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Chapter 6

“You have to bring this!” Maddie’s head popped out from Eve’s closet, and she tossed her friend her only bikini. It was simple, black, and very revealing.

“Maddie!” Eve gasped. “I’m traveling for work, not to get a tan.”

“Okay,” Maddie said, “But Mr. Cards specifically mentioned that you would be ocean side. It would be a huge mistake not to bring a swimsuit.”

Eve had barely made it home from work that day before she had dialed her best friend’s phone number and filled her in on everything. Maddie had mercifully offered to come over the next day and help Eve pack for her very first business trip.

I’m traveling with Matthew Cardhart and his team to watch him compete. She reminded herself in a daze.

“You should wear this on the flight.” Maddie tossed Eve a shirt. It was a form-fitting, collared pullover. Designer.

“This is yours!” Eve protested.

Maddie shook her head. “We’ve been sharing clothes since we were in high school. That’s not about to stop now. Besides, airport fashion is a huge deal these days. I want you to stand out.”

Eve blushed. Standing out was the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted to blend in and to observe. She wanted to take in every moment of being on Matthew Cardhart’s team and write it all down. Maddie, however, had other plans.

“I brought a few more options for you to try on.” She cracked open a huge shopping bag. Maddie was one of the most generous people Eve knew, but her friend also never turned down a good reason to shop.

“I’m going to order us a pizza,” Eve said. “It looks like this might take a while.

Maddie smiled. “You read my mind.”

After a few hours of packing, which turned into a fashion show, Eve settled on a collection of outfits to bring for the week. Maddie had convinced her to bring most of the options she had bought for her, but Eve had snuck in several of her favorite graphic T-shirts and a few of her staples from the office.

Maddie took her friend's hand. “Eve. You’re going to be amazing. You’re one of the best writers I know. Clearly Matthew thinks so as well.”

Eve squeezed Maddie’s hand. “I wish I could take you with me. Are you sure you don’t want to climb into my suitcase?” she asked, laughing.

“You don’t need me! But I want all the updates. Especially if you get any one-on-one time with Matthew,” she wiggled an eyebrow.

Eve rolled her eyes. “Yes, because the internet’s most popular streamer is going to want to spend alone time with a random girl from a blogging website.”

“He did hire you.”

Why did he hire me?

The girls finished their evening with pizza and ice cream before Eve finally called it a night. As she lay in bed, she found she couldn’t stop thinking about Matthew. The way he had looked at her in the conference room. So intensely. She thought about the moments where he had almost seemed playful, and remembered her time with him at the convention. At the office, he seemed much more reserved and professional, and on stream he came across as charming and suave.

Which Matthew is the real Matthew? She wondered as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Eve yanked her luggage out from the back of a taxi at the airport before the sun had even risen. Groggily, she entered the terminal and looked for the sign reading “private party” just as Angela had instructed her to. Cautiously, she approached the group beneath the sign and was surprisingly relieved to recognize Angela.

“Miss Greenwood.” Angela glanced over Eve; her eyes lingered on Maddie's borrowed pullover, and she looked away approvingly.

I guess airport fashion really is a big deal.

“Don’t worry about your bags; Hannah will take those. Hannah!” She barked. A young woman rushed over; her wispy blonde hair fell pleasantly over her youthful, round cheeks.

“Yes, Ma’am?” she asked.

“Take Miss Greenwood’s bags.”

“Of course,” Hannah reached over and took Eve’s bags out of her hands, leaving her only with her purse, which she clutched as if it were a shield.

“Go, introduce yourself to John. He’s the other person on the media team. You two will be working together.” Angela waved her hand dismissively and did not give Eve further instruction or clarification on who John was.

Eve made her way through the crowd of people.

“Do you need help with anything?” A bubbly voice chirped from beside her. It was Hannah.

“Yes, actually, I’m looking for John?” Eve asked.

“Of course! I’ll take you to him.” Hannah began to lead Eve through the group with far too much energy for how early it was in the morning. Eve struggled to keep up. They passed by several surly looking men with earpieces who stood blocking a cluster of chairs.

Bodyguards.

Eve was just barely able to make out a figure sitting in one of the chairs. Matthew. He sat slouched, a hoodie pulled over his head, obscuring his hair and the top of his face. Time began to move in slow motion as she caught his gaze. Eve managed a quick smile, lifted her hand, and gave a weak wave. The streamer considered her for a moment, then lifted his eyebrows at her in acknowledgment and gave her a quick nod.

“Miss?”

Hannah had been talking to her.

“Sorry, what was that?” Eve asked, feeling stupid.

“I asked if you were going to be joining the media team with John?”

“Oh, yes, and you can call me Eve.”

“Nice to meet you, Eve,” Hannah smiled warmly. “John is the one on the right.” She gestured to two men who were standing near a hangar window.

John seemed to be in his early thirties, a few years older than Eve, and had sparkling, warm brown eyes that complemented his dark brown hair, which was tied neatly in a ponytail.

“Excuse me. I was told to introduce myself to you. I’m Eve,” she extended a hand to John uncertainly.

John fixed her with an intrigued look.

“Ah, you’re Eve? It’s nice to meet you finally,” he said with a smile, shaking her hand.

“I’m looking forward to working with you,” Eve said.

“Likewise. I believe Hannah arranged for us to be seated next to each other on the flight so that we can get acquainted. Have you ever traveled with talent before?” he asked, gesturing to Matthew.

Eve shook her head.

“Well, buckle up,” John chuckled. “It can get pretty crazy, but Matt’s a pro. Just try not to trip over anyone, and you’ll be fine.”

Eve’s heart caught in her throat.

What does that mean?

“Okay everybody, line up! It’s time for us to board,” Hannah quipped, hurrying through the crowd.

John laughed again at the look on Eve’s face. “You’ll be fine; just follow what everyone else does.”

Eve fell in line behind John, and the whole group inched forward slowly.

“Look! Is that Mr. Cards?” a passerby called out. Suddenly, chaos erupted. The airport, which had previously been empty and sleepy, was suddenly alive with a flurry of activity. People swarmed the group from all directions, calling Matthew’s name with their phones out. The security guards flanked Matthew and rushed him down the aisle toward the boarding gate. Eve stumbled as the team rushed past, briefly pressing her hands against John’s back.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Don’t worry about it,” John said good-naturedly.

Matthew’s head turned. An unreadable expression crossed his eyes as he looked at Eve and John. Irritation?

The moment was gone as quickly as it had come, and Matthew turned back to the crowd, waving and smiling out from underneath his hoodie.

“Hi, everyone!” he quipped as security continued to rush him through the gate. The crowd exploded with excitement.

Eve kept her eyes trained on John’s back and focused on following the line forward. With Matthew on the plane, the crowd had started to thin out, but the area was still far more lively than it had been before. She was relieved when it was finally her turn to board.

“First class.” The flight attendant smiled at her as she scanned the boarding pass that Eve had handed her. The woman gestured toward the entrance of the plane, and Eve stepped onto the walkway unsteadily. She had flown several times before, but it had always made her a little nervous, and she had never flown first class.

She shuffled down the row of soft, luxury seats, her eyes fixed on the ticket in her hand with the seat number on it. Before she realized what was happening, the strap of her purse snagged on the arm of a seat as she passed by, hurling her backward.

This was the one thing John told me not to do. Eve thought in dismay as the force of the pull brought her off her feet and crashing toward the ground.

Eve felt a rough, calloused hand grab her by the elbow and steady her. A familiar low voice whispered in her ear.

“Be careful.”