Chapter 26
By Monday morning, Jeremy and I had had sex so many times, every inch of my body was sore. Obviously, he’d given my vagina a workout, but we’d contorted into so many positions getting to know each other physically, that my muscles were still recovering. I’d wanted to have sex with him this morning before he left for his road trip, but every part of my nether regions protested, so he got a blow job in the shower. I probably wasn’t very good at it, but I didn’t hear him complaining. And when he’d tried to play with my boobs while I did it, I shimmied out of his reach. My nipples were nearly raw, and even putting a bra on hurt.
My body was going to get a much-needed rest while he was gone, and because he was gone, I decided to take Chloe to work. She pranced alongside me when we got into the building. Security didn’t say a word, but stared at her for a long time. When I got up to my office, Whitney cooed when she saw Chloe, and Chloe wouldn’t stop wagging her tail. After many scritches and treats from Whitney—I brought the treats—I was finally able to get to my office. With no fires to put out, I was able to focus on my normal work, which I did all through the morning.
Tangi and I were meeting for lunch. We decided to eat in the small lunchroom, and I hoped no one objected to Chloe. I suspected if anyone did, they wouldn’t tell me and instead let HR know. Whatever. I’d deal with it. For now, Chloe went everywhere I went.
We ordered out, and Tangi picked it up. I met her in the lunchroom, and Chloe ran over to her when she saw Tangi come in. Thankfully, no one was in the lunchroom as we took a table in the corner, and Tangi handed me my grilled chicken sandwich and a side of Greek salad.
“What’s with the permanent grin on your face?” Tangi asked.
Was it that obvious? “There is something I want to tell you,” I said, trying to stifle my grin. After so many years of being ultra-private with my personal life, it was time to open up to Tangi. Besides, I didn’t want her finding out from someone else. “Jeremy and I had sex.”
“Finally,” Tangi said with exasperation. “Ethan and I were wondering how long this would take. I figured it would have been a month ago. Ethan thought Jeremy would be all over you within a week. We both knew it was a waiting game when you got Chloe.”
At hearing her name, Chloe perked up, then went back to sleep.
I couldn’t hide my shock that my best friend had bet on me and Jeremy. “Was it that obvious?”
“Not right away, but I could see you warming up to him. I know Jeremy has used questionable judgment in the past, but he’s a great guy who needed to meet a great woman. I think you’ve tamed the beast.”
I popped an olive in my mouth and considered this. She did have a valid point. “Once I got to know him, I realized he was a decent guy. I guess I could see his appeal.”
Tangi laughed and rolled her eyes. “You should hear yourself. Look, I know you don’t get into who you’re dating and that’s fine. You don’t have to. But I saw a spark with him. You were having fun. So have fun. Let there be no constraints.”
I picked at my salad and threw the word “fun” around in my head. “I’m getting to the point in my life where I don’t want fun. And I’m pretty sure Jeremy is getting close to that point too.”
Not that it mattered, but I was a little older than him, and it made me wonder if maybe even those two short years meant a lot to a guy his age. I was going to be twenty-nine in a few short months, and though I was still young, I didn’t want to struggle with dating a bunch of losers into my thirties. I wanted to jump into finding the right guy now. And part of me knew it wasn’t Jeremy.
“I get that, but how do you know that Jeremy isn’t at that stage too?”
“You were the one to tell me about his reputation. Do you think he’s ready to give that up?”
Tangi put down half of her pastrami sandwich she was holding. She put on her mom smile, and I knew I was about to get a lecture. “Of course he’s ready to give it up. Don’t you think after a while it gets boring? Do you know how many guys on the Ravens and Kodiaks go through the same cycle Jeremy went through? Then they grow up and find the right woman. I think you’re the right woman. I’ve thought that for a while.”
“You did,” I said, feeling my mood suddenly lift.
“I do. And I have to wonder if what happened with Orla was his wakeup call. I see the way he is with you. You can’t fake that.”
She was seeing things I either didn’t see yet, or wasn’t ready to see. “I am spending the holidays with him and his family in Calgary.” I hadn’t told Tangi about it sooner because I wasn’t sure how she’d react. Would she wonder why I was going there? At least, now, it made sense.
Her hazel eyes lit up. “You are! That’s great! We’ll miss you here, but I bet that will be fun. Ethan says his sister Gwen is hilarious and a shit disturber. Sounds like maybe she’s a little like you.”
If Tangi was going to call me a shit disturber, I was going to wear that like a badge of honor. I wanted to know more about the Vaughns, but a few people came in to have their lunches, so Tangi and I changed the subject to the weather and her holiday plans. Chloe and I returned to my office, and I thought about what Tangi said. Could Jeremy and I ever be more? I wasn’t sure, but I was willing to find out because, if nothing else, the sex made me want to risk the consequences.
While the Kodiaks were on their Midwestern road trip, I was busy working. Not only did we have more promotional shoots to set up, but the issue of a jilted ex-girlfriend of one of the players she was stalking had to be dealt with, and a slew of news releases to prepare for upcoming events. I also had to approve materials for a charity fundraiser the wives and girlfriends were putting on. Not to mention fan appreciation night. I was up to my eyeballs with work, and it kept me busy while Jeremy was gone.
I was looking over the language for the news release for the fan appreciation night when Clay waltzed into my office unannounced, not that he had to announce himself. Chloe opened one eye from her bed and went back to sleep. Clay glanced at her, blinked a few times, then set his gaze on me. He shut the door and pulled up a chair across from me.
“Good work with Vaughn. I hear Lex’s foolish wife is writing sex books and trying to malign the Kodiaks. And that it’s been taken care of.”
“For now. We have the legal team on it. When the book comes out, she may have some things to say.”
Clay smirked. “I have no problem suing her.”
I suspected he had another reason for being in my office, but he wasn’t ready to say it just yet, so we made small talk about the team, the weather, and my time in Vancouver. Then he finally spit it out.
“We have a bit of a situation,” he said.
No. I didn’t want to know. I couldn’t deal with anymore situations right now. I needed and wanted to focus on my job and not more scandals. But Clay was my boss, and I loved this job. If it meant putting out another fire, I would.
“I guess you better hit me with it.”
“Dave and I have been talking a lot about you. We like you. You’re doing an excellent job. Lance, he is the head of PR for the Ravens, is completely incompetent. We’ve put up with him for years, and I just can’t do it anymore. The do-nothing has to go. He can go do nothing somewhere else.”
Was I getting a demotion? “All right, but how does that involve me?”
“We’re going to let him go right after the holidays. We’ll look for a replacement, but we would like you to take over for the interim and train his replacement. I know that sounds like a tall order, but the scope of the job there isn’t as big, and you hopefully won’t have to work that long. You will also be generously compensated.”
More work. Not what I was looking for, but the negotiator in me kicked in. “What sort of compensation are we looking at?”
“Double your salary while you are taking over and training his replacement.”
“Along with six weeks of vacation per year and a twenty-five-thousand-dollar bonus on top of my regular bonus.”
He smiled deviously. “Are you trying to bankrupt me?”
“Hardly. And I know what you pay the Kodiaks.”
“All right, I’ll agree to your terms. Let’s keep Lance’s firing between the two of us.”
“Of course.”
“And nice touch about the engagement. I’m not sure it was necessary to take our arrangement that far, but you do seem dedicated. I like a dedicated employee.”
“It was Jeremy’s idea. To mitigate any Orla damage.”
“At least he’s finally using the head on his shoulders, and not the other one.” He got up to leave and glanced over at Chloe again. “Is this the team dog?”
“No. As far as I know, we don’t have a team dog.”
“A service dog?”
“No. She’s my dog. And before you say anything, I looked into the building and Kodiak policies, and nothing prevented me from having a dog here.”
“You are thorough. Well, she’s cute. We should make her the team dog.”
Chloe opened both eyes at that, and we watched Clay saunter out.