Chapter 29
An Alternate Plan
Kodi
Ididn’t pay attention to the second half of the game; my brain was firing on all cylinders on thinking about how to make Kean more marketable fast.
Logically, I knew they weren’t gonna trade Kean in the middle of the season — we weren’t even halfway through and such a big change would be a pain in the ass to manage from an admin perspective.
But if I was building a campaign for Kean that could see exponential growth over a few months, the kind of growth that would equate to immediate ticket sales, then I’d need to act with more intention than I have so far.
My original plan for Kean’s socials was more focused on connecting with the audience, giving fans a chance to learn about who Kean actually was.
That type of plan would make money for the team eventually.
But if the owners were willing to call the coach in the middle of a game to make a change based on a social media trend, then they weren’t looking to invest.
So I spent the second half of the game researching opportunities to make Kean shine and came up with a fine-tuned plan to get the owners to favor him.
The only probably was getting Kean on board, which was arguably going to be harder than getting his jerseys to sell out.
“So Kean,” I started as we stepped off the hotel elevator and started down the hall to our rooms. “Would you mind coming to my room so I can show you some … options?”
The things I wanted to show him weren’t really options, so much as a list of things he should do, no options involved.
“Your room,” he said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. I immediately rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm to drag him along.
“I don’t have cooties.” It should probably set off alarm bells that I was getting so comfortable around Kean that I could just grab him. But deep down, I think he liked it when I was unprofessional with him. He was the one who acted childish first, after all.
“I know you don’t have cooties,” he grumbled, not fighting or pulling away as I moved us along.
“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you wanna go to my room, huh?” I teased.
“You have to be doing that on purpose, right?” he mumbled under his breath.
“Oh, sorry.” I dropped his arm and took a step to the side to give him space. He might prefer a less formal relationship, but that didn’t mean he wanted me to flirt with him.
Just as I moved to grab my key card from my bag, Kean’s hand wrapped around my elbow, pulling just enough that my body turned towards him.
“I didn’t say stop.” His voice was low, sultry even, but he didn’t look me in the eyes as he spoke. His focus was on his hand. He gently stroked his thumb over my inner bicep and goose bumps fanned over my skin.
Well, that feeling was sure as fuck going into the spank bank I shouldn’t be investing so heavily in.
“Yeah, okay,” I said with a rumble as I tried to clear the lump in my throat. His hand still on my arm, I pulled out my card and opened the door. But as I stepped into the room, I set a hand over his to keep it in place.
Except as the door closed behind us, I realized that was completely impractical and gave him a little pat before moving away to grab my laptop.
“Why’d you leave the lights on?” Kean asked, letting his arm flop down to his side as he looked around the room.
“Well, you know, in case a murderer gets in, it’ll be easier to see them.”
“A murderer?” He laughed.
“Yes, a murderer. You never know what could happen when you’re away from home.”
“I feel like the likelihood of a murderer sneaking into your room is higher at your home than in a hotel,” he said with a furrowed brow. “At your home, someone could track your movements and know when to sneak in.”
“Oh my god!” I gasped with mock worry. “Why would you say that? I have to go home tomorrow to an empty apartment!”
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Kean said, eyes going wide. “I’ll go with you to make sure —”
“So now you’re inviting yourself back to my place?” I asked, an eyebrow raised, not bothering to fight my smile.
“You’re teasing me,” he said with a huff before sitting in the desk chair.
“I am. You shouldn’t make light of a woman’s fears.” I pointed a finger at him like I was giving a lecture, then sat on the bed, pulling my computer onto my lap.
“Lesson learned.”
“Good, now for another lesson.” I opened up my notes app and spun my laptop to Kean. “My plan for your socials has changed from appeasing the fans to appeasing the owners. So … how do you feel about the charity auction/gala thing they’re holding next month?”
Kean took a deep breath before meeting my eyes. “You think this will help?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “This is an event they host and if you’re sucking up, this is gonna be the easiest way to do that. Plus it’s for charity, so like, you’re not even really selling out.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I repeated, jaw dropping.
“Yes.” He looked away and shrugged. “I trust your judgment. If you say it’ll help, I’ll do it.”
“Well damn, I was pretty sure you’d dig your heels in over being asked to wear a tux. Will you do anything I suggest?”
His eyes met mine again, dipping ever so slightly to my mouth. Heat immediately flooded my body, specifically in the spot between my thighs. And it got worse when Kean licked his lips.
“Yeah. I probably would.”
The temptation to ask him to make me come was suddenly very strong. I mean, we were in my hotel room already, we had a valid reason for him to be seen leaving my room later. It wouldn’t be hard to cover up.
But I had just enough sense, or maybe too much shame at what it would say about me if I did invite him to bed, to change the mood.
“So if I suggested a team calendar where everybody’s shirtless with cute puppies, you’d say …?”
“What month?” he said, the corner of his mouth tilting up into the wickedest of smiles.
Oh shit, I need to get this man out of my room right now.
“Good to know,” I said slamming my laptop shut and jumping to my feet. “Now that we’ve got that settled, you should go get some rest. We’ve got an early flight tomorrow.”
I grabbed at his elbow, careful not to touch those delicious biceps, and yanked him out of the chair. Or yanked his arm — I definitely didn’t have the strength to pull him up — but he knew what I wanted and went along with it.
“Are you sure that’s it?” His brow furrowed as he looked down at me, that smile nothing more than a ghost.
Honestly, it was probably a good thing Kean was such a grump. Otherwise, his smile would’ve melted the panties of nearly every woman he crossed. It was that lethal.
“Yup, I’ll get ya all set up for the auction.” I turned him around and started pushing him to the door.
“Okay,” he said uncertainly. “Good night, I guess.”
“Yup, good night,” I said a pitch too high before opening the door and shoving him out. When the latch clicked closed behind him, I sank down to the ground, covered my head with my arms, and groaned in frustration.
It was safe to say I officially had the hots for my pseudo-boss.
And now I needed to set him up for a gala where he’d auction away a date. Yay.