Page 6 of Game On

“Are you suggesting your image couldn’t use a little public relations help?” Hank challenged.

Roscoe answered before Shane could damage his image further. “He’s suggesting nothing of the kind,” his agent said as the heel of his shoe made contact with Shane’s shin beneath the table.

“Good,” the GM replied, leaning back in his chair, one ankle propped over the other knee. He peered over steepled fingers at Shane. “We take our responsibilities for encouraging proper values in the community very seriously. Every member of the Blaze family is expected to adhere to a certain standard of conduct both on and off the field. You’ve had some very negative publicity with your off-the-field antics lately. You also have a reputation of bucking the team’s system when it comes to dress codes and curfews. Everyone on this team follows our rules, Devlin. No exceptions.”

Shane resisted the urge to squirm in his chair, instead maintaining an insolent slouch. He’d spent years cultivating his renegade reputation. Most of it was an act; a shield to keep people from getting too close. Best of all, his so-called bad behavior helped to wipe a bit of the sheen off the Devlin name. Shane meant to bring down his father any way he could.

Hank lectured on: “As a team, we believe we have everything in place to win the Super Bowl this season. Gabe Harrelson’s little honeymoon mishap may have been unexpected, but there are still a few months until the season starts. Time enough for you to learn our system and lead us where we need to go. You’re smart. You’re talented. And you’re here because everyone in this organization believes you can do the job. Leave the bad-ass behavior on the West Coast and come here to play and we’ll be fine. Are we clear with this?”

“Well, of course,” Roscoe said, again not giving Shane a chance to speak. “Gabe Harrelson was well liked by folks in the area. Shane wants to do everything he can to earn the respect of all the Blaze fans, too.” Roscoe finished his sappy speech by shooting Carly his Boy Scout grin, which was beginning to piss Shane off.

“Excellent,” Hank said, placing his hands firmly on the table in front of him. “Asia will put the wheels in motion. While she’s recovering, Carly here will accompany you on the press tour around town.” With that declaration, Hank Osbourne stood, putting an end to the meeting.

Shane was still reeling over the fact that not only was he going to have to pander to the media, he’d be doing it with Dorothy by his side. Not a good scenario. Sure his image wasn’t the most pristine. He’d been wild in his younger days. But lately, he’d managed to stay out of trouble, just not out of the tabloids. Thanks to his celebrity, every move he made, every relationship he had, was chronicled at the supermarket checkout lanes, further fueling his bad-boy image. He hadn’t done much to refute that image. It hadn’t mattered to him what people thought.

Until now.

He wanted to tell Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz exactly where they could shove their image makeover; he would do his job as the team’s quarterback, and they could leave his moral compass the hell alone.

But they had him where they wanted him. Shane knew if he wanted to play football, he’d be expected to adhere to the prescribed “values.” Otherwise, he was screwed. He needed the Blaze as much as they needed him.

Roscoe quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn’t say anything. They’d known each other too long for Shane not to know what he was thinking. He’d get the speech about being reckless and disrespectful later. He’d heard it so often, he could probably give the speech to himself. Still, he was peeved and he needed some breathing room.

“Well, I guess that covers it,” Roscoe said, clearly wanting to get out of the room before someone on the Blaze changed his mind about Shane.

They all stood to file out of the conference room. Carly hung back to gather her documents. Slender fingers stacked and re-stacked them into a neat pile. Shane leaned in as he passed her and murmured, “We’ll catch up later to discuss my world tour, Dorothy.”

He wasn’t sure, but he thought she flinched as he brushed by her. Good.

Carly let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and quickly collected her papers. That didn’t go well at all! She was still mortified by her near encounter with Shane in Cabo. It didn’t look like he was going to go easy on her, either. She’d wanted to come clean to him before the meeting, but there hadn’t been time. It would have been awkward to do it in front of a crowd. Sure, maybe she and Shane would have laughed about it, but Hank? Probably not. She needed to apologize to Shane and clear the air. He probably thought she was some crazy tease. Not that she’d blame him. Maybe she could catch him before he got to the training wing.

As she hurried through the door she collided with a broad, muscular chest. Strong arms enfolded her in a tight hug and she let out a squeal.

“Hey, gorgeous. Where’s the fire?”

“You mean the fireworks!” She buried her face against his fleece Blaze sweatshirt, her body beginning to relax after the meeting she’d been dreading for two days.

Two strong fingers brought her chin up and she looked into the smiling green eyes of the Blaze head coach, Matt Richardson. A former NFL player, Matt was tall and well built. His sandy brown hair was damp from the rain. He was dressed in his “uniform” of athletic shoes, khaki pants, and a gray sweatshirt. The trademark smile he greeted Carly with had, at one time, endorsed everything from soup to athlete’s foot cream.

“I take it my new quarterback was a bit of a hothead?” Matt released her, taking a step back to get a better look at her. “I hope that’s sunburn making you so red and not Devlin’s bad attitude.”

“No, he was fine. I’m sure we’ll have no problem working together.” At least she hoped there wouldn’t be a problem.

“Good.” Matt pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Because if he gives you any trouble, he’ll have to answer to me.” He gave her arms a gentle squeeze before releasing her fully.

“Can you still get away this afternoon?” he asked softly.

She nodded.

“Great. I’d better get over to the training facility and meet our new addition. I’ve got some ground rules I want to lay down as well.” He walked toward the conference room door, but before leaving, he lifted his hand to gently brush her cheek. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked. “I feel really bad Asia’s injury cut into your trip. You needed the rest.”

“I’m fine.” She tried to infuse as much reassurance into her voice as she could.

“All right then. I want to hear all about Mexico over dinner. Deal?” he called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

“It’s a date,” she replied with a smile, knowing full well she wasn’t going to tell him all that went on in Cabo.

Sighing, she picked up the last of the paperwork. She’d barely made it out of the conference room before colliding with another hard body. This time, she looked up into the stormy eyes of Shane Devlin.

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