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THE HOTSHOT VS. THE REPORTER
NICOLE DYKES
Copyright © 2023 by Nicole Dykes

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
 CONTENTS

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Note From the Author
Stalker Links
All of my MM Books
Hostile
1. Rhett
The Pretty Boy vs The Bad Boy
Prologue
Please remember, showing vulnerability doesn’t mean you’re weak. It’s being human. You deserve
that break when you need it. You deserve someone you don’t have to be strong for. Fight when you
need to, but let others back you up when you need that too. You don’t always have to be the strong
one or the one to play a part. Sometimes it’s okay to lean on someone else. Give yourself that
grace.
CHAPTER 1
 ROYAL

“Are you kidding me? What part of behave do you not understand? Do you need me to treat you like a
toddler? Because I can.”
I try like hell not to shrink back as Jenny, my agent, lectures me because I don’t back down. I’m
Royal Goddamn Dutton. The hotshot on the track, but just as mouthy and badass off the track too.
Still, despite my agent being pint-sized and beautiful as all hell, I’m a little afraid of her—I’m not
going to lie. I’m man enough to admit I often have nightmares about the woman kicking my ass.
And while it’s kind of hot, I have no doubt she could take me. And not in the fun way. No, this
woman wants nothing to do with me sexually, as she’s informed me on many occasions. Still, it’s kind
of fun to flirt with her when she’s not fuming mad like she is right now.
“What exactly are you angry about? I just won the fucking race.” Her eyes meet mine, cold and
downright terrifying. I wonder for a moment if Jenny is going to throat-punch me right here on the
track.
“Watch. Your. Mouth.”
I shouldn’t say it. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t back down. People are watching and listening,
and I’m Royal Dutton. Twice as much of a smartass as the Bad Boy—a/k/a my best friend, Axel
Lennon—and if you ask me, twice as charming too. “Oh Jenny, you know I’m far too busy watching
that pretty mouth of yours to watch my own.”
Yup, she’s not amused. Not at all. Damn it all to hell. Why did I move my contract from my last
agent to her? He was a pansy and totally boring, but he rarely called me on my shit. Not like Jenny.
All she does is call me out.
I should be celebrating right now, but no, I’m dealing with this damn she-demon. “Why are you so
upset?” I ask slowly, putting on my smooth Texas drawl.
“You hit his car.”
I unzip my firesuit because it’s hot as fuck out here today. Where are we? Atlanta, I think. Yeah,
we’re in Atlanta. “Look, I rubbed his car. Rubbin’ is racin’.”
Again with the death glare. “Do not quote Days of Thunder to me.”
I drop my shoulders, wishing I could move on from this part. I know it wasn’t exactly the smartest
move out there. “Look, he hit my car first.”
She quickly interrupts me, which for the record, I’m not at all surprised about. “What are you, in
kindergarten?”
I ignore her and go on with my point. “If he wants to play with the big boys, he’s going to have to
learn. He hit me, so I passed him and rubbed his car. It went into the wall. He didn’t have the control
he thought he had, and I won the damn race.”
She huffs, and I know it isn’t over, but she manages to keep her cool as the media swoops in. I
hate the goddamned media. Always have and always will. They put these roles on us.
The Bad Boy. The Pretty Boy. The Hotshot. The Pro. The Rookie. The Ace. And all the others.
They give us these stupid names, and we play into them because with social media being the king, we
have to play up our roles even more than win on the track.
Our reputations are everything.
I turn on the charm and answer all their questions the way I’ve been trained to do from day one. I
don’t apologize for putting one of the new—frankly, pretty insignificant—racers into the wall in order
to win the race.
Instead, I play the cocky hotshot role, even though the adrenaline is spiking through my system and
causing my damn hands to shake because I know it could have been bad.
I know it was a risky, stupid move, but I couldn’t lose. I can’t go back to being that sick kid no
one wanted.
Fuck. Is this damn interview over yet?
Thankfully, Leslie Phillips, Axel’s agent’s wife—that’s a mouthful, but that’s what she is—and a
badass reporter chick lets me off the hook, and I haul ass out of there. If there’s one good reporter out
there, one who actually cares about the subjects of her stories, it’s Leslie.
Maybe it’s because she’s married to Cash—the racer turned sports agent. Or maybe it’s just
Leslie, I don’t know, and I hardly care as I make my way to my car.
I know my discussion with Jenny isn’t over, and when I get out of the shower at my fancy hotel
suite, I’m not surprised to see her sitting calmly in the living room, drink in hand.
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s scotch.
“No, please. Make yourself at home,” I chide, drying my hair with one towel, the other wrapped
around my waist. I don’t bother getting dressed. Jenny’s probably seen me far more naked than this,
pulling my hungover ass out of bed one too many times over the two years she’s worked with me.
I settle into one of the other chairs in the room and get a little uneasy when she doesn’t say
anything. She doesn’t move.
“What?” I finally give in and ask her because I’m not used to Jenny being quiet, and I don’t like it.
“Your reputation is in the toilet. You get that, right?”
I feel my body tense as I try swallowing away the lump in my throat, but it doesn’t work. I hope
she can’t see my hands trembling as I try to play it cool. “Isn’t that the point? To have a bad
reputation. To be a bad boy? The Hotshot?”
“No,” she answers instantly, leaning forward and putting her glass on the table before
straightening her back and eyeing me intensely. “People aren’t rooting for the villain anymore. They
don’t want the bad boy. They want justice. They want good to win. And you, my friend, are playing on
the wrong side.”
“There will always be room for the villain,” I try to argue.
“No.” Her eyes pin mine, sending a shiver through me, and a coldness I’m not sure I’ll ever
overcome sweeps over me. “There won’t. They don’t want the loudmouth jackass to win. Your merch
sales are down. Your sponsorships are dwindling, and you need to pull your head out of your ass and
listen to me.”
I work my jaw in irritation but otherwise remain still. “What do you want me to do? I won the
race.”
“And you won it the dirty way. That’s not going to fly anymore, Royal. If you win, it has to be the
right way. With integrity.”
“I have integrity,” I say, hating the way what she said hurts.
“I believe you do.” Her gaze softens just a bit before it hardens again. She stands up, pulling her
blazer down to smooth it out. “You have to start showing it. We have to find a way to soften you to the
fans.”
I cringe at that. “I’m not soft.”
“You better find your softer side and soon, Royal.” She starts toward the door, her heels clacking
on the floor. “Or your career is going to be over sooner rather than later, while the nice little rookies
come in and steal your spotlight.”
“That’ll never happen.”
I sense her eyes rolling, even though I haven’t moved from my seat. The door clicks when she lets
herself out, and I curse my racing heart and sweaty palms. My career isn’t close to over.
It can’t be.
CHAPTER 2
 SOREN

I can’t believe I’m here. I mean, shit, I shouldn’t be. Of course, Jenny had to catch me when I was
home in Kansas City, and I’m a terrible damn liar, so I couldn’t say I wasn’t here.
Not to mention most of my life is fully documented on social media. Damn Plaza last night. Why
did I have to post pics at the fancy restaurant.
Oh. Right. Comped dinner.
That was nice.
I’ve made a damn good living so far in my twenty-five years. Not only by becoming a sports
reporter in Kansas City, but my lifestyle/sports blog and social-media presence has quite the
following.
Still, I’m here as a favor to my cousin, Waylon. I haven’t seen the guy for years, but blood is
blood, and we share it. My mother would kill me if I didn’t take his call, and she’d have been super
angry with me if I’d told him there was no way I would meet his friend Jenny.
In memory of my sweet mother, who left me when I was only twelve—the result of a horrible
disease she fought hard against and lost—I’m here. Waiting for Jenny, one of the top sports agents in
the country.
I’ve met her a few times in passing, but I don’t remember ever actually speaking to her. Truth be
told, the woman kind of scares me. The definition of fierce. She’s strong, but I’m sure she’s had to be.
Women agents aren’t taken seriously in the sports world—about as seriously as they take full out
and proud gay men who are sports reporters. But my point is she’s had to be tough. There’s no doubt
in my mind.
Still, nerves swirl through my belly, wondering what the hell she could possibly want from me. I
go through the roster of her clients in my head and all the insults I’ve thrown their way on my podcast
and Insta Live.
Shit. She’s going to murder me.
I start to get up to run for my life when I hear the clicking of heels and find myself in Jenny’s
presence, her eyes calmly assessing me. “Soren.”
I nod my head, even though it wasn’t a question. “Jenny. Hello.”
 She sits down next to me at the bar, her movements graceful and sure. “Thank you for meeting me
here. I know you’re busy.”
“I doubt I’m anywhere near as busy as you. You have your hands full.”
A small smile graces her lips at that as she waves down the bartender in the swanky downtown
KC bar. “You have no idea.” She puts in her drink order and shoos the bartender away before her
eyes narrow on me. “Did Waylon tell you why I needed to meet?”
I shake my head. I know Waylon and Jenny are the best of friends, having met when Waylon’s
rockstar client Grady Bell hooked up with Jenny’s professional baseball client Ryan Bailey. But that’s
about all I know. “It was a quick text exchange.”
She nods and takes a drink of her martini. “I need your help.”
My right brow shoots up in curiosity. I don’t know what the hell I could ever help her with. I’m
just a sports reporter and social-media influencer. She’s the high-powered and likely highly paid
agent.
“I need you to do a story on Royal Dutton.”
My jaw hits the damn floor when she says that name. Obviously, I knew he was one of her clients
running through my mind earlier. He was at the top of the list. His arrogance and recklessness are
frequent topics of mine.
“The Hotshot?”
She gives a curt nod. “Yes. I want his reputation modified. I don’t want him to be the arrogant
hotshot anymore.”
I think my brow is now touching my hairline because she’s got to be kidding. “Yeah, I don’t work
miracles. I think you have the wrong guy.”
“No. I have the perfect guy.” Her eyes show no playfulness or mirth. Only seriousness. “You hate
him.”
“I don’t know him.”
“You hate him.” A devilish smirk falls over her lips. “And that’s why you’re perfect.”
I have no idea what she’s talking about, and I don’t hate him, for the record. I don’t know the man.
I just hate everything he stands for. The macho, toxic, arrogant fucks of the world who assume
everyone owes them everything.
“I . . .” I struggle. “What exactly do you want me to do? I won’t lie. My articles and posts are
always 100 percent honest.”
“I know that. That’s another reason you’re perfect.”
“I’m not following you.” I hate the way my voice shakes, but this has to be a mistake.
“Listen, I need you to do a whole series of stories on him. Really get to know him. Find the lighter
side of Royal Dutton.”
I don’t want to piss her off, but is she kidding? “I’m not sure there is a lighter side to him.”
“If there is, you’ll find it,” she says confidently. “And the fact that you’re honest and you hate him
just adds to the story, if you do find any redemption in him. It could be an epic turnaround.”
“This is Royal Dutton you’re talking about. There’s no redemption.”
She sighs heavily and plays with the toothpick in her drink. “There has to be. Or his career is
over.”
I don’t believe it’s that dire. Despite his personality flaws, the man knows what he’s doing out on
the track. Still, there’s something about Jenny that makes it difficult to say no.
“I don’t see him welcoming me.”
“No.” She shakes her head with a slight laugh. “He’s a total shithead and will be a pain in the ass,
but we’ll wear him down. He has to do this, Soren.”
I study her calmly for a moment, contemplating every possible angle. I have no idea how I can
make him look like a decent man.
Sure, he volunteers with a lot of the other racers, but he’s always on. Playing up his charm and
being a cocky asshole.
I don’t see any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
“Maybe you should just play the hot angle,” I say, totally serious because as repulsive as his
attitude is, the man is beautiful. Dark golden hair and bright hazel eyes that mess with my head.
A hard body usually hidden by racing gear and a firesuit, but it hugs him tight enough to know he’s
built. Not to mention the online vacation photos of him swimming in barely there briefs.
“Hot doesn’t do it anymore,” Jenny says easily. “Personality is king.”
“He’s fucked then,” I say all too bluntly, but she doesn’t seem offended by this.
She shrugs. “That’s why I’m the absolute best at my job and why I recruited you. We’re going to
make him likable.”
I think about the man who slams into other cars on purpose. Who hits on any woman in his
vicinity. Who swears like a sailor on camera and flips off the fans who boo him. Who gets into
fistfights on the regular.
There’s no way to make him likable.
Not. Going. To. Happen.
CHAPTER 3
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 Transcriber’s Note:

Changes to the original publication have been made as

follows:

Page 74
Bob’s desk as she passed changed to
Bobs’s desk as she passed
Page 90
Bobs’ face was blank changed to
Bobs’s face was blank
Page 107
but think of Bob’s kick changed to
but think of Bobs’s kick
Page 267
The very idea!” she exclaimel changed to
The very idea!” she exclaimed
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