I'll Find You

She Will Be Loved

It's not all rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along yeah
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want yeah
——She Will Be Loved, Maroon 5

April 30, 2018

Grayson was genuinely attempting to keep his temper in check.  But it wasn't easy. 

He'd arrived in California the night before and had gone through his workout for the day.  He'd done some yoga.  And he'd gotten stretched out.  Now he was sitting across from his agent.  But his relaxed state was gone and his eyes continued to narrow.

"- just don't think this is the best time for this type of announcement.  Teams want you to be focused on basketball, not on-"

"What a bunch of bullshit," Grayson snapped.  "Luke dated a fucking reality tv star last year."

"A reality tv star that might be a brainless diva, but that most of America loves.  Who was launching a clothing line and wanted publicity.  And we didn't actually make that public until the draft," Aaron pointed out calmly.

"Everybody knew it!"  Grayson was struggling to keep his composure.  "It was all over their social media.  And this is different.  She's been my girlfriend for a year and a half."

"And that's fine.  She's still your girlfriend -"

"Like hell she is," Grayson growled.  "She's my fiancée, soon to be wife.  Really soon, if I have any say in the matter."

"Grayson, look," he sighed. "Meet me halfway here. Just wait until after the draft. Let's get through these next seven or eight weeks. She can be there at the draft. You just don't need -"

"I don't get the problem." Grayson ran a hand into his hair. "She's a three time Olympic gold medalist and she's about to graduate from one of the most prestigious universities in the country. And your agency represents her too."

"And she's perceived as a spoiled, snotty brat," Aaron told him. He saw his client's eyes narrow again and held up a hand. "I'm not saying she is one. I'm not her agent and I've never met her. I'm sure she's a sweet girl."

"She's not sweet," Grayson said derisively. "She's smart and funny and ambitious. She's a firecracker."

"That's not helping," he frowned. "G, we're already taking steps to deal with any lingering concerns related to your image. Let's not have teams wondering whether your personal relationship is going to cause problems."

"I fail to see how being engaged to a gold medal winning heiress could be perceived as a problem," Grayson gritted out.

"I'm just suggesting you two not make any public announcements or appearances until the draft." Aaron said simply. "Keep this to yourselves for a little while."

"Too late," Grayson snorted. "I would have been happy to keep the proposal to myself, but my dopey teammates videoed it."

"Former teammates," his agent corrected automatically. "And what do you mean? Is it online?"

"No," Grayson sighed. "It's been circulated among The Brotherhood, though."

"And I'm sure a simple text to your former teammates would be sufficient, just to let them know that you aren't announcing anything publicly yet," he pointed out reasonably.