by Grey , S. R.
Clearly, Maisie did.
“You are so much richer than I realized, Noel,” she whispered shakily. “It’s kind of scary.”
“Scary?” I laughed. “That shouldn’t frighten you one bit, babe.”
“I know. And it doesn’t in the way you might be thinking. It’s just scary as in overwhelming.”
I was reminded again that this was the reason why I’d agreed to take things slowly. It was the only way it would ever work. Even though I was ready to pick up right where we left off in Sweden, she wasn’t.
That was okay. I could wait for her to catch up to where I was.
I decided not to press on the car…for now.
Instead, I said, “I can take you to work tomorrow. I’ll pick you up too. You’re right, there’s no bus service out here.”
What I really wanted was for Maisie to ditch her job. There was no need for her to work at the convenience store any longer.
But like with the car, I was tabling that battle for another day.
Maybe once Maisie got into school, she’d give up the convenience store gig.
I hoped so.
“Are you sure taking me to work won’t interfere with your schedule?” she replied.
I shook my head. “No, not at all. Training camp hasn’t started yet. I’ve just been going down to the arena on my own to skate and work out.”
“Oh, okay.”
Wow, that was it?
I couldn’t believe Maisie was giving in so easily.
Maybe we were making progress.
And that meant there was hope.
Who’s In Charge?
What Noel didn’t realize was that I wanted to take him up on all his generous offers.
I mean, a new Porsche?
Come on. Of course I wanted that.
Who wouldn’t?
But I couldn’t just say yes, yes, yes.
I felt like I had to earn those things first.
Noel may have said my love for him was more than enough, and he had that for sure, but I felt like I should offer him more.
So that night, while we were eating dinner in his spacious, meticulously appointed dining room, I brought it up.
“I want to do something for you in return, Noel,” I said. “If you’re going to let me live here, buy me a car, and stuff like that—”
“Wait, are you saying I can buy you the Porsche?” he interrupted, his eyes lighting up.
He was seated across the table from me, looking handsome as hell.
I shrugged and uttered a noncommittal, “Maybe…”
That’s all Noel needed to hear.
“Awesome!” he exclaimed. “What color would you want?”
“Uh-uh-uh, not so fast. First, we have to think of some way for me to pay you back.”
He smiled over at me mischievously, his gaze dropping to the visible cleavage in my low-cut tank.
“I can think of a few ways right now, Maisie.”
“Noel!” I threw a dinner roll at him, which he handily caught. “Sex isn’t a good trade-off. Not when I want it from you just as much as you want it from me.”
He looked pleasantly surprised. “You do?”
I nodded, and he waggled his brows. “Cool. Then we should just become each other’s sex slaves.”
“Noel, be serious.”
“Okay, okay.” He rubbed his lightly stubbled chin. “Let me think…”
I waited patiently, until at last he said, “Tell you what. I could use an assistant. Someone to remind me of appointments and appearances, and keep me up-to-date on what the team wants from me and when. That sort of thing.”
I liked that idea, and said, “I can definitely do that.”
“Good. Then it’s settled?”
“Yep.” I nodded proudly. “Say hello to your new assistant.”
“My new, very hot assistant,” he corrected, smiling as he pushed his chair back and stood up.
When he started over to me, I played dumb. “Noel, what ever are you doing?”
“I’m coming over to give my new assistant a kiss, of course.”
I teased, “Ah, so you’re going to be that kind of boss.”
When he reached me, he caressed my cheek. “I’ll be whatever kind of boss you want me to be, Maisie.”
I leaned into him, liking this game. “I’m cool with this version for now,” I admitted.
“You are, are you?”
I peered up at him. “Mmm-hmm. These are special circumstances. So, yes, I am.”
“In that case, I should definitely kiss you.”
“You should,” I agreed.
Noel leaned down, touching his lips to mine.
Hell with that!
Plunging my fingers into his hair, I deepened the kiss.
But then I had to break away. Not for any bad reason. It was just that I had come up with an even better idea, one I knew Noel would love.
“Whatcha doing?” he asked.
I raised a brow. “This…”
Sliding down from the chair, I dropped to my knees, putting me perfectly in line with the hardening outline in his dark pants.
Before he could protest—not that I expected him to—I unzipped him and had his cock in my mouth in seconds.
“Jesus, Maisie,” he gasped. “You are full of surprises.”
From that point on, Noel was putty in my hands.
He may have become my boss, but I was the one in charge that night.
Yep, Maisie is in Charge
Maisie was so funny. She insisted that she work as my assistant for at least a week before we even looked at cars.
Since I didn’t have much of a structured schedule yet, there wasn’t much for her to do as my assistant.
Still, she wanted to put together a spreadsheet containing all my current workouts and skating sessions. Then she wanted to know what I hoped to achieve with each.
“Shit, you’re worse than Coach Townsend,” I groused when she made me sit down in my own study, her behind the big oak desk and me across from her like an unruly pupil.
It was only her fifth day on the job, and she had taken to it like a duck to water.
“Just list your goals and objectives for the upcoming season,” she said as she tapped away on the laptop I’d given her for her new position. “I’ll input those so we can check your progress at regular intervals.”
“You’re really taking this assistant job seriously,” I murmured.
“Of course I am,” she retorted.
Stopping what she was doing and peering over at me from across the desk, she said, “That’s why I quit the convenience store, remember?”
Ah, the one good thing that had come from Maisie becoming my assistant—she’d quit the Quik-Stop.
The least I could do was humor her and come up with some goals, right?
Scrubbing my hand down my face, I said, “Okay, let me think for a minute.”
She leaned back, crossing her arms. “Take your time.”
“Well, first and foremost,” I began, “I want to win another Stanley Cup. That is definitely goal number one this season.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Noel, that’s a goal for you and every other guy on the team. How about giving me something more specific to just you?”
“Okay, okay.” I shook my head, chuckling. “Man, you’re tough.”
Smiling proudly, she said, “Why thank you, Noel. I wasn’t kidding when I said I take this job seriously.”
“I see that.”
It was time to get to work and come up with a few goals, so I thought some more and finally came up with a couple.
“I have some. Are you ready?” I asked.
“I am.”
“As an individual, I’d like to become an overall better player. I’d also like to work on becoming a better defense partner to Dylan Culderway.”
Nodding, she typed those into the spreadsheet. “Got it.”
“Cool.”
“I have to say, though, Noel,” Maisie went on. “I’ve been re
ading up on you and it seems you’re already damn good at both those things.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. But there’s always room for improvement, right?”
She smiled. “True.”
Maisie had no idea I was secretly preening inside.
She’d been reading up on me, eh?
I didn’t suck, so most articles tended to be complimentary.
Still, what I’d said was true—I could always be better.
With that in mind, I added, “I should also focus more on my leg strength with my workouts. My whole lower body, really. I’m fast, but I can always be faster. And being stronger gets you there.”
Maisie was typing away, nodding satisfactorily as she listened to me list off several more hockey-related goals.
When I finished, she said, “These are all excellent. I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mais.”
“Okay, so I’ll print out a month-by-month schedule. That is, once I work out the details of how best to keep track of things.”
I couldn’t deny I was impressed with her level of commitment.
“You’re good at this, babe. You should definitely go back for that business degree.”
“Thanks.” She suddenly looked sad. “I’d like to, but I think it’s too late to apply anywhere.”
“Uh, maybe not,” I stated quietly.
I was tentative, as I wasn’t sure how Maisie would react to me offering assistance once again.
“What do you mean?” she asked, brows furrowing.
“Well…” I leaned back and blew out a breath. “…I had a chance to talk with my sister last night. Remember how I told you she’s working on her MBA at UNLV?”
“Yes, I remember you saying that.”
“I asked her if she could pull some strings and have you put in an expedited application.”
I expected Maisie to be wary, but she was surprisingly enthusiastic.
Maybe she really was warming to the idea of accepting my help.
“Oh my God, Noel!” she exclaimed. “That’d be beyond awesome. I’d appreciate it so much. What did Noelle say?”
“She told me she thinks she can help. Just fill out the application online, have your transcript sent from your previous school, then let her know when everything’s complete. I’ll give you her email.”
“Okay.” Maisie nodded excitedly. “That sounds easy enough.”
“Once that’s done, Noelle can talk with the people who move these things along.”
Biting her lip, Maisie said, “I’d probably only want to take a couple of classes the first semester, just to ease my way back in. I think too that it’s too late to apply for financial aid. But maybe I can get a small personal loan. Can you vouch as my employer?”
“Of course,” I replied.
I decided not to fight her on the loan thing. I’d probably have to co-sign for her to actually get any kind of bank to give her money, anyway.
We’d just cross that bridge when we came to it.
“However you’d like to do it is fine with me,” I said.
Maisie liked the cautious approach, and that was fine. I was just happy she was feeling more at ease with me helping.
That led me to ask, “How about if we move up car shopping day? If you take classes at the university, you’re going to need a way to get there and back.”
Considering, she said, “Hmm, you do have a point.”
“So what do you say, Mais?”
She blew out a breath, looked over at me, and replied, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Yes!
Getting Ready
Noel bought me a Porsche, a Panamera like his, but in blue instead of red.
Before everything was decided, I’d gone round and round about the color. I liked the blue shades, of which there were two, but I couldn’t decide whether to go with the light or dark hue.
Noel settled it for me.
Amused, he’d said at the dealership, “Babe, you kind of have to choose the dark blue.”
“Why’s that?” I’d asked, perplexed.
With the sweetest smile, he replied, “Because it matches your eyes.”
I was surprised he’d even noticed such a thing.
“Really, it does?”
“Uh-huh.”
The look of love and excitement he’d had on his handsome face, as we stood there in the showroom, made the decision easy.
“Dark blue it is, then,” I declared.
That Panamera was what I was driving in now. It was a couple of weeks later, and I was on my way to my first class at UNLV.
Yep, I’d been accepted to their business school.
Yay!
Noel’s sister had totally come through.
As for the tuition cost, I had scrapped the idea of securing a loan and instead worked out a reduction in my pay from Noel, in order to defray what he ended up fronting for me.
Someday, I planned to pay him back in full.
Maybe that sounded silly, but it made me feel better.
The semester was starting before Labor Day. I’d stuck with my original plan to not take too many classes. So I had three that met three days a week, leaving me plenty of time to continue as Noel’s assistant.
Speaking of which…
As I’d immersed myself more in that role, I’d discovered Noel was pretty business savvy. The guy was loaded far beyond his impressive hockey salary, having invested wisely in real estate.
He had a beach property located on a private island in Florida. One of his hockey friends, Jaxon Holland, had spent the summer down there. He’d also met a girl. But I didn’t know too much about that.
So, recognizing that Noel was no slouch when it came to finances, I decided I should be the best assistant possible for him.
He deserved nothing less.
As a result, my days were filled with organizing and arranging many things. Hockey preseason and training camp were quickly approaching, and that meant I was busier than ever.
There were tons of upcoming promotional work-related things for the players, like photo shoots, filming promo clips to run on TV, recording radio spots, interviews, and so on. Workouts on and off the ice had picked up in frequency and intensity too.
Noel was as busy as I was.
It was the main reason why we were pumped for the one day we both had off—Labor Day. There were plans in place to attend a big barbeque picnic that the Wolves captain, Brent Oliver, and his wife, Aubrey, were hosting at their house.
It would be my first opportunity to meet Noel’s teammates.
Besides my one chance encounter with Blake Cavaletti, I’d met no one else.
To say I was nervous would’ve been an understatement.
I thought about it all day on my first day of school, and also the entire week and weekend leading up. As the barbeque grew near, I became more and more nervous.
Noel insisted it’d all be fine.
I sure hoped so.
And then it finally arrived—Labor Day.
On the morning of the barbeque, I stepped into the big walk-in closet in the bedroom I shared with Noel and flipped through my meager assortment of clothes.
After a minute, I groaned, “What in the hell am I supposed to wear to this thing? I have absolutely nothing good.”
Noel, typical guy, was already dressed and ready. Men had it so easy. A pair of khaki cargo shorts, a white polo shirt, and some beat-up Chucks, and he was ready to roll.
Me, I still had a long way to go. My hair needed to be brushed out, I had makeup to put on, and, of course, I still needed to choose a damn outfit.
Stepping into the closet, Noel came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
I leaned back into him.
“Seriously,” I huffed. “I want to make a good impression at this barbeque.”
“Mmm…” He nuzzled my neck. “Maybe you should just wear what you have on.”
“Yeah, right,” I scoffed.
Noel was silly. Wh
at I had on was a short robe and nothing else. I’d stepped out of the shower only moments earlier.
I had to laugh, though.
I wouldn’t have on even that much if he kept up what he was doing—slipping his hand under the yellow terrycloth and caressing my breasts.
As much as I wanted to continue, I had to make him stop. If he didn’t, we’d never make it to the barbeque.
“Noel, don’t,” I moaned halfheartedly, moving his hand away and readjusting the tie on the robe. “There’s no time for this. I have to get ready.”
I spun around to face him and he raised a brow, challenging me.
“Funny. You don’t sound like you want to stop.”
“I don’t,” I admitted. “But we have to.”
Sighing, he gave in. “You’re right.”
He backed away from me, like he had to or his resistance would crumble.
I knew the feeling.
With a hungry gaze he couldn’t extinguish, he assured me, “Just so you know, this isn’t over. I am totally devouring that hot little bod of yours tonight.”
I laughed. “I have no objections to that.”
“Somehow I didn’t think you would.”
He was giving me that look again, the one that always left me aching for him.
I was tempted to suggest scrapping the barbeque and spending the whole day in bed. But I really wanted to meet his friends and teammates.
Reluctantly, I pushed him farther away. “You are so bad. Quit staring at me like that.”
“Wait, what’d I do?”
Noel loved to play innocent, and I loved calling him out on it.
“Ha, like you don’t know. Stop tempting me with your sex-eyes and help me pick out an outfit.”
He chuckled. “All right, sweetheart. Let’s see what you got.”
He stepped forward again, and we browsed through my clothes, eventually finding something I liked—a fun, frilly sundress in pastel watercolors.
Noel liked it too.
“That’s perfect,” he said.
As I slipped it on, smoothing the light cotton material down into place, he joined me, running his hand down my side. “You look so beautiful, Maisie.”
I laughed. “But I haven’t even put any makeup on yet. And my hair’s still an unruly mess.”
“An unruly hot mess,” he corrected.