"Use what?"
"The speculation." I sit up straighter. "What if we show up somewhere we know Adam will be? Get the media talking even more."
Her eyes narrow thoughtfully. "You mean like our original revenge plan, but with bonus public attention?"
"Exactly." I grab my laptop from the coffee table. "Adam has a big client event tomorrow night—the Hot Metal women's soccer match. He's been posting about it all week on his work account."
"And you want us to... what? Crash it?"
"Not crash. Attend. Very visibly."
Lena bites her lip. “I’m not really cool with the visibly part…”
I nod. “Okay, I can see that. But!” I pull up the Hot Metal schedule. "My cousin's girlfriend plays for them. We were all planning to go anyway before..."
"Before your boyfriend and my boyfriend decided to hook up on national television?" she supplies dryly.
"Local television," I correct with a grin. "The point is, Adam will be working. Schmoozing clients and managing media. And if we show up..."
"It'll throw him off his game." Lena's smile grows slowly. "And create exactly the kind of distraction he hates in a professional setting."
"Plus, I was going to go regardless to support Cara."
She hesitates. "Won't that mess up the game for the women, though? If there's a media circus?"
I hadn't considered that. "I don't want to ruin Cara's match."
"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad," Lena muses, as if she’s trying to talk herself into it. "I mean, women's soccer could use more attention, right? More tickets sold, more eyes on the players."
"True." I run a hand through my hair. "And we wouldn't do anything disruptive. Just... exist. Conspicuously."
"How conspicuous are we talking?"
"I'll wear Fury gear, so I'm easy to spot. We get good seats. Maybe we happen to be photographed laughing together." I shrug. "Let people draw their own conclusions."
She considers this and then nods decisively. "Let's do it. Operation Adam Distraction is a go."
"We need a better name than that."
"Operation Soccer Smear?”
I laugh. "Perfect."
On the morning of the match, I wake to the aroma of coffee and the sound of Lena talking on the phone in the kitchen. Her voice is tense in a way I haven't heard before.
"No, Brad, that's not—" A pause. "I'm aware of what people are saying, but—" Another pause, longer this time. "That's really not your concern anymore."
I should go back to my room, give her some privacy. However, something in her tone makes me hesitate.
"I'm not discussing my living arrangements with you," she says firmly. "You gave up the right to opinions about my life when you decided to make out with Adam Lawson on the jumbo screen."
There's a longer silence, and when she speaks again, her voice is ice cold.
"Don't call me again."
I wait a beat before entering the kitchen, giving her time to compose herself. When I round the corner, she's gripping her coffee mug so tightly that her knuckles are white.
"Morning," I say casually, reaching for my mug.
