Chapter 3 #2
Sutton stood and came around the side of the desk, waiting for the men to appear.
Carrie stepped into the office and off to the side with a wink.
“Agent Tito Juarez and Mr. Reese Vaughn to see you, Ms. Cooke.”
Sutton stepped forward and held out her hand. “Mr. Juarez, it’s lovely to meet you.” She looked at Reese, trying to control the flips her stomach was making. “Mr. Vaughn, it’s nice to see you again.”
“You too, Sutton,” Reese responded, sending heat down her spine at her name on his lips.
“Won’t you sit down?” she said, heading back to her chair.
Once the two men were seated, Carrie went to shut the door. She gave her a thumbs up before the door shut fully, and Sutton had to fight back laughter.
“So, what can I do for you gentlemen?” she asked, keeping her focus on Mr. Juarez to avoid being distracted by Reese.
“Well, Miss Cooke, I’d assume you’ve already seen the Instagram post and the subsequent comments?” Mr. Juarez asked.
“Mr. Juarez—”
“Tito, please.”
“Tito,” she said, “I am aware of the photo in question and the comments.” She leaned forward. “Are you THEAgentTJ?”
She pursed her lips when a slight flush covered his face.
He cleared his throat and replied, “I am, yes.”
Sutton smiled. “I was wondering who would be bold enough to insinuate a relationship exists when there wasn’t one.”
Reese chuckled, ignoring Tito's look.
Looks like he didn't know about it either. Good to know.
“That’s actually what we came to talk to you about,” Tito said. “We have a proposition for you.”
Intrigued, she asked, “What kind of proposition?”
Tito dug into the pocket of his perfectly pressed white pants and pulled out a sheet of paper.
“A business proposition,” Tito replied.
Interesting.
“I see. And what exactly is it?”
“According to Instagram, your foundation has 7,500 followers and very little engagement.”
“And how does that relate to me?”
Tito smiled. “We may have a way to help grow your follower count and your engagement and reach. More eyes on the foundation gets you more donations, right?”
That was true. The more people who heard about the foundation, the more money they raised.
“That’s true. I still don’t know what it has to do with me.”
“You’ve heard of Reboot, the shoe company?” Tito asked.
“I have.”
“They wanted Reese for a commercial recently, but since he doesn’t have any children, he isn’t quite what they’re looking for. However, I think we could work together, and both come out with something we want.”
She arched a dark brow, still a little confused by the whole situation.
“There’s only one problem,” she said.
“What’s that?” Tito asked, confusion furrowing his brow.
“I don’t have any children. In fact, I don’t want them.”
He waved his hand, the confusion disappearing.
“Oh, no, that’s not what I was thinking.”
Her eyes rounded. “Do you want to borrow a child from the foundation?”
He gave her a shrug, and she crossed her arms. “I don’t think so. The foundation could potentially be liable for fraud, and that’s not okay.”
She thought about it for a moment, then asked, “What do they want a child for?”
Reese finally spoke. “Their new campaign is a children’s shoe line. So, they were really looking for a player who has kids.”
“Understandable,” she replied. “I’d imagine it makes it easier to do things.”
“True,” Tito replied.
The room fell silent, and Sutton felt a bit awkward with the two men staring at her.
“So, if the foundation was willing to be included in the campaign, which would come with a few stipulations in itself—I still don’t know what it would do with me.”
“That’s the other thing,” Tito said. “I posted that comment because Reboot wanted a player who had a family. And Reese is currently single. What I’m proposing is for the foundation and you.”
“And me? What, would we fake date, then he gets to do the campaign using the kids from the foundation, then we’d break up after?”
Tito smiled at her, and her eyes rounded.
“We could play it off that you were keeping the relationship quiet, especially since he’s the star running back, and you’re the coach’s niece.
You wanted to get to know one another first before announcing it to the world, so you hid it so well, even I didn’t know about it. ”
“You can’t be serious,” Sutton stated.
“Why not?” Reese asked. “Is the idea of dating me so bad?”
“You told me last night you were there without anyone so you could focus on football. Wouldn’t this be a distraction?”
He sighed and leaned forward. “This is a different type of distraction. The team, the foundation; you and I, we would all get a ton of exposure.”
Exposure? This is all about money.
“And a lovely payday for you,” Sutton said, unable to keep the disdain from her voice.
“Which I would donate half of to the foundation for their part,” Reese replied.
“That’s generous of you,” Sutton replied.
She straightened in her chair, and her elbow caught some paper as she dragged her arm across the desk. She looked down at the email memo she printed out about potentially reaching out to the Kings for a Community Day, and an idea formed in her mind.
“Is Reboot an official league sponsor?” Sutton asked.
“They are,” Tito said. “So, they’d be putting revenue back into the league, and Reese would have a separate fee.”
“I’d have to speak to our legal team, but we have been wanting to set up an afternoon with the Kings.
” Sutton set the paper down in front of her.
“We could shoot the commercial as a community event—Knoxville coming together to support the team as they make their bid for the big title, and the team supporting the community that loves them.”
She clasped her hands on the desk in front of her as her mind came up with a plan.
“Here are the stipulations: Reboot would provide each child there with a pair of shoes and maybe a T-shirt. Then they could, with the right releases, film the commercial. They would get family fun, the league would get some kickback, and Reese would get paid.”
She tapped her finger on the paper. “Oh, and there would also need to be a donation to Somebody’s Child on behalf of Reboot. I would imagine Reboot would be more than generous since they’re getting both the children and the team.”
Tito nodded along, taking notes with the pen he pulled from his jacket.
The only thing Sutton hadn’t mentioned was the fake relationship since it was the one thing on which she wasn’t sure.
Just do it! Maybe it will be fun to be spoiled by a rich football player for a bit.
“The fake relationship stays out of the contracts, but I will agree to it as long as the other conditions are met.”
“Then you’ll need to be at Sunday’s championship game,” Reese said. “I can’t have my girlfriend miss that game.”
“All right,” she replied. She leaned over and pulled open the drawer she put her purse in to grab her phone.
She unlocked it and handed it to Reese. “Go ahead and put your number in.”
She jumped at the shock between their hands when he reached for her phone. He put the number in and handed it back to her, and she sent him a quick hello.
He pulled his own phone out and smiled at the text, then sent one of his own.
Reese: Hi. [smiley emoji]
She couldn’t fight the smile that came to her face at the reply.
“All right, looks like we both have some work to do,” Tito said, breaking the moment.
“Yes,” Sutton replied. “I’ll talk to my team and see what they say. I assume you’ll be speaking with Reboot and the Kings?”
“I will.” He reached out to put his business card on her desk.
She grabbed her card from the acrylic holder on the desk and handed it to him. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
Sutton stood, and the two men joined her.
Tito held out his hand. “This will be great.”
She shook his. “I hope so. For the kids.”
“Of course,” he replied. “For the kids.”
He stepped back, and Reese held out his hand.
She reached for his and instead of shaking it, he grabbed her fingers and kissed her knuckles, a flush washing over her face.
“Are you busy tomorrow night?” he asked, keeping her hand in his.
“No.” She tried to calm her racing heart as warmth splintered through her at the firm hand holding hers.
“Would you like to have dinner?” he asked. “We could do a quick photo opportunity, then eat and go home.”
Right. Fake dating.
She put on a smile. “Sure. Don’t they call that Instagram official?”
He released her hand. “It is. I should follow you, and you should do the same.”
“I’ll make sure I do that when I get home.” She looked out the window of her office and tried not to laugh at Carrie’s shocked expression.
“Is there anything else?” she asked, moving around the desk.
Her assistant scurried over to the door to open it and waited for them.
“That’s it,” Tito replied. “Thank you, Ms. Cooke.”
“Sutton, please.” She motioned toward the door and the waiting Carrie. “I hope you both have a lovely evening.”
Tito exited the office, and Reese gave her a last look before he followed.
Carrie showed them out and was back to her office before Sutton could even sit down.
“Tell me everything!