Chapter 6
Chapter Six
LEVI
“What did you make her do last night?” Coach Wood asks, staring down at me.
Yup, this is my early morning meeting. A recap on my first day with Wylie.
And when I say the last thing I wanted to do was wake up early and come to this meeting, I mean it.
I stayed up all fucking night, my stomach churning from the errand I sent Wylie on.
It wasn’t until I heard her put the bagels in the freezer that I could actually shut my eyes.
Even at that, though, I probably got an hour of sleep.
Guilt consumed me.
So much guilt that I actually felt nauseous at one point and sat on the edge of my bed with a trash can in hand.
Yeah, this guy, hovering over a trash can, ready to puke.
Probably not the image you want of me, right? Well, fuck, I don’t want it either. It’s humiliating. That’s not the man I am. That’s something Eli would do.
Or perhaps Pacey.
I don’t throw up.
Yet, there I was last night, ready to hurl over making Wylie run the stupidest errand ever.
Fucking different water. I don’t even know if that’s a thing.
I was flying by the seat of my pants on that one.
I actually got the idea by looking up stupid tasks personal assistants had to do.
It was a Buzzfeed article providing outrageous stories from assistants.
I couldn’t believe the amount of insane tasks humans make other humans do.
But because my coach has my balls in a vise grip, I don’t have much choice.
I shift in my seat and try to conjure up the image of Coach Wood blessing his underwear this morning so he seems less intimidating. If it wasn’t for the throbbing vein in his bald head drawing my attention, the underwear blessing might have worked.
“I had her grab me bagels from a place forty-five minutes away . . . at one in the morning.”
Coach Wood smiles. Sick bastard. “Did she do it?”
“She did, and then . . . well, I didn’t have one of the bagels this morning.” Not because I was being an ass, but because I didn’t think I could bring myself to even look at the bagels. That’s how guilty I felt.
Coach lets out a short but deep chuckle. “Made her get bagels at one in the morning and didn’t even eat one. What a fucking dick.”
Nerves shoot up my arms as I say, “That’s what you wanted, though, right? You wanted me to be a dick?”
“Yes. That’s perfect. There’s no doubt in my mind that she was cursing your name this morning.”
Great, just what I want.
Although, I would prefer the cursing to be in the context of, “Oh God, Levi, oh fuck. . .”
But we all know that’s not going to happen.
“Yeah, she seemed pretty tired. Felt kind of bad.”
The smile fades from his face as he stares me down. “Don’t feel bad for her. Don’t feel anything for her. This is a job. This isn’t personal. You do the job, and you move on. Don’t feel any sort of emotion toward my daughter, understood?”
I gulp. “Yup. No emotion. Completely emotionless. No need to worry about emotions with me. I don’t even know what they are. I’m an empty?—”
“Shut up.”
“Right. Yup.” I grip the chair’s arms, trying to keep calm.
“What else have you done? Has she started on the rewrite of the book?”
“Yes, I gave it to her this morning. Presented her with the stain to get out. Told her about the pencils and the Skittles. She has also been assigned my social media, calendar, fan mail, and all of that admin stuff. On top of that, she’s getting me food, stocking up, and I think I’ll have her food prep for me as well.
Oh, and I tasked her with getting me a plant. ”
“A plant?”
I nod. “To add more life to my apartment. You see, there’s a certain balance you need when it comes to your living space. . .” My voice fades when I see his jaw tense.
He doesn’t want to hear about living space balance, you moron.
“Let me guess, you want me to shut up?” I ask.
He shifts in his seat and folds his hands together. “Keep her fucking busy. Run her ragged. Make her regret she ever took this position. I’ll put together another list and email it to you. Continue to be demanding. I talked to her last night, and her hopes seemed high. I didn’t like it.”
Why? Doesn’t he want his daughter to be happy?
I don’t understand this entire ruse.
If I had a child, I’d want what’s best for them, and what’s best for them is their happiness. Why doesn’t Coach Wood want that?
Maybe he’s unaware of what happiness is. He’s just an old crotch of a man with beefy shoulders and a bald head.
Perhaps he needs a little love in his life.
Maybe I’m the one to help him find that love.
My success rate is at one hundred percent right now, so I could help him find a lady friend—or man friend if that’s where he’s headed.
Who knows. I’ve never gotten that personal with him.
Either way, I’m the key to him finding love, and I’m up for the challenge.
“You know, Coach Wood, have you ever considered dating?”
He points at his door and yells, “Get the fuck out.”
I wince as I scurry out of my chair. “Sure . . . yup.”
I duck out of his office. “I’m going to take that as a no on the dating thing.”
His loss.
I head down the hallway toward the locker room just as I receive a text. I pull out my phone and see that it’s from Wylie.
Wylie: Here with your smoothie. Where should I meet you?
Levi: I’ll come to you. Where are you?
Wylie: Third level, going to meet with Blakely who caught me in the hallway.
Levi: Be right there.
I pocket my phone and head toward the elevators, where I find Eli as well.
“Hey man, you’re here early,” Eli says.
“Yeah, had to meet with Coach.”
“About what?” Eli asks.
“Uh . . . payment for his daughter,” I answer. “He wanted to make sure I was being fair.”
“Oh, sure,” he says, buying it . . . thankfully.
“What are you up to?” I ask.
“Just dropped off Holden. Penny has breakfast, so I was going to eat with her in her office.”
Holden is Penny and Eli’s baby boy. We have full-time daycare here in the arena, so they’re able to do what they need to do for their jobs while visiting Holden throughout the day.
I know they love the convenience. Especially Eli, who likes to visit between practices, warm-ups, and training sessions.
The elevator opens, and we both walk in. He pushes the button for the third floor, where Penny and Blakely work. “How’s the new assistant anyway?”
“It’s been a day,” I say. “Not even a full day. It’s fine. Nothing special.”
“So she hasn’t given you any problems?”
“No,” I say. “Why would she give me problems? You make it seem like she’s difficult, and I haven’t seen anything to indicate that.”
“Not difficult. She’s just strong-willed is all. She knows what she likes, and when she likes it, she goes after it. And I know you . . .”
“What about me?” I ask.
The doors part, and we step off the elevator. “Dude, you like to fuck. She’s an attractive girl. I could see something there.”
Little does he know.
There’s more than just something.
There’s a fucking semi-truck full of lust.
“Yeah, but she’s Coach Wood’s daughter. Do you really think I’d get even close to that?”
“I mean . . . I could see it. You let your dick do the thinking a lot. I’ve had to get you out of a few mishaps.”
Everyone seems to remember the little favors they’ve done for me here and there, but heaven forbid they give me any fucking credit for the ginormous favors I’ve done for them—found them love.
“Trust me when I say nothing will be happening between us. First of all, she’s fucking young, like ten years younger.”
“Silas is ten years older than Ollie.”
“Yeah, and there are times when she calls him granddad. Do you really think I want that for my life?”
Eli chuckles. “No.”
“And second. If I even think about going near her, Coach Wood will find out somehow and chop off my dick, douse it in gold, and then keep it as a trophy on his desk as a prized possession.”
Eli nods. “Yup, that pretty much sums it up.”
“Oh, there you are,” Penny says as she spots us in the hallway. “How did Holden do?” She takes Eli by the hand, and he leans down and kisses her. I look away because I’m so fucking hard up at this point that a light peck on the cheek could get me revved up and ready.
“He did great,” Eli says in his sweet voice made only for Penny.
“Wonderful. Ready for breakfast?”
He wiggles his brows. “More than ready.”
Looks like Penny is on the menu.
They take off and slip into her office without even having the decency of saying goodbye. Fucking rude. They shut the door behind them with a click of the lock. Yup, it’s a do-not-disturb situation over there.
I head down the hallway and poke my head in Blakely’s office. She’s sitting across from Wylie, and Wylie’s back is toward me. For a second, I take in the long slope of her neck and the poise in her shoulders as she speaks with Blakely.
This morning, when she walked into the kitchen, makeup-free, I had to keep myself from getting close, tugging her into my chest, and lifting her onto the counter so I could personally count every freckle on her cheeks.
It was a monumental feat, and when I remained stoic and in place, I inwardly said I’d reward myself later for such strength.
Even now, though, I feel the pull with her a few feet away.
My body wants to gravitate toward her like Eli gravitated toward Penny. And I’m sure if Halsey was here right now, he’d be doing the same with?—
“Hey, can I interrupt?”
Speak of the devil.
Blakely looks up at the doorframe and catches me and Halsey standing there, but whereas I’m empty-handed, looking for my protein shake, Halsey has a box of donuts for his wife.
Wow, I look like a real fucking asshole.
“Did you bring me donuts?” Blakely asks as she stands from her chair.
“I did,” Halsey says as he walks into the office.
And painfully, I watch as they meet in the middle. Blakely slides her hand up Halsey’s chest as he wraps his free arm around her waist, and they kiss.