Fourth Down and Dirty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance

by Kristen Flowers

  “Please,” he said in the most calming voice he could muster.

  “Fuck!” I shouted, once again standing up to pace back and forth. I took longer strides, covering most of his office, my heart rate spiked through the roof. I looked out the large windows with the great view, but there was nowhere and no way for me to step out for a breath of fresh air.

  I felt trapped and my head started to spin as a result of it. I went to grab on to the back of the armchair but my hand slipped and I felt my body start to collapse as if I were in slow motion. I didn’t even realize when Hayden’s arms wrapped around my shoulders, holding me up, until I was staring into his eyes. After a few moments, everything came back into focus. I drew in a deep breath. Even though he was the person that had caused me so much pain and stress, it felt good to be touched. His touch was gentle and caring. With his help I was able to go back to my seat.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I was weary to take any sign of niceness from him seriously, but I nodded anyway and took the glass of water he offered me. I practically drained it in one gulp. I set it down on the coffee table and weakly mumbled thanks before rubbing my temples for about a minute. I needed some time before we resumed our conversation.

  “I don’t even know your name,” he finally said.

  I paused and looked up at him. He had a point. Then my thoughts shifted into uncertainty. Did I really want to give this man more information on me than he had? After all, he already knew far too much about my physical appearance than anyone could have imagined.

  “Alice McClane,” I muttered. I saw a strange look in his eyes, but it vanished just as quickly as it had come so I chose to dismiss it. I had bigger things to worry about than a fleeting expression.

  Out of the corner of my eye I read a headline on the TV. A photo of Via Mace was still visible on the bottom of the screen. The headline was about a possible movie deal in the works based on the game.

  “Is that true?” I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to know, but the question had already been asked. I was barely able to breathe as I waited for an answer.

  Hayden nodded and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not as simple as that, though. Really.” I couldn’t tell if he was trying to reassure me for some reason. “Listen, maybe a drink might help? Can I offer you a drink?”

  I looked at the clock, but it didn’t matter. It was morning, but everything was so screwed up anyway that I figured maybe a drink would help. “To hell with it,” I muttered.

  “What was that?”

  “Oh, yes. I need a drink.”

  He nodded and stood up, walking over to open a cabinet in the wall-to-wall bookcase behind his desk. Inside was a glass pitcher with a golden brown liquid along with four clean glasses. He poured some of it into a glass, grabbing it and the pitcher to bring back to me.

  “Here you are,” he said, setting it down on the coffee table. I immediately took the glass and drank half of it.

  “Smooth,” I muttered before polishing off the rest.

  Without asking, he poured some more into my glass. I wanted to wait to drink it, or thought I should, but my morning had been too crazy for that sort of self-restraint. I downed the second round and he poured in some more. This time, however, I refrained from drinking it. I knew how easily I could get plastered if I drank too much, too fast.

  The two of us sat quietly, not even looking at each other. I was no longer feeling quite so worked up. The drinks must have worked. Not only that, I was starting to realize Hayden’s rude behavior had stopped and he was trying to take care of me. I turned to look at him and that was when his blue gaze met mine.

  My stomach clenched slightly and I took a deep breath. Was he really not as bad as I had thought he was? I bit my lower lip, still not quite ready to accept any act of kindness on his behalf. How could I possibly know if his intentions were honest? Either way, he had created a game that had garnered a massive amount of media attention with the main character looking exactly like me,

  “You certainly look calmer,” he said with a slight smile. He sounded a bit cautious, something that threw me for a loop.

  “Who wouldn’t with that scotch you offered up?”

  “Are you accusing me of something, Miss McClane?”

  “Nothing worse than you stealing my looks.”

  Hayden scoffed, mockingly acting as if I had offended him, before getting up to get another glass. He took his seat back on the couch, this time a bit closer to my chair, and poured some scotch into his glass before taking a small sip.

  “Ah. That is smooth,” he agreed. “You’re absolutely right. How could you not be calmed down by such a good drink?”

  “Maybe if I just think back on the hordes of people outside the building waiting to take my photo I can get worked up again,” I shot back. Hayden responded by pushing my glass closer to me. I rolled my eyes. “You can’t just keep me calm by getting me drunk and not actually doing anything to remedy the situation.”

  “Not pretending to,” he said casually. He took another sip of his scotch, eyeing me over the rim of the glass before setting it down on the coffee table and asking, “But, really, what do you propose I do?”

  “That’s your department,” I responded. “After all, you’re using my image to sell a product without my consent. And I can also claim defamation of character since this Via Mace is absolutely nothing like me.”

  “And how can I be sure of that?” He leaned in and looked at me in a subtly way. For a moment it felt like there was a small amount of desire in his eyes. I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it. Earlier, I would have felt even more angry. Now I felt a million different emotions and I could tell some of those feelings weren’t entirely negative. It bothered me. After a prolonged silence I finally shrugged, eyebrow arched.

  “I guess I’ll just have to get to know you then.” He said.

  “You should be so lucky,” I replied coolly, reaching out for my glass. He smirked. I ignored him and took a drink. I had to admit he had a certain charm to him, but I couldn’t, on principal, fall for it. At least that was my plan. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door.

  Before he had a chance to call out to the person on the other side, it opened and a pretty, young woman popped her head in.

  “Hayden,” she said in a sickly tone. It was clear the two of them were either dating or the woman wanted to date him. There was something going on between them, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She stepped inside, eyeing me oddly, as she continued to speak to him. “Don’t forget we have plans to go out celebrating tonight,” she said. Her tone had quickly changed and there was no way to have missed the jealousy in her voice.

  “Oh,” Hayden said, turning to look at me.

  This irritated the woman even more. She stepped forward feigning confidence to stretch out a hand and introduce herself. “I’m Gina,” she said.

  “Alice,” I responded, shaking her hand briefly. Gina’s stare bordered on dangerous, but I got the distinct feeling the two weren’t actually in a relationship. The woman was much too insecure and her behavior seemed like she was trying to stake out a territory from someone she perceived as a threat. That someone was me.

  “I’m sorry to do this, Miss McClane,” Hayden said as he lightly touched my arm in a consoling manner. My heart skipped. “Gina, don’t you notice something about her?”

  “Of course I do,” Gina replied coldly. She wasn’t at all impressed that I looked exactly like Via Mace. “Anyway,” she said, finally turning to look at Hayden. She grimaced when she caught how he was staring at me.

  “I’ll have to take a rain check,” he informed her. He turned to give her an apologetic look. “Miss McClane and I need to have a private meeting.”

  The tension was palpable and I felt even more awkward than I had when I was first in Hayden’s office. I sat there looking at the two of them, wondering what would happen next. Gina scoffed, “Sure,” before turning on her heel and storming ou
t of the office.

  Hayden turned to look at me. “I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, mind you.”

  “Excuse me?” I was caught off guard and by the time my mind processed what he was referring to, he had already started talking again.

  “Tonight– a private meeting, a dinner, even a celebration of sorts. I will not take ‘no’ for an answer from you,” he told me, mouth curving up in cute grin.

  I was stunned. The man certainly was bold. Pushing aside my annoyance that I no longer held such strong disdain for him, I nodded in agreement. Perhaps it was worth hearing him out and getting to know each other a bit. I convinced myself it was all in an effort to clear my name. I was willing to go to great lengths to do just that.

  “What do we have to celebrate?”

  “That we found each other,” Hayden replied quickly, as if he had the answer waiting at the tip of his tongue to use at the very first chance he got. I was surprised.

  I had absolutely no idea how to take his statement, but I couldn’t deny I was glad to have found him. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be sitting across from the man I blamed for my mess of a life. It was the only way to fix it, come to terms with it, and move forward.

  “So,” he said, raising his glass and eyeing mine until I reluctantly did the same. “To us getting together tonight.” Our glasses clinked and I finished the rest of the golden brown liquid in one gulp. Hayden escorted me to the elevator shortly after. “I’ll be by to pick you up at 8pm,” he told me. I nodded and handed him my card, as per our agreement as we walked down the hallway.

  I stared into his baby blue eyes until the steel doors of the elevator closed between us and the humming of the elevator began. My phone was buzzing in my purse, but I ignored it. I was lost in my thoughts and those thoughts were revolving around the very person I had wanted to rip apart just hours earlier– Hayden Dunn. Now I didn’t know what to feel about him and that bothered me even more.

  I stepped off the elevator and took a deep breath before readying myself for the crowd outside. Even though I had put my scarf and sunglasses back on I was sure they would know it was me.

  “Miss,” a deep voice rang out from somewhere on my right. I turned to see a tall man approaching me. He wore a suit and an earpiece so I figured he must have been the building’s security. “Mr. Dunn has arranged for you to exit through the garage and, if you would like, for a company car to drive you home.” I stared at him. I was stunned. I nodded slowly, allowing the man to escort me down. My mind was reeling. Could Hayden Dunn actually be a decent man?

  I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in my apartment. It was 6pm when my phone rang and I saw an unfamiliar number on the screen. My stomach flipped.

  “Hello,” I answered after the fourth ring.

  “I was starting to wonder if you were going to ignore me,” came Hayden’s voice on the other end. He spoke in his deep, yet playful tone of voice. There was something about it that reached through the phone and grabbed a hold of me. “Miss McClane,” he said.

  “You can call me Ali,” I interrupted. My eyes clenched tight. We weren’t friends and I didn’t even consider us to be on ‘friendly’ terms so why had I just told him to call me by my first name?

  “Ali,” he said. He sounded more relaxed than at the start of the conversation. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was also the sound of satisfaction in his voice. “How would you feel about a change of plans?”

  My heart sunk. I knew it was all too good to be true. Hayden Dunn wasn’t a good man. He had played it off that way just to get me out of his hair and there was probably already a photo of me plastered on the security office of the building with the words “entry forbidden” printed at the top.

  “Right,” I muttered.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t quite understand what you mean by that. Does that mean you’d be opposed to a change of plans?”

  Then it registered– he wasn’t asking to cancel plans or for a rain check; he wanted to do something else.

  “Oh,” I replied, shaking my head and feeling stupid. “What’s the change?”

  “How do you feel about surprises?”

  Chapter 5- Magical Night

  He arrived in a luxury sedan. The driver opened the door for me and closed it once I slid into the back seat next to Hayden. I drew in a deep breath as I settled into the car. Hayden’s familiar scent tickled my nose. I saw the way he eyed me and knew he was thinking I looked good, but he wasn’t going to say it. I hated to admit it, but I kind of wanted to hear him say it. When I noticed we were heading toward his building in the business district, I finally asked what was going on.

  “You were able to wait all evening and you want to ruin the surprise now?” He said with a charming smile.

  “Well it just looks an awful lot like we’re going to your office,” I replied, still busy looking out the window and wondering if he had lured me into some sort of press conference.

  The driver pulled into the garage and I turned to look at Hayden. He looked amused.

  “We’re going to the top of the building,” he clarified. At that moment the driver pulled my door open and I climbed out of the car, despite how I was now starting to feel weary of the whole situation. Hayden thanked the driver and led me to an elevator different from the one I had been on earlier that day.

  “This is the one that goes all the way up,” he explained as it started to rumble and hum. “You’ll see.”

  The doors slid open and the breeze kissed my cheeks as we stepped on to the rooftop. I gasped. There was a helipad and, on it, a helicopter. A man was standing in front of it. When he heard me gasp, he looked up from his phone and smiled.

  “Mr. Dunn! Good evening,” he greeted the two of us cheerfully. “All ready to board?”

  “What?” I was floored. I couldn’t believe the change in plans actually involved a helicopter ride. It was all too surreal and spectacular. I started to wonder if I had somehow fallen into the world of Mind Lash as the actual Via Mace. I shook my head, knowing I was just being silly. The last thing I needed to be doing was comparing myself to Via Mace.

  “Are you okay?” Hayden asked. He looked genuinely concerned. “Have you ever been on a helicopter? If you aren’t comfortable with it–”

  “I’m fine!” I said, maybe a tad to forcefully. “Sorry, I’m just really surprised.”

  “I can see that,” he responded. His smile widened.

  A light tingle fluttered up the back of my neck as Hayden gently placed the palm of his hand on my lower back, guiding me toward the helicopter. It was so gentle and natural feeling I was surprised I even noticed it. Once I was secured in my seat beside him, the helicopter started up and lifted into the air. I was glad for the noise it made as I squealed in a mixture of fear and excitement. It was a feeling unlike any other I’ve experienced. My long, auburn hair whipped around violently, so I smoothed it behind my ears as gracefully as I could. I looked down to watch the rooftop get smaller and smaller.

  I snuck a side-glance toward Hayden and was relieved to find him looking out his side. I let out a little gasp, immediately clapping my hand over my mouth to cover it. That moment, however brief and trivial it may have been, marked the first time I cared about how I looked to him. I grimaced at the thought. There was a little voice in my head that constantly reminded me that I was supposed to be angry at this man. He was the one responsible for everything I had been going through.

  “Everything okay over there?” I jumped in my seat when Hayden’s voice came in over the helicopter headset nestling against my ears. It was soft and smooth with the faint hint of a smile.

  I nodded without turning to look at him, cheeks burning. At that moment I couldn’t help but wonder why I had agreed to this ridiculous meeting after all. I reminded myself that it was in my best interest to get close to the man who had created all this mess to begin with. If spending some time with him meant fixing my life, I was more than willing to put in the work. Of course, I wasn’t ne
arly naïve enough to think one evening with Hayden would reverse everything that had happened to me since Via Mace hit the world by storm.

  By now the Via Mace character was in every form of media outlet imaginable. It wasn’t a far reach to say Via Mace had become more famous than the actual Mind Lash game. I found it distasteful and wretched. I couldn’t for the life of me wrap my head around why people liked Via Mace so much. But I had a very biased view on the entire ordeal. Not everyone’s life had been ruined in one morning.

  Despite all those awful feelings, I couldn’t shake the undeniable attraction I had toward Hayden. I scoffed inside my head. Why couldn’t he just be some ugly, socially awkward, video game geek? Instead he was Mr. Sauvé. One way or another I had to take my mind off those feelings creeping up inside of me. This was business and I was on a mission.

  I drummed my slender fingers on my thighs, looking out at the city below me. What would my boss say about my exploits during my mandatory time off from the company? I wondered if he would have a positive response to me taking such a hands-on, albeit unconventional approach to solving the matter. I sighed. Perhaps it all would have been different if I had gotten my job entirely on my own, rather than with my brother’s help.