Love At First Down: A Sports Romance Read online

  Dating a co-worker? That is not on the list of acceptable behavior. We’d have to report it to HR, there would be whispers, there would be a mandatory talk on workplace behavior - and what if it went downhill?

  I worked hard to get where I am, to have the ear of people who make the big decisions and I’ll be damned if my reputation takes any hits for fleeting encounters.

  Reputation is important. It’s all I have, it’s my brand and it’s a culmination of everything I’ve done. I’ve worked on branding and public opinion so long that it’s a part of me, something I consider when it comes to my personal life.

  Up until today, I’d successfully dodged unpleasant conversations about anything happening with my workplace that wasn’t work.

  Hopefully Winston continues to be an adult about everything and things will continue like normal. I know how some people can get after perceived rejection, and I’d like to not worry about him gossiping about me in the employee lounge.

  Speaking of, I’ve definitely got work tomorrow. Grabbing up my purse, I make sure I haven’t left anything behind

  Glancing around the room, my gaze collides with a smokey blue one and I hold it for a split second before I move to say my goodbyes.

  Number 74 on the field, and number one in every red-blooded woman’s fantasy.

  Every woman except this one.

  Mama didn’t raise no fool, and Jaxon Blake? Oh, that’d be the biggest fool’s errand a woman like me could run.

  Jaxon

  Like I should have expected, I get stopped for congratulations and pictures with some of the people left in the box and a few of my team. I know there’s more than one party happening tonight to celebrate, but I need to handle something first.

  By the time I’m finished being polite, I see Miss Davis slip out of the door and I excuse myself from a reporter to follow her.

  She’s a quick little thing. She’s stepping into the private elevator when I reach it and I slide in just as it’s closing, startling her into looking up from her phone.

  Is it just my imagination or is there clear disdain in her eyes instead of admiration?

  “Mr. Blake.” Cooler than a popsicle, her voice leaves me no illusions that she approves of me.

  “Miss Davis.” I push on with my original plan and stick out a hand, putting on my most charm filled smile. “I don’t believe we’ve officially met.”

  “I travel a lot.” She takes my hand but immediately drops it, turning back to her phone and dismissing me. My eyebrows fly into my hairline. I’m a little stunned into just watching her deliberately ignore me, and eventually, she raises her gaze to me and I see her eyes are a light hazel-brown. “Is there something you needed or are you content to stare at me impolitely?”

  Tommy’s words roll through my mind immediately.

  Her bite and her bark are something serious.

  “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about the endorsement deal for H&S. It’s my understanding that there may be a little uncertainty surrounding finalizing things.”

  If unimpressed had a picture next to it in the dictionary, it would be hers. I don’t think I’m getting any points from this one. At all.

  “I’m not discussing that with you. I’m not on the clock for…” She looks at her phone, hair swinging forward. “12 more hours. You can make an appointment with my assistant and we can discuss it then.”

  “But we’re here right now. Why not make good use of the time?”

  “I’ve seen and heard that you’re a very confident man, Mr. Blake. That’s great, I’m happy you think so highly of yourself. You should know that I don’t like to repeat myself, and if you make me - my opinion of you will continue to not improve.”

  I drop the charm.

  “You know, I thought you looked a little uptight when I saw you, but I didn’t imagine it to this extent.” I face her with my arms crossed. “What’s your problem with me and what do you want to make this deal go through?”

  The elevator stops and the doors open. Immediately, she leaves and clicks the fob for a sleek little Mercedes coupe, ignoring me once again. I rush around her and stand in front of the driver’s door, making her stop short and sigh loudly.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe harassment is an effective negotiating tactic.”

  “Look, you don’t know me. Not really. For whatever reason, you’ve decided you don’t like me and that’s fine for you personally. But this deal means a lot to me, and I can’t fix it if I don’t even know what the hell the problem is. So, just, tell me something. Please.”

  Yes, that word is a part of my vocabulary sometimes.

  She holds her purse in front of her and lifts her face to me. Her skin is smooth and I can’t even decide if she has on makeup or not in the dim lighting of the deck. Her lashes are dark and long, and her lips couldn’t be called thin by any stretch of the imagination. She has a soft face, but her expression is complete granite.

  “There is no explanation needed, Mr. Blake. I don’t like you. I don’t believe you would accurately represent this brand, and I don’t believe you need any more exposure or another platform to show everyone how little care you have. Is that enough information for you or should we talk about your lack of control over your social media, your very public personal life, or your complete disregard for the rules that the rest of us keep in mind in our industries?”

  Well, shit. Another person who thinks they know everything about me based on a little media play.

  “I’ll make you a deal tonight. Right here.” The words tumble past my lips before I can really think about them, and I just go with the flow. Do I have high hopes it’ll work? Hell no. But Miss Judgmental doesn’t need to know that.

  Like a queen giving her servants the go ahead, she gives me an expectant look but says nothing.

  “One night. Just give me a chance to show you who I am, and if you still can without a doubt say that I’m not the right fit, I’ll accept that the deal isn’t going through.”

  The look on her face says she’s not going for it and when she opens her mouth, I keep speaking. I’m a desperate man here.

  “I’m not just a player, I’m not just what you see on TV and what the blogs say. If I can make you believe that, see that, then you put your support behind me for this deal. I’m not asking for anything but an open mind. I know you probably aren’t one for spontaneous shit, but there’s a first time for everything.”

  “How do you know I’m not one to be spontaneous?”

  Jackpot. Houston, we hit a nerve.

  Taking advantage of the little weakness she’s just shown by latching onto that aspect of what I said over everything else, I play it up.

  “Come on, I know your type. There’s rules for everything, you probably live by your calendar and you don’t make a move that isn’t planned out in advance. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course.” I lean against her car. “But maybe take a night off, do something different. With me.”

  I can read the hesitation all over her face, see her warring in her mind about what to do.

  I see the exact moment she decides, because she stands a little taller in those heels and her face smoothes out to stubborn instead of uncertain.

  Fuck, she’s still going to say no.

  “Alright.”

  “Listen, ju—,” I ruffle a hand in my hair, at a loss of what to do before I realize she actually agreed. “Yeah? Really?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.” She sniffs. “You obviously believed I would say no because I’m uptight. Well, you have your wish so you’d better make it worth my while. Now, may I?” She gestures to her car and I move away, switching positions with her. I open the door and she slides into the seat gracefully, setting her purse on the passenger side.

  “You have one hour to decide how you’re going to change my mind. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  She closes her door and I step away from the car and watch her pull away, incredulous that it actually worked.
>
  Something tells me this is going to be the hardest sell I’ve ever made.

  Considering that I haven’t had to convince anyone to do things my way in a long while, I’m probably a little rusty. I have no idea how the hell I’m supposed to make a woman like me who seems hellbent on doing the exact opposite.

  To top it off, I have to make her like me. Just me in a professional capacity. No sex appeal, no flirting, nothing about my undeniable football skill. On top of that, I realize I don’t even have her contact information.

  Shit. I really should’ve thought this through.

  Sienna

  I’ve lost my mind.

  That’s the only explanation for why I agreed to whatever I’ve agreed to.

  By the time I get home and shower and change, there’s twenty minutes left until I’m supposed to hear from Jaxon and I’m freaking out.

  I could really use a cigarette.

  I look over to the shelf at the other side of the room where I keep a pack.

  One unopened pack. Just to remind myself how far I’ve come.

  Four years free of it after two years stress smoking whenever I could. Work, family, guys - if it bothered me, I smoked.

  I looked away whenever one of those anti-smoking commercials with the survivors came on. It felt like a need, like an unfortunate habit that I couldn’t let go anytime soon. A terrible addiction that all of my family berated me about whenever they had the opportunity.

  One day, I just…decided I didn’t want to regret not taking care of my body years down the road. The first three weeks were the hardest, and since I went pretty much cold turkey, I still occasionally have the thought.

  But like right now, I remind myself that I’m stronger than that and I don’t need to be a slave to anything that I don’t want to be.

  Sighing, I go back to looking at new blog layouts for my site. Am I going to change it? No. Does it calm me to look around for things and plan as if I’m going to change it? Yes.

  Control. If I keep control of what I can, it helps me not to think about what I can’t.

  I can be spontaneous, when I want to. I’m not only living my life exactly to plan…organization just makes things more efficient when you have as much going on as I do.

  I don’t want to date a cold woman anyway.

  So like a scorned person to immediately belittle another person because they didn’t like the response.

  I’m not a cold person, by any means.

  I have a lot of family and friends that I love, and laugh with. I get along with most of my colleagues, and I’m not a bitch or anything - unless I need to be. So I like boundaries in place, that just means I’m not a dumbass. There are plenty of women for Winston to date who don’t share a CEO.

  My mother drilled into me that you don’t shit where you sleep. Business and pleasure are separate entities. She was a powerful attorney throughout my childhood, though she’s retired now. Her opinion is still very respected and sometimes she consults on cases still, and with businesses.

  You make them take you seriously, Sienna. Never let anyone belittle your power.

  I only agreed to this ridiculous scheme of Jaxon’s because I saw it in his eyes that he expected me to decline, because I’m uptight. It rankled me a little, especially after Winston. Sue me.

  I don’t have any plans to back him for this endorsement. Regardless of what he says, I don’t think he’s a good embodiment of H&S. There are other players, more…tame players that we can offer for to replace Lawson. Players whose focuses are more people oriented and less self-serving.

  My phone buzzes and I unlock it to see the message.

  “Meet me outside the hotel, be there in 10.”

  I haven’t been in Atlanta long, so I’m staying in a hotel residence owned by Caroline, one of the H&S executives for the time being. It pays to have great relationships with the head honchos. Connections go a long way.

  There’s still time to back out.

  I stare at the message and take a deep breath.

  I don’t back down. It’s one man, a few hours of him trying to convince me he’s more than a reckless playboy. How bad could it be? All I have to do is remember exactly why I brought up other player options for the deal.

  I’m doing this.

  Rising from the couch, I slip on my casual grey Adidas and tie up the laces. I need comfortable shoes after wearing my heels most of the day. Cropped blue jeans and a deep green knit sweater complete my outfit for the night. I don’t want Mr. Blake to think I put in a lot of effort for him or anything.

  Like he needs another woman fawning over him. Snorting, I stuff my phone and wallet in my purse and make sure I can get back into the apartment. Riding down to the lobby in the elevator, I hope that there’s no one following him. I don’t need pictures or anything surfacing.

  In hindsight, maybe this could’ve waited until a different day. I can’t imagine the celebrations he could be at right now.

  Guess he really wants this deal.

  My phone buzzes just as I’m pushing through the glass doors.

  “Here.”

  A nondescript black SUV pulls up, and Jaxon peeks his dark head out of the back door.

  “Get in loser. We’re going shopping.” He flashes a grin and I freeze in the place on the pavement.

  Run.

  I can’t tell you where the sudden trepidation comes from, or why I have to urge to bold back up to the penthouse, but I’m heavily considering following it.

  His smile drops. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen Mean Girls. I wasn’t really calling you a loser.”

  I unglue my feet from the pavement and accept his hand to get into the SUV, choosing to ignore my hesitation.

  It’s not like he’s the big bad wolf or something. I’ve dealt with men with more true power than him. Tonight will be a breeze. I’ll let him plead his case, think he’s making headway and next week, I can go give my recommendation to the board as scheduled.

  “I’ve seen Mean Girls.” I clear my throat, pushing my hair back. “Just couldn’t remember if I’d grabbed my wallet or not, but I did.”

  “Un-huh.” He says skeptically, and I turn away to buckle my seatbelt. I look at him expectantly and he shakes his head a little with a smile, and does the same. “You ready for an adventure? We’re going to the strip club.”

  I snap my head up, mouth dropping, and his laughter fills the space.

  I can admit objectively that he’s an attractive man. Thick, dark hair. Just the right amount of facial hair to not be scruffy. Nice lips, firm jaw, piercing eyes. It goes without saying that his body is in tip-top shape.

  Truthfully, I’ve tried to keep the man and the football player as one in the same. He can’t be one without the other.

  So seeing him in this moment, in normal clothing and not the gear he’s in on the field…really seeing him…it’s something I could’ve done without.

  He wasn’t wearing his uniform earlier either, but I was still annoyed and didn’t pay him much mind.

  Now it’s just the two of us in the back seat. He’s wearing some deep blue long sleeve that looks really soft, jeans, and dark grey sneakers. Effortless, but clean. There’s a dark grey ball cap on the seat.

  It’s not hard to see why he’s tagged as so many women’s Man Crush Monday. Dragging my gaze away, I force myself to look out the window.

  Focus, Sienna. He’s just a man.

  “What are we actually doing?”

  “I’m going to show you that I’m just a mere human man sometimes after all.”

  “Sometimes?” I give him a look and he shrugs, unrepentant.

  “Maybe if you get a more full picture of who I am, where I started, you’ll realize that we aren’t so different after all.”

  “We’re speaking in cliches now?”

  “Remember, you can’t judge a book by its cover.” He winks and I tamp down the immediate breathlessness I feel.

  Hell in a hand-basket, I should’ve cancelled when I had
the chance.

  Jaxon

  I told Chris to let the boys know that I’d catch up with them later, but my phone is still going off almost constantly.

  Congratulations, booty call offers, pictures. If Miss Davis saw it now, she’d definitely think I’m exactly what she’s judged.

  Luckily, she fell asleep about 15 minutes ago and my phone’s on silent. I could take the opportunity to check out some of the snapchats I’m getting, but I don’t really want to.

  Instead, I take the time to study her when she’s not looking at me like I’m beneath her.

  We’re matching a little. She’s got on grey Adidas too, but hers are low top. Her jeans fit her shape, but they aren’t excessively tight. The wide neck of her green sweater slipped off her shoulder some and I’ve never been so tantalized by a damn collarbone.

  She’s got what my sister calls chipmunk cheeks and she looks a lot younger without makeup on. I don’t even know how old she is, but now I think she’s closer to my age than not.

  Or maybe she just ages really well. It’s hard to tell. Luckily, Tommy had her contact information and he was the first person I called.

  Honestly, I didn’t do any googling or anything about her because I wanted to find out about her by talking to her. That way, it’d be genuine on both sides. Mostly. She still has her bias about what she knows about me, but I’m aiming to turn that in my favor tonight.

  “Jax, we’re here.” Malcolm, my bodyguard looks at me in the rearview mirror as he stops the car and I nod.

  “Sleepyhead.” I shake her gently and her eyes flutter open before she inhales sharply and straightens.

  “Wow, I don’t remember falling asleep.” She shakes her head and looks around. “How long were we driving?”

  “‘Bout an hour and a half, give or take.” I hop out of my side and open her door, helping her out.

  She looks around at the parking area, turning to me and furrowing her brows. “And where exactly did we go?”