Page 51 of Most Eligible
“Hold up,” Rhett says. From underneath the bed, I see their shoes stop in the middle of the room. “Addisonpushedher off a ladder? Is she all right?”
I try to ignore the concern in his voice.
“She’s fine,” Lainey snaps. “There was a crash mat.”
“You can’t do shit like that, Lainey,” he says. “She could’ve been seriously hurt.”
Lainey’s designer loafers slap impatiently on the floor as she walks to an armchair and sits down. He sits opposite her, facing the bed. Quietly as I can, I scoot further back, holding my breath.
“I have to dosomething,” she hisses. “You know the situation I’m in. I have to get the ratings up or else we’re done. And thenetwork wasn’t exactly thrilled that you were the only one willing to host.”
Rhett gives a short, dry laugh. “You didn’t give me much choice.”
“Take it as a compliment,” Lainey says. “They didn’t want you to upstage Roland. Though maybe that’ll end up being a good thing.”
My ears perk up.
“Would it really be so bad if it came out?” I see one of Rhett’s boots lift, like he’s placed his foot on his knee. “It might actually get ratings up—intrigue and all that.”
“I’d be fired because I cast him even though I knew,” Lainey says.
“But it’ll come out eventually—you can either be the one who tried to cover it up or the one who tried to fix it. He only took them for a few competitions,” Rhett says. I hold my breath, listening hard. “It’s not like he hurt anybody.”
Lainey sighs dramatically. “Yes, but some of his sponsors came over to us. It would look like I ignored it to get the money.”
My mind is whirring so fast I almost miss what Rhett says next.
“My lips are sealed,” he says. “But I still think you’d be better off going public, saying that Roland is working on it and taking a step back from playing until he recovers. It’ll come out eventually, you know that.”
Serena will go rabid for this when I get ahold of her. Right now, all I can do is speculate, but once I get more evidence, this could be a huge story. Who would’ve thought? The great Roland Marchetti, doping his way to success.
Lainey stands and starts pacing back and forth until she stops in front of something on the floor. I squint at it and my heart drops. Lainey’s hand comes into view and she pinches the object between her fingers.
“These yours?” she asks Rhett, holding up my underwear.
My chest throbs with each terrified heartbeat.
There’s a long pause, then Rhett says, “Never seen those before. Must’ve gotten mixed up in the laundry.”
Lainey pauses, then tosses the underwear back onto the floor. “Rhett, if you’ve been—”
He cuts her off before her voice can crescendo. “I’m not sleeping with any of the women.”
“Because after what I did for you—”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Rhett stands and moves toward the door. “Are you planning on staying much longer? I want to get changed.”
After a few more muttered words, Lainey sweeps from the room and the door shuts behind her. I let out a silent sigh of relief.
But I’m still naked and hiding under Rhett Auburn’s bed. I watch with bated breath as he steps forward, picks up my underwear, and remains still for a few moments. I see his feet turn on the spot. That very underwear might’ve been in my laundry pile when he spent the night in my apartment. But there’s no way he’d recognize them, right?
Now is the moment to let him know I’m here. Otherwise, I could be trapped for who knows how long. But demanding answers when I just naked-spied on him seems wrong somehow. I’ll do it another time when I’m fully clothed and haven’t been lurking under his bed. Right now, I have to get out of here.
He tosses the underwear onto the bed and walks back into the sitting room. First, his shirt falls to the floor, then he kicks off his boots, peels off his socks. In any other situation, this strip tease would be sexy, but right now all I feel is panic.
Finally, his jeans drop into sight. I hear the sliding doors to the patio open as he walks outside. This is my chance. I wriggle out from under the bed and pull my towel more tightly aroundmyself, clutching my clothes and shoes in one hand. I stare longingly at my underwear, a black spot marring his pristine white comforter, but I don’t dare. If I take them, he’ll know someone was here.
Once I’m in the sitting room, escape starts to seem impossible. The sliding doors out to the deck are solid glass, not to mention wide open, giving me a full view out and him a full view in. There’s no chance I’ll be able to get across the room without him noticing.
