It seemed Mr. Fitzpatrick took his physical health and competition readiness to the level of near obsession. When the rest of the team gathered after a match to drink at a nearby pub, Ronan was always the designated driver. His nickname was Mother Fitzpatrick.

Third, everyone in Ireland—according to my contacts—knew the reason Ronan had lost it on the field and pummeled his teammate, and her name was Brona O’Shea. There was a YouTube video of the fight that had garnered millions of views. Even though he was the one doing the damage—and boy, did he know how to throw a punch—I felt bad for Ronan as I watched it. There was a sort of pain in his eyes that struck a chord with me. When I spoke to his nutritionist (Jenna McCarthy) about Ronan and Brona, she made it sound like they were the popular celeb golden couple, and all of Ireland followed their every move. As well, no one in the whole of Ireland (all five million people) understood why Ronan Fitzpatrick put up with Brona O’Shea.

“Why, I was just talking to my husband about it last night,” Jenna had said, sounding far too invested in Ronan’s relationship status. “I said I hoped Ronan doesn’t take her back this time. She’s a snake, an absolute snake, and she’s holding him back.”

“This time? Have they split before?” I’d pushed, telling myself I needed to understand the history of Ronan’s relationship with Brona in order to craft a comprehensive image profile for our social media team.

“Ah, yes, but it hasn’t been quite so public before. This time she crossed a line. Instead of dallying about with some rock star, this time she slept with his teammate, his flanker—Sean Cassidy.”

“She—” My mouth moved, but I struggled to find words. I was shocked. “Ms. O’Shea cheated on Mr. Fitzpatrick?” I made a mental note to Google image search Sean Cassidy. In fact, I did it surreptitiously as I spoke to Jenna. He was hot in a blond, pretty boy sort of way.

“Of course! What do you think we’re talking about? She’s a woman of easy virtue, that Brona. Ask anyone. Ronan’s the most loyal person I know, oh!” Jenna made a sad sound, and I heard her sigh before she continued, “I think Brona having it away with his flanker was the last straw. He put up with her changing the way she looked, helped her with her joke of a music career, and all of her other garbage. If you ask me, the man deserves a medal.”

“So….” I’d paused, mulling this information over before asking, “So Mr. Fitzpatrick isn’t responsible for Ms. O’Shea’s altered appearance?”

“Eh? What’s that? You mean her plastic surgeries and the fake tits and the rest of it? No, no. Those were all her doing.”

“What about his family? What do they think about his relationship with Brona O’Shea and her behavior?” I’d asked this question to everyone, and they all gave me more or less the same answer.

“Oh, the high and mighty Fitzpatricks? They won’t even talk to Ronan, never have. His ma raised him and his sister by herself. The Fitzpatricks won’t even acknowledge him. He’s better off without them, in my opinion. They’re the posh society types. They think everything they do is brilliant and everything he does is shite. But he won’t speak a harsh word against them. He’s too good for them, if you ask me.”

Going to the source certainly had given me a lot to think about, such as the unfair assumptions I’d made.

I knew better than anyone that information found on the Internet was suspect at best, and I reprimanded myself for believing—even for a short time—the rumor magazines’ depiction of Ronan. It certainly did explain his anger and overreaction to my article on New York’s Finest last Saturday and his emails to The Socialmedialite; he’d been exploited by money-hungry gossipmongers. He hated the media.

I’d decided to put off responding to his latest email, where he’d called The Socialmedialite xenophobic. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to fight with him or add to his aggravation. But I also didn’t like that he’d lumped New York’s Finest in with the trashy, infotainment garbage that had been tearing him down.

No person is ever truly their online or media persona. For better or for worse, the human condition, desires, and faults are so much more robust than pixels on a screen or words beneath a caption.

Nevertheless, robust isn’t my job nor is reality.

My job is shortcuts and sound bites and manipulation of perception. But it’s so much nicer when the image I create is representative of the real person. I never enjoy putting the shine of perfection on a piece of shit, à la It’s not poop, it’s chocolate…just don’t try to eat it because it’s full of E. coli.

I couldn’t decide if I felt better or worse after talking to Jenna and the others. In addition to my inconvenient and forceful physical attraction to Ronan Fitzpatrick, I also found myself liking him—specifically the him painted by my calls to his acquaintances and teammates—which was possibly even more inconvenient.

As I waited for Ronan—I mean, Mr. Fitzpatrick—to respond to my infographic email and meeting request, my mind drifted and then landed on the memory of being trapped in the elevator with him. I wasn’t surprised. I had difficulty thinking about anything else.

He was so…present.

When he looked at me, I felt so entirely seen. But it was more than that because I got the impression he wasn’t just looking at me when we were together. Yes, he watched me, but he also touched me and felt me. He listened to me and not just my words; he listened to the sounds my body made as it moved, as though searching for a clue or a tell.