Page 46 of Ruck Me Harder

My agent laughs. “Please. I put out feelers last week, after the photos of you two looking cozy at the coffee shop.”

My stomach swoops. “You saw those?”

“I have Google Alerts on all my people,” she says dismissively. “I didn’t know his name, but when his sister posted a photo of them together and I saw the photos from your animal shelter visit, I put the pieces together. He’s cute.”

“You still follow my teammates?” I’m hung up on that.

“You know me, I’m thorough.”

She is. I cause her infinitely fewer problems now that I’ve stopped drinking, but they haven’t stopped altogether. She’s always kept tabs on me through the posts my friends make. Even if they don’t tag me, I might still be in the background of what they have going on.

She’s far less of a stalker than it sounds. She means well. She’s just… overbearing. Prepared for all eventualities.

“So tell me about him,” Alycia says.

“Last night was our first date. What do you want to know?”

“You’re going to keep seeing him.” It’s not a question.

“Yeah. I’d like to.” I play with a loose thread on my shirt. “I like him.”

“Good. Then we’ll set up some more photo ops,” she decides.

“I don’t know if he’d be interested in that.”

She makes a noise of frustration. “He’s a competitive athlete and a semi-public figure. It’s part of the job.”

“I get the idea he keeps things pretty close to his chest. Besides, he’s preparing for a big competition right now.”

“So he probably would like a few thousand dollars from sponsors,” she concludes, like it’s a done deal. “Let me know if he has a rep I need to coordinate with. Otherwise, I’ll send over a contract and he can work with me directly.”

“You’d do that?”

“Viv, your social rankings are through the roof.” Alycia laughs. “If one date with the guy can get you this many interactions, I can’t wait to see what happens after you collab together. This might be the magic key we’ve been looking for to take your partnerships to the next level. You better hope you don’t break up.”

My palms start to sweat. “We’ve been on one date.”

“I saw the photos. You haven’t looked that happy in… months. Maybe years.”

“I thought you’d tell me to end it,” I admit. “Sponsors don’t like women in relationships.”

“Oh, Viv.” She sighs. “Sponsors don’t like women, period. Whether you’re single or in a committed partnership, nothing you do will ever make them happy. All you can do is live your life. We’ll cherry pick which companies we work with to maximize your earnings potential.”

She pauses.

“And P.S., happy women sell better.”

With that, she hangs up.

My phone buzzes with a message from Kiana. Where are you?

With a sigh, I pull on my hoodie and leave my apartment, jogging to the park where we’re meeting for a run. She’s waiting by the fountain, stretching with Andi and Grace. To my surprise, Cari is with them.

“Good morning,” she chirps. I freeze, and my teammates burst into laughter at the stricken look on my face.

“Morning.” I glare at them.

“So when’s the wedding?” Andi teases.