Chapter 23

EPOV

I headed into the showers, I was absolutely drenched in sweat and positively reeking. Emmett had pushed us hard today. The familiar burn in my muscles warned of the ache I would feel in the morning. But it was all part of the game. I figured I'd just ice my shoulder a bit tonight and that would probably keep out the worst of it.

I quickly washed myself and headed back into the locker room with a towel wrapped about my waist. Most of the others had already left. I'd stayed later on the field with Emmett going over a few plays and tactics. As I opened my locker, the door to the lockerroom opened and two voices caught my attention.

'I don't know, man. We'll figure it out.' Laurent mumbled.

'Alright, just keep me updated. I know there's a story here.' That voice could only belong to the skeevy James Hunter. It couldn't be good that those two were talking to each other.

Laurent's eyes locked with mine as he glanced into the lockerroom and I stared back at him, my face carefully blank. His eyes widened in surprise, but the kept himself in check. He quickly ducked his head back behind the door and furiously whispered something. Then he closed the door and strolled into he room feigning nonchalance.

'Hunter bothering you?' I asked, equally nonchalantly. If he wanted to pretend nothing was going on, I was going to press him and see if he made a mistake. Dealing with the press was actively discouraged by the team, especially with all the changes we were going through.

We got media training weekly now, and were strongly advised to keep our mouth's shut. If Laurent wanted to cut a deal with the press, I was going to find out and make sure he faced the consequences. I wasn't going to let anyone trample on Bella's chances.

Laurent glanced at me, slight surprise in his eyes that I knew it had been Hunter with him. He shrugged his shoulders. 'Not really.' He settled on.

'What's he even doing here? Press wasn't invited today.'

Laurent shrugged. 'Who knows. You know them, they always find a way inside.'

I regarded him coooly for a moment, and he held my gaze for a moment, but then he abruptly turned around to his locked and grabbed his stuff for a shower. 'I'm hitting the showers. See ya.'

He couldn't get away from me fast enough.

I shook my head. Something fishy was going on here, but I decided to leave it for now. I could hardly follow Laurent into the shower and demand he tell me what was going on. Laurent and I didn't get on that well even on our best days.

Plus, I had a dinner to get to and I still needed to walk Mike. I quickly dired off and dressed in my regular clothes. I didn't waste any time grabbing my bag and heading out. I mulled the converstation over during the ride home, but i couldn't really think of anything Laurent and Hunter could be doing together. What story was there for Hunter to find? Still I resolved to keep my eyes and ears open. If they were colluding about something, nothing good would come from it.

Mike greeted me enthusiastically at the door as I entered my apartment.

'Hi boy' I greeted him, scratching his body and his ears as he liked. His tail wagged. I quickly checked his water and then grabbed my coat to take him on a quick walk.

'come on boy, let's go walk before we head to Rose and Emmett.' I slipped his lead on and glanced at the clock.

It was already six. I was running late.

We headed outside and I quickly took Mike around the block, making sure he did his business before we headed back inside. I headed straight to Rose and Emmett's floor. They had a bag of food for Mike at their place and a bowl as well.

The elevator doors opened and Mike bounded out, tail already wagging as he ran towards Rose and Em's appartment. I knocked on the door and waited, slipping the leash off Mike.

Rose opened the door a few minutes later and was bombared by Mike. She squealed with glee and rubbed him all over, earning playful yelps form Mike who seemed to be in heaven, much like very other night when we visited. You'd think he grow used to them.

'Hi, come in.' Rose said, when Mike continued on into the room and Rose focussed on me. I smiled at her and we headed inside. The smell of steaks already hung in the air. Emmett waved at me from the kitchen.

'Just in time, the steaks are almost done.'

'Great, I just have to give Mike some food.'

Bella stood up from her seat on the couch and smiled at me as I stepped into view. 'Jake needs some too.'

'Hi Bella.' I greeted her. She greeted me back.

We headed into the kitchen and as Rose and Emmett started taking the food to the dining area, Bella and I prepared dinner for the dogs. She grabbed a smal bag with already measured out food and poured it into the bowl she'd also brought with her. I opened the cupboard and pulled out Mike's things.

'He's here so often he has his own bowl?' Bella asked with slight disbelief in her voice.

I grinned and nodded. 'Yeah. Rose can work from home, so she sometimes takes Mike for the day. It's just easier to keep things here for him rather than lug everything up and down every day.'

'That's nice of her.'

'She enjoys it. But yeah, it's great. I don't have to worry about leaving him alone for too long.'

'I can take him with me to the stadium sometimes if you want, or have a long day at the stadium. I have Jake with me anyways, another dog wont be much trouble.'

I stared at her for a moment. 'Really?'

She nodded. 'Yeah, of course.'

'That would be great.'

'Sure, just let me know beforehand and I can swing by to pick him up, or we can carpool… or something.' He voice got quiet and she bit her lip.

'Thanks. I can text you the day before and let you know. I think it's better if we go separately though,we don't want to give the press anything.'

She cleared her throat. 'yeah that's probably for the best.' she grabbed the bowl and I grabbed Mike's and we set it down for them. 'just let me know then.'

'Thanks, I will.' I smiled reassuringly at her, but she still seemed a bit uncomfortable.

We headed into the dining room and left the dogs to their dinner. Rose and Emmett were already seated and talking quietly.

'Thanks guys.' I said as I sat down. 'for waiting for me.'

'Why were you so late?' Emmett asked.

'I wanted to shower before coming over. Someone decided to push us extra hard today.' I said, looking at him with a quirked eyebrow.

'Hey, don't blame me, blame her.' he pointed his thumb at Bella. 'She wants us to win the world series.'

'And you don't?' she asked with a small smile on her face.

'Of course I do. But I mean… you know… you're the one that wants them fighting fit.'

Bella laughed and I grinned.

'I'm aching all over. I'd say you kind of overdid it today if that was your goal, Emmett.'

'Stop whining. You didn't have to run for every ball and do pitches and batting all in one training.'

I shrugged. 'You said to push ourselves.'

'There's a fine line between pushing yourself and just being an idiot.' Emmet shot back.

Rose and Bella rolled their eyes at each other. 'So Bella, how've you been?' Rose asked.

'Fine, I guess. There's just so much to do. I focussed mostly on the Cubs, and not the other businesses my dad was involved in. So I'm pretty much drowning in paper work right now.'

'That sucks. I always hate paperwork days.' Rose sighed.

'Yeah tell me about it.' Bella grumbled.

I quickly swallowed my bite. 'Couldn't you get some help?' I asked her.

She took a bite from her steak, and my eyes focussed on the way her fork slid from her lips. She chewed for a moment and I forced myself to tear my eyes away from her mouth and quickly grabbed a sip from my drink.

'Yeah.' She said. 'I've asked HR to get me a personal assistant. It's just too much.'

'That's a great idea.' Rose enthused. Then she turned ot me. 'Wasn't Alice looking for something part time?'

I frowned at Rose. 'I don't know.'

She rolled her eyes at me. 'What do you know?'

'That she's still in school. And apparently dating Jasper.'

Emmett chocked on his steak. Rose seemed non plussed. 'Yes, that was yesterdays's news. I meant she's wanting some real experience before she graduates. So a part time job would be great for her.'

'Wait, wait wait… you know she was dating Jasper?' Emmett asked.

'was it a secret?' Rose asked.

'I didn't know!' Emmett was indignant.

I frowned. 'You don't know who the team are dating at any given moment.'

'No, but I do know who you and Jasper are dating most of the time. I mean. Come on, we are friends right?'

'I guess he wanted to keep it quiet for now, perhaps to protect Alice.' Rose suggested.

'Protect her from what?' Emmett asked.

'The press.' Rose answered like it was the most obvious answer. Emmett and I turned to her surpised. She rolled her eyes at us. 'Come on, you're major leaguers. Pro athlethes. Dating lives of pro athlethes are seen as news. Last time you dated that blonde girl… what was her name? Tanya? She ended up in all the gossip papers. She loved it of course.' Rose explained, ending somewhat bitterly.

I cringed as she mentioned tanya. That had not been a great decision. And Rose was right, Tanya had only been in it to get the fame. Suddenly I was quite grateful Jasper was keeping my sister out of that.

'Fine. But still I'm asking him come Monday.' He grumbled.

Rose rolled her yes. 'Do you want me to ask her if she's interested?' Rose asked Bella.

'She doesn't have to hire Alice, she probably needs someone full time.' I interjected.

'She can also probably speak for herself.' Rose bit at me.

I just stared at her, willing her to understand that Bella might feel put on the spot, since it was my sister this was about.

'I'm going to dinner at Carlisle's tomorrow so I can meet her and see if she might be interested. But Edward is right, I do need full time help. It's a mess.'

'She might know some other students or recent grads that might be interested.' Rose encouraged.

I sighed and continued eating. We talked some more and slowly cleared our plates. until we sat back with out plates finished. Rose started clearing. Bella of course immediately started helping and wouldn't sit down again, insisting on helping with getting dessert.

As the women headed to the kitchen I turned to Emmett.

'Laurent was in the locker room when I was finishing up. He was talking to that scumbag, James hunter.'

Emmett frowned. 'Hunter? What was he doing in the locker room?'

'He wasn't inside, Hunter was still outside and Laurent was coming in. They were discussing something.'

'What?'

'I only overhead the last bit, but it seems Hunter is looking for a story.'

Emmett swore. 'That can't be good. What was he even doing on that level?'

'Well, if Laurent is helping him, he can just follow Laurent whenever he scans.'

'Fuck. I'm informing security about this.' Emmett said, clenching is fists on the table.

'What are you telling security?' Bella asked as she and Rose came in with bowls of ice cream.

Emmett glanced at me and cleared his throat. 'it seems the trouble with James hunter might not be over.'

Bella stilled. Her eyes cut to Emmett. 'What?'

'Edward saw him today, talking with Laurent.'

She turned her eyes to me. 'It might have been innocent?' she suggested hopefully.

I grimaced. Then shook my head. 'I overheard them whispering when they thought the locker room was empty. James is looking for a story and Laurent seems to be helping. I don't have any proof and I didn't hear the entire conversation, but Laurent was not happy to see me and he couldn't wait to escape from me when I asked him about it.'

Bella heaved a sigh. 'He seems to be popping up a lot, lately.'

I didn't like this at all.

'Make sure they blacklist him, emmett.' Rose said fiercely. 'This can't go any way that will end well.'

I nodded in agreement.

'Security is already looking into it. Well, not hunter specifically, but the breeches and trespassing of the last few days.' Bella assured us.

'I'll keep my ears open too.' I muttered.

We settled in to eat our ice cream, but the mood had definitely dampened. Though Emmett quickly bounced back into cheerier topics and soon had us all laughing again, I noticed that Bella was a bit quiet for the rest of the evening.

When we'd finished the ice cream Rose and Em headed to the kitchen to make some coffee and BElla and I headed to the living room to sit more comfortably.

'Are you worried about James?' I asked her as she pet Jake's head absentmindedly.

She turned to look at me, her eyes faraway. 'I don't know what to think.' She muttered. 'it seems he wants a story. But I'm not sure I'm not just making mountains out of molehills.'

'James is a skeev. He's made up stories about quite a few players in the past. Charlie was very close to banning him I believe.'

She frowned. 'I'll ask Kate if she knows anything about it. Perhaps we can continue that leg.'

'It might give you a bit more peace, to know he's defnintely not lurking about.'

She heaved a sigh. 'yeah. It's just strange, being back in the spotlight again. and this forcefully too. They're like vultures. Circling around, waiting for a mistake. Waiting to tear me to shreds.' She whispered the last words as she wrapped her arms around herself.

'No one is going to rip you to shreds.' I soothed, putting my hand on her shoulder and squeezing slightly, trying to offer her some support.

She gave a humourless laugh. 'won't they?' she glanced at me, anger in her eyes, but not directed at me. 'Paparazzi are scum. The last time I was here they almost tore me apart because I went out to a club. I was nineteen at the time. I didn't drink a drop, but they made me seem drunk and completely out of hand. I know what they're capable of. If he wants a story, he's not going to stop even if he has to make something up.'

I grit my teeth. I'd had my own run ins with the press in the past. But it hadn't been that bad yet. No one's really made me look like a fool yet. 'I'm sorry they did that to you.'

She shrugged. 'just part of being the daughter of Charlie Swan. And now his heir.'

She gave me a small smile.

Rose came back in then, with two steaming mugs of coffee for both of us. We wound down the evening with our coffees and some more talk and before we knew it Bella was standing up to head home again.

'We're still on for tomorrow?' Rose asked at the door, as I pretended not to listen in.

'Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.' Bella said, I could hear the smile in her voice.

'Have fun with my parents tomorrow.' I called after her.

'Thanks.' Bella called back, a slight giggle in her voice. I smiled and Emmett's eyebrow rose. I rolled my eyes at him. The door closed and Rose stepped back inside.

'What are you two doing tomorrow?' I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

'Yoga.' Rose said, giving me a smile. I tried very hard to keep my face neutral. 'She used to do it back in Arizona, but hadn't found a new studio yet over here. So I asked her to join me.'

'That's nice.' I muttered, trying not to think about Bella in tight yoga pants.

'Are you worried about James?' Rose asked, echoing hte question I had asked Bella a while ago.

I sighed and nodded. 'Him and Laurent working together can't be good.'

'keep an eye out for her, will you?' Rose asked her face scrunching up in worry. 'She's putting on a brave face, but she's still hurting a lot.'

'Yeah, I called her thursday. She was really shaken up.'

Rose nodded.

We sat a bit longer, talking about things in general before I too called it a night. Mike dragged his butt off the couch unenthusiastically and followed after me as I grabbed his lead and my jacket.

'Are you at the park tomorrow?' I asked Emmett.

'I don't know yet. I have mostly paperwork, so might just catch up on that here. You?'

'I'll probably hit the gym for a few hours.'

'Are you going to your parents after?'

'No, they invited Bella, so I won't be around. Don't want the press to get the wrong idea.'

'I get it.'

'I'll probably head over Sunday though. So I'll see you Monday.'

'Yeah, sure no problem.' Emmett nodded. 'see you Monday.'

'Bye Rose.' I called.

'Bye!' I heard from the living area.

'let's go mike.' We headed to the elevator as the door clicked closed behind us. Once I was home again Mike headed to his bed, tired from the play session with Jake and Rose. I sat on the couch a moment, just thinking about everything. Then I pulled out my phone and pulled up my messages, tapping on Bella's name. I sent her a quick message to ask how she was and then waited, pathetically staring at the screen.

Man, I was in trouble with this girl. I knew I had to stop it. I needed to be her friend, nothing else. She didn't need me trying to pressure her or make her uncomfortable and I also didn't feel right just using friendship as a front while I waited to make my move. I had to push my feelings aside. When my phone didn't show a reply after a few minutes I rubbed a hand over my face.

It was midnight. Of course she wouldn't reply. She was asleep. I headed into the bathroom and headed for a shower, to try and soothe my aching muscles a bit before I headed to bed and tried to fall asleep.