Man Candy, page 14
I sat up straighter and adjusted my suit at her words.
“But the bar incident in June really had us thinking twice.” She glanced at the others who nodded.
I looked to Scott, who didn’t even blink. He’d told me in the elevator that I’d have to withstand their thoughts and opinions on the fight to get through the meeting.
“While I’d like to apologize for what happened, I won’t,” I said.
One of the women to Ellen’s right sucked in a breath, clearly surprised.
I held up my hand hoping they’d let me finish what I had to say on the topic. “I’m not denying responsibility or diminishing what happened, but the unvarnished truth–without any kind of media spin–is that a woman was being bullied and harassed. Verbally, but the words were sexually threatening. I won’t stand by and let this happen. The man refused to back down or listen to reason, which I tried first. He threw the first punch, and I threw the second.”
I paused and out of the corner watched Scott’s jaw clench. His commission was on the line.
“You’re saying you condone violence,” Ellen stated, her words spoken carefully.
I shook my head. “No. I defend myself if attacked and I defend those who are not as strong as me. Note, I didn’t say weak. The woman at the center of this wasn’t–isn’t–weak. She was being threatened by someone bigger and a danger to her. I stood up to her bully for her. There’s nothing I can do about how it went viral on social media, without context I might add, and how I was turned into an enforcer off the ice.”
“Which is why we question you for a partnership. You’d be joining our family and our customers will believe what they see online and in the media.”
“I won’t stop protecting others, sponsorship or not. You should respect that about me. My teammates and others who were there do.”
I held my breath because this was the moment.
Ellen took a moment, as if she was making her final decision, or just torturing me.
“Which is why the latest round of news about you is what we feel is the actual Dex James.”
I frowned and glanced at Scott, gave him a, What’s she talking about? look.
“Haven’t seen the latest?” Ellen asked, sounding amused.
“I’ve been in Montana.” I made it seem like the state had no internet or social media access.
Scott pulled out his cell, swiped on it a few times, then handed it to me. He must’ve screen captured articles and posts because one after the other were photos of me on the ice with the kids at the winter complex. In one, I had a cone on my head and led the girls through a fun skating drill. I couldn’t help but smile at the photo. Another was where I was high fiving a line of boys as they left the ice at the end of practice. Fuck yeah, that had been a good time.
“Yes, we know,” Ellen added.
I kept scrolling. Oh shit.
There were the ones of me and Lindy. Nothing racy at all because we’d never once kissed in public. There was one where we were holding hands outside the complex. Another with us sitting on the bench together by the rink. I was smiling at her in a way that anyone could see meant I was into her. I scanned the headlines.
Does Dex have a Dame?
Sexy Dexy and the Montana Mystery Woman
Dex James: Brawler or Boyfriend?
Sexy Dexy. Fuck, I hated that. It sounded like I was a porn star or in an all-male revue.
Besides that, I was fine being plastered all over social media, but Lindy wasn’t. It was to be expected though, people speculating about a woman in my life. I didn’t imagine it would happen this fast, or without me even realizing. Paparazzi hadn’t swarmed us. I hadn’t even seen one flash, but that meant nothing these days.
I should have known. I’d been in bed with Lindy this morning and she hadn’t known anything about this then, because she totally would have said something. So it was either new, or she didn’t do much social media. Maybe both. Except Mallory did and I had no doubt knew all about this. I had to wonder why she’d stayed quiet. Giving me a chance with Lindy, perhaps?
What was she going to think when she saw it? Panic? Get angry? Hide? She didn’t want anyone to know she was a romance author and now her life was going to be splashed all over the world. If the media went digging…
“It seems you’ve turned your image around,” Ellen added. “A special woman?”
I didn’t even take a breath before responding. “Yes, I have a special woman in my life now. Hopefully she wants to keep me because I sure as hell plan to keep her. Ellen, I’m the same person I’ve always been, girlfriend or not,” I countered, then set the phone down and looked at the four across the table. “I want to work with OutdoorNow. I have for a long time. Your business and philanthropic goals align with mine and I see a long-term future together, one where we can hopefully make some kids lives better. I hope you do, too.”
Ellen finally–finally!–smiled. “We do as well. I understand you are off to Finland for an exhibition game. We don’t want you to miss your flight. We’ll work the details out with Scott.”
That was it? Grill, grill, grill and then go? She’d already made up her mind about me but seemed to want to hear what I had to say. A reasonable action, although she could have said we were a go before the cross examination.
I stood, buttoned my suit jacket.
“Welcome to the team,” she said, standing as well and holding out her hand.
Reaching across the table, I shook it and grinned, finally at ease. Except what about Lindy and the media? I couldn’t return to Montana and shield her. I was off to fucking Finland.
29
LINDY
* * *
I knocked on the door of Mav’s rental house. Bridget texted mid-afternoon telling me to come over for dinner and if I didn’t show up, they’d send Scout out to find me.
I laughed at my desk because Scout was so smart he’d definitely find me, but with his little dog legs, he might take a while.
Mav opened the door, dish towel slung over his shoulder. He had on the Steaming Hotties t-shirt. Again.
“I think you have a thing for pink,” I said as I stepped past him into the house. Scout appeared with too much speed and slid into my calves. I gave him a pet.
“I have a thing for your sister and this shirt reminds me of her.”
I glanced up at him from my crouch. “Seriously?”
“I lost a bet with Theo,” he admitted, a soft smile turning up the corner of his mouth.
The place was massive, probably three times the size of my little house. While Mav was built like a TV wrestler and needed things supersized, no one person needed six or seven bedrooms. Even temporarily.
But I didn’t have a house either at the moment, so I wasn’t one to say anything about temporary housing.
I followed voices into the kitchen while Mav and Scout veered toward open French doors and a patio beyond. The scent of grilled meat made my mouth water so I assumed he was grill master. Bridget was at the center island slicing tomatoes and a man was settled on a stool across from her. He was attractive with light brown hair and fair eyes. There was a half-finished glass of beer in front of him which meant he’d been here for a bit.
“Hey!” Bridget said, turning her brilliant smile on me. She used the back of her hand to push her glasses up. “This is Theo, one of Mav’s other brothers.”
Theo stood, nodded in greeting. “Hi.”
“This is Lindy, my sister,” Bridget said, making introductions.
“The doctor,” I said, as if I could tell the four apart by their professions. “Nice to meet you.”
Theo looked nothing like Dex. Or Mav. He was tall, over six feet, and solid, he didn’t have the bulk of the other two. I knew there was one more brother, Silas, but hadn’t met or seen a photo of him.
He studied me and I tried not to squirm. Was he always this intense? “Lindy. Ah, it all makes sense now.”
I frowned because I had no idea what that meant.
“You mean her and Dex? I know, right?” Bridget said, putting the slices on a plate.
“Know what?” I asked, glancing between them.
Bridget set the knife down and turned to lean a hip against the counter and put a hand on her hip. “Know that you and Dex have been very busy this week. That’s why I didn’t even text you. You should be proud I showed such restraint.”
I hadn’t even thought about it. Or much else since we’d been busy.
“Yes, I had work and Dex got roped into coaching every kids’ hockey team in town.”
“Not that.” She rolled her eyes, then waggled them. “I mean you took my advice.”
I blushed, remembering what she and Aspen had pushed for on Monday during Sierra’s practice. It was impossible not to. The things that Dex and I did since I told him I wanted him to fuck me were naughty and extensive.
“And what I said stands, too. He’s temporary,” I reminded her, again. “On his way to Finland right now. Finland! I mean, I’m sure it’s a lovely country and all, but that proves my point even more.”
“Finland’s great though. Amazing saunas. Ever been?” Theo asked.
“To a sauna or Finland? No to both,” I replied. I wanted to travel, but that country wasn’t that high on my list.
“You could’ve gone with him,” Bridget prodded.
“To Finland?” I asked, a little surprised. “He told me this morning about three minutes before he left.”
“No kidding. I came up to hang with him and he never told me he was headed out of town. I can see why now.”
I frowned and pushed on. “I have a job. I can’t just go to Finland.”
How many times did I say Finland?
Bridget narrowed her eyes. “He’s coming back… Sunday?”
“Monday.” Even longer. He only left this morning, and I was counting the hours. This feeling I had… longing, was a big problem. I wasn’t supposed to be so… needy with a fling.
“Still…”
“He has training camp or preseason or whatever in September,” I told her, pointing out his upcoming schedule.
“It’s July!” Bridget said, as if I needed a reminder.
“It’s not Hunter Valley.”
“He meets everything under the toaster,” she reminded, referring to my man list.
“Except he won’t be here.”
“Toaster? Are you talking in girl code?” Theo asked.
We turned to look at him. I wasn’t sure if the guy was aloof or serious or intense or what. I thought Mav was like a block of ice, keeping his emotions and words in check, but Mav was a stand-up comedian in comparison to his brother.
Bridget glanced at me, then gave Theo a smile. “Yes.”
I was relieved she wasn’t going to tell him that I was fucking the cum from his little brother’s balls. God, I was starting to think like I wrote in my books. Cum from Dex’s balls?
Hmm… I should write that down for later.
“Dex told me you’re an accountant.”
I came out of my sexy story thoughts and stared at Theo. “Yes, that’s right.”
Bridget went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine.
“What else did he say about me?”
“I’d tell you, but it was all in boy code.”
Bridget put a glass of wine in my hand as I smirked at Theo. He smirked back. So he did smile. Barely.
“I’m here!”
Mallory’s shout was followed by a door slam. Scout dashed from the patio across the living room and to the front door and followed it with a loud bark.
“Who’s a good boy?” Mallory crooned, praising Scout. “Oh, yes you are. You are such a good boy. You want scratches? Right there. Oh, you like that, don’t you?” Then she laughed. “You’re such a licker! God, Scout, that tongue is insane.”
Theo cleared his throat and I glanced at Bridget who rolled her eyes at the way her best friend was talking to a dog. It almost sounded… naughty.
“Bridge, I’ve been keeping tabs on all the articles about your sister and D–”
Mallory finally gave up on petting Scout and came into the kitchen. Froze. So did her words. It was clear she wasn’t expecting me, but the way she was staring at Theo, he was a bigger surprise and the one to shut her up.
As a first-grade teacher, she had her summers off and definitely made the most of them. I’d known her since she and Bridget met in kindergarten and she was the most outgoing, extraverted person I knew. It was good because Bridget was the opposite and after our parents died, she’d really helped Bridget. I loved her like she was a second little sister.
Except now when she was keeping tabs on me and Dex. As in together.
“Theo,” she whispered, and a flush crept up her neck as she patted her hair.
I glanced at Bridget again and she gave me a wink.
“Mallory,” Theo replied. The look in his eyes was subdued, because the guy was super chill, but I couldn’t miss the way he took in every inch of her.
Hmm…
“I… I didn’t know you were in town,” Mallory said, bouncing back from her surprise and settling into a stool next to Theo. Right next to him.
“Yes. Took the weekend off. Dex has been telling me on the phone how amazing things are up here and I had to see for myself.”
“But you were just here… what? Last week?”
Theo flicked his gaze to me, and Mallory tracked it.
“Oh. Oh! How’s everything going with the house, Lindy? Have to stay with Dex for much longer?”
“Mav got Bixby as contractor,” Bridget explained, even though Mallory’s question was directed at me. “He’s been working the James Inn job but since all that’s happening there right now is the last of the framing, he’s taking care of our house. Coordinating with the roofers and whoever else needs to be involved.”
I nodded because on Monday, Mav had offered his person’s services and I had no intention of turning him down. I had to admit–to myself–that having someone else take care of this problem was a relief. Especially since my free time, which wasn’t much, was spent in bed with Dex.
“Yes. He calls me with daily updates,” I said. Progress was being made. Power and gas were turned back on and the framing to the hole in the roof was complete. Shingles were next and then they’d move on to the holes in the side of the house, which were boarded up. A new stove was on order along with replacement windows.
“So you’re doing okay out of the house?” she prodded.
“Managing,” I replied neutrally.
She arched a brow, then pulled out her cell. “Well, it seems you’re managing really well.” She turned her phone around to face us, but neither Bridget nor I could read it. I went around the expansive counter to take it from her. “I set an alert for Dex’s name.”
I scrolled through the latest and there I was. On social media. And a sports website. And… “I’m in Right Now magazine?”
I leafed through a copy at the hairdresser and now I was in it?
Mallory clapped her hands with glee. “It’s insane, right? I’d say Dex is In A Relationship.”
I glanced at Bridget. “Did you know about this?”
She smiled. “Only after Mallory pointed it out. But it’s all good. Cute.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” I said, scanning one of the articles.
Mav came in with a platter of burgers, set them on the island next to a bag of rolls.
“You sure about that?” he asked.
“Dex seems to think you’re special,” Theo added.
I stared at all of them, and they were eyeing me with… expectation?
“How many times do I have to say the same thing?” I asked to no one in particular. No, to all of them, because I felt ganged up on.
“His age shouldn’t matter,” Mallory pointed out.
I waved her off. “Yeah, I’ve let that one go.” That happened when he had the endurance to fuck me three different ways before he came that first time. “But can I just narrow down my issues to say he travels for work? I can’t be in a relationship with a man who’s never around. I want kids. It’s pretty hard to get pregnant when you’re three thousand miles apart.”
“You’re trying to get pregnant with Dex? That was fast. Can I be Auntie Mallory?”
I spun around and glared at Mallory. It was the mother-deathray glare she was very familiar with. From times like when she and Bridget cut each other’s bangs in fifth grade to the time they walked home from a tenth-grade party drunk.
I hadn’t even thought about kids with Dex. My children were non-existent, amorphous blobs of my future. Seeing Dex with the hockey kids, I knew he’d be good with them. But I was sticking with what I said. Dex wasn’t in the running because he was a fling. And I didn’t have children with a fling. Especially when his dick was four thousand miles away. Sure, I could get off with one of my sex toys, but the last I heard, they didn’t inseminate you.
“What did I tell you Mallory Mornay about this when you and Bridget were fourteen.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You never want to be a Baby Mama,” she and Bridget said at the same time.
I pointed at her and kept the glare. “Exactly.”
“Babies aside, if you want to be together, you make it work,” Mav said. He gave Bridget a sweet glance.
I frowned. “He’s on a plane to Finland right now. It’s not like he can quit the Silvermines, move to Hunter Valley and coach kids’ hockey. He has a contract. And I wouldn’t want him to quit for me anyway. It’s his thing. His passion. I would never expect him to choose.”
Just like I had to give up my dream when our parents died. I’d given up the idea of being an author because it wasn’t stable. There was no guaranteed income. No health benefits or retirement plan. I had to let it go for a stable job and while I never regretted taking care of Bridget, I put my life on hold. Only now was I starting to get it back and with this latest book, with how the words were really coming and I was excited about the story, I understood what it was like to have a thing.
