Chapter Five
The Otters were headed for a road trip tomorrow and Charlie should”ve been thinking about the packing he needed to do for the five-day trip, but he had other things on his mind.
First was the team his family was trying to snatch away from him. Charlie got a call a week ago from some lawyer that his cousins had hired to let him know they were contesting his uncle”s will. So Charlie hired Bill Wilkins, the attorney who handled the will, to help him out.
So far, it was just a bunch of back and forth that he didn”t need to be a part of, but just the idea that it was going on was pissing him off. What the hell were his cousins thinking? Sure, Bianca and Robert were greedy and had been really pissed off that their father gave his beloved hockey team to his nephew and not them, but this was getting ridiculous.
He owned the team and he was running the team. He was the one who actually cared about the team. And yes, they were pissed off that he got the team, but Charlie also suspected they were pissed off that he got a billion dollars to run the team. It was a billion dollars that they thought belonged to them and would find a way to get it back no matter what.
At least that”s what Charlie thought and it was why he hadn”t spent pretty much any of it. He was still driving the same truck, still living in the same apartment in the same neighborhood, because all that extra cash could be taken away. Oops, they made a mistake with the will or his cousins found a loophole or something.
But until then, he was going to keep his head down and run the team. Let them come for him.
There was also the other matter with Maggie. He tried to tell himself that it was a business decision, but Charlie didn”t want to admit there was more to it than that.
There was something about Maggie that he found intriguing. The way she kept pushing to win the contract for her family”s company despite the whole cake incident that involved him. She definitely seemed pissed but she rolled with it at the presentation. The whole thing with the ”Do you think I”m hot?” was totally Charlie”s fault.
Why did he keep accidentally acting like a jackass every time he was around her?
But she still wanted the contract for the arena”s hockey games and he was still willing to make it work despite her glares and fiery retorts. Because when she wasn”t hating him, she was an amazing woman, and he also kind of liked when she hated him too. The color of her eyes when she glared at him, the way she stood her ground against him, the teasing him even though he was a billionaire and the owner of a hockey team.
Well, at least for now.
Maggie didn”t seem to care about any of that, and it was rare to find someone like that now that he had all this extra baggage stuffed with dollar bills and hockey skates.
So instead of packing or talking to his lawyer, both of which he should”ve been doing, he was walking to Icing to talk about baked goods.
Noah texted Charlie to let him know he would be handing the contract over to Maggie this morning at the bakery since she would be there dropping off some pie pans or something. Charlie wasn”t really sure about the details and he didn”t care.
Can I meet you there?he texted Noah.
Sure, but you don”t have to be there, Noah replied
I think I owe it to Maggie after I smashed her cake
Noah sent back one of those laughing emojis with the tears. Very true, boss
Charlie still wasn”t used to people calling him boss. He wasn”t sure he would ever get used to it, and it may not even matter if his cousins got their way.
Chicago was having some colder weather hanging on after the winter, but it wasn”t too bad and Charlie was used to it after working all those years on construction sites regardless of rain, snow, or lots of sun. He could always adapt.
But he was having trouble adapting to opening the door to Icing and seeing Maggie there. She was on the other side of the counter talking to Cora about something and only made a quick glance at him as he walked in. But there was a smile that teased her lip that made him realize she had seen him.
Cora, however, gave him a bit more attention. ”Hey! I didn”t expect to see you here this morning.”
”I wasn”t expecting to be here, but Noah said he was handing a contract over for some catering services and thought I should make sure the hockey team was well represented.”
Maggie was holding back a bigger smile, he could tell, but he wasn”t about to call her out on it. She would have those moments when Charlie could tell she was holding her emotions in even though they were right on the surface and there was something appealing about that.
The way she kept her anger in check when he smashed her cake, the way she kept her cool and stayed professional when he told her that her bakery got the contract.
He wondered what it would be like to just push her a little further past the point where she couldn”t hold an emotion in, where she would just let go, and it turned him on in a way that he probably shouldn”t. But he had to wonder how it would feel to be in her presence when whatever she was feeling broke free.
But right now wouldn”t be that time. He could tell from her tight smile that she was in control - for now.
Cora, however, had a huge smile on her face as she told Charlie to head to the back of the bakery and wait for them there. And yes, he noticed that controlled smile that Maggie kept on her face as he walked back.
The bakery”s kitchen had a huge stainless steel island in the middle with an oven on one side and a large sink in the back piled up with dirty trays and other items. He wasn”t too surprised. Even though things were calmer now, he knew that Icing probably had a morning rush with plenty of items flying off the shelf. In fact, he hoped he could pick up a few on the way out.
Noah was sitting at the island with his girlfriend Georgia, but an outsider probably wouldn”t have assumed they were together based on the way they were staring at each other.
”Uh, hi?” Charlie said apprehensively.
Noah turned and put on a smile when he realized it was his boss. ”Hey, welcome to Icing! Grab a seat.”
”I”m not interrupting something?” he asked.
Georgia scoffed. ”Your finance guy is telling me I should cut back on my flour orders. Flour. You know, for all of this.” She waved her hand in the air, gesturing towards the entire space.
”Gross. You guys need to stop flirting in the bakery.”
Cora and Maggie walked up to the table from the front of the store, and both of them seemed to have smiles on their faces. Perhaps this Noah and Georgia banter was something they were used to.
”It”s supposed to get hot in a bakery,” Georgia said sarcastically.
”Speaking of hot.” Oh no. Charlie slowly turned to see to Maggie staring at him. ”Do you think Charlie is hot?”
Noah cackled while the women seemed too stunned to reply to Maggie”s question.
”It”s just for a thing,” he said with a quick hand wave.
”It”s for The Hockey Herald hottest team owner poll,” Noah teased. ”He”s still in second place behind the owner of the Detroit Pirates.”
The three women stared back at him again, but this time Cora and Georgia looked more discerning. It was like they were taking the question seriously now and wanted to make sure they gave an honest assessment.
”My answer is going to depend on if you like blueberry tarts,” Cora said.
Noah laughed again. ”Tarts?”
She just shrugged. ”It”s a trick question. That”s why you failed.”
Cora gave Noah a teasing stare and he just smiled back the same way before laughing.
Charlie took it all in with wonder. He thought about what it would be like to have friends like this. He had some co-workers that he would hang out with sometimes, but not like this. Most of them only called him occasionally to get tickets for hockey games now. But maybe he should invite them up soon depending on how much longer he would be team owner.
”Don”t worry, Charlie.” Georgia pulled him out of his moping with a cheesy grin. ”We”ll definitely vote for you.”
”Well, hold on now,” her boyfriend replied.
But Georgia just shushed her boyfriend. ”We have other reasons to be here than flour and hot owners.”
”He”s not a hot owner,” Noah grumbled.
Georgia rolled her eyes. ”Just shut up and give Maggie her contract.”
Noah pulled out some paperwork from an envelope that was sitting in front of him on the stainless steel island in the kitchen and walked over to the other side of it to hand it to Maggie.
”Your contract!” he said with a big smile.
Maggie took it from his hand with an almost awe-struck look on her face. It made her seem even more beautiful than usual and Charlie couldn”t help but feel a little bit of pride for being part of the decision to make her look that way.
He wasn”t always sure if he was doing the right thing when it came to the hockey team, but he was sure this was the right decision when it came to catering for the suites at the arena. At least he hoped it was the right thing and not just a choice he was persuaded to make with other parts of his body that weren”t his brain.
But if everyone else liked Maggie, then at least he wasn”t the only one who thought this was a good idea.
”We would normally give you more time to return the contract to us, but we need it back by the morning so you can get everything set up for the game tomorrow night.”
She gave Noah that big smile of hers that made Charlie feel jealous again that it wasn”t for him.
”Alright, that”s enough contract stuff or whatever,” Georgia said with a hand wave. ”You boys need to clear out so we can get real work done.”
Charlie did as he was told even though he wanted to stay and watch Maggie some more as she talked to her friends and moved around the bakery. She just seemed so comfortable in that space, which only made her more appealing. It wasn”t just that she was physically beautiful but it was also her confidence and joy as she moved around that Charlie couldn”t help but be pulled in.
And yet, he found himself walking out the door with Noah like he had been instructed to do.
Noah”s car was parked out back and Charlie walked with him as he tossed some things in the back seat.
”So have you heard anything else from the lawyers?” Noah asked him somberly.
Charlie wished he could go back into that bakery and not have this conversation. Maybe he could eat some of whatever was left in the display case after the morning rush to hide his feelings.
”They”re still working on some things, but I haven”t gotten an update in the past few days.”
”Both of our goalies had their agents contact me this week and are worried about negotiating new deals until this gets resolved.”
Charlie knew. He knew very well. The Otters had an amazing goalie partnership with two players that he had talked his Uncle Tony into picking up. They were the best duo in the league and the team was facing some awful timing with both of them becoming free agents this summer.
”I”m trying my best to get this family drama over with.”
”I know, I know. This isn”t your fault.” Noah shook his head in frustration. ”Your cousins are fucking everything up.”
”Yep.”
”Is there--” Noah stopped, his eyes focused on something behind Charlie. ”Fletcher! What”s up?”
Charlie turned to see Fletcher Keris and a woman walked towards them from a van with the Icing bakery logo on the side. Charlie had a bit of a fan moment seeing Fletcher before he remembered that the hockey star played for the Otters.
Charlie”s Otters.
It was still so weird to wrap his head around sometimes.
”Just helping my girlfriend with her muffins,” Fletcher said as the woman next to him smiled.
”Is that a euphemism for something?” Noah asked.
”Maybe, maybe not.” The woman turned to Charlie. ”I”m Samantha. I work here.”
”Charlie,” he said, shaking her outstretched hand. Then his eyes went from Fletcher to Noah and back to Samantha. ”How many of you work at Icing and have boyfriends in my organization?”
Samantha”s face scrunched up a bit. ”All of us? It”s weird, I know.”
Charlie laughed. ”It”s fine. Just let me know if any of you break up so I can figure out who to hire next.””No,” Fletcher said as he pulled his girlfriend closer.
”You”re the worst,” Noah grumbled. ”I”ll see you back at the arena?”
”Yep,” Charlie said teasingly as he watched the accountant climb into his car.
Was it wrong that he actually enjoyed this little exchange? This is the kind of thing he missed now that he was in charge of a hockey team and not hanging out at the bar with co-workers who would make sure he didn”t get too full of himself. Perhaps it wouldn”t be so bad being their boss if they treated him a little more like he was normal and not some head honcho or something.
”Well, it was nice meeting you, but I have to go back to work,” Samantha said with a smile.
”And I have to get some leftovers from the morning rush.”
Charlie smiled, ”I think there may be some lemon loaf in there.”
”Yes!” Fletcher said triumphantly. ”No offense, boss. Love hanging out in this drab parking lot with you but, you know.”
”See you at the arena later.”
Fletcher nodded and walked to the door with his girlfriend, making Charlie slightly jealous. When was he going to have something like that? Maybe when he had time to focus on something like that and not worry about the team or his stupid cousins or the woman who walking towards him.
Maggie had a huge smile on her face as she walked out into the parking lot staring down at the paper in her hand. It was one of those unguarded moments that Charlie felt bad about witnessing, like maybe he wasn”t supposed to see it.
Then he noticed the paper she was staring at: her contract. The contract he almost lost for her and the contract he had talked their catering department into offering to her. One of the few things that Charlie had used his power for in a good way since he inherited all that money.
”Hey.”
Maggie”s head snapped up, a startled look replacing the smile on her face as she almost dropped the contract before recovering.
”Sorry,” he said. ”I have a tendency to surprise you at the wrong moments, don”t I?”
”At least I didn”t have a cake with me this time.”
She gave him a slight smile this time and he wondered if maybe that was a sign that the ice was thawing between them. Maybe she wasn”t so bitter about the whole cake incident. Maybe he actually had a chance to be around her without making her immediately hate him.
But could he take that chance?
”You know, we have to have that contact by tomorrow morning,” he said.
”I”m aware.”
Her tone was a bit apprehensive, but he decided he was going to press on.
”What if I got it from you tonight? Maybe I could swing by your bakery?”
Maggie”s eyes went a bit wide and Charlie quietly complimented himself for catching her off guard in a way that didn”t seem to be destroying anything.
”Um, OK?”
”Great!” Going with the super confidence, boss.”So how about eight o”clock?”
Maggie slowly nodded her head. ”Eight o”clock.”
”And I”m assuming the address for the bakery is on my copy of your contract.”
She looked down, her eyes darting across the paper in panic or nervousness or whatever. He liked it whatever it was, and he wanted to see more of it. Hopefully tonight if she would just agree to this.
”It”s on here. On the bottom. The address.”
”Great.”What was with the greats? ”I”ll see you there tonight to pick that up and maybe have a not smashed piece of cake.”
It was just a small smile but a smile was enough from Maggie. ”Sure. Tonight. See you then.”
”Have a good day, Maggie!”
Charlie gave her a quick wave and turned on his heel, too nervous himself to wonder what the hell he had just done? Because what the hell had he just done. He needed to keep walking, one step after the other and pretend this confidence he somehow pulled out of the cold air of Chicago belonged to him and not someone else.
Charlie, the billionaire with the hockey team, somehow scammed his way into getting something sweet tonight. He just hoped it wasn”t only some cake.