Chapter 7
7
NICKY
O h shit. I was wrong. This day is about to be a dumpster fire.
My hand freezes in mid-air, sugar crystals falling off the tip of my spoon. I watch as Cash finally enters the conference room.
He’s not alone, though. There’s a whole crew of guys decked out in expensive suits who are stalking in alongside him. I recognize most of them. They’re Cash’s billionaire friends. Back when I was interning for my brother, he made me do intensive research into each one of them. It was part of his due diligence when he was trying to develop a business relationship with them.
Suddenly, I realize that this is not any old normal first-day-on-the-job meeting.
Not at all.
I can’t lie—these men are kind of intimidating. I’ve got to put my best foot forward here.
I force on a smile. But when I realize that a rumpled and gorgeous Ronan Brighton is right on their heels, my smile collapses. The spoon slips from my hand, landing in my cup with a clang and a big splash.
Hockey Guy…
Fuck. What is he doing here? And why didn’t it occur to me that I might run into him again?
With him being a Saints player and my older brother being one of his bosses, I should have considered the possibility of having to deal with him. All I know is that I am not emotionally prepared to look at his handsome, annoying face today.
When our eyes meet and his trademark smirk unfolds across his lips, my stomach drops. Because immediately, I know that my first work assignment has something to do with Ronan. And whatever it is, I’m not going to like it.
“Shit…” I mutter under my breath.
Florence shoots me a curious look as she closes the door and slips into her own seat. Using a paper napkin to soak up my spilled tea from the pristine tabletop, I mutter a quiet apology.
None of the rich dudes spare me a glance. But Ronan? He’s staring. And smirking. Oh god.
As soon as everyone is seated, all eyes turn to me.It’s Darius Brighton who addresses me first.
“As you might know, Ronan here is the Saints’ team captain this season.” Darius’ eyes slide toward his brother and then back to me. “Unfortunately, my brother has had some… behavioral issues as of late. Including a few run-ins with the law.”
He slides a printout across the table to me. It’s a blog post detailing the arrest of several Saints players over the weekend. Ronan’s face is big and bold at the top of the news article.
I watch the hockey player start to squirm under the intensity of his brother’s disapproving stare. Suddenly, he doesn’t seem so cocky anymore. I almost snort a laugh.
Darius goes on. “I probably don’t need to explain how detrimental all this is for the Saints, especially given that this is a brand new hockey team in the league. Public perception is crucial, not just because of fans, but also for sponsorship and endorsement opportunities for all our players.”
“There’s a lot of pressure on our franchise right now,” Cash jumps in. “And if we want to cement our place in the league, any coverage of the Saints this season needs to be positive.”
“We all agree that Ronan is an excellent hockey player,” a man who I assume to be the team’s coach says, clearly trying to ease the pressure off of the scolded athlete. “Obviously, it’s why we made him captain. But to put it bluntly, he’s also a big PR headache.”
My head swivels back and forth as everyone lays out the situation to me. They say all these harsh things about Ronan, as though he’s not right here with us in the room, listening to every word. As he continues to squirm at this verbal beating, I almost feel a little bad for the guy.
Although he comes across as a man who loves being the center of attention, it feels weird to be talking about a grown adult like he’s an annoying, troubled kid, sitting in the naughty corner.
All the big wigs prattle on, but Ronan’s eyes keep flitting back to me repeatedly as everyone speaks. It’s unnerving.
Florence interjects. “As a new team, the Saints are walking on very thin ice,” she says. “As you can imagine, any bad press could be disastrous for us. Like Darius was saying, both for team and player sponsorships and for fan perception. For ticket sales. For team performance. That’s why this whole mess is becoming the PR department’s focus.”
A man who appears to be Ronan’s agent looks toward me. “We need the public to view Ronan as responsible. Dependable. A leader. On and off the ice.”
Florence nods again. “As such, your job, Nicky, will entail working as Ronan’s assistant for the rest of the season.”
I blink. “Assistant?”
My boss trades looks with her bosses. The billionaires nod.
“Well, for the lack of a better word, you’ll be more like Ronan’s… babysitter . Basically, you’ll need to be his shadow around the clock,” Florence explains.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! I’m struggling to take it all in.
“B-babysitter? And what do you mean…around the clock?” I ask hesitantly.
“It means you’ll need to be with Ronan day in, day out,” Darius answers. “You’ll monitor his comings and goings. You’ll make sure that he keeps his butt on track and out of trouble.”
“What about his days off?” I ask in a rush.
“His days off will be your days off,” Florence responds.
I sigh with relief. Okay. Fair. That doesn’t sound quite so bad then.
But then the team’s coach clarifies. “Meaning, you’ll spend your days off together .”
I flinch. “Together, sir?”
“It’ll be most important to monitor Ronan on his days off,” Darius explains. “After games. Between games. Traveling to road games. That’s when this guy has a penchant for getting into the most trouble.”
I sneak a glance at the subject of the conversation. Ronan is clearly trying to keep his face neutral. But his eyes are extra twinkly and I’m pretty sure I see the corner of his mouth twitch.
Hell, I’m feeling kind of twitchy, too. And not a good kind of twitchy.
I do the math in my head. The whole rest of the season? From now until April? That’s more than three whole months and some change.
I gulp. This is a lot .
It certainly isn’t what I had in mind when I agreed to join the PR department here. Wowzer.
This is crazy. All of this is crazy.
But I can’t exactly turn down my very first assignment. I can’t risk looking ungrateful or worse—unprofessional.
Cash seems to sense my hesitation. “Look, Nicky. I know this is an unusual proposition. But you can handle it. You were the best intern I’ve ever had. And as my sister, there’s no one else I’d trust with such a sensitive assignment.”
Ugh! Butter me up with compliments, why don’t you? My brother knows my weak spots. He knows that I take pride in doing good work. And he’s shamelessly exploiting that right now.
Let’s be real. We all know that no one else is jumping at the opportunity to take on this assignment. It’s weird. It’s torture. And I was hand-selected for it.
Yay, me!
Not.
“How much money does this gig pay?” I ask suspiciously. Because if I’m going to do this, it has got to be worth my while.
My brother glances at his billionaire colleagues. Then he scribbles a number onto a sheet of paper and slides it across the table to me. This is all very Risky Business .
I read the number. Despite my attempt to play it cool, my eyes bulge.
Shit—I’ll definitely be able to manage a mortgage with this salary.
I sit up a little taller, already picturing my new dream kitchen and a bedroom that includes zero sex sounds from nearby roommates in L-O-V-E.
I clear my throat. “Well, what are the working hours? I just mean, I’ll need to allow for travel time to and from Ronan’s home…”
“Oh, no worries,” the PR head answers. “You’ll be staying with him.”
I blink.“Excuse me?”
Florence’s shoulders shake. She seems to be fighting back a laugh. “Not to worry. Ronan owns a huge property in Starlight Falls, which is about forty-five minutes from here. We figured that you could stay in the small guest house on the property.”
My head snaps to Ronan.
The devilish man starts to grin. But he abruptly cuts it off when I glare at him. Then he tries—and fails—to look contrite.
“That would be all right with me,” he says graciously, speaking for the first time since this incredibly weird meeting began.
I thought this was supposed to be a punishment for him. Why does he look like an eager golden retriever puppy who’s ready for belly rubs?
I narrow my gaze at him, then my eyes dart back to the big bosses. “I, well, um—” I start.
“It’s settled, then!” Darius exclaims with a decisive slap to the tabletop. “Nicky, you’ll move in with Ronan. And Ronan, you’ll stay out of trouble.”
Okay. So, this is it. This is my first day of my new life.
Talk about a challenge ahead.
Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning, after all.