Daddy Issues

CHAPTER EIGHT

I could hear several people chattering on the other side of the door. It had been an eventful night, after the kiss the paparazzi swarmed, asking questions and I had not bothered to check my phone to see what my friends had to say. People were putting cameras in my face and getting oddly personal. The attention was off-putting, but Zion was there shoving them away. I had urges to run throughout the night but it would have been unfair to let strangers dictate how I saw a relationship with him.

I threw the covers over only half my body while sleeping because I grew hot while sleeping. I kicked what remained off and stood up feeling the cool ground underneath me. The chatter grew, annoying me to where I walked to the closed door and opened it. Standing there was Zion and three strangers. An Asian lady in a coral dress, a white guy in an expensive-looking suit, and a black guy in more casual wear were staring at each other. Noticing my presence, they turned and smiled.

Zion beamed as he looked into my face I hoped to show how unpleased I was to be awake so early in the morning. Noticing how displeased I was he blew a kiss my way that had me muttering how corny he was.. His breath smelled of toothpaste and his skin had the same cologne on as he did the day we met. Dressed in simple gray sweat clothes and slippers, he looked both comfortable and well put together.

"Hey baby boy, you're finally awake. This is my manager Kim, Jerry my lawyer, and my publicist Hakeem," he explained while pointing to each of his team members.

"How about you wash up, and we'll ask you some questions about yourself," Kim suggested. I nodded and mouthed thanks to her while eyeing the surrounding men. I tried my best to not take too much time freshening up and put on a set of sweats that were black. I took my time walking back to where the group was waiting, in the mood to be a little petty. Once I arrived, I found that they had migrated to the bedroom and were all sitting.

"Nice to meet you all, but why are they here?" Feeling comfortable talking now that I had brushed my teeth. I ventured into the room. They looked around at each other, waiting for someone to be the first to explain. Taking the lead, Zion pointed to the chair for me to sit down at.

"So, we're all over the internet, as you know from last night. I want to start with an apology. I honestly did not think anyone would care, but now I am the first openly bisexual baseball player in the league." He said as I walked to the reading chair and took a seat. I understood what he was saying but still wondered why he had called the three people on his staff for.

"I get that but why the team?" Jerry, the lawyer, cleared his throat to answer, but Zion put his hand up. "You're in the spotlight in a way I'm sure that you never wanted. It's a big change, even if it's only for a month, which is probably a given with the way the gossip cycle works. I brought my team here to help prepare you for this change."

"I don't see how my life could change that much. I'm not that interesting and I'm not famous. It was our first date. Who knows if we'll even end up together. I could wake up and hate you tomorrow." Finding it hard to wrap my head around what was being said, I tried to glean information from every face in the room. I got nothing back.

"It shouldn't and that we are here for," Jerry spoke in an accent heavy voice. I couldn't tell where from. "We are here to inform you on the rights and responsibilities that you now have as a soon to be a public figure. We are all well versed in the public space and want to pass the information to you. If you'll let us."

I looked over to Zion, who was waiting for my response. He did not speak or give me a sign of what he wanted me to say. This was a decision I had to make on my own without influence. Turning back to Jerry and company, I nodded.

What followed were several hours, with intermittent breaks that focused on what I could and couldn't say to the press. They scored my social media accounts that were only used to see what others were doing and then we went through a lot of laws I should know. I could sense that they were holding back something, and I had a fear that I knew what it was.