Chapter 6 Brooke
brOOKE
Over the next couple of days, I had my one-on-one meetings with all the players except Jace. Since we had that outstanding drink, I insisted we could combine the two.
My job also included making phone calls to existing and potential sponsors, and performing that task when surrounded by noise was especially tiresome.
I liked to conduct my calls alone, which was why I sometimes stayed after everyone left, choosing to make some calls during that time.
There were plenty night owls in the business.
Which was why, on the evening we’d scheduled our drink, I was caught up at work. I regretfully texted Jace.
Brooke: Can we move our drink to another day? Still have a few things to wrap up.
He didn’t answer, and I went back to the contract I was reviewing, feeling a little guilty. Sometime later, I was startled when I heard a sound because I was the last one left. I looked up from the papers.
Jace was a few feet in front of my desk. Those green eyes were studying me closely. I had the impression he’d been watching me for a while. God, how could he be so gorgeous? I tried to find one single flaw and failed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as he walked toward me.
“Cashing in on our drink. Threw in dinner as a bonus.” He sat against the edge of my desk, his gaze fixating on my lips.
The distance between us seemed to simply disappear.
When I could no longer stand the tension, I turned my head, looking at the bag he’d set in front of me, but I could still feel the heat of his gaze.
“What did you bring?”
“Chinese and wine.”
“Sounds good. Let’s dig in.”
I relaxed during dinner. We ended up talking about his family a bit, and he told me about an education center his brother Will and his fiancée had set up.
“They’re focusing on teaching marketable skills to people who for one reason or another didn’t have access to education.”
I listened closely, finding the concept more intriguing with every word.
“It’s a great initiative.”
“I think so too. I’d love to get involved more than just playing soccer, but I’m not sure how.”
“How is this financed?”
“Grants, but mostly private donations. My brother Landon owns an investment fund, and he’s a big contributor.
Everyone from the family chips in. But there are a lot of external donors too.
It’s smart to spread the risk. I’d like to do more than donate and kick ball with the students, but I don’t know how. ”
I thought this was absolutely adorable.
“Have you thought about approaching some of the companies you have endorsements with to see if they’d like to become donors?”
“That’s a great idea, but am I legally allowed?”
“I’ll look over your contracts this week, to see if there’s any clause regarding that.”
Every player and their agent had agreed it was the most productive if they gave me unrestricted access to all their contracts.
“You don’t have to do that. It’ll take a lot of time. I can ask my agent to look over it.”
“I want to.”
“Thanks, Brooke.” He flashed me a smile. “I promise to keep you company.”
“What? No, that’s not necessary.”
“I’ll make myself useful.”
“Maybe you’ll just divert my focus.”
“Well, I could… but I promise I won’t.” Was his tone flirty or was I making this into more than it was? He drew his chair closer to the table, resting his chin in one palm.
“And how exactly will you make yourself useful?”
“I can do whatever you need me to do, Brooke.”
“I bet you can,” I murmured. The tips of my ears felt ablaze. Had he meant it as an innuendo or was I imagining things because I just couldn’t shut off my body’s reaction to him?
Later that evening, he walked me to my car, even opening the door for me. When I was about to slide in, he touched my shoulder, winking at me.
“See you tomorrow, Brooke.”
I had to become less susceptible to his charm and sheer masculinity. But how was I supposed to do that when I shuddered from a simple touch?
Oh, yeah. Things weren’t looking too bright for me.
I kept my promise of reviewing his contracts, but it turned out to be more involved than I’d anticipated. That translated to long evenings at the club over the next weeks. Jace indeed kept me company.
He’d shown up the first evening with two boxes of takeout and soda.
“What are you doing here?” I inquired.
“Making myself useful, as I promised.”
I liked the food and loved the company. It was productive to go over the contracts with him, because he could provide some insider info in each case. We made up a good game plan. We were going to talk to each of the companies he did endorsements for about potentially donating.
Conversation also often veered into personal territory. One evening, I even told him the whole reason behind my leaving the magazine.
“Moving to Europe when my family needed me just didn’t feel right,” I said, concluding my story.
“Of course not. You wanted to be close to them.”
“Exactly.” I was deeply touched that he understood me right off the bat instead of telling me that there was nothing I could do for Dad anyway, and I could always talk to my sister on the phone, as Noah had insisted.
Jace slid his thumb under my chin, lifting my head a tad. “Brooke, they didn’t value you or what was important for you. It’s a good thing they’re not in your life anymore.”
He was right, but Cami and I had been best friends. Noah and I had been together for two years. I had honestly thought Noah and I might get married one day. The breakup, combined with my sister’s divorce, had done a number on me.
“If they couldn’t understand why you wanted to be here for your family when they were going through a rough patch, they don’t deserve your friendship.”
He spoke with such sincerity that I instantly knew Jace would never have asked me to turn my back on my family.
“You really don’t have to walk me to my car every night, you know,” I whispered later that evening, once we were in the parking lot. He’d parked at the opposite side of the lot and was going out of his way for me.
“Of course I do.”
Something had shifted between us that evening after I’d opened up to him. I felt even closer to Jace than before. He bid me good night as usual by kissing my cheek, and I barely resisted the impulse to turn my head slightly so our lips would meet. No, no, no!
I wanted him to come even closer, even though I knew I had to put more distance between us.
I definitely was not growing less susceptible to his charm or masculinity. Quite the opposite.
I only realized how much I had gotten used to spending time with Jace once our contract work was over.
My sister tried to needle me for information whenever we went out, but I kept our conversation away from hot soccer players and focused on Dad.
Working at the club gave me the advantage of being able to dote on Dad on a daily basis, making sure he wasn’t ordering steak or anything with butter for lunch, and that he took all his medication.
It was during one of the team’s away games that I realized I felt more relaxed going into work.
That was not to say I wasn’t determined to do my very best, but some of that artificial pressure I’d put on myself when I started a month ago seemed to have lifted.
I was careful not to rub it in that I was Dad’s daughter.
In that vein, I was also being careful with Jace, because cozying up to the MVP wouldn’t reflect well on me.
“I got us tickets,” Jace said one evening as we headed to the gym.
“But it was sold out.”
We’d discovered we both loved stand-up comedy, and we’d eyed a show in a smaller venue, but there hadn’t been any more tickets available.
“Stick with me, and you’re set. I told you I’m a good friend.”
“I thought you were overselling yourself, Jace, but you are a good friend.”
He really was. I wasn’t sure how we’d become friends, but I had a hunch that it had something to do with Jace being the kind of person who simply sneaked up on you.
Thanks to my new friend, Jace, I went to the gym every other evening.
I’d discovered that all these years I hadn’t skipped gym out of laziness.
I just hadn’t found the proper… motivator.
Turned out that watching a hot soccer player work out was all the motivation I needed.
Jace always exuded a knee-weakening sex appeal but never more than when he was playing or when he was training.
That unshakable focus was hot, and the way his muscles flexed when he lifted weights was even hotter.
His shirt clung to him, leaving nothing to the imagination, especially after he worked up a sweat.
So, yeah… plenty of motivation to show up and give my best on the cross-trainer.
“You’re getting better,” Jace commented.
He always started training before I showed up, with the result that he was done way before I was, and he spent the rest of my training time sitting on the abs bench in front of my cross-trainer, talking.
That was fine by me. Better than fine, in fact.
I liked talking to him. Plus… that view was simply to die for.
“Practice makes perfect, right?”
“I wasn’t expecting you to show up here so often.” He stood up, coming closer, arching one eyebrow. “Be honest. Is it because of me?”
I rolled my eyes, even though my knees had turned a little weak. “What can I say, Connor? You’re definitely helping.”
He grinned, leaning against one of the pillars, crossing his legs at the ankles and his arms over his chest. Belatedly I realized I’d been openly checking him out and cast my gaze away quickly, but I was certain he’d noticed.
“Your teammates had grand party plans tonight, and yet here you are, even though I’m pretty sure you would have stolen the show if you’d gone with them. Why is that? You can tell me, now that we’re friends and all.”
Jace’s smile dimmed, and I bit my lip. I didn’t want to spoil his good mood.
“I did enjoy the attention in the beginning, but it’s just brought around a lot of people who weren’t really interested in hanging with me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not so bad, I think I was just not used to it. But thank God we live in LA. My fifteen minutes of fame have passed.”
He moved slowly to my treadmill, bracing both hands on top of the console. I lowered my gaze to the cross-trainer’s display, which was why I was surprised when he grabbed my wrist. I looked at him questioningly when he pressed his thumb over my pulse point.
“You’re overexerting yourself again, Brooke. Slow down a bit.”
Right… because that was the only thing that had sent my pulse into overdrive. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the sexy-as-hell soccer player standing in front of me.
“Your fifteen minutes might return if you make the GQ list again,” I said.
“True. Attention always flares up around that time.”
“I bet you’ll top the list again.”
“Really? So you think I’m better-looking than the rest of the soccer players in the country?”
I thought he was better-looking than 99.9 percent of the population, but I kept that opinion to myself.
This time, Jace flashed me a shit-eating grin, winking.
“I think bias plays a role. You’ve been number one already, which makes you a favorite.”
I’d expected Jace to take offense, but if anything, he looked even more amused than before.
“You’re a shit liar, Brooke. You think I haven’t seen you looking before?”
I swallowed hard, trying to muster up an innocent smile.
My stomach jolted, as if I’d missed a step.
What was I supposed to say? I wasn’t sure how to navigate this.
Our friendship was still new, and while Jace seemed the kind of guy who spoke his mind, I didn’t think that owning up to checking him out was smart.
He’d probably laugh it off, but I ran the risk of him thinking I was one of his fangirls.
And anyway, I couldn’t be attracted to Jace. I just couldn’t.
I decided to treat this as if it was a rhetorical question and didn’t answer it. Instead, I finished the last fifteen seconds on the treadmill, then stepped off. Jace moved right in front of me.
“Cat got your tongue, Livie?”
My eyes bulged. “That’s my dad’s nickname for me because my middle name is Olivia. How do you know this?”
“I did my research. Asked your Dad a bit about you, without making it obvious.”
I wrinkled my nose. That right there was a testament to Jace’s ability to sneak up on a person. Dad would never share that with anyone.
“You can’t use my dad’s nickname.”
“You’re right. I should find my own nickname for you.” He tugged lightly at his lower lip with his teeth. “I have one. Hot stuff.”
“What? Jace, no. Come on; you can’t call me that when there are others around.”
“So I can call you hot stuff when we’re alone? Like now?”
I licked my lips, acutely aware that I couldn’t take a step back because I’d bump into the cross-trainer. Jace was towering over me, his shoulders slightly hunched, and that glint in his eyes was dominant.
“How about finding a more appropriate nickname?”
“What are you talking about? This is very appropriate.”
I cocked a brow in challenge. If I’d thought this would make Jace back down, I was dead wrong.
“You weren’t the only one looking before, hot stuff,” he went on in a raspier tone of voice.
My pulse intensified. I felt it at the base of my neck and pounding in my ears.
But since I’d looked, I couldn’t hold it against him that he’d done the same.
I rubbed a hand over my face, eager to change the subject.
“Do you want to grab dinner tomorrow before the stand-up comedy?” I asked.
“No can do. Have plans with Milo.”
“Oh, you’re right. I forgot.”
“I’ll meet you in front right before it begins. We’re going to have a blast, hot stuff.”