Page 62 of The Dating Contract

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Looking forward toit. Goodnight.

Leah’s entire world had been changed by those six words.

At least that’s how it felt.

Tangled threads looked braided, and she’d typed words that she could no longer take back.

Her head was spinning.

Misguided invitations and so many other things were going on.

Luckily, Thursday was an office day and there were things she needed to talk to Bruck about; unfortunately something she’d seen online that morning had reminded her how important it might be to have a crisis PR rep on call to deal with any issues that arose with the Empires once Carly made it clear she was trying to join the team.

As she was making her list, her desk phone beeped twice, indicating the office intercom.

“Leah?”

“Hi, Bruck,” she said after she picked up the receiver. “What’s going on?”

“Can you come to my office? I need to talk to you about something.”

She smiled. “On my way.”

Thinking about timing and threads, her smile turned into a grin as she headed down the hall. “Hey,” she said as she walked into his office, “you wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few things to talk about,” Bruck said.

She nodded, settled into the chair in front of his desk. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Good. I like that you’re prepared. Anyway, I heard back from my contact about the betting company?”

“Oh great,” she said, taking the notes; athletes were getting more and more intertwined with betting companies and it was important to know the details no matter what she felt about them. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “Anything else on your mind?”

“I actually have another question,” she said.

“Okay,” he said. “Talk to me.”

“I’m starting to play phone tag with my contact at the Empires about one of my clients. Long story short, there was a two-party contract, with the major party being public, but the minor party being private until such time as the client’s ready. Client is ready and the minor party, which has always been the Empires, is going to take over.”

“So Carly’s ready?”

She wondered how she could have thought Bruck wasn’t paying attention to her, her business or her clients. “Yes,” she said. “Spoke to her a few days ago and she confirmed, so phone tag.”

“Great,” he said. “Oh I forgot to ask you about the gala. How was it?”

Of course, the gala had been on her mind…heavily. But Leah had a feeling her boss didn’t want to hear about where her lips had been, or who she’d spent the night with and the day after texting.

Which meant she had to pull herself together. “Good,” she finally said. “They did a great job; the speeches were wonderful.”

“Glad to hear it. I wanted to go,” he confessed, “but my wife had other plans. But anyway…so Carly told you she’s ready. Glad the news hadn’t gotten out.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling again. “Not our first time on this merry-go-round. We had the conversation in private, and you’re the first person I’ve really discussed it with.”

Bruck’s nod of approval was everything.

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