“Cole Fiorino.”
“Wow, you talked to the heir apparent?” she asked, mouth agape. “He owns a coffee shop? Already?”
“No.” El laughed. “An old friend of his owns it. Apparently, that’s part of the reason he signed with the Riot when every other team wanted him. But, yes, I did talk to him. He seems nice and genuine, you know? Not what I expected.”
And I certainly didn’t expect him to inspire every cell in my body to fire on all cylinders.
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know,” Eloise admitted. “I guess, more of a stuck-up jock. An intolerable sense of entitlement coupled with zero sense of humor.” Her mind drifted back to rock-paper-scissors in the cool evening air. No. This one had a funny bone for certain.
“You mean like Ryder,” Kylie said.
El glared at her assistant. “He is nothing like Ryder.”
“How on earth would you know that?” A knowing smile crept across Kylie’s face. “Ah-hah. You like him. A hockey player. Just what you need. And a gorgeous one, too. Did he make you squirm in your panties?”
Eloise stood and ignored the intimate question because it hit too close to home. “What I need is to find a way to make peace between the community and our owner’s interests.”
Kylie shrugged. “Why don’t you hold a – what do they call it – a Town Hall meeting? Get everyone to talk and clear the air?”
Eloise stared at her, a catlike grin curling her lips. “Miss Rose, you are more brilliant than your hair color. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”
She settled into her office and began composing an email to Mr. Murphy, outlining the Town Hall proposal. As her fingers flew across the keyboard, she pondered Kylie’s question about why she cared so deeply about the implications to local businesses and had to admit that Cole’s relationship with his friend had influenced her. Add in Kylie’s unspoken hint that she might be attracted to the man, and her motivations became less clear-cut.
Stop already.
Eloise sighed and ran a hand through her long, chestnut waves. Was it possible to consider dating a player? The thought hadn’t crossed her mind before; too much money, too much ego, too little intelligence. But Cole Fiorino seemed different. A depth of character shone from those beautiful blue eyes that surprised her. And his physical attributes definitely weren’t unappealing. She interrupted her daydreaming by reminding herself who signed the paychecks and put the finishing touches on her proposal before hitting send.
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Benched by Colleen Charles ©2016 All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Colleen Charles loves reading and writing stories that entertain and sweep the reader away from their everyday life.
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