Chapter 23
Vee
The number of unread messages in my inbox had decreased to a number that wouldn’t send my OCD into overdrive.
I’d spent the afternoon on calls and Zoom meetings with a half dozen of my stadium ops supervisors.
Each meeting began with my praises, telling them how impressed I was being closer to the action.
They were a dream team, and I was lucky to have them.
I’d waited for a call from Drew to discuss yesterday’s game, but it hadn’t come. I wasn’t taking it too personally, not with the scrambling going on with Dennison’s injury.
Standing, I stretched my sore neck, rolling my head in one direction and the other. I needed caffeine or a massage. Caffeine was more easily accessible.
As I opened the door to Jen’s office, on my way to pour myself another cup of coffee, I was met with a familiar blue stare. Instead of voicing my displeasure at being disturbed, my resolve crumbled when I saw how the bruise had darkened below his left eye.
“Fin.”
“I was about to head out, and since I hadn’t seen you around…”
I lifted my fingers to my lips and scrunched my nose. “Your eye…does it hurt?”
“Not as much as being plowed down.” He lifted his duffel bag. “The trainers have some remedies in here to make everything better.”
We had Jen’s attention.
I opened my office door wider. “Do you have a minute to discuss the offensive plays? I wanted to talk to Drew, but time has gotten away from me, and I’m sure he’s busy.”
Fin’s smile quirked and his chiseled chin pulled tight. “Certainly, Ms. Hubbard. I can discuss the calls of yesterday’s game.”
My insides twisted as Fin walked past me. Instead of his sandalwood cologne, there was a fresh, recently showered scent to him. The leather loafers, pants, and button-down from last night were gone, replaced with his casual workout attire—nylon shorts and a Coopers t-shirt. I closed the door.
As the door clicked, Fin grinned. “What plays would you like to discuss?”
“I have a list, but first, I wanted to apologize.”
His smile dimmed as he took a step closer. “For what?”
His proximity was a problem, as if he sent out signals capable of scrambling my thoughts. I took a step back. “Umm, I have no excuse for what I did last night. If you want to report me to HR, I won’t argue.”
Fin’s laugh filled the room. “I took advantage of a woman who drank too many cosmos without eating. It seems to me that I should be the one to apologize.”
“Okay.” That would be good.
“Okay?” He lifted his eyebrows. “I should, but I’m not going to.
An apology would suggest that I was remorseful about what occurred or that I wouldn’t do it again.
” He quirked his brow. “And neither of those scenarios are true. Given the opportunity, I’d repeat everything again right here, today, tomorrow, the next day. .. Are you catching on to the pattern?”
“Fin, we can’t.”
“You told me last night you ended things with Preston.” He scrunched his nose. “It was the horse manure, wasn’t it?”
I reached for my temples. “Stop.”
“Oh, you don’t mind the smell of horse shit.”
Taking a deep breath, I stood taller. “I’m not going to discuss Preston’s and my relationship with you.”
“I’m just trying to figure out your reservation.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “My reservation. I’m management and you’re a player.”
“And I’m a guy and you’re a woman. I’m quite sure we fit well together. At least we did. And last night, you were sexy as hell.”
Ignoring the twisting deep inside me, I tried to change the subject. Jutting my chin toward his duffel bag now lying on the floor, I asked, “What did the trainers give you to help you heal? Is it for that shiner?”
He exhaled. “The shiner is fake. It’s for sympathy.”
I leaned back, focusing on the swollen skin.
“I’m teasing, Vee. My face will heal. They prescribed no physical activity until Wednesday morning.” He tipped his chin toward the bag. “They set me up with a shoulder wrap. I’ll be attached to an electrical socket, but it alternates heat and cool automatically every twenty minutes.”
“Shoulder,” I said, furrowing my brow. “Is your shoulder hurt?”
“Not hurt. A bit sore.”
“Shit, Fin,” I said, leaning back against my desk and crossing my arms over my breasts. “What does this mean for next Sunday?”
“It means I’ll be—” Fin’s eyes narrowed as he focused on my crossed arms.
I looked down.
Shit.
I pulled the blouse’s cuff lower toward my hand.
“Fuck, Vee.” He came closer, his handsome features morphing into restrained rage.
Defensively, I moved my hands behind my back. “Stop, Fin. It’s nothing.”
“Bullshit,” he said in a deep baritone whisper. “Let me see your fucking wrists.”
Lifting my chin, I met his gaze. “No.”
“I’m not leaving your office until you do.”
Our face-off was merely a sign of both of our stubborn streaks. Slowly, I acquiesced, bringing both of my arms forward. The cuffs with a line of buttons covered the bruising.
Fin pushed up on the solid cuffs. “Jesus, Vee.” He lifted his blue eyes to meet my gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“You said you weren’t.”
“Not for…” He stared back down at the purple bracelets on each wrist. “I-I…I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“Maybe it’s a sign that whatever happened last night shouldn’t be repeated.”
“Is that what you want?”
Dropping my hands, I exhaled. “You didn’t hurt me, Fin. I have fair skin. I always have.”
He took a step back and settled into one of the barrel chairs opposite my desk. “I’ve remembered a lot about you.” He shook his head. “I forgot that.”
A smile curled my lips. “I had too.”
“I’ll be more careful.”
The rational part of my brain told me to end this now before it got out of hand. My body, the one that was completely turned on by Fin’s dominance, had other ideas. “I liked it,” I said softly.
Fin brought his eyebrows together. “I’d never hurt you.”
“Not hurt. A bit sore.”
His frown deepened.
“I know you won’t. Or at least I think I do. Last night after you left, I revisited memories I’d locked away. Shit, Fin, I trusted you more than…or I did.” Emotion bubbled into my throat. Inhaling, I turned away, willing tears not to give away my turbulent feelings.
No. I wasn’t doing this.
Not today.
Not again.
I lifted my chin. “Please leave.”
“Vee, we should talk.”
“You should go.” I kept walking until I was on the safe side of my desk, took a seat and scooted my chair in. I forced myself to look up and meet his gaze. “Now.”
Fin stood. From my perspective, it was as if he physically grew. From the man in the chair, he unfolded, growing taller and wider. I lifted my chin to keep eye contact.
“Invite me to your place tonight.”
Exhaling an exasperated breath, I shook my head. “No.”
“Then come to my place.”
“No.”
He crossed his arms over his wide chest. “Vee, stop whatever game you’re trying to win at this moment and listen.”
Game.
“I can hear you just fine.”
“We have shit to talk about.”
I shook my head. “The Coopers’ season is all that’s important.” I motioned between us. “If there was something between us, it was thrown away fourteen years ago.”
“Bullshit,” he said too loudly.
“Fin, keep your voice down.”
His nostrils flared. “This is why we need to have this discussion away from Maker’s Mark.”
I pressed my lips together.
“I’ll be at your building at seven.”
Standing, I crossed my arms over my breasts again. “It’s a public building. Knock yourself out.”
He tilted his head.
“You need a key to access the residential floors,” I reminded him.
“Then give me a key.”
“Hell no.”
Fin bent down and picked up his duffel bag. He quirked a brow. With a smirk, he said, “In case you need direction, I’ll pick a keycard up at the concierge before seven. Be sure it’s there.” His eyebrow arched higher. “Be a good girl, or our discussion will take a different path.”
I stood dumbfounded and simultaneously turned on as Fin turned and walked away without even a glance over his shoulder.