Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Cat
Holy crap.
That had to be the hardest thing I ever did. Hunter Quintanna was one intimidating hunk of man. As soon as I closed my dad’s office door behind me I ran down the hall and ducked into the stairwell to get to my office on the third floor. Penny was never going to believe I’d pulled this off.
Or maybe I was being premature. I hadn’t pulled anything off yet. It was probably unfair of me to keep to myself the fact that I knew the circumstances of Hunter’s demise in LA, but I’d made a promise. Besides, the damage had already been done. And now he was here.
He had a second chance. He could redeem himself and I’d help him. Sometime in the future, the true story about what happened in LA would come out, but until then I would see to it that he earned his way back, that people saw the good in him.
Reaching the third-floor landing, I pushed open the door to the hallway and rushed toward my office.
Or large closet. There was enough room for my desk and one visitor chair.
On the upside, a large window overlooked the practice field.
My dad—Coach—told me the office had previously been open space, a hallway landing, and they’d thrown up a wall to accommodate me.
Apparently coaching a winning team had its benefits.
My dad had sway. I had sway with my dad.
Not as much as I thought, since I fairly had to beg him and make all kinds of ridiculous promises before he agreed to put in a word for me for the job.
Okay, I did feel guilty some days about using my dad to get this job.
But ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to work with him, work for the team, be part of his team.
Feel like I really belonged, like I really mattered to him.
I sat behind my desk and popped open my computer.
I had some social media content to write and then I would call Penny.
My father’s personal assistant knew I had a crush on Hunter, though she had no idea why.
She probably thought it was all the obvious reasons: his bad-boy handsome face down to his intimidating half frown and smirky smile, his cooler-than-ice eyes, his Hercules body that could and did give many a woman I knew wet dreams.
It’s not that I didn’t appreciate his panty-melting power, but I knew a hell of a lot more about him than that, and what I knew melted my heart.
He’d punched a coach in LA, it was true. That’s why they let him go. But I knew why he did it and—more importantly—why he wasn’t explaining. My chest clenched thinking about it, how much he was sacrificing, putting his career on the line, all to keep his word, to protect someone.
Snatching the desk phone from its cradle, I punched in Penny’s number. It had become a habit since I’d gotten my desk to use the landline instead of my cell phone. At first it felt funny, like I was playing at being a grown-up, but now it felt real.
Penny answered on the third ring and I brought up the Twitter account on the laptop.
“Marini residence,” she said in her official voice, making me smile.
“You passed the test. No one would guess you’re really dressed in your pajamas and watching TV.” My smile widened as I listened to her mutter a few swears.
“Speaking of impostors, how are you doing?”
“Low blow. I’m doing fabulously, as a matter of fact. That’s why I called. Mission accomplished. I’m the official handler of one brand-new tight end.”
She let out a whistle and I moved the phone from my ear.
“Yeah, well, you better be careful and keep your hands off his tight end.”
I laughed and sat back in my chair. I loved Penny.
My Dad was such a dunderhead for not snatching her up—for more than just his personal assistant.
So what if she was almost as salty as he was?
She had charm and wit and everything a man could want.
She was part of the team, not formally, but as my father’s right hand, she qualified.
She had been for longer than I was. She understood why I wanted—no, needed—this job.
Knew my need to really belong in Dad’s life.
“Don’t worry about Hunter. He’s as guarded as they come.” I shuddered thinking about those eyes of his on me, roving up and down, and the crackling in the atmosphere. Okay, the crackling could have been my imagination. But he could make me feel things without ever touching me. That part was real.
“So what’s your end game again?”
“Make sure he’s successful. Make sure he stays on message and—”
“Not the official crap. You know what I mean. What do you want with him?”
“Nothing.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. There was dead air. I squirmed and huffed a breath. “Okay, maybe I want a little . . . adventure?”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days? You do realize if you have your little adventure that would be the very definition of trouble—the kind you’re assigned to keep him out of?”
“You have it all wrong, Penny. No one ever said he had to be a monk. He can have a consensual relationship with a grown, single woman—like myself. In fact, I’m pretty sure it would be abnormal for him not to engage in a little adventure.”
“Sure. But not with you. Because I’m pretty sure your dad would not appreciate it. I know for certain your dad would not want you involved with the team’s bad boy. Besides, he’s too old for you. How old are you? Barely 21?”
I rolled my eyes, taking full advantage of the fact that she couldn’t see me.
“And don’t roll your eyes. I’m serious. Even if he wasn’t a pariah and you weren’t a baby—his words, not mine—Coach doesn’t want his dogs to poop where they eat.”
“What a disgusting metaphor. And I’m not entirely sure it fits.”
“You know what I mean. I’m sure there’s a no fraternization rule in the employee handbook. One of those pesky details maybe you overlooked when you took the job.”
Fine. She had a point about that ridiculous nonfrat rule.
Ignoring the issue of Hunter being a bad boy and me being a baby because the notion was too stupid to credit, I did need to be concerned about the nonfraternization rule.
I know it was added to the employee handbook—the handbook the players and all the Militia organization employees were given—recently.
There’d been an incident with two office employees who’d been a couple—until they weren’t.
The lawyers had a fit because their fraternization caused all kinds of problems with a harassment lawsuit, costing the organization money.
All because there had not been a nonfraternization rule.
“At the time I read the rule book I didn’t know that Hunter Quintanna was going to drop into my lap—figuratively speaking.”
Penny snorted.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing figurative about it. You’re smitten. What I want to know is why? You’ve had plenty of good-looking hunks come and go—why this one?”
“He’s extra hunky.” Okay, there was so much more to it than that, but I wasn’t going to tell Penny. I lied by omission. Not that I was good at it. I’d been cursed with an overly sensitive conscience and had never gotten away with lying all my life, especially not to Penny.
“Aha. We’ll see. In the meantime, what exactly does a handler do with the handlee?”
She was letting me off the hook easy, but I knew from past experience that was a sure sign she was onto me. I kept my anxiety to myself.
“We’re looking for an apartment—for him—tonight after practice.
I’ll help him get settled in, set up a local bank account, get him a housekeeping service, all the usual things you do with a well-off single man who doesn’t have time to do what a wife would do for him.
Including the part about keeping him off the streets at night. ”
“Interesting take on the job description. I wonder if Coach would agree?”
“He didn’t ask for details. The directive is to keep him out of trouble. However I accomplish that is up to me. And I will do my job. Well.”
“Of that there was never any doubt. Just saw your last tweet. Clever. Liked the photo. Zoom lens from your office, right?”
“Yes—how did you know?”
Penny laughed. “Gotta go. See you Sunday.” She disconnected.
That woman was scary-smart and all-knowing and I loved her to pieces.
She’d always been like the big sister I never had.
Once I’d convinced my mother of her sisterly role, things went a lot smoother between them.
At first when Dad hired Penny, Mom had been jealous.
Even though they were divorced, I can see why.
But when over the years nothing materialized—though it should have by now—Mom relaxed enough to let me stay with Dad more.
Not that it mattered. He was always in his football team world. The one I didn’t belong to. Until now.
I stared at my computer screen, the cursor blinking at me in expectation. I searched for the right photo to post for Hunter Quintanna’s introduction to the fans of the Facebook page.
The one I found irresistible was the only one where he smiled.
Some of his family stood off camera on the sidelines and I knew he smiled at his youngest brother.
Damn if my heartstrings weren’t tightening up again.
If I didn’t watch it, I’d turn into one of those blubbering swooner fangirls that always seemed too pathetic to be for real.
But maybe there was something to it. Maybe they felt something real and I was only catching up now all these years later.
Whatever it was, it felt good. Too good. And too real.
Finishing up with the social media posting, my fingers clicking away, I let my eyes wander to the window overlooking the practice field.
Maybe I should buy blinds for the window.
It was far too tempting to watch the team.
To watch him. Even if I did need binoculars to actually see him from here.
Guilt flooded me with a warm blush at the fact that I had brought a pair of binoculars and kept them in my desk.
God, I was turning into a damn groupie. Pulling out my desk drawer, I retrieved the camera.
At least I had a good excuse to look at the field through the lens.
I needed lots of photos for social media content.
The kind no one else could get. Dad had said photos of practice were fine. Photos of volunteer work were better.
That’s what I needed to do next—set up Hunter with a local volunteer organization or charity and arrange for him to make some appearances. Something told me that he already had something like that going on. I’d bet my left nipple that he was a closet do-gooder.
Setting the camera down, I searched the Internet, focusing on his hometown to see if he’d been involved in anything there. Any charities, that is. Maybe I’d find out if he had any romantic involvements while I was at it.
That’s what I ended up doing for hours and I didn’t come away disappointed.