Page 18 of Game On

And he hadn’t bribed his way into this job, thank you very much, no matter how much Charlie and Matt liked to joke that he had. Sure, he’d made a large donation to the organization’s charitable arm. A week before he’d applied. And sure, he’d mentioned that he was a fan and a donor in his cover letter—even though the first thing was patently false.

If the people in HR or Mark or whoever had screened resumés had gone into his donor profile and seen just how large a sum he’d donated before calling him in for an interview, that wasn’t his fault. He’d mentioned it in his cover letter, which he’d truly thought nobody read anymore.

Dorian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “How do you know the other candidates were more qualified? You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’re full of yourself.”

“Sure. When I know what I’m doing and know I can do it well. And Stanley.” Dorian leaned forward. “I know how to do this job, and I do it well.”

Looking right at him, expressionless, Stanley tugged his giant earphones over his ears and pressed a button on his phone. Music, presumably. A not-so-subtle I’m done talking to you.

Dorian couldn’t help but be a little amused, mostly because it was something he would do.

He got lost in work for a while, though he was much too conscious that Jamie was nearby. Only a few steps down the hallway, smiling like he’d meant it when he’d told Matt that he was happy to be here.

Which begged the question: why was he happy to be here? Had something happened in Charlotte that had forced him to flee?

Dorian typed Jamie’s name into a search bar, stalling over the Enter button.

He couldn’t.

Could he?

Fuck his life. No, he couldn’t. Twenty-four hours ago, maybe. Now that he’d met Jamie, googling him felt vaguely creeper-like.

“What are you doing?”

“Gah!” Slamming the laptop closed, he swivelled in his chair and stared up at his cousin. “Nothing. Working. That’s what I do here. Work. And stuff.”

Matt’s expression didn’t change, but one eyebrow went up. “Uh-huh. Come into Mark’s office, will you?”

The immediate sense of being in trouble had Dorian’s heart double-timing it into his throat. His hand clenched on the back of the chair and the creases of his elbows went sweaty.

He had no idea what was on his face, but Stanley smirked at him.

Dorian scowled back and followed after Matt.

CHAPTER FOUR

“What about a video?”

“Nah,” Dorian said in response to Mark’s suggestion. “We’ve got those player videos I’ll be doing before the playoffs, and there’d be no point in doing one for Jamie then if we do one now.”

Jamie, seated in one of Mark’s office chairs, glanced from Dorian to Mark before his gaze was quickly drawn back to Dorian as his long legs ate up the carpet from window to door and back again. He was all energy while he paced, hands on his hips, fingers tapping against his belt. His movements were smooth and graceful, like a fish cutting through water. Jamie felt like a clunky lug in comparison, even just sitting in a chair.

Hell, he’d felt like a clunky lug since he’d arrived with Coach Shore. Everyone at the office was in business casual. Jamie was in sweats and his new Orcas hoodie. Only the GM had been dressed in a suit, but he’d left for another meeting.

Oh, and finding out that Dorian worked for the organization as the Orcas’ social media coordinator? He wasn’t just tangentially involved with the team as Coach’s cousin... he was one hundred percent, both feet in the mud, completely involved with the team.

Which made this inconvenient attraction even more inconvenient. Maybe Dorian would turn out to be an asshole or an enemy to dogs or something and the physical attraction would fizzle and die like his last relationship.

So not a good comparison.

Dorian, Mark, and Coach Shore had been swapping ideas for an introductory social media post for the past few minutes, something to “introduce Jamieson to Vancouver’s fan base,” per Mark. “Preferably before the end of the day.”

“Twenty questions?” Coach offered, long legs extended in front of him.

“No.” Dorian snapped his fingers. “But you’re on the right track.” He turned to Mark. “What about something that encourages engagement? Two truths and a lie? We can encourage fans to guess the lie and post the answer in a couple of days.”

---