High Risk Rookie

by Odette Stone

  Mica’s words came back to me. Fish or cut bait.

  Levi’s hair was sticking up everywhere my hands had clung to him. Two minutes earlier, his mouth had been between my legs, giving me the most intense orgasm I had experienced in years.

  I dropped my face to my hands. “What are we doing?”

  “Krista.”

  I stared up at him, hoping he had more willpower than I did. “We have to stop all of this somehow. We’re playing with fire.”

  His dark gaze held mine. “We’ve got it handled.”

  I shook my head. “Right now, I’ve got nothing handled.”

  He leaned towards me and pressed a gentle kiss on my lips. “You’ve got this.”

  “I have to go.” I stood up.

  He stood up behind me and grabbed my arm. “Are you going to be at the game tonight?”

  I had no idea what Mark was doing here, or how long he was staying. “I don’t know.”

  He moved close to me, so close his mouth was against my ear. “Come to my room tonight.”

  Temptation seeped through my entire being. “I need to go.”

  He gave me another head-spinning kiss before he opened the door for me.

  I freshened up in my room before I headed downstairs. I found Mark talking to the coaching team in one of the hotel’s smaller conference rooms.

  When he saw me, he broke away from the group.

  “What’s going on, Mark?”

  “You want to tell me about Levi’s recent situation in Detroit?”

  I paused at the sharp tone in his voice. “Levi’s hotel room?”

  He crossed his arms. “What the hell is going on with your rookie? I woke up to a shitstorm of media asking why one of my players trashed a room in Detroit. They wanted to know if I was part of a cover-up. I want to know why my coaching staff was clueless about this event.”

  Mark Ashford was livid.

  I used my most soothing tone. “One of the senior players called me last night and said Levi came back to a trashed room. But Levi didn’t want to bother anyone about it.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “It was his prerogative. But think about things from his point of view.” I touched Mark’s forearm. “Levi is on probation. He’s been told to keep his head down. Of course, he wasn’t going to report this.”

  “How did the media find out?”

  “The hotel couldn’t determine if it was done by someone on the league, so they considered it a break and entry. For insurance purposes, they were required to call the police.”

  “Which is how the media found out.”

  “I got here a couple of hours ago to assess what is going on. I was going to call you.”

  “Why didn’t Levi alert the coaching staff?”

  “I’m not sure he feels Gordon and the staff have warmed up to him.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  I didn’t want to get into my opinions on Mark’s head coach. “Give him credit for trying to keep a low profile off the ice—as he was asked to do.”

  Mark flushed hard. Then he snapped his fingers, and three members of his media team came running.

  “In terms of media and social messaging, I want this buried,” he told them. “Whatever it takes, get it done.”

  They looked alarmed and then rushed off.

  He turned back to me. “The spotlight is starting to shine on Levi for more reasons than hockey. You need to ensure that he stays above board on everything. No partying, debauchery, or arrests.”

  “I can handle it. He’s staying out of trouble. It’s not his fault someone trashed his room.”

  He gave me a regretful look. “I apologize for being so short with you. I should have known that you had this handled like a professional.”

  This morning, with Levi, I had been anything but professional. In shame, I shook my head. “I could have managed this better. I could be handling all of this better.”

  He gave me a concerned look. “Krista, what are you talking about?”

  I worked to hide my emotions as I thought about what I had done with Levi in his room. I already regretted crossing that line and yet I wanted to head back to his room and cross it some more. “I don’t want to fail Levi or you.”

  “You know that some of the most special players need the most support. I made a conscious decision to pick you as his agent. In my mind, he’s in the best of hands.”

  “Technically, I’m not even his agent yet,” I lifted my chin.

  As if that excuses my behavior.

  “It’s no easy feat to launch the career of an athlete, and Levi is coming into this with some strong disadvantages. But one of his greatest assets is that he has you looking out for him.”

  There was nothing worse than getting undeserved praise from Mark Ashford. Guilt pressed down on me, almost triggering the urge to confess. My smile felt so fake I thought it would crack my face. “As usual, you’re being far too kind, Mark.”

  He gave me a proud smile. “Take the praise, Krista. You’re changing Levi’s life for the better.”

  I was trying to make it better, but I was terrified I was making it worse.

  That night, instead of facing the temptation of Levi and everything he willingly offered me, I accepted Mark’s offer to fly back to Vancouver on his private jet. As we waited on the runway, my phone buzzed with a text.

  Levi: Where are you?

  Me: On my way home. Flying back tonight.

  Levi: You left?

  I chewed my lip as I studied his words. This was the moment I needed to tell him we could never repeat our adventure in the hotel room. But I couldn’t bring myself to write the words.

  Levi: Everything okay?

  Fish or cut bait. I was doing neither.

  Me: I’ll call you in a few days.

  Late afternoon thundershowers pounded the roof of Brian’s car. My divorce lawyer was moving his lips, but I wasn’t listening. I nodded and discreetly checked my watch. Levi should have landed in Chicago by now. Their team was probably already on the ice for their late-day practice.

  I needed to stop obsessing over Levi. I had given our situation a lot of thought, and I realized there could be nothing personal between us. I wasn’t even sure we could be friends. Anything more than a professional relationship spelled nothing but trouble.

  Except I couldn’t stop thinking about how it had felt when he’d kissed me… and when he’d knelt in front of me. God, his mouth. That tongue.

  Brian looked expectantly at me. “Everything okay?”

  I needed to stop thinking about Levi.

  I swallowed and looked at the papers in my hands. “The contract is sound?”

  “It’s airtight. Eduard’s completely releasing Levi from liability of his shoulder injury in exchange for this conversation with you.”

  I stared up at the old sign of the pub. I understood why Eduard had picked this place. The Othello was where we had first met and kissed. It had been a chance meeting between two groups of friends who decided to sit together, and the rest was history.

  Now, three years later, Eduard was sitting in that pub, waiting for me to listen to his excuses about why he’d completely destroyed our relationship.

  “You sure you don’t need me to go in?” Brian confirmed.

  “I’m good.” I gave the document back to Brian and pulled up my hood. “If I’m not out in thirty minutes, come looking for me.”

  He called after me. “I might pop in and check in on you before then.”

  As I walked into the dimly lit bar and saw Eduard sitting and waiting on the low couch—the one in front of the fireplace—I felt a sense of déjà vu. His arm was still in a sling. I tossed my coat and bag over the chair and sat down across from him. I looked around. The pub was cuter than I remembered, but I feigned distaste.

  “This place has seen better days.”

  “You used to love this place.”

  Ignoring him, I motioned for the waitress to come over. “White wine,
please.”

  When she stepped away, his greedy eyes took in my black turtleneck dress. “You look good.”

  “Say what you need to say, Eduard, because when my drink is done, I’m walking out of here.”

  He cleared his throat. “You weren’t the easiest partner I’ve ever been with.”

  “Wait. I might need alcohol for this after all.”

  He talked over me. “You weren’t. You were bossy as fuck, you were constantly working and your precious hockey players and their families came before anyone else, myself included.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He held up his hand. “I get to speak, remember?”

  The more I listened and the less I argued, the faster I could get out of here. I took a calming breath. “Please continue.”

  “Your sister caught me at a weak moment. You were so busy with work, and it never seemed like we connected. Your sister was there. And it just started.”

  “Good for you,” I said without emotion. I didn’t have any feelings left in my heart for Eduard, but it burned that he was now with my sister.

  “She made me dinners, and we’d meet for these matinee movies and bistro lunches.”

  I felt my eye twitch. “It sounds like you have the better sister.”

  He leaned over the coffee table and gripped my wrist. “I didn’t mean for her to get pregnant. Things had gone far enough, and I was starting to pull back. She didn’t want our tryst to end.”

  I pulled on my wrist to no avail. “You’re talking about my sister.”

  “She got pregnant on purpose. I was trying to end things with her, and she got knocked up.”

  Sadness, for my sister and her unborn child, washed over me. I had no idea if he was telling the truth, but Eduard had always claimed no interest in having children, and he had been pretty rigorous about birth control. Plus, getting knocked up deliberately sounded like something Helene would do.

  I tossed my hair. “Do you feel better now that you’ve said your piece?”

  He blinked at me. “I’m trying to explain what happened.”

  “I don’t want to fight with either of you,” I said slowly, “but you need to respect my boundaries.”

  He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  I managed to free my wrist from his grasp. I rubbed it. “You need to stop contacting me.”

  “Stop contacting you? Krista, I’m here to get back together with you. We can be together again.”

  I stood up and turned to pick up my coat. “There is no we anymore, Eduard. You and I are over. The end has already happened.”

  He stood up, and with his good arm, he grabbed me around the waist. “I was going to ask you to marry me.”

  I couldn’t even process that statement. Instead, I focused on my struggle against his hold. “Let go of me.”

  He slid his hand down over my ass. “I got us a room upstairs. Just like that first night we met.”

  I used the base of my hand and jabbed it hard against Eduard’s sore shoulder. He reeled back, sucking in his breath with a squeak. Levi would be damn proud of me.

  “Holy hell.” Eduard’s eyes widened on my face as he bent over in pain. “Why would you do that?”

  “Don’t contact me again,” I told him.

  “You’re making a mistake.”

  “No, that would be my sister. Next time you contact me, I’m phoning her.”

  I got back into the car and looked over at Brian’s patient but curious expression.

  “How did things go?” Brian asked me.

  I felt a level of weariness wash over me. I stared at the rain. “Eduard still thinks we can have a relationship.”

  “Even though he’s engaged to your sister?”

  Eduard was clinging to an impossible situation, one that would never work. Obviously, even if I were a willing participant, there was no way past this mess he had created, but he was in denial. He believed he could somehow make it work even though I felt nothing but disgust for him.

  I sighed and wondered why I was experiencing the same denial over Levi. There was no way we could ever be more than agent and player. I knew I needed to move past him, move past this mess, and do what was right.

  “I need to get a boyfriend,” I said blankly as I watched a laughing couple run through the rain together under one umbrella.

  I could feel Brian look at me. “You’re going to start dating again?”

  If I had a boyfriend, it would be an uncrossable line in the sand—for both Levi and myself. “I think it would help everyone in this situation.”

  He started the vehicle. “Are you going on a dating app?”

  I looked over at him. Brian was kind, well-spoken and good-looking. He had a great career and no obvious baggage. I should have been screaming from the rooftops about meeting someone like him. Instead, I felt resigned. “Would you be interested in coming to a gala with me?”

  “You want to use me to keep Eduard away?”

  I didn’t correct Brian’s misinterpretation of my request. “Basically.”

  He nodded. “I can work with that.”

  “The gala is for charity, and I’ll take care of our costumes for us.” I opened my day timer. “It’s taking place on the Saturday, which is actually Halloween. We will need at least an hour to do our makeup, so should we say you come by my place around six?” I paused, remembering Eduard’s words about how bossy I was. “That is… if you’d like to attend with me.”

  “Just to confirm: I’m going as your date, not your lawyer.”

  “As my date, yes.”

  “I’d love to.” Brian put on his seat belt. Yes, he was definitely cute. Not blow-your-mind gorgeous like Levi, but he was attractive.

  “Did I mention this year’s theme for the gala is ‘Fairies’?”

  I sat on my couch in the dark and held my phone. Mica had told me to fish or cut bait, and this was me, cutting bait. The path Levi and I were on would only make us crash and burn, and whatever was between us needed to end. I was going to start dating Brian. And I had spent the last two hours working up the nerve to call Levi and tell him. I knew a big part of me didn’t want any of it—the flirting, the hot kisses, the tension—to end.

  When it got too late to call, I realized I had waited it out so I could send a text.

  Me: We need to talk, but since it’s late and you’re probably in bed, I’ll say what I need to say via text.

  I cursed under my breath when my phone started to ring. It was him.

  I answered. “Why are you awake?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep.”

  I gripped my phone, dreading this conversation. But there was only one good way to deliver bad news, in my opinion: keep it simple and don’t involve emotions.

  “I’m about to start dating again.”

  Silence buzzed between us.

  He said, “You’re telling me that you’re breaking my rule?”

  “You know this can’t work, not without risking big things.”

  “So, this is it.”

  That sounded really harsh. “As long as we are both in the hockey world, we can only have a professional relationship.”

  “Are we still going to be friends?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “I’ll be here a hundred and ten percent of the time as your agent, but not as your friend.”

  “Understood.”

  I expected him to argue or debate with me. His ready agreement to my terms hurt. “I’m sorry.”

  He sounded pissed. “Do you have someone already lined up?”

  “That’s not a fair question,” I stuttered.

  “You’re right, it wasn’t. Good night.”

  And then he hung up on me.

  Chapter Twenty

  Levi

  I was in a foul mood. We had lost last night’s away game, and Brody and I had almost come to blows in the locker room. It had been three days since Krista dropped the bomb that she was going to start dating other men. We had been so close
in my hotel room to taking this relationship to a better place, but she changed her mind and now wanted to date other men.

  On the plane, Mica came and sat down beside me. He motioned to the stewardess to bring us some cups with ice. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a mini vodka, and poured it over ice before handing it to me.

  “We’re heading home. Drink up.”

  “It’s not even 10 a.m.”

  “It must be happy hour somewhere.”

  I touched my plastic cup to his and then shot back the liquid. It tasted like gasoline. “Holy crap. Why aren’t we using mix?”

  He winced. “I hate airplane bathrooms. The mix wastes space in my bladder.”

  “That burned.”

  “Yup. The second one should go down smoother.” He handed me a second mini bottle.

  “How many did the hostess give you?”

  “Well, I brought her a box of her favorite chocolates from Detroit, so you can drink as much as you want.”

  I cracked the bottle and dumped it over my ice. “You’re a good man.”

  “Talk to me.”

  I stared at my drink and then tossed it back. “Krista’s going to start dating other men.”

  “She cut bait.”

  I held out my hand for my third bottle. “If that’s what you want to call it.”

  He looked at me. “What would you call it?”

  “She’s running scared.”

  He thought about that for a while. “Are you going to chase her?”

  I sipped my third shot directly from the bottle. “I think tonight, when I get home, I’ll be looking for a face-to-face conversation.”

  He leaned closer. “That’s a great idea, but it won’t be tonight.”

  I looked over at him. “What do you know?”

  “I happen to know that tonight Krista is going to the Halloween gala with some divorce lawyer.”

  I stared stupidly at the seat in front of me. She was dating our divorce lawyer. “Brian?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know what his name is, but I do know they have matching costumes.”