Chapter 2
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Noah
God, she was beautiful.
Even when she was so obviously annoyed and angry.
Which was pretty much her standard operating procedure when it came to their interactions. All thanks to that one night all those years ago.
A night that still haunted him in more ways than one.
Before walking in on a naked Zara spread eagle on his couch, he’d had no clue who she was. It was pretty normal to walk in on his roommate Aiden with a girl, but never had he walked in on one alone with her legs spread in invitation.
It wasn’t until two years later when he’d seen her at a game, talking to his teammate Heath Bailey, that he put two and two together that she was the woman he’d walked in on and carried to safety.
The same woman he still thought about at night; remembering her naked body and how fucking perfect it was.
She’d avoided him at every turn. Going so far as to run out of rooms when he walked into them, but that didn”t stop him from wondering about her, wanting to know more about her, and thinking about her. Then, a few months ago, he’d gotten the silly idea that he”d ask her to be his agent. Only when he’d shown up at her office, she turned him down flat, leaving him standing in the middle of her office looking absurd. Hannah found him and took pity on him, not only at that moment, but taking him on as a new client.
Which was all well and good, except, Hannah was standing him up and leaving him in, what he presumed, were Zara”s very capable hands.
He wasn”t upset.
“How in the hell did Hannah snag Power Punch for you?” Zara asked, her voice full of irritation.
He shrugged nonchalantly, acting like he didn”t care. “I don”t know. I guess I”m just that good and they just wanted me that badly.” He was goading her, and he knew it. But something inside him got a kick out of her agitation.
She scoffed. “I seriously doubt that’s the case.”
“I guess we”ll find out tonight,” he paused, lifting his sunglasses and letting her see the look in his eyes, “on our date.”
“It”s not a date.”
“I”ll pick you up at seven.” He sauntered away, wondering why he continued to poke the bear.
Probably because poking the bear was so fucking fun. At least until it attacked you.
Back on the field, he ran out towards Heath, who shook his head and wagged his finger. “Why do you always antagonize her?”
“It”s fun.” That wasn’t entirely true. He wanted her to like him. He really wanted her to feel the same way about him that he felt about her. He knew that was never going to happen, but a guy had to try, otherwise, what was the use?
“You really have to stop. A mad Zara is not someone that anyone wants to deal with.”
“She”s not my agent.” Noah shrugged. “I don”t give a damn if she”s mad or not.”
“Oh, so you just piss her off and leave her for the rest of us to deal with? Thanks a lot. You’re a real asshole.”
He chuckled as he kept walking to the outfield. It wasn”t like he wanted to piss her off. He”d prefer it if she was happy and friendly like she was with everyone else, but, since that was never going to happen, he used what he had.
After another twenty minutes of warm-ups, the team headed for the locker room. When the team took the field for the game, Noah searched the stands for Zara, knowing that she was somewhere up there watching. Sure enough, he found her several rows up, right behind the first base dugout, pretending she wasn”t watching him.
He knew better.
She might claim to hate him, but he’d caught her watching him more than once through the years.
Not that he was much better. If she was in the room or, in this case, the stadium, he was watching her.
It turned out, he put on a show for her and for anybody else watching. Several balls were hit hard and almost over the fence, but he was able to catch them, helping his team to a three-to-one victory. It was a good day, and he hoped it was about to get better after he met with Power Punch. The dinner was just a formality, from what Hannah said. Just one last meeting with the people in charge before signing on the dotted line.
He rode back to the hotel with the team, where he showered and got ready for his seven o’clock meeting. He knew Zara was in the same hotel because she always stayed in the same hotel as the team. He wasn’t a stalker or anything. He just paid attention. A text from Hannah had him knowing exactly which room she was in because, god forbid, he had her number to call and ask.
He wasn’t sure that was all he’d use her number for if he had it. There might be a few innocent texts here and there, just to get a rise out of her.
Reaching her room, he knocked lightly on the door, his hands fidgeting in his pockets as he wondered how this night was going to go, both with Power Punch and with Zara. He wasn”t sure which he was more nervous about.
Actually, that was wrong. He was definitely more nervous about being in Zara”s presence for more than a few minutes. It would be a first, and something he was really looking forward to, despite the nerves.
Power Punch he could handle. They were actively courting him, and as long as he didn”t do anything stupid, the sponsorship belonged to him.
The door flung open and he had to restrain himself to keep his expression neutral. She was fucking gorgeous. She wasn”t wearing anything overtly sexy, just a black pants suit with a pink camisole underneath it, but it was tight and hugged her curves perfectly, and it showed off her gorgeous brown skin. Honestly, Zara could be sexy in a garbage bag.
Or, you know, nothing, which was how he preferred to picture her.
“You look...” words evaded him, and even if they didn”t, he wasn”t sure he should say gorgeous. That probably wasn”t smart with how she was glaring at him. “You look great,” he opted for instead, trying to change his voice so he didn”t seem so desperate. And he was fucking desperate for any morsel of acknowledgment from her.
Any attention from her would be welcome. A touch would be great, but a kiss would be even better. Neither was going to happen.
She cleared her throat. “You look good.” She averted her eyes, so he wasn’t even sure she was looking at him, but he’d take the compliment. “Let me grab my purse, and we can get out of here.” He held the door open while she grabbed her purse, and then let her go first out the door where he followed her down the hall to the elevator, trying hard not to stare at her ass the whole way. Inside the elevator, they were quiet, neither of them saying anything as they rode down. Exiting into the lobby, he let her lead him outside, where she had a car waiting.
“After you,” he said, holding the car door open.
That earned him a glare as she slid inside the car. He slid in behind her, her perfume lingering in the air. Bold and rich, just like her. Being trapped in a small car with her was his idea of a good time. He highly doubted she saw it the same way.
“Hannah sent me the talking points, and it seems like the deal is pretty much finalized. This meeting is more of a formality. Do you have any questions?” It was the first time she had looked directly at him since she’d opened the door to her hotel room.
Her deep brown eyes entranced him, and he wasn’t sure he could speak, let alone string together coherent words.
She was all business like he knew she would be when he was thinking of anything but the deal. “I don”t think so. We”ve been working on this for a while, and honestly, I still have no idea why Power Punch picked me, but I”m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
She turned her body even more to face him, tilting her head to the side. “You have no idea why they picked you? From the information Hannah sent me, it looks like you were their number one choice, and they”ve just been biding their time, hoping that you”d come to them versus them coming to you.”
He shrugged, trying to come off like it didn’t matter. In reality, he’d been over the moon when Hannah had told him about their excitement. “I mean, I don”t cause any problems. I”m never on the news. I play the game, and I go home. That”s about it. So I guess maybe that”s why they want me.”
That was all true. He didn”t go out. He didn”t stir the pot, and he didn”t cause problems. He loved baseball more than anything. Loved playing it, loved watching it, and loved reading about it. From the smell of the stadium to the sound of the fans and everything in between. He loved everything about baseball. He never wanted to do anything to jeopardize that love.
Not to mention, his mind was consumed with one woman and one woman only since the day he’d walked in on her naked and spread eagle on his couch years ago. Women didn’t interest him unless they were Zara, except that wasn”t ever happening. He’d had a few sex partners in the last couple of years, but they were only sex. Just to try and get Zara off his mind. He’d gotten very familiar with the feel of his hand on his dick.
––––––––
He had to say, it wasa pretty good companion. It didn”t talk back, didn”t piss him off, didn’t make snide comments, and the best part, didn’t care that he was always fantasizing about another woman when they were together. It was a win-win situation.
“I”m sort of mad that I turned down being your agent. The commission alone from Power Punch could set me up for life. This is a five-year contract. A five-year contract with one of the biggest companies in the world. A sports drink company at that. I’d be swimming in the money, laying on the beach reading books with no cares in the world.”
A hint of a smile turned up her lips. No wonder she rarely smiled in his presence. His dick was never going to go soft again, all from that smile. “Is that what you want? To lay on the beach with no cares in the world? You don”t strike me as the type of person who lays around and does nothing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her smile was gone, replaced with a frown.
“I”m just saying, you look like you”d much rather be working and making business deals than laying on a beach, relaxing in a chair.”
“Are you saying I don”t know how to relax?” Anger laced her voice.
He chuckled, hoping to calm her down. “That”s not what I”m saying at all. You just don’t strike me as the sort of person who would be happy relaxing in a chair over making a deal in a boardroom or at dinner, or wherever you make deals. It seems to me that you like running people’s lives, helping us make good choices, and finding the best ways to live our lives.”
Her lips flattened. No smile or frown. They were completely neutral. “I do like those things, but I think I could also enjoy relaxing on the beach with a margarita in my hand.”
“Never said you couldn”t.”
“You know, you”re really annoying sometimes.”
“Never claimed I wasn”t.” He tried not to smile, but it was impossible.
The car came to a stop much too quickly, leaving him wishing they had many more minutes alone in the car. “I guess we”re here,” he said, opening the door and sliding out. He held out his hand to help her from the car, but, just as he assumed, she denied it and got out on her own. He should hate that she didn’t seem to want to touch him. Instead, it had him wondering why she went out of her way to make sure she never did.
There wasn”t time to dwell on it, because as soon as they entered the restaurant, the executives from Power Punch were waiting. These were the bigwigs. The people who sent other people to do their work and then came swooping in at the end to take the credit.
“It”s great to meet you,” Zara said. She was friendly and happy, something he’d rarely seen from her before. “I”m sorry you’re stuck with me instead of Hannah tonight.”
“We totally understand,” a tall man said as he shook Zara’s hand. “We’ve heard great things about you. I”m Kevin, and this is Stacy.”
Noah shook both Kevin”s and Stacy’s hands. “It’s great to meet you. Your team has been easy to work with.” It was the truth. The lower execs at Power Punch had treated him like a king throughout the process.
“They said the same about you,” Stacy said.
They were all led to a table in the back of the restaurant, where it was quiet. He pulled out a chair for Zara, and while she took it, he could tell she was trying hard not to scowl.
The waiter came over immediately, taking drink orders. Both Kevin and Stacy ordered alcohol, but he stuck with water since he had a game the next day. What shocked him the most was when Zara ordered club soda.
“I”ve had a long day,” she explained, obviously noticing Kevin’s look at her drink order. “Alcohol and jet lag don”t mix.”
“I hear that,” Kevin said. “Last week, I flew in from Berlin, and I think I was a zombie for three days. I”m not a young man anymore, and I like my sleep.”
Noah would put Kevin somewhere in his fifties, but he still looked pretty fit for a guy who sat in an office all day.
“I guess we should get right to it,” Stacy said. “We love what you do on and off the field, Noah, and how you present yourself. Kevin and I have kept up with the negotiations and are aware of everything going on. Noah, we would be proud to have you as a sponsor of our sports drink.”
“I”m honored,” he said truthfully. “I know that you could have gone with any other athlete in any other sport. That you chose me means a lot. I promise I won”t let you down.”
“Everything was outlined in the contract that we sent Hannah. If you agree to all of that and you don”t have any questions, we can go ahead and sign. This dinner was just a formality. We wanted to meet you, get to know you a little, and enjoy our evening before we set a date to start the campaign.” Kevin leaned back in his chair, looking pretty happy for a guy that was about to pay Noah millions of dollars.
“Sounds great to me,” Noah said, looking to Zara for confirmation.
She nodded her head. “Hannah gave the go-ahead. It was up to Noah to make the final decision.” She smiled a real one, not a fake one. And he knew the difference. He”d seen the fake one many times. The real one he only saw sparsely.
“Fantastic!” Kevin said. “Let”s get some food and celebrate. I know you have a long day tomorrow, Noah, so we won”t keep you out late.”
All days were long when it was baseball season. His days consisted of going to the gym in the mornings, a big protein-packed breakfast, a nap, and then heading to the stadium for batting practice. He didn”t like to stay out late in the off-season, let alone nights when he had games the next day.
They ate and chatted for a couple of hours, talking about all kinds of different things. He learned that Kevin was married and had two kids, both heading off to college in the next couple of years. Stacy was single after just coming out of a long relationship. She wasn”t looking to get into another one anytime soon. Both of them lived in New York City and, from the sounds of it, enjoyed the hustle and bustle. Noah joined in, telling them about his life growing up with his parents and his sister in Colorado, his love of baseball from an early age, and what he did in his free time, which was honestly nothing, but they didn”t need to know that. He also didn”t tell them about his dad, who had passed away years ago from a tragic accident.
That was something he didn’t talk to anyone about.
Not ever.
He wasn”t even sure if anyone on his team knew his dad was no longer living or that he died one night while fighting a fire.
It wasn”t something he liked to talk about, think about, or even remember.
If his mom brought it up, which she did any time he saw her or talked to her, he quickly changed the subject, never wanting to hear about the night he lost his dad.
The night his world changed.
It was part of the reason why he”d freaked out the night he walked in on Zara naked. That fire in that building was reminiscent of the fire that had killed his dad. His mind was overtaken with thoughts of death, and somehow reflexes he hadn’t even known he’d, had kicked in, helping to get them both out of the building alive. His adrenaline was high, and by the time he got her outside, he was breathing heavily, his body gripped with fear. All he could think about was getting away from there as fast as he could.
Because breaking down in front of a woman he’d just seen naked, and then saving her life, was too much for him to handle.
He kept his feelings bottled up and never told anyone about them. Unless you counted his therapist. She knew everything and was trying to get him to be more open and deal with the situation.
He wasn’t ready. Not even twelve years after his dad’s death or seven years after the incident with Zara.
After about two hours, dinner was over, and Kevin and Stacy were heading out.
“I guess we should get out of here, too,” Zara said.
He wasn’t in any hurry to leave Zara’s company, but there was nothing to say to keep her there any longer. He pushed back in his chair, standing. He held out his hand for Zara, and just like earlier, she dismissed him, standing up on her own and walking in front of him toward the exit. The car was waiting for them outside, and they both slid inside. When the door shut behind them, Noah had just about enough.
All the emotions he worked so hard to control around Zara emerged.
“Do you hate me?” he asked, his voice showing every bit of his annoyance.
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t try to pretend like you don’t know why I want to keep my distance from you.”
“I have no fucking clue why. I”ve been nothing but nice to you every time I’ve seen you.”
“You”ve been nothing but nice to me every time you’ve seen me,” she mocked. “I think you”re forgetting about a time.”
“I don”t think so.” He racked his brain, trying to remember something, anything he did to annoy her.
“The night of the fire ring any bells?” She threw up her hands.
That had him stopping in his tracks. “Wait a minute, you”re mad about the night of the fire? I saved your life. How can you be mad about that?”
“You walked in on me completely naked. You saw all this,” she ran her hands up and down her body, “naked.”
She had him there. “Yeah, you were naked, and I definitely looked, but as soon as that alarm went off, your nakedness was the last thing on my mind. All I wanted to do was get you to safety.”
“I think we would have been fine,” she said as if they hadn’t watched that fire tear through that building in a matter of minutes.
“Now I think you”re the one not remembering. That was a bad fire, Zara. Anyone stuck inside would have died within minutes. I got you out of there before the building collapsed around us.”
“And then you left, you just left!” she shouted.
As she shouted at him, everything instantly came back to him, the adrenaline rush of that moment seven years earlier, as well as the memories of his dad, and his need to flee from the situation. Now it just came out as anger.
“What the hell did you want me to do?!” He raised his voice. He wasn’t sure why he was even arguing with her. Except, it stirred that same feeling inside him that he got when they goaded each other.
“Oh, I don”t know, maybe stay. Maybe have a conversation. I didn’t even know who you were until years later when I saw you at a game playing with Heath. I had no idea you were a baseball player.”
“I didn”t know you either, and it was the same for me. I saw you with Heath at the stadium, and I remembered you as the woman that I”d walked in on naked, and then saved from a fire.”
Both of them were breathing heavily, staring at each other, eyes intense. He wasn”t sure who moved first, but in the blink of an eye, she was in his arms, and her mouth was on his. The urgency of the kiss was too much, yet at the same time, not enough. He wanted to consume her, to drink her in so that her taste would never leave his mouth.
She pulled away so fast that he practically got whiplash. Her eyes were wild, but also filled with confusion. “We are not doing this.”
Part of him told him to back off, but a small part, the part he listened to, told him to push her just a little more. Leaning in toward her, he latched onto her neck, nipping and biting the skin there gently. “It sure as hell seems like we”re doing this.”
She whimpered. “Why does that feel so good? I cannot be doing this with you.”
He kept going, not letting up, not stopping. This was what he’d wanted for all these years. Zara in his arms, his mouth on her skin, tasting her, touching her. She tipped her head backward, giving him more access to her neck. He moved his mouth back up, finding her lips and taking them with a desperation that he”d felt for too many years. She was right there with him, her hands in his hair, her mouth taking just as much as it gave.
Until she pulled away again. “No,” she shook her head and pressed her lips together tightly. “I don”t like you. I don”t want to be doing this. I”m not going to do this.” She scooted as far as she could towards the door, crossing both her arms and legs as some sort of shield over her body.
He was torn between pushing her more or listening to her. In the end, he knew he couldn’t or wouldn’t push her, even if he knew deep down that she wanted this. Wanted him. He tried to stop looking at her, keeping his head down, looking at his feet. She confused him to the point of not knowing what came next.
He was never unsure of what came next. He always knew his next move, always had it right there waiting. Except, it seemed, when it came to Zara. This was twice now that she had turned his world upside down, leaving him clueless.
Maybe she was right. Maybe they couldn”t do this. As much as he wanted her, it might be time to cut his losses and move on once and for all.