Chapter Sixteen
“I’m glad you didn’t have plans tonight.” Brent swirled the wine the sommelier poured into his glass. “This is very nice. A good bouquet.”
Armi fidgeted with his hands in his lap and forced a smile. “I’m not much of a wine connoisseur. I drink mostly beer.”
Brent wrinkled his nose. “I haven’t had a beer since college. You’ll learn to love it.”
Presumptuous much? Shouldn’t he respect Armi’s likes and wishes? Armi doubted he’d ever enjoy wine, but he didn’t want to start off the evening disagreeing, so he nodded. “Sure.”
The server stopped by their table and recited the specials. “Do you know what you’d like?”
Armi opened his mouth, but Brent cut him off. “We’ll do the Caesar salad to share and the porterhouse for two with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.” Finally, Brent looked at him. “Sounds good, right? It’s their specialty.”
Armi didn’t particularly like Caesar salad, and he rarely enjoyed eating large meals at night that would sit heavy in his stomach. Should he say something?
“I, uh, was thinking of the salmon.”
Brent’s brows rose high, and a spark of annoyance flashed in his eyes. “Fish? At a steakhouse? I mean, sure, if that’s what you want…”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right. Steak it is.”
The taut lines on Brent’s face smoothed out. “Great. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
He ate little of the salad and a few slices of the steak while listening to Brent go on and on about the big real estate deal he’d closed and how he was going to look for a house in the Hamptons. What happened to the charming man he’d had lunch with?
They were having coffee and tiramisu when Brent said, “Maybe you’d like to join me there for the summer? We’d have a great time trying all the wineries and restaurants.”
“The whole summer? I don’t know…it’s kind of fast, don’t you think?”
Brent slid a hand over his. “I really like you, Armi. You’re sweet and kind and gorgeous. I’m hoping to get to know you better.” The server appeared with the bill, and Brent took it. “My treat. You can get it next time.”
Armi sighed with relief. That was the charming Brent from lunch. Maybe he was just trying to impress him. Armi was willing to give him another chance.
“I’d like to know you better too.”
Brent’s eyes lit up. “How about a drink at my place?”
Armi’s heart fluttered. “Sure, but I have morning meetings, so it’ll have to be an early night.”
“That won’t be a problem. Let’s go.”
Brent’s apartment was done in neutral tones of beige, brown, and black. The kitchen was open to the living room, and Armi sat on the sectional couch while Brent poured him another glass of red wine and joined him. They clinked glasses.
“To us.”
Armi should be thrilled. He had a gorgeous man interested in him, and he was head of a company. His roses were doing well.
So why was he so unsettled?
Maybe because he’d expected the wild passion he’d experienced with Hayden from a simple kiss. Brent’s kisses were…nice. It probably would take some time.
“How was the rest of your day? Did your call go well?” Brent set his glass on the coffee table, and Armi did the same, happy not to have to force himself to drink it.
“Yeah. The conference call was good, and now that we’ve signed Hopkins and we’re about to sign Masterson, it’ll really help the team and get us that much closer to the Super Bowl.”
Brent’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Seriously? The Kings are gonna get Masterson? That’s crazy. I didn’t know he was leaving the Kickers.”
Oh, shit. He wasn’t supposed to have said a word until the deal was done. Dammit.
“No one does. And it’s not a done deal, so please don’t repeat it. Tomorrow is the day, so fingers crossed.”
“Go Kings,” Brent murmured. “And us. Let’s celebrate.” He leaned in and covered Armi’s mouth with his. Again, Armi waited for that hot, overwhelming passion to sweep him away like it had with Hayden.
“You’re so sweet,” Brent breathed, his face flushed. “I can’t stop wanting to kiss you.”
Armi allowed him to push his tongue into his mouth, but at Brent’s hands, first on his hips, then to the button fly of his slacks, he stopped him. “I’m sorry. I don’t have sex so quickly. I hope you understand.”
Chest heaving, Brent shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t. Kissing on the couch is for kids, and we’re not kids anymore. I thought we were hitting it off. This is the next step.”
“Not for me. I don’t get physical with people I barely know, even if they do buy me dinner.” Heart hammering, Armi got to his feet. This was why he didn’t date. Being in a position like this made him feel like he should say yes even though no was the right answer for him. “It’s how I feel.”
Brent’s scowl turned his handsome face ugly. “Are you screwing your assistant? The blond?”
Shocked, Armi stared at him mutely, his body growing cold.
“Hey, he’s hot as fuck, and the way he glared at me when I kissed you, if you’re not getting any, you could be.”
“You…you’re ridiculous. Hayden works for me.” But Armi couldn’t help the thrill at hearing Hayden might have been annoyed over seeing Brent kiss him. Was it possible he was jealous? Not that it mattered. They’d agreed to be professional.
Brent rolled his eyes. “Please. Lots of PAs are into it. They like to keep their bosses happy, and they think it’s a way up the corporate ladder.” A lazy smile tipped up the corner of his lips. “For us, it’s a way to let off some steam at the end of a stressful day. If we both want it and it’s not on company time, no harm no foul, you know?”
“So you’ve…” He left the sentence open-ended, and at Brent’s shrug, his decision was easy. “I-I—this is a ridiculous conversation. I’m going home.” Armi walked away, and Brent followed him to the door.
“Marianne said you were quiet and not into the party scene, but I didn’t think that meant at home. It’s okay to let loose, you know. Sex is a natural part of life.”
“I’m aware. Thanks for dinner, Brent.”
Once out on the sidewalk, Armi wiped the tears of frustration burning his eyes. Time to go home and spend time with his roses. They were the only thing left that brought him joy. Brent lived less than a mile away, and Armi decided to walk home, enjoy the nice weather, and hoped it chased away the disappointment at how the date ended. He checked his messages and found one from Trevor.
You don’t even give your best friend the scoop on signing Masterson?
Shit . How had Brent already spread the news? It was less than half an hour since he’d left his apartment. He’d told him not to say anything.
Nothing’s signed yet. I mentioned it to Brent and told him to keep it quiet. How did you hear?
Afraid that ship has sailed. I’m friends with a couple of guys from his firm, and we’re in a fantasy football league. He posted it in our group chat.
Shit . What the hell was he supposed to do?
When he reached home, he undressed and went to the greenhouse to forget about Brent and their date. A new graft he was working on didn’t take, and he had no idea how to proceed. Sort of like his life—on the surface all looked well, but if you dug a bit deeper and peeled back the layers, it was rotting away and he was stuck, spinning his wheels.
Frustrated, he pulled off his gloves and left the warm confines of the greenhouse for the cool, air-conditioned kitchen. He pulled out a beer but only drank a bit. Was Brent’s gossiping going to kill the signing? But it was all his fault. Why was he so stupid? He should never have said anything. He barely knew the man. He should never have gone on the date. He’d screwed that up too, like everything else.
He picked up his phone, and after debating a moment, sent Hayden a text.
Sorry to bother you, but I think I messed up badly.
Immediately, Hayden responded.
What’s wrong?
About to type up the story, he stopped. Hayden couldn’t help him. He needed to talk to Russell.
Never mind. It’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.
But Hayden wouldn’t be put off.
Please tell me and let me help you.
You can’t. It’ll be fine.
Armi scrolled to Russell’s number and texted him what had occurred. Not even ten seconds passed before Russell called.
“Armand, what the hell?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. We were just talking and—”
“And you revealed sensitive, inside information about the team? Didn’t I warn you not to say anything to anyone?”
“Yes, I know. I didn’t think—”
“That’s the problem. You didn’t think. Were you so excited to be on a date that you couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”
Russell had never spoken to him like that. Those hurtful words stung as if he’d been slapped in the face. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“Yeah, sure, unless another team gets wind of it and makes him a better offer tonight and we lose him. I have to talk to our lawyers. Hopefully we can do damage control and I can fix this mess you’ve made. How many more will there be this week? This is number two. Third time’s the charm, right?”
Without another word, Russell ended the call. Armi hadn’t felt this low in months. He trudged up the stairs to his room, brushed his teeth, and went to bed, but there was no rest to be found.
At dawn, he showered, dressed, and having no appetite, decided to head to the office. He knew it was early when he arrived and Hayden’s desk was empty. He yawned and stood in front of the coffee machine, waiting for it to make a cappuccino to kickstart his brain. Hayden walked in, his face filled with concern.
“Armi? What’s going on? What time did you get here? I went by your house this morning, but no one answered.”
His smile was wry. “I couldn’t sleep. I’ve only been here a few minutes. About to have my first of what will be multiple coffees.”
Hayden proffered a large cup. “Here’s another. Extra-large cappuccino.”
“Thanks.”
“Now what the hell is going on?”
“I had a date with Brent last night…”
Hayden’s lips thinned, and his green eyes narrowed. “Did he do something? He was pretty slick.”
“He was fine. Pushy because when we got back to his place, he wanted to…you know…” He lowered his voice. “Have sex.”
A growl escaped Hayden’s lips. “The fuck he did.”
Hayden getting a little caveman was sexy as hell, and Armi watched as he continued to rant.
“Yeah. It made me kind of sad—I thought he wanted to get to know me, but he said we weren’t kids and made it sound as if having sex right away was the norm.”
“Not for you. You’re different. I knew he was a player with that fake-ass grin. All he wanted was to get in.” The fact that he and Armi met as a hook up wasn’t the same to Hayden. He wasn’t about to explain his reasoning—mainly because he couldn’t—but that was his story, and he was sticking to it.
“Hayden, calm down. Nothing happened except a few kisses. I told him no and walked away.”
“You don’t deserve that. You just met the guy.” When Armi raised a brow and crossed his arms, Hayden backtracked. “Okay, but what happened between us was not the same as this. We met at a club and hooked up. You and Brent were on a date.” Hayden put a hand on his arm, and Armi swore he felt the pressure of his fingers all the way to his toes. “That’s not why you texted me last night. What’s upsetting you?”
“I opened my big mouth, that’s what,” Armi answered, miserable again. “And it could jeopardize the team’s signing of Masterson.” He recounted what happened and gulped his now cool cappuccino.
A grim-faced Hayden drummed his fingers on his thigh. “What time is the signing?”
“The meeting is at nine thirty.”
Hayden’s lips thinned. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
**
Masterson was probably the biggest man Armi had ever seen up close—at six foot seven and two hundred seventy-five pounds of pure muscle, he barely fit into the chair at the Mark, where Hayden knew the ma?tre d’ and got them a table for breakfast with less than an hour’s notice.
God only knew how Hayden had managed to coordinate this, but he’d had a car pick up Masterson from the Mandarin Oriental hotel. A pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice and a basket of fruit pastries sat between them.
“This is cool, man. Thanks.” Masterson selected a cherry Danish. “Comin’ from a small town in Texas, I never thought I’d see New York City, much less eat at these kinds of places.”
“Well, I thought it would be nice to treat you to breakfast and welcome you to the Kings organization personally. I heard you recently got married?” God bless Hayden for doing a deep dive on the Internet.
Masterson’s brown eyes lit up. “Yeah, Erin never liked being out west, away from her family in Westchester, so when the Kings made the offer, I knew I was gonna accept it. We had a little wedding at her family’s house, and in a coupla months we’ll go down to my family’s house near Dallas and have a big party.” His smile was sweet, and Armi could see he loved his wife very much. “Right now she’s house huntin’.”
“That sounds perfect. It’s beautiful up there. As a wedding gift, I’m gifting you and your wife a half dozen of my exotic rosebushes—special ones that I’ve personally grown from grafting. It’s a hobby of mine.”
Masterson’s eyes grew wide. “Really? Oh, wow, cool. Erin loves roses. All she could talk about was having a garden and planting flowers.”
“I hope this is the start of a wonderful life here. We’re looking forward to having you on the team, and we know you’re going to make a huge difference in our run for the Super Bowl.”
“I hope so. You know…my agent called me late last night and again early this mornin’. Other teams have made offers.”
Armi winced. “I wasn’t aware, but I’m sure they have. You’re an excellent player. The best.” God help him, he was so nervous, he didn’t even remember what position Masterson played.
Masterson chuckled. “You’re not like the other team owners I’ve met. They’re throwing all kinds of gifts at me—trips, jewelry, cars, shopping sprees. Plus droppin’ hints that having a gay owner might hurt the team. I read that City News article. They said maybe you aren’t ready to lead the Kings. And some of the guys were talking in my ear. Saying it could be a liability for me.”
Armi’s stomach dropped, and though his face burned, he spoke from his heart. “I can’t change people’s prejudices, however ugly or wrong they are. All I can do is be the best I can for the team and for myself.”
Their breakfasts came, and Masterson demolished his eggs, turkey sausage, and home fries, but Armi still wasn’t sure if the deal was secured. He paid the bill just as Masterson’s phone buzzed.
“That’s my agent. Hold on. Willis, how’s it going?” He walked away, leaving Armi standing there, feeling a little lost. His phone had vibrated numerous times during breakfast, but he’d ignored it and didn’t want to look now.
Masterson returned. “Thanks for the breakfast and the rosebushes. I’ll see you at the Kings headquarters for the signing announcement. Gonna go back to my room and change. Erin picked out my outfit.” He glanced at his plain T-shirt and track pants. Not the usual attire allowed at the Mark, but when you were a famous athlete, you could get away with it. “She said I’d better be cleaned up for the press.”
His heart leaped. “You’re still going to sign with us?”
“I’m a straight shooter, and I don’t like people trying to put others down. Plus, you’re the only one who went out of your way to do something special, not just for me, but for my wife. It’s easy to sign a check, and trust me, I like money as much as the next guy, not gonna lie. But I’ve already made more than I ever dreamed possible, and you giving Erin something close to your heart, like your rosebushes, was what did it for me.” His eyes twinkled. “See, I read up on you too, Armand, so I know how much the roses mean to you.”
Armi held out his hand. “Welcome to the Kings. Call me Armi.”