by Amber Lynn
Dylan glanced over to the woman to try to measure how she’d taken Holcomb’s words. He was all for figuring out who she was and every last detail he could about her, but it wasn’t clear if she was even available for the kind of relationship he hoped to have with her. If she was involved with Holcomb in some way, that firmly put her in a do not mess with category.
The daggers in her eyes that were projecting at Holcomb led Dylan to assume she had a very large opinion about what had been suggested. Before Dylan said anything, he was going to let her give her opinion about the proposition. He usually didn’t operate that way, but the situation was a delicate one as far as he was concerned, and if she was available, he didn’t want to immediately scare her away.
Chapter Four
Casey was initially at a loss for words. Her day had been hectic after dealing with an event coordinator who had her own vision for the ball that clashed with Casey’s. It didn’t help that her first meeting ran twenty minutes late. The afternoon was getting away from her and she hadn’t had a thing to eat.
After thinking for a second, she hoped she had misheard her dad because of low blood sugar. Before her meeting at the hospital, she was going to have to grab a protein bar from her office. It wasn’t much, but it could stop her overactive imagination from hearing preposterous words.
“Could you please repeat what you just said?”
Glancing over at Dylan, it looked like he was waiting for her response, so there was clearly something said that would connect the two of them.
“You heard me just fine, whether your brain is processing things or not. I want you and Dylan to attend tonight’s event together.”
Casey looked back at her father and wondered if he’d been hit in the head recently. There was evidence he’d had his fair share of hits to the head in the past, but there had never been an issue with his brain function that she’d noticed.
“Don’t you think that would be a little inappropriate?”
She didn’t add that it could be suicidal for her. She’d basically invited Dylan’s biggest fan to the ball, and showing up with the man could cause Steph to lose the tiny sliver of sense she had.
“Why would it be inappropriate?” Dylan’s voice brought him back into Casey’s focus.
She’d tried not to let him see her checking him out, but it was hard not to appreciate the man. The gray suit he was wearing looked like it was tailored to accentuate every muscle in his body. His blue eyes were brighter than the pictures she’d seen of him and there was some recognition that shouldn’t have been there.
“I’m the head of marketing, which I think means I shouldn’t be involved with any of the players. Even though there wouldn’t be involvement in this case, I think we all know what certain journalists would make of us showing up together.”
“You work here?”
Dylan sounded bewildered. Clearly he didn’t think Casey was smart enough to hold an office of authority. She knew she looked young, but she’d fought to get to where she was on her merits, so it pissed her off whenever anyone thought she couldn’t do her job.
“This is my first season, but yes I work here. Would you like to see my résumé to assure yourself that I have the proper skills?”
Dylan looked confused for a second, but ended up shaking his head. “I’m sure you’re great at your job, I was just surprised to hear you worked for the club. There aren’t any rules about front office personnel and players dating, are there?”
“Who said anything about dating? Showing up with me on your arm to a charity event I’m hosting does not mean we’re dating. Not that we’re going to the ball together. I just want to make sure it’s clear that no one said anything about dating.”
The idea of dating Dylan was even more unbelievable than going to the ball with him, obviously. There was no room for a man in Casey’s life, and even if there was, he wouldn’t be someone like Dylan. Dylan’s celebrity status was something she didn’t want to deal with.
“There aren’t any rules against dating, but I think we should work on convincing Casey that a single event on your arm won’t be as bad as she thinks. I was fairly certain you two hadn’t met, so why don’t we start with introductions. Casey, you obviously already know that this is Dylan Jones. Dylan, this is Casey Holcomb, Vice President of Marketing and my one and only daughter.”
At the word daughter, a smile spread across Dylan’s face, revealing perfectly straight teeth. Casey was fairly certain he’d had one or two teeth knocked out over the year, so the perfectness was manufactured.
“Daughter?”
There was more joy in that single word than there should have been. Casey could see why it was easy for someone like Steph to fall for Dylan. Just seeing him was one thing, but listening to the different inflections his honeyed voice put behind his words stirred something inside of you.
“I’m sure if Casey decided to shave her head, the family resemblance would be more evident. Minutes are ticking by, so we should get back to the task at hand. I happened to invite a very lovely woman to accompany me to the event tonight, and I’d like my daughter to have someone there to make sure she doesn’t spend too much time working, since my attention will be a little occupied.”
Casey had a feeling the low blood sugar issue had taken over again. She’d never seen her father pay attention to anyone in a way that would lead to him inviting someone to the event he threw to honor his one and only love. It wasn’t that Casey would fault him for moving on after over twenty years. It was just that she hadn’t noticed it.
“You’re dating someone? Why haven’t you told me?”
Dylan might as well have disappeared as far as she was concerned. The idea that the meeting would only take a few minutes dwindled with every word her father said.
“I wouldn’t call it dating. We’ve had a few dinners and I thought it would be nice to invite her to the event. Obviously I’m not trying to replace your mother in my heart, but you’ve grown up and I seem to have free time on my hands.”
That was hard to believe based on how often Casey saw him in the office. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t witnessed any changes in him that would indicate there was a woman in his life.
“I’ve told you for years that you needed someone other than me in your life. My only worry is whether or not she has ulterior motives. You’ve run into money grubbers trying to get your attention before, and I don’t want you to get caught up with someone who seems like an angel now, only to have her show her true colors after she’s got a ring on her finger.”
Holcomb smiled at Casey’s concern. It was the smile he used to reassure her, but the circumstances were a lot different than her scraping her knee and needing to know it would eventually heal.
“Wendy has her own money, so I don’t think her interest lies in what I have in the bank. Plus, I have no plans of getting married a second time. I just find it interesting to spend time with someone who doesn’t have your cynical views of the world. By the look in your eyes, I can tell the next thing you’re going to say involves finding out her last name, so you can run background checks. I’ll provide that for you later, but for now, we keep getting away from the topic at hand. What other arguments do you have for not attending the ball tonight with Dylan? If you haven’t noticed, he hasn’t had a single complaint with my plan.”
Of course he hadn’t. He was an unattached man and Casey probably appeared to be a young impressionable woman.
“This may be awkward, but why him? I don’t understand why there’s a problem with me going solo, but I’m more curious about why out of all the people you could choose, Dylan Jones came to mind.”
He’d never interfered with her life before, so it was an odd time for him to start.
“Why not? As I said, he didn’t have a date and I’m sure there’s plenty you two can find to talk about. You’ve watched every game this season, and if the conversation lulls, you can give him some pointers that maybe the coach has missed.”
Casey
showed no acknowledgment of his hinting about what she did during hockey games. Dylan didn’t seem to recognize her from her voice alone, so she figured as long as she didn’t throw insults at him, he wouldn’t put the pieces together.
“Just to verify, you aren’t involved with anyone, right? It seems Holcomb has a relationship he’s hidden from you, so I want to make sure you aren’t hiding something from him before I agree to anything.”
The man who had immediately jumped to asking about dating procedures within the company appeared to be ready to take a step back and figure out the situation he was being dragged into. There was a chance he hadn’t been knocked in the head as much as Casey thought.
“You don’t think it would’ve been nice to at least learn a little bit about me before being thrown into the circus of the ball? I can promise you that it isn’t just a social event for me. I’ll be running around all night putting out fires, and he’s expecting you to stick by my side for all of that.”
Holcomb hadn’t said that specifically, but in years past he’d always been there by her side when problems arose and people came to her for solutions. Holcomb didn’t bother correcting her, which told her his thoughts were in line with hers.
“I spend my days trying to get a team of hardheaded guys to work together. I don’t think putting out a few fires at your event will tax my abilities.”
Dylan sounded confident, but Casey doubted he’d done any event coordinating. Things got extremely hectic if a keynote speaker ended up drinking a little too much before their speech and found themselves passed out in a corner. That had only happened once, but there was always something that caused Casey to want to hit the champagne.
“Okay, so you’re up for it, but I’m sure the only reason you didn’t already have a date was because you couldn’t pick just one lucky lady. I was going solo because I plan on being too busy to deal with someone vying for my attention.”
There was no need to mention there wasn’t a single man she could think of who she would’ve tried to get to go with her.
“I didn’t have a date because there are no ladies in my life. Contrary to what people say about me, I’ve become very particular about who spends time with me.”
He seemed eager enough that Casey didn’t think he was taking the request as an assignment for the night, which is how it should have been seen coming from her father.
“And I somehow fit whatever criteria you’ve come up with. You don’t know a single thing about me to base that decision on.”
“I don’t?”
“You think you do?” Casey had tried not to spend too much time looking at the man next to her, but whenever words came out of his mouth, she felt the need to see what expression he had on his face.
“The fact that you haven’t turned into a screaming fangirl is pretty important, but since I know you don’t particularly like me, I think you are one of the few women I’ve met that meets my criteria.”
“How do you know I’m not undressing you with my eyes as we speak?”
The conversation was turning a little odd with her father in the room, but she was looking for a reason to tell him no. She was having an issue getting that word to her lips. Eventually she was pretty sure she’d say yes, and then spend the night pretending Dylan didn’t exist.
“Let’s see. ‘Do you enjoy using your face to hit Grimaldi’s fist?’ That’s not actually one of my favorites, but it does explain why your date tonight has a cut under his left eye.”
Deciding whether to react to his words was a split second decision. She hated acting like an airhead, and she wasn’t about to start.
“You recognized my voice. I was assured by my dad that you could hear me, but since you didn’t say anything before, I was hoping maybe you couldn’t. Or that I sounded different when I wasn’t screaming insults.”
“When I’ve heard you at least ten times a game, it’s hard to get your voice out of my head. I’m not saying you aren’t trying to undress me with your eyes, but you don’t fall into the only after me because of my money category.”
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, while Casey tried to figure out what motives Dylan could have to agree to the situation. He hadn’t officially said he was good with it, but his only issue had been whether Casey was involved with anyone.
Since he knew about her taunts, there was a chance he had plans to sabotage something about the night. If that was the case, there was a special place in Hell for him. It was one thing to get back at her, but it was another to do it at an event to raise money for cancer research.
“I’m not as rich as either of you, but I’ve made my money on my own and there’s enough to keep the electricity running in my house. It’s safe to say the amount of money you have in the bank makes very little difference to me.”
“Great. What color dress are you wearing? I should make sure my tie matches.”
“Hold on just a second, Mr. Superstar. First, we’re only going together because he asked me to go with you. I don’t want you to get any ideas that this means I’m going to acknowledge you after tonight.”
Casey was going to continue with other clarifications, but Dylan interrupted her. Holcomb had clearly decided things were going his way, so he sat back in his chair and let things play out.
“That doesn’t mean the yelling at me during games is going to stop, right?” Dylan continued with his quest to say things Casey couldn’t predict.
“Does that make a difference as far as you going with me tonight?”
“No, but it makes me play better, and Holcomb has already told me he expects to keep first place. If the yelling stops, I may not be able to guarantee that.”
“Okay, weirdo. I’ll keep yelling at you. Depending how tonight goes, I may even take things up a notch. The next thing I wanted to say was that I’m going to already be at the event, finalizing last minute details, so you’ll be on your own as far as pictures and such coming into the event.”
Casey paused to make sure he wasn’t going to butt in, which he did. He seemed to have his own conditions for everything, and she was only two conditions in.
“What if I drove you whenever you were heading that direction? I don’t have anything planned the rest of the day, and there’s a slim chance I could be useful.”
“At least you aren’t trying to oversell your usability. I’m going straight there from a meeting I need to get to in thirty minutes,” Casey said as she checked her watch. “So, I don’t need a ride. If you show up early, you show up early. I’ll make sure the people at the door let you in, but you’ll probably have a better chance of getting your picture in the paper if you arrive after the pink carpet is rolled out.”
“There’s seriously a pink carpet? Are you wearing a pink dress?”
Casey wanted to say yes, because the idea of him wearing a pink tie could be a potential arguing point. Since she had to be out of her father’s office within five minutes in order to make it to her meeting, she decided to take the easy route.
“I’m wearing a deep purple dress. As far as I’m concerned, a black tie will go fine with it, so you don’t have to worry about matching.”
“Got it. I’d like for it to be apparent that we’re together tonight. It seems important to your father, since he asked us out of the blue if I could escort you, so I want to make sure I do everything right. He is the boss after all.”
Casey was going to have a little talk with her father about the way he’d gone about things. If he’d wanted to make sure she wasn’t alone during the ball, he could’ve told her, and with a little warning she could’ve found someone to go with her. Springing it on her, with a man in mind, was unlike him.
“If you want to match, I’ll have to stop by the store between my meeting and the banquet hall, because there’s no way you’ll be able to get the right color. I’m not big into fashion, but I think it’d look weird if you wore a purple tie in a different shade.”
The whole idea of them matching was silly,
but Casey didn’t have any fight in her. That had to be the reason why she didn’t walk out of the room the second her father had shared his idea. She wanted to think that normally, even though she had trouble saying no, there would’ve been some more discussion about why it was a horrible idea.
Because it was an unbelievably horrible idea for her to go anywhere with Dylan Jones.
“Where did you get the dress? If I mention your name, they should be able to look up the color and get me something to match, right?”
Casey had no idea whether the store could match it, but sending him on a wild goose chase trying to find a matching tie sounded fun. She reached for a piece of paper and pen that were on the desk in front of her and jotted down the name of the store. She’d spent all the time she had going over the details they’d already discussed.
“I have to get going, but I’m sure he’ll give you my cell, so we make sure we at least run into each other tonight. Dad, it sounds like we’re going to need to have that talk about boundaries we had when I was sixteen again. You’re lucky this event is important to me and I’m curious about your date, or I’d be boycotting your life for a while.”
Casey didn’t wait for a response. She hated surprises, and a part of her was trying to convince herself that she’d fallen asleep at some point. Her already hectic day had gained a wrinkle she never expected.
Chapter Five
Dylan couldn’t believe his luck. Not only did he finally know who the woman of his dreams was, he had a date with her. Sure, it was set up by her father and she didn’t see it the same way he did, but it was a chance to spend time with her.
“It takes Casey a little while to warm up to people. It may not seem like it, but the fact that she didn’t try to stab either of us means she likes you.”
After following Casey’s path with his eyes as she left, Dylan hadn’t turned back to focus on the remaining person in the room. It was a rookie mistake.
