Page 10 of (La)Crosse My Heart

“Thanks,” I say with a wink.

She sighs and shakes her head. “At least that’s what I can remember of you from all those years ago. You liked to terrorize my life, but you were always nice to the younger neighborhood kids.”

I swallow, surprised she remembered something like that.

“Anyway, let me see if there’s anything else I needed to ask you.” She scans her tablet and says, “Oh, do you have a girlfriend? We can add her to some posts?”

I frown. “What does that have to do with my image?”

“Typically, people love watching a romance blossom. Think of every celebrity relationship and the buzz about them being together or not for weeks or months before it’s confirmed. I think it could be an interesting approach.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

There’s a moment of surprise on her face before she nods and says, “Good to know. I think this has been a good first meeting. When’s your next practice?”

“Tomorrow, same time, same place,” I say, leaning forward in my chair. I check my phone and see we’ve been in here for an hour already. No wonder my limbs are stiff. I’ve been sitting here for way longer than I typically would after practice.

“Do you have a second job?” Jessa asks, glancing up at me as she waits for the answer.

“Well, I can always go back to my job at the fire station if needed, but with the endorsements I’m supposed to finish working with, I should be able to live on just my lacrosse income for a few years.”

She looks surprised, and I grin.

“That’s awesome. Okay, well, let’s meet tomorrow for a wardrobe check. Send me your address and I’ll come see what you’ve already got, then we’ll go from there.”

“You won’t take away all the comfy clothes, will you?” I plead.

“No, but if you have too many, we’ll have to thin the herd. And then we’ll go shopping.”

“My favorite thing,” I say with sarcasm in my tone.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve never gone shopping with me. I know how to make it as painless as possible.”

“We’ll see.”

We walk out of the room and head back to the elevator.

“Are you renting a place here in town? Or are you only in a hotel until you can check me off your to-do list?” I lean against the wall next to the elevator and wait for her response.

She looks at me with wide eyes as the elevator doors open. We step inside and the doors shut.

“I’m here for a while. You’re kind of the trial run for the company. If I’m successful with you, then I’ll find a more permanent place. I hope to help Stockton Group with all of their teams.”

“Be honest, were you hoping to work with a hockey player?”

She scrunches her nose. It sends me back ten years when she’d do that every time I came over to the Stratton house.

“No, I wasn’t sure who I was working with, but I’m here to make a name for myself, to build something I’ve been hoping for the past several years.”

There’s not much I can say about that. “I hope you make it to your dreams. What does the fake golfer say about it? Did he move here too?”

She looks like she’s just eaten an entire lemon before she shakes her head. “It’s sad that nickname describes him so accurately. We broke up about six months ago. I applied to work out here, and he was insulted I would think of leaving the east coast. But I needed a change. It was almost a test to see what he would do.”

“Did he end up making it even close to the PGA tour?” I ask, letting my curiosity have full rein of my mouth.

She gives me a quick shake of the head and leaves. “See you tomorrow. Send me that info.”

5

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