Personal Foul: A Quick Snap Novella

by Cala Riley

  Personal Foul

  Cala Riley

  Contents

  Personal Foul

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  The Quick Snap Novella Collection

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Author

  Personal Foul

  A Quick Snap Novella

  By Cala Riley

  Personal Foul

  A Quick Snap Novella

  Cala Riley

  Copyright @ 2020 by Cala Riley

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, except brief quotes used for reviews and certain other non-commercial uses, as per copyright laws. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Kari March Design

  Published by: Lady Boss Press, Inc.

  M.C. Decker, thank you for talking me off the cliff of deleting everything.

  - Riley

  Kristen & Lady Boss Press, thank you for taking a chance on us.

  Cala & Riley

  Prologue

  Breaking news! Star offensive lineman Garrett “Tank” Stone has been traded from New England to the Seattle Football Organization. Details of the trade are still surfacing, but it makes the public wonder why?

  In a previous interview, Stone has said this:

  “I can’t imagine playing for any other team. The Patriots are more than a job. They are my family. My career was born here and it will die here. Patriots for life.”

  With the turn of events, the public is left to speculate. Is there strife within the team? Does it have anything to do with the career-ending injury of their star quarterback, Alonzo Sanchez, from last season? Or did he make the request on his own?

  Stay tuned. We will bring you the updates live.

  Chapter 1

  Week 1

  Reagan

  “Shit.” I jump out of my chair, brushing off my skirt.

  As if today can’t get any worse.

  Walking through the door this morning, I thought it was another day at work. I was wrong. Seems even though I’m the director of college recruiting, I was assigned to greet our newest transfer.

  Garrett “Tank” Stone.

  My body shivers at the thought of his name. I drew the short straw and was chosen as his welcoming committee because we went to the same college. Who cares that we barely talked and when we did, it was only so he could hit on me.

  If the tabloids hold any truth, which they usually don’t, his playboy ways have only escalated throughout the years. Drinking and partying it up. No drugs, of course, or at least I’ve never seen them mentioned.

  So now I get to greet this sleezeball and act like I’m happy he’s here.

  Not to mention the fact that I now have to greet him with a coffee-stained skirt.

  Maybe I have time to run down to the boutique close by and get a change of clothes, I muse to myself.

  A knock on my door squashes that idea.

  My boss, Mr. Grant, opens the door, sticking his head in. “He’s here.”

  Nodding, I smooth down my skirt before making my way to the elevator to wait.

  Mr. Grant also stands by, waiting.

  When the doors open, I’m taken aback. Garrett was always attractive, but he’s downright sexy now. Dark hair, hazel eyes with gold flecks. Cheekbones that could cut glass and not one but two full sleeves of tattoos on his tan skin. Everything about him screams sex. Even the scar through his eyebrow is sexy. The slight smirk on his face tells me he knows it too.

  Same old Garrett.

  Stepping forward, Mr. Grant reaches his hand out to shake Garrett’s.

  “Welcome to your new home. We are happy to have you. Reagan will give you a tour and go over your paperwork with you. There is a team get-together tonight at Red Mill Burgers, I expect to see you there.”

  Garrett nods once. “Thank you for having me. I’ll be there.”

  “Great. You’re in excellent hands with Reagan.” Mr. Grant turns to leave.

  Garrett turns his attention on me. “Hello, Dove.”

  I roll my eyes. I get this sort of attention all the time. Being one of the few female employees supporting a huge football team comes with its downfalls. One of them being that this is a good ol’ boy’s club. Women are there for their pretty faces and not much else.

  Not that it’s right. It’s not, but it is what it is. I’m thankful I found myself a job here. They gave me a shot to prove myself, which cemented my place here. I’m not just a woman here. They see past my gender and respect me for who I am and what I can do.

  That doesn’t mean I don’t get the sexism from outside these walls though.

  “I won’t tolerate you speaking to me like that. You will address me as Ms. Kelly until you’ve earned the right to use my first name.”

  He lets out a quick laugh. “Still as feisty as ever. No college nicknames. Got it.”

  Shaking my head, I quip back, “It’s not a nickname when you call just about every girl it.”

  He steps closer. “I’ve never called another girl dove, but you keep on believing whatever you want. So are we going on this tour or what? Nice skirt, by the way.”

  I grit my teeth, “How about we start with your welcome packet first. Then we can go our separate ways at the Coach’s office.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I turn on my heel and walk back into my office. With my back to him, I take a deep breath before blowing it out slowly.

  Don’t let him see how much he affects you.

  “Breathing exercises, huh?”

  I ignore him and round my desk. I gather the folder with his name on it and flip it open.

  “Usually our HR person handles all this, but let’s see.” I sigh. “Here is a list of places to eat, companies for different services you might be interested in.”

  “Services, huh? What kind of services are we talking about?” He smirks.

  I ignore him and continue, “There is a home game day schedule and a travel schedule.” I look up and stare him in the eye as I shut the folder. “You know what, I know for a fact that you can read, so how about you just take this and we can continue on our merry way.” I push the folder forward on my desk for him to take.

  He’s sitting in the chair across from my desk, leg resting on his knee, body slouched. “But we were having so much fun catching up.”

  I pick the folder up, suppressing my eye roll as I round my desk. I slap the folder against his shoulder. “Come on.”

  I hear him shuffling to catch up. “Hold up, Kelly!”

  I ignore him and keep walking.

  Garrett

  Reagan Kelly, the only woman to ever make me look twice and want to get to know her. When I saw her, I was instantly hard with her long black hair that looked almost blue and porcelain skin I wanted to turn red. Then she opened her mouth, and I was a goner.

  Players weren’t required to wear helmets until 1943.

  Hearing her talk about the history of the game made me want to know more about her. So I asked around.

  Reagan Kelly, only daughter of Calen Kelly Jr., granddaughter of Cale
n Kelly Sr. Football Royalty. Calen Sr. was a first-generation Irish Immigrant who absolutely dominated the football field. Junior picked up the torch when it was his turn and lived up to his father’s legacy. The only place the Kelly men didn’t succeed in was love. Both married the girl next door only to lose them early on. If the news reports are anything to go by, they said fuck you to love and put everything into the game and raising Reagan together. She knows more about football than most players could ever dream of.

  The amount of shit I was able to dig up on her by asking around should have been concerning.

  Everyone knew her. All the guys wanted her. She shot me down at every turn, she shot everyone down.

  I don’t date athletes, sorry.

  My ego and my pride took a hit, but that’s okay.

  Maybe this move to Seattle won’t be too bad after all.

  Reagan snaps her fingers in my face. “Are you even paying attention, Stone?”

  I look around the field before looking down at Reagan. “You were talking about the stadium, it holds what, sixty-five thousand?”

  “Sixty-seven thousand.” She bends down and runs her hand along the fifty-yard line mark.

  “You drop something?” I bend down and start checking the turf.

  “No. When you go somewhere sacred you show your appreciation.” Her aggravation for me clear in her tone.

  “The field is sacred?” I don’t hide my surprise.

  “You know it is.” Reagan stands up and straightens her blouse. “Let’s go.”

  I follow behind her, watching her ass sway side to side.

  I can’t help but want to bite it.

  I groan, trying to shake my wayward thoughts.

  “You okay back there?” she asks over her shoulder.

  In that moment, the sunlight shining through her hair as her eyes cut to me just over her shoulder; I suddenly believe in heaven. She looks like an angel standing there, blessing me with her presence.

  “Just peachy.” I blow out a breath, trying to think of something to keep her talking. “So what’s there to do around here? Every time I’ve been here, it’s been a quick in and out trip.”

  At least I think it was. Truth be told, most cities I’ve visited always ended at the club with bottle service. By the next morning, I was always hungover and on a plane home with little to no recollection of the night before.

  “If you like water, we have Elliott Bay on the west side and Lake Washington in the east. You can go island hopping. There’s plenty of National Parks close by to go hiking. If you like shopping, you have all the usual places, but we have Pike Place Market, which is unlike any other. Of course the Space Needle and any museum you could possibly want to visit.”

  “Sounds like I have plenty of options.”

  “You do. If you haven’t bought one yet, you should probably get an umbrella though.” She walks down the tunnel.

  “Are you worried about me getting wet?” I tease.

  “I’m worried about our new offensive lineman getting sick during the season. I need you to be worth the money we spent,” she deadpans.

  “I’m feeling the love, mi reina.”

  My queen. I freeze at the words. It’s a term of endearment that’s common in my culture, but in my family, it means more. My papa calls my madre, reina. Growing up, I already knew it would be the term dedicated to my wife.

  So why did it slip out now?

  Reagan spins around, giving me a condemning look. She opens her mouth to speak but is cut off.

  “There he is!” Coach approaches us from farther down the tunnel.

  Reagan steps next to me and turns to face Coach.

  “You aware you have something on your skirt there, Kelly?” Coach asks.

  Reagan’s smile is forced. “I am, but this guy needed help finding his way to you.” She looks between the two of us before sticking her hand out towards me. “Welcome to the Seahawks. I hope you have a great season.”

  I take her hand and bring it to my lips. “Thank you. Only good things to come.” I smirk.

  Reagan’s eyes flare with hatred before she can school her features.

  “Gentlemen.” She takes a step back and walks away, leaving me in the tunnel with Coach.

  Coach laughs. “That girl is a spitfire.”

  “Oh, I know.” I bite my lip and watch her walk away.

  Coach coughs, gaining my attention. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

  “Nah, Reagan and I go way back.”

  “She turn you down too?”

  “What makes you ask that?”

  “Because she’s turned down every single guy on the team.” Coach laughs, smacking my shoulder. “Come on, let me show you the locker room and weight room.”

  I follow Coach but have no idea what he’s saying. All I can think about is how I need to make Reagan Kelly mine.

  Garrett

  I walk into Red Mill Burgers after talking to Coach and touring the locker room and weight room. I tell the hostess who I’m looking for and she takes me back to a private room. Will Montgomery makes his way to me as soon as he sees me.

  “Garrett Stone, welcome.” He shakes my hand with a friendly smile.

  “Thanks for having me,” I tell him while I look around the room at the other players. “I never would have thought this room was back here.”

  Will laughs. “We eat here a lot. Best burgers in Seattle.”

  Will looks around the room, whistling, getting everyone’s attention. All at once, everyone moves towards the table and takes a seat.

  “That’s a nice little trick,” I tease.

  Will smirks, lowering into his seat. The waitress comes by and takes our orders. I order water while some of the other guys order a beer.

  “Water? Are you shitting me? I thought you were the king of kicking back with women and a drink,” Solomon Lee teases.

  “I love a good drink, but I’m abstaining this season. Or trying to.” I shrug. “As for women, well let’s just say I have my eye on one and only one.”

  Lee nods, respect shining in his eyes. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  Everyone breaks into their own conversations and I sit back and observe.

  “You know, I’m not worried.”

  I turn and look at Will. “Not worried about what?”

  “You not having my back.”

  “Yeah, well Alonzo Sanchez wasn’t worried either,” I say bitterly.

  “Accidents happen. You know the consequences now and will try your hardest not to let it happen.”

  Before I can respond, I hear someone say her name.

  “Reagan is fucking killing me. She has zero interest in looking at this guy when she should.”

  “Reagan’s the best, if she says your guy isn’t right for us then she’s probably right. Take your rose-colored glasses off and take a step back,” someone else says.

  “Are you taking her side? She’s being a bitch and we both know it,” he snipes.

  “Watch it,” I say harshly, getting his attention. “You will not talk about her like that around me, do you understand?”

  He scoffs. “Trust me, the ice queen has been called worse.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t give a fuck. If you say her name, it better be positive otherwise, we’re going to have an issue,” I warn.

  The kid waves off my comment and switches topics.

  “You know her, huh?” the guy to my left asks.

  I turn towards him. “Yeah, we went to the same college and had some of the same friends.”

  He points to his chest. “Jude Taylor. Kelly recruited me, she’s good people.”

  “The best.” I nod.

  “Just be careful. There’s a lot more to her than most realize.”

  -

  Chapter 2

  Week Two

  Garrett

  It’s been days since I’ve seen Reagan, but she hasn’t been far from my mind. When I see her walking out of Coach’s office, I rush to catch up with
her. “Reagan, wait.”

  She turns around, rolling her eyes and walks away again.

  “Wait, Kelly!” I yell.

  “I’m busy, Stone. I don’t have time for small talk,” she says over her shoulder.

  “How about I just walk with you?” I fall into step next to her.

  Reagan huffs. “Fine.”

  “How have you been?”

  “All right, and yourself?” She sighs.

  “I’m doing all right. Got my place unpacked. Found a good grocery delivery service.” I look down at her and see her looking at a list of names on her tablet. “What do you have there?”

  “Prospects.”

  “Anyone from our alma mater?”

  “They have a guy or two I have my eye on, but I haven’t decided anything yet.”

  “Too young?”

  She crosses the threshold into her office and walks behind her desk. “They have potential, but I don’t think they are ready yet. This season should make or break them.”

  “If anyone can get them ready, it’s Coach, and you know a good thing when you see it.”

  “He can and will.” Reagan looks me over. “What do you want, Stone?”

  I go to sit down in the chair across from her desk, but remember I just finished working out and need a shower. “There’s only one thing I want.”

  “And that is?” She raises her brow.

  “I want to take you out for dinner.”

  Reagan laughs. “Yeah, that isn’t going to happen.”

  “Come on, Reagan, why not?”