SHOOTING A SHOT AT THE ICE KING

Brielle's POV.



I sipped on my latte, listening to the whines of my colleague, who wanted me to fill in for her for a job.

"Please, Bree," she tugged at my dress. "Be such a doll and help me this once."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what you say every time."

"This is the last one, I promise."

"I've also heard that one before."

She sighed and dropped into the seat beside me. "Come on, Bree. Think of this as your first big job. Don't you want to be the photographer for the national hockey team? They're the biggest team. You cannot just miss out on that opportunity."

"My question," I said, facing her, "is why you want to miss out on that opportunity?"

Her shoulders dropped. "I got a better offer abroad. So instead of declining, I thought of getting someone to fill on to secure the position when I get back."

Ah, so that was the issue.

As kind as Paige was, she was ambitious. She wouldn't give me such a great opportunity while she had none. So I guessed the other offer must be good then. But I refrained from asking her.

"Fine," I said. "I'll do it."

"Thank you," she squealed. "I'll get everything ready for you. Just go ahead. And please, make sure the director never finds out about this."

"I'll try my best, Paige."

"Good luck."

"Thank you."

In no time, I was on my bike, speeding away to the venue. As the most junior member of the team, I was assigned to less desirable tasks. So, this was indeed an opportunity that rarely came by, as Paige insinuated. The highest the director ever had me do was be the lead photographer for a minister's daughter's wedding.

I got to the place and jumped off my bike before walking into the arena. It was busier than I thought it would be. This was the first time I would ever attend a hockey game, and I could already tell from the look of things that I would enjoy it.

I walked to the front row after I handed over my access card. I met with the coordinator of the photography team and took my seat at where I was assigned. He beckoned to me, and I went to meet him. There were three other people there, and they nodded at me.

I beamed at everyone and greeted them.

"Now," he said, "we don't have many rules here, but I should like to let you know that among the players in there, there is one person who doesn't like to be photographed after the game, and that is Chase Kensington. You should know him."

Ah, yes.

Chase Kensington was the star of the team. Who didn't know him? He was every girl's dream in America.. I mean... who wouldn't want that gorgeous man? I could almost kiss Paige's feet at the moment.

"Are you listening?" The man snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Make sure you adhere to this rule strictly. No photographs after the game. You can capture every other person but Kensington."

I wondered why but nodded anyway. Who cares? As long as I got more opportunities from this one, I was fine with it. We went back to our positions, and the game started.

A girl shrieked with excitement. "Oh my God, I'm so excited. I'm here for Chase Kensington alone."

The girl beside her responded, "Yeah, he's totally hot. I'm just here to see him. I don't care about the game."

I wanted to laugh, but I held it in. I had to be professional, of course. I had never seen this Chase Kensington in reality. I just saw him on the TV. I didn't know much about hockey sports, but with somebody like Chase in the game, I definitely heard about it.

Soon, the players walked into the rink. The dudes were handsome and special-looking, but there wasn't anything to fancy about them until the last player got in. He was over six foot tall with a lean muscular physique. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were...

Unfortunately, I couldn't make out the color of his eyes as much as I wanted to. His aura on that ice alone was one I had never seen before. Naturally, I was moved to capture that for others to see, so I did.

The back of his jersey said Kensington. I gasped when I saw this. He looked even better in person! There were crazy shrieks in the audience as people were going crazy at the mere sight of him.

"Chase!" some girls screamed.

"Look at us!"

"I'm your biggest fan!" They yelled.

I smiled as I began taking the photographs. But one thing stuck to me. This gorgeous man paid no attention whatsoever to his fans. He didn't even act like he loved them back. He just nonchalantly moved with grace on the ice, preparing for the game to begin.

Now, it was time for the game to begin, and all the players wore their helmets and grabbed their hockey sticks. Soon, they began gliding across the ice, playing. I crouched behind the board to get a perfect recording of what was happening.

The crowd erupted in a loud cheer when Chase slammed his opponent into the board. I gasped, surprised at the impact of the hit. When the opponent stood up, I realized he was all right, and I calmed down. How could they all cheer at something like this?

What if something had happened to him? But then, this just showed how much I needed to go out often, since I was always confined to my apartment. In no time, the game was over with Chase's fans satisfied with the outcome.

I moved closer to take a perfect picture of the players' aftermath of victory. I climbed onto a podium to get a perfect view of the rink. I gasped when I saw Chase crouched in a corner. That was not a demeanor of victory.

He turned, and I could see through my lens that he was crying! This was the most vulnerable moment of his career and would touch his fans' hearts. I had to show them.

Don't photograph him after the game.

Well, fuck it. It wasn't like he could see me. I took a shot and the moment the flash went off, he looked directly at me.

He caught me! What should I do?

Brielle's POV





"Come with me right fucking now," he said, as he walked through the door into an enclosed space.

I looked left and right, hoping that someone would come to my rescue. However, it seemed like no one saw us. So I gulped and went in with him. His back was turned when I got there. And up close, his back looked so intimidating. This was Chase Kensington. I was standing in the same room as everyone's idol!

Alone...

"Hi," I said.

He turned to me, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at how ethereal he looked up close. Despite being a tall girl myself, he towered over me by several inches. Judging from my five feet eleven inches self, he seemed to be about six foot three.

His eyes were a piercing blue, and his hair was just perfect. His chiseled jaw and full red lips matched his facial structure and made me want to...

"Hey!" he yelled.

I flinched and looked up at him.

"Sorry," I whispered.

Now all traces of tears had vanished from his face. His eyes only held anger.

"Give me the camera," he said.

I gasped and took three steps away from him, hiding the camera behind my back. "No."

"I said give it."

"No!"

"You paparazzis think you can do anything you want and get away with it, don't you?"

I scoffed. "Paparazzi? Who says I am?"

"Aren't you one?"

"I work for the press. I'm not a paparazzi."

"I don't care who the hell you work for. Just delete that thing off your camera."

"I won't."

"How much do you want?" he asked.

My mouth dropped open. "What?"

"How much are you going to collect to delete every single copy of that photograph you took?"

I blinked. "I'm not... that's not... What the hell? I'm not after your money. I don't..."

"Then why don't you want to delete it?"

"Because it's a beautiful picture."

"It's my vulnerability! It's a beautiful picture to you?"

I cleared my throat and stood firm with my head high. "I've done what I was asked to do here. My job is over. You have no right to detain me here. Excuse me."

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. My body rammed hard into his chest. My heart leaped into my throat as I took in his masculine scent. All thoughts flying away from my head. What was going on?

Why was I so affected by this man whom I had just met for the first time? I wasn't even a fan of Chase Kensington. Why did I appear so starstruck by him? What was happening to me?

"You are going to delete those pictures right now."

I stared back at him defiantly. "No, I am not."

"What agent do you work for?"

I paused. I couldn't tell him because I was just filling in for someone. If they went to check the list of photographers, they would see Paige's name, and then Paige would be called into the director's room. And then Chase's manager might have to recognize the photographer and point at me instead of Paige.

Then Paige would be in trouble. I thought about this for a while. Paige was my friend, and I didn't want to ruin her over something like this. I should have listened to the director and not taken that picture.

"Why?" I asked, even though I was shaking on the inside.

He released me instantly, his eyes flashing with fury. "Get out. I will talk to the director about this."

When I heard that, I was frightened. Things could get really bad if he did talk to the director about me. Before I could process what was happening, he had already walked out of the room. I ran after him, trying to catch up with him, but when I got back outside, he was already in the ring, talking to the director.

"My goodness," I muttered under my breath. "How is he so fast?"

I saw him look around and point at me. I immediately knew that he was telling the man about me. So I packed up my things, pulled my coat over my head, and walked briskly out of the arena.

"Miss Paige!" I heard someone yell, but I didn't respond.

I walked out quickly, put my helmet over my head, sat on my bike, and sped off. In no time, I arrived at the studio to help Paige report the successful job. However, when I got to the office, the director was there waiting for me.

His face was red with anger. "Come to my office right now, Hopkins," he said.

I knew that I was in trouble already, so I just followed him instantly, ready to face whatever it was. As soon as I closed the door behind me, he turned to me angrily.

"What were you thinking, Hopkins?"

I feigned ignorance. "What?"

He slammed his hand on the table. "Don't play with me right now. I know you filled in for Paige Newman who is secretly working for another agency. As if that was not enough, you went ahead and took a photograph of Chase Kensington after the game."

Our director was known for having a bad temper. No one wanted to get on his bad side.

"I...I..." I stammered.

"You shouldn't even speak!" he yelled. "This is the exact reason why I don't give jobs like this to juniors, especially incompetent ones like you. You don't know the ethics of our job. You think you can just go there and, and act a fool? Miss Newman will definitely pay for this. Someone has to leave this organization."

I gasped. "Please, director Ford. Don't fire Paige."

"Oh no," he said with a sinister smile. "Not her. You are fired!"

Brielle's POV




The next day, I woke up hungover because I had stayed up last night drinking heavily to shut out the pain I felt. Paige had gotten wind of what happened and had called last night to tell me how disappointed she was that I couldn't keep my rebellious nature in check.

"I'll talk to Ford for you," she had said before hanging up.

I sighed. I was only trying to help her, and this was what I got for it. No doubt it was my fault for almost ruining our career, but I was already fired, wasn't I? Now that I had no job anymore, I didn't know what to do with my life. Finding a new job in New Jersey was not as easy as it seemed, but I hoped to get one soon.

This was the time I missed my parents. As an only child, they would have been comforting me by now if I were to be in California with them. I sighed wistfully. This was one of the disadvantages of adulthood.

My phone rang and I reluctantly got out of the bed to check who was calling. Immediately I saw who it was, I sat up despite my headache and picked up the call.

"Hello, Director Ford?"

"Brielle," he said, his voice unusually bright.

Brielle?

He usually called me by my surname, for formality. What was this?

"Yes?" I waited.

"Well, I haven't seen you at the studio today."

I blinked, confused. "You fired me yesterday, remember?"

"Me? Never. Come to the studio right away, you are needed here."

Before I could say anything, he dropped the call. I was confused. What in the world was going on? I remembered clearly that he fired me yesterday due to my incompetence, as he called it. Or maybe I had too much to drink that I'd started hallucinating.

But that was the point of the alcohol I took yesterday. If I hadn't been fired, I wouldn't have taken it. So, what was going on? Despite my confusion, I dragged myself into the bathroom, took a shower, and hopped on my bike immediately.

When I got to the studio, Director Ford was a delightful ray of sunshine. It was so unlike him. He pulled out a seat for me and made me sit in the hall where he had gathered the staff. Paige hadn't flown into Jersey yet, so she wasn't there.

I could only stare at everyone in confusion as the usually gruff man was dancing around like a happy child.

"You are the star of this agency," he beamed. "You've made me so proud."

Now, I am totally confused. I got up from the seat, refusing to be confused anymore.

"What is going on, Director Ford? You fired me yesterday, and today you are telling me that I'm the star of this agency? You told me yesterday I was incompetent."

He waved his hand. "I was just angry. You know that you are far from being incompetent."

"What's going on?"

"Congratulations. Your dream has been fulfilled."

"What dream?"

"You are now a lead photographer for the Jersey hockey team."

Before I could even process what he said, he spoke again.

"And that's not all. Guess what's to come."

"What?" I squeaked.

"Chase Kensington chose you himself. He said he didn't want any other photographer but you."

Blood drained from my face. I knew what would happen already. I must be in deep shit now. He probably wanted me to delete the picture and would do anything to get his way, even if it meant keeping me by his side as his photographer.

Nice strategy, Kensington, I thought.

Everyone began celebrating without even asking. So I decided to drop the bomb.

"I am not interested," I said.

"What?" Director Ford's face changed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Give the job to Paige. It's hers."

"This isn't Paige's job. Besides, you were the one Chase Kensington chose."

"Director, I'm not..."

"Do you still want this job or not?"

"I do, but..."

"No buts. You have to accept the offer."

"..."


*** * ***


I parked my bike in front of a little stadium. I was scheduled to photograph Chase and his teammates while they were practicing today. I had no choice but to come since I had already accepted the offer. Even Paige asked me to go ahead and accept it.

According to her, this was an opportunity that I had been waiting for, and I needed to grab it while the offer was still up. I walked into the stadium, met with the manager, and tried my best to avoid looking him in the eye.

"Do not forget the rules," he said with a disapproving look.

"I won't."

"That was what you said the last time. This time, make sure there are no mistakes."

"Yes, sir."

Soon, I began capturing their moments, even beginning to feel like I belonged there and just enjoying the game. But Chase kept looking at me like I was a pest. His eyes were full of disdain for me. I wondered why he seemed so irritated with me when he was the one who asked me to come here. After their practice, I walked up to him.

"Hi, Mr. Kensington."

He looked at me like I was a piece of trash and walked away. I gasped but didn't push it further. He was probably angry because of the last time. But that didn't give him the right to treat me that way.

I just stood there, deciding that I wouldn't go near him again. I would just come here, do my job, and leave. So that was what I did for the next few days. I would come there, do the usual session, and leave as soon as my job was done, until he cornered me one day.

"I need you to delete those pictures," he whispered.