Page 5 of Their After Hours Playbook

“Yes way.”

“Is Tom Armstrong aware of this? The man turned misogyny into an art form. Remember when he said all women’s sports other than golf and tennis were pointless?”

“I think he said they were boring, but yeah. I remember.” Paige cleared her throat and turned back to her desk, putting the orchids in her line of sight. “I don’t think Tom knows. But Zach says he’s trying to change things at the agency. I suppose he should be applauded for his efforts. Not that I said that to his face.”

“I’m not sure he should get any credit for doing what they should’ve been doing all along. Are you worried that they’re going to try to move on any of your clients? Armstrong is known for some pretty underhanded behavior. At least behind the scenes.”

“I told him that I wasn’t worried. But of course that’s a lie. I’ve worked too hard to lose any of my business to someone else. Plus, the few times I’ve lost a client, it stung like hell.”

“I’m sure. So if Tom doesn’t know, I wonder how Zach is going to sell it.”

“No clue, but something tells me he’ll manage to do it. I got the sense that he could sell a brick to a drowning man. He seems super slick.”

“He’s not hard on the eyes, either.”

“No, he is not.” That was the understatement of the century. Paige was still appalled by how distracted she’d been by his looks. She wasn’t the sort to get distracted by a pretty face. Or spectacular shoulders. Or a strong jaw.

“I do have one bit of good news,” April said.

“Ooh. I love good news. What is it?”

“I talked the powers that be into letting me go to Vegas. So we can hang out a little. I mean, I’ll be working and so will you, but we’ll at least get to see each other.”

A ribbon of pure elation worked through Paige. “That is so amazing. I can’t wait to see you.” Time with April would make this trip so much more palatable.

“I can’t wait to see you, too. Let’s text and make a plan to at least have dinner or go to the pool one afternoon.”

“It’s a deal. Can’t wait.”

“Perfect. I should go, but I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for calling.”

“Congratulations, Paige. I’m proud of you.”

Paige and April said their goodbyes and Paige ended the call. That left her with her previous task ahead—thanking Zach for the flowers. Paige opened the text from Henry, then tapped on Zach’s contact info.

“Zach Armstrong,” he answered.

A tidal wave of warmth washed over her as her brain instantly constructed a vision of Zach. Why did it have to torture her like that? It was entirely unfair. “Zach, hi. It’s Paige Moss. I wanted to call and thank you for the orchids. It really wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“I wanted to show you that I’m not the enemy, Paige.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“So flowers aren’t enough to convince you? What else do you want? Candy? Jewelry? A car?”

Paige laughed quietly. He was so effortlessly charming.

“Name your price,” he added.

“I don’t have a price. Or at least not one that I’m willing to share. But the flowers were a nice gesture. Let’s put it that way.”

“They’re meant to be more than that. Think of them as an olive branch from my agency to yours. I’m sure I could learn a lot from you. If you care to teach me.”

Paige cleared her throat as all sorts of ideas for lessons she could teach Zach flew through her head. None of them had to do with sports, but there might be sweating and heavy breathing. “We’ll see, Zach. I’m not ready to call you my BFF or anything.”

Zach laughed, reminding her of the moment when he’d done that last night. He had an amazing voice. It was so rich and throaty. “Not ready to put me on your Christmas card list?”

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