Chapter 4
Marcus
Why did I do that to Lily?
Sure, she’s beautiful, and of course, I’m attracted to her. Who wouldn’t be? But to make a move on her when I know full well she hates me? I’m surprised she didn’t kick me in the bollocks.
I showed up on set, my first day as a sports reporter after my accident, and I was floored by her beauty.
Wavy red hair that shimmered in the sunlight.
Deep emerald eyes that stood out against her perfect complexion, with freckles dotted across her high cheekbones.
Lily Chambers was, without doubt, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Her body was wrapped up in a tailored pantsuit which nipped in at her narrow waist and was beautifully tight around her round ass.
It took everything in me not to flirt with her and to remain professional.
But she scowled at me, took my hand in a vice-like grip of a handshake, gave a short greeting, and walked away.
She then proceeded to ignore me whenever she could, or when we did have to work together, she would be sharp, snarky, and so damn witty with her one-liners, I would actively make comments to wind her up just to see what she would say next.
I get a kick out of her not fawning over me like everyone else and challenging me with her hilarious comebacks.
I made it my mission to get her to like me.
But after two years, she still hates me, and no matter what I do, she isn’t budging, and this little feud we have isn’t fizzling out; it’s only growing, so if she’s going to hate me no matter what, then I might as well have some fun.
Never did I want to cross that line with her. She made it perfectly clear her feelings toward me. So I tucked my lust for her into a box and moved on.
At least I had until last night.
Yesterday was a particularly rough day for me. The anniversary of the day my football career ended. Ended without my consent when I was on the receiving end of a bad tackle. Everyone hoped I’d recover and be match fit, but no matter how hard they worked on me, my body had given up.
So, I was signed as a reporter for EBS. Still getting to talk about the sport I love and immerse myself in it, even if I can’t play competitively anymore.
I’d been in that bar having a solo pity party because Kai Harris, midfielder and my best friend, had just signed for another four years with City.
I was happy for him; the man’s the best in the league and deserves all the success, but whenever he talks about how his career has progressed, the devil on my shoulder screams that should’ve been you.
So I took my sorry ass down to the bar and started drinking.
But my night turned around when Lily spotted me.
I had the perfect distraction. I could wind up my favorite firecracker.
But what I didn’t plan on doing was walking her home, pushing her against the wall, and almost kissing her until she forgot her own name.
I lost all my senses.
I blame the beer.
And her smart mouth.
Fuck, she’s hot when she’s mad. And she’s mad at me most of the time.
But she felt good.
So good that when I got back to my penthouse, I jerked off, her name falling from my lips as I came so fucking hard it brought me to my knees.
But I have to put that memory to the back of my mind as I sit around the boardroom table where all the reporters and broadcasters are here to talk about the upcoming schedule.
“And of course we want to shake things up a little this season and try to pull in viewers from all different backgrounds, so we’ve decided to mix things up and introduce one of our own as a new on screen reporter.
They’ll cover the mainstream football games along with a few other sports that we think should get more airtime.
” The boss of the network Damen is talking, but my head is still stuck on Lily.
So much so that I picture the new reporter as her when they walk into the room.
Her striking red hair is pinned into a sleek ponytail, her face is flawless, and the form-fitting gray pencil skirt hugs her delicious curves, and the black silk shirt is undone slightly, showing a hint of cleavage.
I blink a few times to get the image out of my head, but all I see is Chambers.
“Let me introduce Lily Chambers.” Damen beams at her.
“She’ll be the new face of prime-time sports.
A lot of you will be aware of her as she’s been around these studios for a while.
And especially if you follow the female league.
She’ll bring a wealth of knowledge to the team, so please make her welcome. ”
Those stunning green eyes that I pictured staring up at me while I came so hard in the shower last night and again this morning are now gazing at me from across the table.
The smile on her face is infectious, but it falters slightly when she takes me in.
Ever the professional, her face quickly changes, her mask firmly back in place as she grins at Damen.
“Thanks, Damen. I can’t wait to get started,” she says brightly.
“Brilliant. Well, I’ll leave you with the team.” He squeezes her shoulder affectionately. “And of course, I look forward to seeing you on the screen tomorrow afternoon for the main event.”
Damen leaves, and everyone stands to congratulate Lily. But I stay rooted in my chair, watching. She finally catches my eye and raises her eyebrow. Challenging. I simply smile and nod.
Eventually, everyone moves to leave, including Lily.
I stand, finally finding my voice. “Chambers, you got a minute?” She pauses at the door, her shapely ass spinning so she’s facing me.
All that fire that she normally has when in my presence is back, and my cock twitches as I stalk towards her.
Apparently, he doesn’t remember my promise not to think about her like that again.
“Yes, Diaz?” Her tone is indifferent as she stares me down, crosses her arms, pushing her tits up.
Not helping.
“Congratulations on the promotion. Looks like we’ll be working together more.”
“I suppose there are always some downsides to every dream job.”
A smirk stretches across my face. “We’ll have fun, Chambers.” I reach out to brush the back of my knuckles down her cheek, and she lets me until she seems to remember who I am.
“Don’t touch me.” She bats my hand away. “Do you need me for anything else?”
I mean…
Stop it, be professional.
“Look, I don’t get why you don’t seem to like me, and I suppose that’s fine. But we need to stay professional. Especially if we’re to be on camera together.”
“Are you questioning my professionalism?” Rearing her head back as her brows pinch together, she steps back into my space, tilting her face so she’s staring directly at me, with her heels on, she still only reaches my shoulder.
“Look, bigshot,” she jabs her pointer finger into my chest, “I’ve gotten where I am because I’m professional, and I know my sport.
No one has ever handed me anything. I’ve worked hard for this.
I know how to play this game. I've been doing it for years. So, I don’t appreciate you swinging your big dick energy—which I can only assume is you overcompensating.
” She brings her pinky finger up, inspecting it.
Grabbing her hand in mine, a shock ripples through me at the contact, but I choose to ignore it and lean down to murmur in her ear. “You want to test that theory?” As she doesn’t move and her breath hitches slightly, I take my chance to push her further. “You now have to play my game, Petardo.”
“What does that mean?” she replies, as she audibly swallows.
“Firecracker.” I brush my nose against the shell of her ear, nipping her earlobe gently. That seems to jolt her out of the haze as she pushes me away, her eyes ablaze with a mixture of lust and fury.
“You don’t get to touch me like that or give me a nickname. We aren’t friends. We’ll work together. I’ll play my game, you play yours.”
Spinning on her heel, she yanks the door open, almost pulling it off its hinges. “Game on, Petardo.”
“Urgh.” She slams the door as she exits.
Oh, this will be fun.