Page 119 of Rookie Rules

"Because?"

"Because the consequences would be different."

"For me or for you?"

Rowan did not answer.

Luca felt the silence choose.

"You would be acting."

"So is that what we call it?"

Rowan's face closed. "Do not turn this into us."

Luca laughed once. "It is already us. That's why I came here instead of asking Claire to choose for me."

"Claire understands endorsements better than I do."

"Claire told me the truth. She said the market might not pay the same for every version of me. She offered to help me say no."

"I am not stopping you from saying no."

"No. You're telling me I would be foolish to care."

"I did not say that."

"You don't have to say things. That's the whole problem."

Silence struck the kitchen.

Rowan placed both hands on the counter, the posture he used when trying to hold a conversation still.

"If you decline because you dislike the work, decline. If you decline because you believe accepting makes you dishonest, read the actual terms first. Do not sacrifice a career opportunity to prove something no one has asked you to prove."

The advice was good.

That was what made it hurt.

Rowan saw contracts, leverage, future security, and a rookie's narrow window to convert attention into power. He wanted Luca protected against the same machinery that could discard players without warning.

But Luca had not asked whether the deal was smart.

He had asked whether Rowan could look at the false version and miss him.

"Would you want me if I were him?" Luca asked.

Rowan's gaze snapped to his.

"The man in the campaign," Luca said. "Simple. Straight. Never asks you for anything you can't put in a schedule. Would that be easier?"

"He is not real."

"Neither am I, half the time. Not in this house."

"That is not fair."

"No. It isn't."