by Winters,KB
Josie bristled and the crowd of reporters around her chuckled and laughed like it was some kind of inside joke. The people in the crowd shifted and I got a glimpse of the rest of her. My heart slammed up into my throat and every muscle in my body went tense. She was a fuckin’ stunner. A clingy tank top, suctioned to her sexy body, a pair of denim cut offs that were short enough to show off the pocket lining, and a pair of cowboy boots.
Damn, girl. Take me to the rodeo. You can hog tie me anytime you want.
“Aha. You don’t look much like a tour guide though. You’re like a cowgirl. Ya know, I’ve never ridden a horse before. So, maybe I need some riding lessons,” I added, not breaking eye contact with the flustered woman.
Damn, she’d look sexy, riding me, wearing those boots.
And nothing else.
Josie frowned and the crowd around her continued to laugh. “Actually, Mr. Delgado, I don’t give riding lessons. In case you missed it, I’m a reporter.” She paused to hold up her media credentials clipped to the lanyard hanging around her neck. “My only interest here is finding out how you’re going to refocus your sorry ass and get in to shape to keep up with the rest of our team.”
A sputter of awkward laughter followed her spicy retort and I just grinned all the more.
A firecracker in cowboy boots. I knew what I’d be dreaming about for the next month.
Mason stepped in before I could reply to her. “Trey is excited to be here in Oklahoma City—and to be playing for the Warriors. He’s looking for a fresh start and hopes that this trade will bring the team a championship! Thank you everyone for your time. We’ll be putting together a more official press conference before his first game as a Warrior. Thank you.” When he concluded his speech, he grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me away before I could shoot my mouth off anymore.
What could I say? He had trust issues.
“Thanks everyone!” I waved at the crowd and started to turn and follow Mason to the waiting town car. At the last moment, I turned and locked my sights on Josie. “And, Miss Crawford, if you’re serious about that tour, give me a call.”
She flushed and I gave her one last grin before letting Mason lead the way off the tarmac.
Things in Oklahoma were looking better by the minute.
* * * *
After a sleepless night in my downtown hotel room, I found myself in an early morning meeting with the Warriors’ management and the coaching staff, including head coach, Phil Robinson. I settled into my chair beside Mason and tried to keep my mouth shut, waiting for the onslaught of advice, which would undoubtedly be thinly veiled threats that if I didn’t keep my shit together, I’d be riding the bench for the rest of my career.
Instead, what I was met with was a thorough pitch about the future of the Warriors and how I would be an instrument in taking the team to the World Series. No one mentioned the grand slam at the beginning of the season that embarrassed their asses or any of the off-season drama I’d whipped up before that. Not even the paternity suit splashed all over the tabloids. It actually felt the way a pitch was supposed to feel, instead of a lecture. It was clear that the Warriors organization was happy to have me on board and ready for me to go to work.
When the meeting concluded, I shook hands with everyone and followed Mason out of the boardroom. He directed me to an elevator and waited for the doors to slide shut before he turned to me. “So, what do you think?”
“Seems legit. I’m happy they didn’t bring up all my personal shit.”
Mason grinned. “I’ll bet.”
“Any progress on the endorsement deals?”
Mason shook his head, his smile slipping away. “Not yet. Like I said, Trey, this needs to be a fresh start. Let’s leave all that for the lawyers to sort out. You need to get your head in the game. Starting tomorrow, it’s practice every single day, and I would encourage you to get to know your new teammates. Let them know what you’re all about. They know you hit that ball out of the park. They know you’re a kick ass hitter and an all-star player. They also know you’re a dickhead in a baseball uniform. So, give them a chance to see your less…abrasive…side.”
I nodded slowly. I knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. I was still pissed the Coyotes traded me, and wasn’t in the mood to put on a happy face.
“Maybe invite some of the guys out to dinner, or, if you would let me set you up at a rental, you could throw a dinner party.”
“Mase,” I sighed. “I don’t want a rental, okay? I’m fine at the hotel. Besides, my suite has a dining room. Same as if I was in some rental house. I can throw a damn dinner party there.”
Mason nodded, but he worked his jaw like he was struggling to hold back his real opinion. “It just doesn’t send the right message,” he finally said.
“I just got here, Mase. I haven’t even been here twenty-four hours. I’m sure they’ll understand if I’m not camped out in some mansion just yet. Okay? End of story.”
It might’ve been stupid—but I was going to hold on to my old life as long as possible.
“All right, Trey. I’ll get you some local caterers contact info. Do you want me to line up some interviews for an assistant? I fly out the day after tomorrow.”
I cringed. As much as he might drive me crazy, Mason was my friend, and the only person I could trust to handle my business. Hell, to handle me. I didn’t want him leaving my side so soon. Not now, I was still too disoriented. But there was no point in bitchin’ about it. He had other shit to do. So did I.
I shrugged, trying to tamp down the overwhelm. “Just pick whoever you think is best.”
Mason nodded as the elevator settled in place on the lobby floor and the doors slid open.
Chapter Six
Josie
“Oh my gosh, Jo! I think I’ve watched the interview a dozen times! You were a rockstar!” My best friend, Claire McClaren gushed.
I laughed. “To be fair, that’s only because you’re obsessed with Trey Delgado.”
She giggled and held up her glass of wine. “Either way, you were fabulous, and I know this is only the first of many successful interviews!”
I clinked my glass with hers and we each took a long drink. It was our long-standing girls’ night out and we were tucked into a corner booth at a trendy downtown sushi restaurant. Claire worked downtown as a paralegal for one of the city’s top law firms. She was dressed up in an impressive designer pantsuit, her sandy blonde hair hanging loose around her heart shaped face. We’d met through a mutual friend a couple of years ago, when I’d first started my internship at the news station. We hit it off right away and remained tight ever since.
“Of course, it wasn’t good enough for my asshole boss.” I set my glass down and turned my attention to picking at the appetizer we’d ordered. “He’s not going to be happy until I find a way to get the exclusive with Bad Boy Delgado.”
“I’d like to get exclusive with Trey,” Claire said, giggling over the rim of her goblet.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t get you. You know that?”
Claire took a sip. “Why? Because I like hot, rich, famous men?”
“Honestly? You’d date someone like Trey? You wouldn’t care how many side pieces he had, how many bar fights he got into, or how shamelessly he flirted with other women, just because he’s rich and good looking?”
She arched a perfectly sculpted brow at me. “Good looking? Oh, honey. The term is panty-fucking-melting.”
I snorted and popped another bite into my mouth. I wasn’t going to argue with her. It wasn’t an argument I had a chance at winning. Claire was not the settling down type. In fact, she was a little bit of a man eater. And she liked her reputation. There was no changing her.
“I’m just sayin’, if he asked me for riding lessons, I’d give the man a ride he’d never forget,” she teased, her smile dark and twisted.
I laughed loudly. “Good to know. Tell ya what, if I ever talk to him again, I’ll slip him your number.”
“You seriously wouldn’t hit that?” Claire asked, narrowing her eyes at me. “Not even once?”
I shook my head. “Not my deal. But hey, to each their own, right?”
She considered me for another long moment and then shrugged it off. “I guess so. But, just for the record, I think you’re insane. So your boss didn’t care for the interview? What did he say about your outfit?”
I cringed at the memory. “He made some crack about lassoing Trey into an interview next time. Otherwise, he didn’t have much to say. He’s waiting on the main course, I guess.”
“What’s the plan?” Claire asked, leaning back against the sleek leather booth. She twisted her wine glass on the top of the table and darted a look around, waiting to flag down a server for a refill.
“He wants me in his office first thing tomorrow to go over our next move. I don’t know if I should be terrified or relieved that someone else is working on a way to get me and Trey in the same room. I wasn’t making a lot of progress on my own, but at the same time, the more time goes on, the more I worry about what he’s cooking up.”
Claire snagged a passing waitress and our conversation paused to order new drinks and our entrees.
“All right, so I know you’re not interested in Trey. Who else is on your radar?” she asked, once the waitress left with our order.
I laughed. “No one. I’m trying to get my career on track before my dad lassos me back to Texas.”
Claire sighed. “He’s still on that?”
I nodded and drained the last gulp from my wine glass. “Yup! We talk once a week and no matter how I try to change the conversation, he always manages to cycle it back to talking about some rancher’s son or a business associate that is suddenly the world’s most eligible bachelor. I’m planning to go visit in a couple of months and I’m terrified that my parents’ living room will look like a speed dating setup.”
Claire giggled. “Maybe I should tag along to help you sort it out? Could be fun. I’ve never had a rich cowboy before…”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help laughing at her wistful expression. “You’re more than welcome to come with me. I could use some backup when it comes time to tell Daddy—for the three-hundredth time—that I don’t want to go home to the ranch.”
Claire smiled. “Didn’t he bust out house plans and everything last time you went down to visit?”
“Yeah.” I groaned. “He has over five thousand acres of land and assured me—more than once—it would be no problem to give me a few hundred of them for my own house. He was even talking about putting in an in-ground pool just to sweeten the deal.”
“Damn. I wish my parents were loaded. I’m going to be drowning in student loans until I’m eighty.” Claire sighed.
“Or just stop buying designer shoes…” I added under my breath.
She narrowed her eyes at me but cracked a second later and started laughing. “Yeah, yeah. Or, just find a rich guy…”
“Why don’t you date a lawyer? They’re loaded aren’t they?”
Claire wrinkled her delicate nose. “Yeah, but eww. I spend way too much time around lawyers as it is. Not my thing. Besides, most of them are really lousy in bed. I need a creative type…like an artist—or a jock. Now that’s hot!”
Our server came to drop off our fresh drinks and Claire let her eyes rove freely up his exposed forearms and then gave me a pointed look as he swept up the empty glasses. When he was gone, a peal of laughter burst out from my lips. “You’re so not smooth, Claire!”
She laughed. “Did you see his forearms? I bet he paints. Or sculpts. Ooh, maybe he’s a ball player. Don’t you think?”
“I’m not going to ruin your imaginary porno in the making, so I’ll just stay quiet.”
We enjoyed the rest of our dinner together, and when we were finally finished, I paid the tab and left Claire with the waiter. I figured he’d end up being her dessert.
I, on the other hand, went home with a doggy bag—and no chance for doggy style.
Which was fine…except that the conversation with Claire had me thinking about Trey too much, and my dirty mind was all too eager to explore the possibilities if I’d given in to his flirtations. As much as it pained me to admit it…Trey was gorgeous. The kind of movie star perfection that I’d always thought was makeup, Photoshop, and perfect lighting. And on top of that, the heat and confidence radiating off of him made it hard to think straight. He was distracting enough among a crowd of other reporters. I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like if we were ever alone in a room together.
Well, okay, I could imagine it.
That was the problem.
By the time I got back to my condo, I was in desperate need of an ice cold shower.
* * * *
The following morning, I raced into work, arriving twenty minutes early, and spent at least ten minutes stalking up and down the hallway outside Mr. Jones’ office while he wrapped up a conference call with the station’s managers. The day before, after reviewing my brief interview with Trey, he’d told me he’d be making some calls to put together a plan to get the exclusive interview and I was eager to hear what his plan was. The sooner I got the interview out of my way, the sooner I could get back on track to the reporting career of my dreams.
However, as I paced, I became increasingly nervous. What if he couldn’t find a way in? What if Trey refused to do an exclusive with me, or any other reporters? What if he changed his mind about the assignment altogether and gave it to someone else on staff?
By the time Mr. Jones finally came to the door to let me in, my heart had accelerated to a violent pounding against my ribs.
“Good morning, Josie.” He waved me into his office, and I quickly took a seat and anchored my feet in place to keep from clacking my heels against the floor.
“Morning.”
He took his seat behind his desk and I noted how much clutter was piled on the top. “As you know, I just got off the phone with the powers that be. I told them about our plan, and they agreed that Trey Delgado is going to be what the station needs to get back on track.”
I grinned, relief coursing through me. “That’s great!”
“They liked your piece, apparently the cowgirl getup was a big hit,” he flicked his eyes to the ceiling and my cheeks warmed.
“Well, I wasn’t planning to repeat that look…” I mumbled.
“In any case, they think you and Trey would make a pretty pair, and if you can work some of that fiery banter into the exclusive, we’ll have a hit!”
“They said that?” I was floored. The top managers at the station hadn’t known me from a stranger two days ago. Now they were ready to entrust me with a groundbreaking interview?
He nodded. “So, here’s the deal. The Warriors are going on a ten day stretch on the road. Rumor has it Delgado will play his first game as a Warrior on this trip. We want you to follow the team, going city to city, and see if you can wiggle your way in to an interview.”
Reality screeched to halt like a car wreck. “Wait—what?”
He gave me a blank stare, obviously not seeing the problem.
“Mr. Jones, you can’t be serious! Ten days?”
“Yes. Ten days. We’ve already got your plane tickets booked and your hotel accommodations are lined up, so you’ll be as close to the team as possible.”
“And…when is this happening?”
“You’ll fly out tomorrow morning.”
My jaw dropped open, a loss for words.
He gave an irritatingly calm shrug. “This is the job, Josie. If you don’t want it, that’s your choice. I’ve got seven other reporters who’d love to do it. It’s your call—but you can’t have it both ways.”
I remembered Danny’s pearls of wisdom from the day of the original interview. He warned me that I was being tested. My degree and honor cord weren’t enough to carry my ass in the real world. I needed to put in my time doing the grunt work and earn my way up from there.
I grit my te
eth together, resisting the urge to continue pleading my case. Mr. Jones wasn’t going to change his mind.
“So, Jo, what do you say? You ready to take those God-awful boots on the road?”
I found myself nodding, even smiling, before rising from my seat and stalking out of his office. “Sure.”
When I got back to my desk, my inbox held the boarding information for my flight to the first stop on the trip, Denver.
“Great…just great…” I growled to myself, hitting the print key so hard the keyboard creaked.
Chapter Seven
Josie
After leaving my meeting with Mr. Jones, I’d gone home to pack and console myself by pretending the ten-day trip was something of a mini-vacation. I’d be put up in hotels, have all my meals paid for by the station, and when I wasn’t on duty as a reporter, I could take a few hours to explore the cities I was staying in.
Apparently Mr. Jones wasn’t kidding about the budget restraints bound around the station. At least if the state of my hotel room was any indicator. It wasn’t dumpy, per se, but it wasn’t all that I’d imagined either. For whatever reason, traveling in an official capacity for a large news station looked a lot more glamourous in my head. The visions of first class flights and fancy hotel rooms were quickly shattered.
When I pushed through the door of my hotel room in Denver, I was reminded just how low on the totem pole I actually was.
“A-listing it all the way, huh, Jo?” I mumbled before throwing my suitcase onto the bed. I hadn’t packed much, but I hadn’t managed to stuff ten days’ worth of outfits into a carry-on bag. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to wrangle Trey into giving me an exclusive during the road trip, or if I would just be another face in the crowd the entire time, but either way—I wasn’t going to be caught in cut offs and cowboy boots again.
As soon as I checked out the room, I shucked out of my leggings, oversize tee-shirt dress, and ballet flats and hit the shower. I wanted the creepy airplane air off of my skin as soon as possible. When I got out, I toweled off and then wrapped my wet hair in the thin towel and threw on my navy blue cotton robe. After a day of travel, I had no intention of going anywhere. I was more than happy to settle into bed, order room service, and watch something on the station’s dime. It was the least they could do.