light blue tie. There was no reason not to keep my appearance as clean and professional as I could. It would seem that the press was waiting in the wings to make me look worse than I was, no matter what that might require.

“I know Lizzy is in. Let me check on Ms. Manning. Just have a seat, and I’ll get you back to see one or both of them shortly.” She smiled and picked up her phone.

“Thank you.” I turned as Alisa walked through the door and stopped short. Her outfit was almost a perfect replica of mine, but she wore hers intensely better. “Morning.”

“Hi, Mr. Kellington. Are you here to see me, or…?”

“You and Lizzy if possible. Your receptionist is calling back now.” I nodded toward the woman behind me, but couldn’t take my eyes off Alisa. Everything inside of me screamed for me to take the few steps between us and kiss her again like I had the night before. The image of her sitting on my lap, straddling me rolled over me, and I forced myself to remain expressionless. She was needy and lonely, and that alone made me want to offer her my heart, my time, my anything to make things better.

She was too good of a woman to be anything other than completely happy and overly fulfilled with all that life had to offer. It was a little funny to see her all grown up though. Her rebellious days seemed to be long gone, but the slight glimpse I got the night before when she let her hair down was every bit the woman I expected her to be. Strong and powerful, sexy and hungry for control. My cock woke up and pressed against my slacks, forcing me to button my jacket again and turn to face the TV in the waiting room.

“Oh, okay. I’ll check to see where Lizzy is, and we’ll be right with you.” She walked behind me, not touching me, but she didn’t have to. The look in her eyes said I hadn’t been the only one letting the night before linger in my thoughts. We were being idiots, and though I knew it, I realized she would have to come to that conclusion on her own, and in her own time. She wouldn’t let me or anyone else convince her otherwise.

I watched the television as the news moved across the screen, but didn’t really see anything. I was too lost in my internal struggle where Alisa was concerned. I needed to get over it. I was in no shape to worry about anything other than my dilemma.

“Zek. Come on back.” Lizzy’s voice called me from my thoughts. I turned, thanking the receptionist and followed my sister-in-law down the hall. “Have you talked with Alisa this morning?”

“Just briefly, but nothing more than a greeting. Why? Did something come up?” I glanced over at Lizzy, a little concerned with what might be going on.

Alisa and I were together from the early afternoon to the evening the day before. What time was there for anything to happen to me?

A lot happened to me.

The time in the office had led to quite a discovery for sure. I was almost giddy to share it, though a funk sat over my excitement. The people I was working to take down in order to save a small part of my own ass were old friends, Jon was once almost like family. I couldn’t allow myself to think about Celia.

My phone buzzed as we stopped by a conference room with several people already inside. I checked it and gave Lizzy a tight smile. “I’ll be right in. I need to get this.”

“Okay. No rush. We’ve blocked off the next hour to go over your case.” She reached out and squeezed my shoulder before disappearing into the room. My eyes locked on Alisa’s as the door closed. She had no clue how beautiful she was. I needed to tell her, but it wouldn’t be received well. I wasn’t sure that I cared.

I pressed my phone to my ear and walked to the far end of the hall, stopping by the window and glancing out to look at the city. “This is Zek Kellington.”

“Hello, Mr. Kellington. I’m Jackson Burnes. I’m the new Securities and Exchange Commission Investigator they’ve assigned to your case. How are you today, sir?” The man sounded young and far more pleasant than some of the other investigators I’d dealt with in my past.

“I’m well. I’m two seconds from walking into a meeting with my attorneys. Would it be alright to call you after I get done?”

“That would be fine, but I wanted to invite you to Austin for an interview session tomorrow. We’re in the process of working on several cases, and I know it’s a bit of a trip for you, but we’ve cleared your travel if you’re free. The interview would be two hours just after lunch and then you could be on your way. We’re wrapping up our investigation on your case, but need a little bit of time with you.”

“I can manage that, but I’ll need two tickets. My attorney will want to attend the interview with me, I’m sure.” I turned to see Alisa stick her head out of the conference room as if looking for me. “I need to go. E-mail me the information and I’ll be there. Otherwise, I’ll call you back.”

“Be on the lookout for the e-mail, and we’ll see you tomorrow.” The guy hung up, and I dropped the phone into my pocket and turned to Alisa.

“I’m coming. Sorry.” Taking a few quick steps, I moved behind her into the large room and took the only free chair at the table. “Forgive me. It was a call I had to take.”

“No problem.” Lizzy pulled out a file and handed out documents to the three older guys at the table. “Let’s go over some new findings and then we’ll construct our thoughts for moving forward. This is in reference to Mr. Kellington’s sexual assault allegations case.”

“Wait.” I held up my hand. “Last night, I went to my office and reviewed the footage from the date I first met Miss Mills to just after the allegations were stated. I was shocked to see Jon Mills in my office on the Saturday I was away at the cabin with her. He was having a rather friendly conversation with my secretary, and the look on his face said he was up to no good.”

“You found him at the office when you weren’t there?” Alisa turned to me, her blue eyes lighting up. “Did you get an audio feed?”

“No, but my secretary, a good family friend, was the one who turned me into the police for the rape accusation.” I brushed my hand by my mouth and glanced over at Lizzy, unable to believe I was about to speak the words out loud. “You don’t think Jon paid her to help with all of this… do you?”

“We’ll pull records. We have enough to shut the case down and get rid of it if you want.” Lizzy glanced to Alisa. “Tell him what happened last night.”

Worry ripped through me as Alisa turned back to me. “Melissa was waiting for me last night when I got home. She didn’t hurt me, but she’s a little off her rocker. We’ll be filing a restraining order.”

“What?” I almost came out of my chair, but Alisa reached out and touched my arm, her expression calming me, but not by much.

“Everything is fine. We have all we need to bring to light the fact that they lied and set you up. Let’s go to trial. I can win this.” Her mouth pursed into a tight line. She was asking me to trust her by letting her go all the way through the necessary steps to close this thing down. Not just legally, but also in the public’s eye.

“I think we should just press charges quietly and close it down.” One of the older men at the far end of the table spoke up. “A trial is a waste of time and resources. Jon Mills is no idiot. He’ll shut it down now that we have evidence of a strike against his character, as well as the girl’s.”

“Yeah, and not have anyone know what he’s done? He was a part of this.” Lizzy turned her attention toward me. “It’s your call. You’re the client and you’ve engaged us to fight on your behalf. What would you have us do, Mr. Kellington?”

I turned my head slightly and let my eyes run over Alisa’s face. She wanted it. The fame. The glory. The win.

“Let’s do it. I trust you.” I winked at her and stood. “Whatever the next steps are… we can figure them out and then I need to get on a plane. The SEC wants to meet tomorrow in Austin just after lunch.”

“I need to go with you.” Alisa stood too as worry brushed across her face.

“I know. I already have us tickets being processed. We’ll talk later.” I moved to the front of the room and pressed my back to the coffee bar. “What else do we need to discuss? Can the rest of this wait until I get back from this trip tomorrow?”

Lizzy nodded as her lips lifted in a smile. “It most certainly can. We’re moving forward, and this is one case that I can’t imagine us not taking full advantage of. The evidence has most certainly bubbled up and favored us to win. Jon Mills has been a behind the curtain tyrant for long enough.”

“This is about the girl and her allegations regarding Mr. Kellington.” One of the other men spoke up, his eyebrow drawn up sharply as he watched Lizzy.

“It was. It’s now become something more.” Lizzy winked at me. “I’ll be sitting as Senior Counsel at the trial next to you and Alisa. We’ll wrap up our discovery phase and move into preparing for the trial.”

“Excellent.” I glanced over to Alisa, who nodded. She wanted the opportunity to take the prize? No way in hell would I be the one to deny her anything — not ever.

CHAPTER 3

e

Alisa

T
he idea of going out of town with Zek left my nerves on edge. I couldn’t stop thinking through the possibilities of us ending up in bed together. I berated myself so many times that I had finally given up the idea of being chaste by the time the next day rolled around. After packing the appropriate clothing for the overnight trip, I walked down to the front of the apartment to find my brother waiting for me.

Zek had offered to pick me up, and I had no doubt that if the man wanted to know where I lived, he would find out, but I wasn’t giving out the information easily. Besides, a little bit of time with my brother before heading out of town would do me good. He had a funny way of centering me.

“Hey you.” He turned to look at me as I got into the car after throwing my small suitcase into the back.

“Hey yourself. Thanks for the help, butt-nugget.” I got in and buckled up as he chuckled.

“You know that nickname makes you sound less refined. Be careful who you share the
real you
with, okay? I don’t want you to hurt your career or anything.” He winked and pulled out into the busy side street.

“Don’t worry. That name is reserved just for you. No one else can quite live up to its grandeur.” I smirked and turned to let my eyes move across the city as Clark drove us to my favorite breakfast place.

“Are you nervous?” He reached out and pressed his hand to my knee, which was bouncing uncontrollably.

“No. Why? Should I be?” I pushed his hand away. “It’s a nervous habit. I’ve done it my whole life.”

“Don’t I know it?” He rolled his eyes and turned on the radio. “You actually haven’t ever been the nervous type, but God forbid, dreamy Zek Kellington shows up, and you turn into a regular nervous ninny.”

“I think it’s nervous Nelly, but whatever.”

“Who the hell is Nelly?” He lifted his eyebrow.

“Good Lord. Why did I agree to this? I’m already a bundle of nerves.” I pointed as he pulled into the busy parking lot. “Right up front. It must be my lucky day.”