Page 15 of An Irresistible Force (Vancouver Vice)

7

Training Day

Chris

On Monday morning,I headed back to the Pacific Coliseum to serve my sentence. Tori the receptionist greeted me with enthusiasm. “I hear you’re going to be here all the time, Lucky!”

“Well, for a little while anyway.” I smiled at her. “Good news for your mom, right?”

She giggled. “She was sooooo excited to get your autograph. Once I tell her you’re here all the time, she’ll start camping out in the lobby.”

“If she’s as good-looking as her daughter, I’m in luck.”

That made Tori giggle even harder. “You’re so bad. I’m going to tell her that. Remember, Chris, you come and see me if you need any office supplies or to order food for a meeting. Anything really.”

“Okay, I’ll remember that. You wear a lot of hats.” I gazed down her sheer top to see a flowered bra and plump breasts. If not for the “mom” remarks, I wouldn’t have minded seeing her wearing a hat—and only a hat.

“When you’re done ogling the staff, I’ll show you where your office is,” said a frosty voice behind me. I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was.

I blew out my breath, said goodbye to Tori, and followed Amanda’s back down the hall. Today she was wearing even bulkier clothes: navy pants, a jacket, and flat shoes. If not for her long brown hair, she could have passed for a guy.

She opened the door on an extremely tiny office. It had fluorescent lighting in the ceiling, but was still pretty gloomy. There was a desk and a lopsided desk chair with broken wheel.

“Soooo, what are you doing for a broom closet now that I’m in here?” I asked.

A slight smile passed over Amanda’s face. “You probably have a big office waiting for you back at PacTel Arena. You won’t be here long.”

I crossed my arms. Five minutes and she was on my case already. “What makes you so sure about that?”

She tossed her head back. When her hair moved, there was a familiar whiff of something soapy. “It’s difficult to understand how you’re going to help us here. Both Gregory and I are very familiar with how hockey is played. The things we need help with—contracts, hockey operations, player negotiations, cost control—you know nothing about.”

Crap. So much for making friends around here. I’d have to persuade Amanda to remove the very long stick from her ass if we were going to get anywhere.

“Okay, maybe you’re right. But I’m sure I know more than the two of you anyway. What’s your background?”

“I walked away from an internship at an ad agency in Toronto to do this.” Her mouth turned down a little, and her lips were pale pink. Chapstick probably. Lipstick would be too girly for the ballbuster.

“Really? Why?”

She snorted slightly. “You haven’t met my mother yet. She has very persuasive ways.”

I sat on the corner of the desk so I wasn’t towering over her. “Look, Amanda, we seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot. I’m really sorry about that.”

She looked up at me. Her eyes were a hazel colour, and her eyelashes were neatly curled. I realized that she was wearing makeup, but you could hardly tell. What was the point of that?

I continued, “Could we maybe start again? I’d really like to help you out here. Just bring me whatever hockey problems you have—I won’t bullshit you. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll call the right people and find out.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Okay, if you’re not going to bullshit me, tell me one thing—why are you really here?”

Oh shit. I was supposed to gain her trust and now I had to lie right off the bat. Maybe I could waltz my way around the truth. “Because our team wants a closer relationship with your team.”

Amanda stepped closer to me. She smiled and moved her body in a slightly snake-like way. It was sexy and creepy at the same time. Holy hell, she wasn’t coming on to me, was she? I leaned back.

“How close a relationship would you like?” she purred.

She kept coming closer, and I swallowed hard. “Very close.”

“Do you want to buy the team from us?”

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