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After the meeting with his PR team, we had a little bit of free time. So Vince drove me home, we packed up the last of my stuff, and then he called the movers. Once all the boxes were taken, we left for his apartment.

I took one look around before leaving. I ended up leaving most of the furniture here in the apartment for the next tenants to keep. Actually, all of it. I told Vince that I was thinking of selling it but he just said there's no need to. So right this minute, he's driving us to his apartment forever, kind of.

It's weird to think I'll never go back to my own apartment again, Vince's apartment is mine too now, even if it's just temporarily. But that's the place I'm going to call home now. I was sitting in the passenger seat when my phone rang in my lap. It was James. I answered, putting it to my ear. "Hello?"

"I'm tired," he huffed, "I'm tired of being his so-called assistant in public. All his schedules are coming to me, take them away!"

I laughed, "No can do. I'm not his assistant as far as the public knows anymore. You are. Just forward it all to me, you don't have to filter through it."

"That's not the worst part."

"What's the worst part?"

"His parents!"

"Ah..." I paused. "Right."

He sighed and then continued, "His father called. He's hosting a party tomorrow night. He just scored a deal with a huge CEO from Chicago who was here on business."

"Who?" I asked.

"Somebody named Ace Allister," he replied.

I reached into my bag, taking out a notepad and pen. This is my job. To research the important people Vince is about to meet and to see if that benefits him or if it'll only harm his reputation. I scribbled down the name 'Ace Allister' and then asked James, "What kind of deal?"

"I don't know. But Mr. Graham is selling him a location for a club and an entire mansion here in Boston. So, he hit the jackpot. Look, I've got another meeting so I have to go."

"Okay. Thanks, bye." I hung up, opening up Google and trying to find the basics on this guy.

"What are you doing?" Vince asked, glancing at me.

"Your father is hosting a party tomorrow night."

He sighed, "I'm not going."

"We'll see. There are important guests coming, it'll be a good idea to go."

"Who's coming?"

"Ace Allister." I turned to look at him. "Do you know who that is?"

He thought for a minute. "I've heard of him. He owns a club in Chicago and recently turned it into a franchise; he opened a lot of other clubs nationally. He bought a few hotels too."

"Have you ever met him?" I asked, scribbling down the details I found on the internet.

Just things like the names of his clubs, how old he was. A few rumors were going around but it seemed obvious like they were true. He's a boss of a somewhat illegal business behind the curtains. His money and other people he's associated with say that. I never knew people like him existed until I started working for Vince and saw a few other people like him that Mr. Graham has worked with.

I went onto images, my brows shooting up. "Wow."

"What?"

"I thought he'd be older. He's pretty young. Only one year older than you." I swiped through some more pictures. "He's... handsome," I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Vince scoffed beside me.

"Yeah. He's like... really handsome."

"He's also married, Tiffany."

I frowned, turning to him. "Really?"

"He got married last year. He is happily married last I checked."

"To who?"

"Gianna Phoenix."

I gasped, my jaw dropping. "The CEO designer of Phoenix?"

"I think, yeah."

Well, then they must be a powerful couple. "We're going to this party," I concluded.

"Why?" he huffed.

"To meet them, of course."

He glanced at me and then sighed, shaking his head, and kept driving. "Don't fangirl over them," he mumbled.

"Why not?"

"You only get to fangirl over me, Ms. Tiffany. That's a rule that comes with being my girlfriend and assistant. Understood?"

I stared at him for a minute. "Understood," I mumbled, letting out a chuckle.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

The next morning, we were getting ready to head to City Scoop's studio for the interview. Vince has already read all the questions and he's practicing on his own. Last night, he showed me the guest room upstairs where I'd be staying but I didn't have the time to unpack, so getting ready today was rather difficult with my clothes all stuffed in cardboard boxes and I am not in the best mood when my morning doesn't go well.

I left the breakfast dishes in the sink and grabbed my bag, turning to him. "Let's go. Or we'll be late."

He stood up, still reading the questions, and blindly began walking to the elevator.

I walked with him, making sure he didn't walk right into the wall. We stepped into the elevator, headed down to the lobby, and slipped into his car. I took the keys out of his hands before he could suggest he drove. "You need to go over those questions some more and you can't do that while driving. So, I'll drive. Get in the car."

He didn't argue and sat in the passenger seat while I climbed in, started the car, and drove us to their studio, following google maps instructions. We made it there and stayed in the car for a moment. He sighed, mumbling the last question before leaving the sheet on the controller.

I turned to him. "Ready?"

He nodded confidently. He's always confident, even in his failures. It's something I always admire in him. "Let's go," he shrugged. We climbed out and he grabbed my hand as I made it over to him.

We walked inside, the staff recognizing us immediately. "Upstairs, to the right. You'll find the rest of the staff already there, Mr. Hunter," she smiled.

He nodded wordlessly and we got into the elevator.

"Are you nervous?" I whispered.

"No," he shook his head, fixing the sleeve of his black suit. I'm nervous. But he's Vince, so of course, he's never nervous. The elevator opened and we walked out, side by side.

I stopped at the door since it was on my side and turned to Vince. "Here we are." I went to grab the doorknob but he beat me to it, pushing it open and holding it for me. I chuckled softly, walking past him and inside, over to the cameramen and staff while Vince walked over and sat in the chair that was placed for him where the interview would take place.

"Ms. Demi?"

I turned over to an employee.

He pulled over a chair beside the cameraman. "You can sit right here."

"Thank you." I sat down.

A member of staff handed me a sheet of questions. "Um, I would just like to confirm, you aren't his assistant, are you? You're just going through the questions?"

"Does it matter?" I asked, fixing my blazer and going through the additional questions.

"Um, no. Sorry, please excuse me." I nodded and he left.

"Everything ready?" the interviewer asked.

"We're rolling in three... two... one! And we're live!" the cameraman announced. Everybody in the room had to be silent, so we all were just listening as the interviewer first greeted the viewers, then introduced Vince to them, asking him the basic

"How are things going with you lately?"

Vince replied, keeping it simple and short. "Great, things are good. Touchwood."

The interview was going smoother than I expected it to. The questions were limited to Vince's career, the season, and the team. Until they weren't.

"So, clearly, things have been going great for you, what about your parents? Do you see them often?"

Vince nodded surely. "I do indeed."

"Are you close?"

"I'm about as close to my parents as any busy athlete has the time to be," he said with a small shrug, crossing one ankle over the other and leaning back in the chair.

"Your father is said to be hosting a party soon, can we expect to see you there?"

"You sure can," Vince nodded.

"With a certain date on your arm... perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Vince smirked, glancing at me. I resisted an eye roll and kept listening, paying attention to the interview.

"Now," the interviewer cleared his throat, "a few years ago, there was some trouble with your last assistant, I believe, isn't that right?"

"I'm surprised you're asking, I thought you'd know all about it."

The interviewer paused before letting out an awkward laugh, looking at the rest of the staff. "Moving on, recently, about six or seven months ago, you had a rather scandalous moment with your last assistant, Ms. Demi Vaughn. You two were caught going into a bedroom together and then she was caught sneaking out the next morning while you and the team were in New York for a preseason game. Is there anything you could tell us about her? It was quite a scandal."

I glared at the back of the interviewer's head. One thing about City Scoop. They write their own questions rather than looking into what it is that the public really wants to know. It's why their questions are always so fucking offensive.

"Scandal?" Vince scoffed. "What would you like to know?" Vince replied, his jaw ticking.

"Is there anything going between you two at the moment?"

"I should be honest, it's about time, isn't it?" He glanced at me. "She's my girlfriend," he nodded.

I took in a breath, looking at the paper in my hands instead of Vince.

"Officially, she's your girlfriend, that's nice," the interviewer nodded. "How long have you two been together?"

"Everyone knows she was my assistant for a long time—"

"How did it happen?"

Vince hates, and I mean hates being cut off. He gave the interviewer a tight-lipped smile before continuing. "I'll tell you if you let me talk," he paused and when the interviewer only shifted uncomfortably in his seat, Vince carried on. "She was my assistant for a long time and she was the best assistant I've ever had. Being around her constantly for two years, I personally think it was inevitable. She is the most amazing person I've ever met. She's dedicated, committed, and she's an honest person. About three months before we went to New York for the game, it was just a sudden realization. I just thought, 'Oh shit, she's beautiful, how haven't I noticed that?'"

"And what made you notice that?"

He glanced at me. "We actually went to lunch with my mother."

I blinked, a little confused, and held his gaze.

"And my mother asked very bluntly if there was something going between us. She asked us that once in a while. At the time, there was nothing. But after that, I just... I don't know. I fell for her." His eyes went back to the interviewer. "And we started seeing each other and we only got three months to ourselves before the press ruined it. But you know all about that, don't you?"

"Sorry?" the interviewer laughed it off.

"No, really." Vince uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Do you think that's a good way to go about it? When two people are doing something private, when they're out of the public eye, don't you think they have full rights to do whatever they want?"

"Of course. But... don't you think it was unprofessional to have sex with your assistant?"

"What I think is unprofessional is the way you're talking about her like that when she's sitting right behind you. And no, I don't think it's unprofessional to sleep with my girlfriend."

"She wasn't your girlfriend at the time."

"Not publicly, no. That doesn't mean she wasn't my girlfriend at all."

The entire room fell silent for a minute.

"What we did wasn't wrong here, that was our personal matter. What was wrong was for City Scoop to bribe hotel staff to get information on me. But, then again you know how to do that very well."

"Excuse me?"

"You mentioned my last assistant earlier, who also lost her job because of the stunt you pulled. So you tell me what was wrong. Sleeping with my girlfriend or City Scoop's acts?"

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