Diving Into You

Chapter Two

Elliot

“Sorry what?” My mind had been wandering, as my eyes skirted around the bar. As expected it was busy, but so far no one was paying much attention to us at all. Sure there were the odd appreciative glances as gaggles of young women walked past our table but I was pretty sure no one actually recognised me, which was a welcome change.

But I had been so busy people-watching I had barely heard anything the man across the booth from me was saying, what would it be like to be as carefree as these people? Not that I would swap my life for anything. I had worked hard to get where I was but sometimes I wondered what it would have been like to have the usual life of someone my age. To drink, and party and sow my wild oats without the world media knowing every single detail. What would it be like to be totally carefree?

“Elliot.” His gravelly voice cut through my daydream. Are you even listening?”

I raised my eyes to him, “Sorry, what were you saying?” Mentally I cleared my mind, this was my life, there was no point daydreaming over what-ifs. Not when every single person in this bar would probably sell their own grandmother to live MY LIFE.

“This shoot…”

My brows slammed down. How many more times would we have this conversation? “The answer is still no Holden.” I wanted to end the idea once and for all but just one look at his face and I knew it was far from over. Sighing I tipped the sparkling water into my glass.

“This could be really good for you Elliot.” He tried to say it casually but he couldn’t quite hide the glint in his eyes as he sipped the amber liquid in his glass. I classed as Holden as a friend and not just the manager of the swimmers association but that just meant I knew exactly what he was thinking. We had been working closely together for years so it was impossible not to.

He might as well have dollar signs in his eyes like a cartoon character.

“You mean it will make money.” He was so predictable it was almost comical.

“A s**t ton of money Elliot.”

“I don’t need more Holden.” I paused, I really didn’t need any more money. I could quit swimming now, never win another competition and could still live a comfortable life for the rest of my days.

I definitely didn’t need to take my clothes off in front of a camera to add to my wealth.

“Be reasonable Elliot.” The exasperated spins of his voice grated on my nerves and my fist clenched unconsciously under the table. The fact that he still spoke to me like I was a teenager annoyed the hell out of me. It had been years since I was the young naïve boy who had dreamt of competing at a world level.

Dammit.

I was Twenty -six years old and yet he still thought he could bully me into things that could possibly ruin not only my career but my professional reputation as well. “No Holden.” I drew his name out. “I do what you ask of me, I show up to the parties you tell me, I train hard and I WIN. I won’t w***e myself out by posing with my ass out for any amount of money.”

“That is different, you do that to gain sponsors. This is a whole new level of promotion. One that could be very lucrative in our business.”

Our business? I frowned at him. “My business is swimming. My business is winning medals for my country. The Olympics are just around the corner and you think my attention should be on playing a model for a few hours? The answer is no.”

“Elliot, try and listen to reason…”

“Yes, Elliot.” A breathy voice spoke to my left as my personal assistant Barry slipped into the booth next to me. In his hand was an obnoxiously green cocktail, complete with the tiny umbrella and I had to hide my smile as his eyes roamed the room. “Why would you want to hide the best-known ass in the whole world? I mean baring it to the public, totally uncovering the mystery.” He gave a wink. He was so over the top it was comical sometimes but he was the best PA out there. More than just my assistant he was a friend. “That…” He took a long sip of the cocktail and c****d his head, his wide eyes unblinking. “Wouldn’t cause harm to his brand at all. It wouldn’t solve the mystery and end up costing you money in the long run.” His voice dripped sarcasm and Holden’s eyebrows shot down.

As usual, Barry had my back.

“I’ll be back,” I shoved at Barry’s shoulder gently urging him to move so I could at least have a few minutes alone in the bathroom. I could trust Barry to fight my corner on this. The last thing my career needed was that kind of publicity. I would not under any circumstances be getting my ass out in front of the camera.

My hand paused on the door to the men’s room when I felt a small, slightly sweaty hand slide over my buttocks. The heat radiating from it was nothing compared to the smell of alcohol that overwhelmed me.

“Hey, Carl.”

I caught the small wrist in my hand as her hands encircled my waist, she was so close to my back I could feel her breathing through my shirt.

“Do I know you?” I didn’t move a muscle, this girl was obviously drunk and the last thing I needed was some douche with a camera capturing this encounter and sticking it on the Internet.

“Baby it’s me,” the voice was soft, but the slur in it couldn’t be denied. Whoever this chick was she was wasted.

“Darling I think you have me mixed up with someone else.”