Page 6 of Sacrifice Bunt

Or, you know, nothing, which was how he preferred to picture her.

“You look...” words evaded him, and even if they didn't, he wasn't sure he should say gorgeous. That probably wasn't smart with how she was glaring at him. “You look great,” he opted for instead, trying to change his voice so he didn't seem so desperate. And he was fucking desperate for any morsel of acknowledgment from her.

Any attention from her would be welcome. A touch would be great, but a kiss would be even better. Neither was going to happen.

She cleared her throat. “You look good.” She averted her eyes, so he wasn’t even sure she was looking at him, but he’d take the compliment. “Let me grab my purse, and we can get out of here.” He held the door open while she grabbed her purse, and then let her go first out the door where he followed her down the hall to the elevator, trying hard not to stare at her ass the whole way. Inside the elevator, they were quiet, neither of them saying anything as they rode down. Exiting into the lobby, he let her lead him outside, where she had a car waiting.

“After you,” he said, holding the car door open.

That earned him a glare as she slid inside the car. He slid in behind her, her perfume lingering in the air. Bold and rich, just like her. Being trapped in a small car with her was his idea of a good time. He highly doubted she saw it the same way.

“Hannah sent me the talking points, and it seems like the deal is pretty much finalized. This meeting is more of a formality. Do you have any questions?” It was the first time she had looked directly at him since she’d opened the door to her hotel room.

Her deep brown eyes entranced him, and he wasn’t sure he could speak, let alone string together coherent words.

She was all business like he knew she would be when he was thinking of anything but the deal. “I don't think so. We've been working on this for a while, and honestly, I still have no idea why Power Punch picked me, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

She turned her body even more to face him, tilting her head to the side. “You have no idea why they picked you? From the information Hannah sent me, it looks like you were their number one choice, and they've just been biding their time, hoping that you'd come to them versus them coming to you.”

He shrugged, trying to come off like it didn’t matter. In reality, he’d been over the moon when Hannah had told him about their excitement. “I mean, I don't cause any problems. I'm never on the news. I play the game, and I go home. That's about it. So I guess maybe that's why they want me.”

That was all true. He didn't go out. He didn't stir the pot, and he didn't cause problems. He loved baseball more than anything. Loved playing it, loved watching it, and loved reading about it. From the smell of the stadium to the sound of the fans and everything in between. He loved everything about baseball. He never wanted to do anything to jeopardize that love.

Not to mention, his mind was consumed with one woman and one woman only since the day he’d walked in on her naked and spread eagle on his couch years ago. Women didn’t interest him unless they were Zara, except that wasn't ever happening. He’d had a few sex partners in the last couple of years, but they were only sex. Just to try and get Zara off his mind. He’d gotten very familiar with the feel of his hand on his dick.

––––––––

He had to say, it was a pretty good companion. It didn't talk back, didn't piss him off, didn’t make snide comments, and the best part, didn’t care that he was always fantasizing about another woman when they were together. It was a win-win situation.

“I'm sort of mad that I turned down being your agent. The commission alone from Power Punch could set me up for life. This is a five-year contract. A five-year contract with one of the biggest companies in the world. A sports drink company at that. I’d be swimming in the money, laying on the beach reading books with no cares in the world.”

A hint of a smile turned up her lips. No wonder she rarely smiled in his presence. His dick was never going to go soft again, all from that smile. “Is that what you want? To lay on the beach with no cares in the world? You don't strike me as the type of person who lays around and does nothing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her smile was gone, replaced with a frown.

“I'm just saying, you look like you'd much rather be working and making business deals than laying on a beach, relaxing in a chair.”

“Are you saying I don't know how to relax?” Anger laced her voice.

He chuckled, hoping to calm her down. “That's not what I'm saying at all. You just don’t strike me as the sort of person who would be happy relaxing in a chair over making a deal in a boardroom or at dinner, or wherever you make deals. It seems to me that you like running people’s lives, helping us make good choices, and finding the best ways to live our lives.”

Her lips flattened. No smile or frown. They were completely neutral. “I do like those things, but I think I could also enjoy relaxing on the beach with a margarita in my hand.”

“Never said you couldn't.”

“You know, you're really annoying sometimes.”

“Never claimed I wasn't.” He tried not to smile, but it was impossible.

The car came to a stop much too quickly, leaving him wishing they had many more minutes alone in the car. “I guess we're here,” he said, opening the door and sliding out. He held out his hand to help her from the car, but, just as he assumed, she denied it and got out on her own. He should hate that she didn’t seem to want to touch him. Instead, it had him wondering why she went out of her way to make sure she never did.

There wasn't time to dwell on it, because as soon as they entered the restaurant, the executives from Power Punch were waiting. These were the bigwigs. The people who sent other people to do their work and then came swooping in at the end to take the credit.

“It's great to meet you,” Zara said. She was friendly and happy, something he’d rarely seen from her before. “I'm sorry you’re stuck with me instead of Hannah tonight.”

“We totally understand,” a tall man said as he shook Zara’s hand. “We’ve heard great things about you. I'm Kevin, and this is Stacy.”

Noah shook both Kevin's and Stacy’s hands. “It’s great to meet you. Your team has been easy to work with.” It was the truth. The lower execs at Power Punch had treated him like a king throughout the process.

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