“I’m sorry, Dad,” she said, then pushed the call button on her phone. It rang. She was hoping for voice mail.
“Haven. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
She cringed as the loud and very no-nonsense voice of her boss, Chandler Adams, came on the line.
“Hi, Chandler. Sorry. I got tied up.”
“Well, untie yourself. I have a job for you.”
“A . . . job?” He wasn’t firing her?
“Yeah. You know Trevor Shay, right?”
“Trevor . . . yes, I know him.”
“Great. We’re going to do his bio. A whole feature on the life of Trevor Shay. Personal and professional. We’ve been after him for years to do this, and he kept putting us off, until now. He’s finally agreed to let us do the feature, and he’s asked for you.”
“For me?”
“Yeah. Says you two go way back to college.”
“Uh . . . yes. I knew him in college.”
“Then it’s a damn good thing we hired you, Haven. Pack a bag. You’ll meet him at his place in St. Louis to get everything set up. Narrative and background first, and then we’ll get camera work involved later.”
Was she in some alternate universe? She hadn’t been fired. In fact, she’d just been assigned to interview one of the biggest stars in the sports world right now.
“Okay. Sure. Thanks, Chandler.”
“No, problem. I’ll e-mail you the specs on what we’re looking for from you on this, Haven. This assignment’s going to take a while, so clear your calendar.”
“Consider it done.”
When she hung up, she sat back and stared out the window of her very tiny apartment, stunned that she hadn’t been kicked out the door. She’d been mentally prepared, and as she stared at the boxes in her apartment, already half packed, she realized she’d been set in her mind that she was going to head back to Oklahoma to be near her mother, her roots.
Where memories of her dad were.
Now she had to change her focus.
Why had she agreed to do this interview? This job wasn’t what she wanted to do anymore.
Was it?
She sat on the bed.
Follow your dreams, Haven.
She still heard her dad’s voice so clearly in her head. Maybe he was trying to tell her something. She didn’t know if this was her dream anymore, but she’d agreed to take this job.
With Trevor Shay, of all people. She hadn’t seen Trevor since her dad’s funeral. She wondered how he’d react knowing it was her doing this assignment.
He’d probably ignore her, just like he had in college.
No, wait. He’d specifically asked for her. He’d agreed to the interviews, so this time, she wouldn’t allow him to pretend she didn’t exist.
She got up and went to her closet to grab her suitcase.
Her and Trevor Shay. God, she’d had such a crush on him in college, back when she was tutoring him. All those nights they spent shoulder to shoulder, when she’d done her best to try to persuade him to focus on his books, when all she’d really wanted was for him to notice her as a woman.
He’d been more interested in trying to finagle a way to get her to do his homework.
Now she was going to be in the driver’s seat.
She stared out over the boxes, debating whether to unpack them.
She’d leave them, see how this assignment went. If it didn’t work out, if it didn’t light the fire under her after a few days, she’d call Chandler and tell him she was out.
But she’d give it a try. For her dad.
Chapter Two
AFTER HER FLIGHT, HAVEN SAT IN THE BACK OF A TAXI bound for Trevor’s place outside St. Louis, equal parts nervous and excited. The rules Trevor had set down for this exposé were a little unorthodox, but whatever. If the network had agreed to it, she could live with it. For any other athlete, she’d have said hell no. But she’d known Trevor a long time. She knew how he felt about his privacy, and she knew he liked to call the shots.
She’d be staying on the grounds of his house here in St. Louis, at least while they were here. But when the camera crews showed up, they’d have to stay in a hotel. Trevor had to approve the filming segments, and he wanted some one-on-one time with Haven to discuss the parameters, especially as it related to his background.
She smiled as she took in the view of the St. Louis Gateway Arch as the car breezed along the highway. She’d seen the view of the stadium from the plane, and it reminded her of her dad bringing her up to see a Rivers baseball game. She and her mom had been so excited that summer they’d come up for a weekend of sightseeing and baseball. She’d been twelve, and they’d gone to Forest Park to visit the zoo, and then that night had gone to see the Rivers play baseball. They’d stayed in a hotel downtown near the stadium and had even gone out to dinner.
For a twelve-year-old, it had been an exciting time. The city had been lit up, and they’d even walked down along the riverfront before the game. It had been a perfect summer weekend, her first of many here. Haven had loved St. Louis. She was happy to be back here again, and surprised at how excited she was to get started on this assignment.
Now the car took them out of the city, away from the stadium and toward the county.
Not at all what she expected. For some reason she thought Trevor would live in a condo in the city near the stadium, not in a gated community with tall, tree-lined streets.
Her jaw dropped when the car pulled up the long drive to what had to be Trevor’s house.
This had to be wrong. It was like a freakin’ mansion, not at all where she expected him to live. The entire drive was thick with trees, the house a massive, gorgeous, two-story Colonial. The car stopped out front and the driver opened the door for her.
Trevor came out the front door wearing casual sweats and a sleeveless shirt, a big smile on his face.
“Hey, you’re here,” he said to Haven before turning toward the driver. “You can put those inside the front door. I’ll take it from there.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said, taking Haven’s bags through the double white front doors.
Haven found herself unable to move. Instead, she gaped at the house, taking it all in, trying to reconcile this reality with her expectations.
“I thought you’d live in a condo.”
He laughed and laid his hand at the small of her back, propelling her inside. “Nah. I need my space. Besides, I don’t want to hear my neighbors arguing all night long. I like my privacy. Come on, I’ll show you around.”