Page 7 of The Owner

CHAPTER THREE

Brantley

“Should we head up?” Zara asks as I send an email from my phone. We’re in the back of a limousine in the private parking lot of Speedy Mobile Arena in Cincinnati. Game One of the Stoney Cup playoffs is about to start in less than an hour.

I hope the boys are zeroed in. They’re ready. I know they are. They just have tobelievethey’re going to win.

“Let’s go,” I say as I open the door and head out. I fix my suit as Zara and a few other of my top executives step out, looking both excited and nervous. I keep a calm face on. It’s important as the captain of the ship to set the right tone.

We head upstairs through the back where it’s all staff, reporters, and security. I have a private box waiting for me—a courtesy that the owners’ give to one another.

I just want to get to my seat and get focused on the game, but when I step out of the elevator on the luxurious floor where the private boxes are located, I see something that rocks me to my core.

Standing in front of a camera, speaking into a microphone is the most compelling woman I’ve ever seen.

I’m entranced by her. I can’t look away. She’s far enough that I can’t hear what she’s saying, but she’s close enough to know that I want her.

I want her like I’ve never wanted anything before. I want her so badly it scares me.

I’m a man who can get anything he wants. A private jet? That’s a snap of my fingers. A private villa on Lake Como? One phone call. A sit-down with the President of the United States? Forty-eight hours later, I’ll be sipping tea in the Oval Office.

But her?

I don’t know if I can get her. And that thought is terrifying.

Love is something even billionaires cannot buy.

“Riley MacIntosh,” Zara whispers in my ear as she sidles up to me. “Owner of the Cincinnati Vipers.”

“That’sRiley MacIntosh?” I say, unable to take my eyes off her.

I was expecting… I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t to see the girl of my dreams. I’m completely thrown here, and I’m a man whonevergets thrown.

Zara rifles through her bag and pulls out a magazine.

“Sports Animated Magazine wrote an article on her,” she says as she hands me the magazine. “It makes her lookveryimpressive.”

I force my eyes off her to look at the magazine in my hands. She’s on the cover, looking ravishing in front of a Zamboni. The sleeves of her oil-stained white blouse are rolled up her arms and she’s got a look of determination on her stunning face. I smile when I see a streak of oil on her cheek.

The Owner Who Can Do It Allis written underneath.

I’m in awe as I stare at the photo. I roll up the magazine and tuck it under my arm as I look at her in the flesh once again.

She’s amazing. She looks so confident as she answers the interviewer’s questions and I’m immediately taken with her.

Her blonde hair is pulled back into a bun and I love it because there’s not one hair hiding her flawless face. I’m mesmerized by her green eyes that look so alert and full of determination.

My eyes roam down her body and I can barely breathe as I take in the gorgeous view. She’s wearing a beautiful black dress, which is both classy and sexy at the same time. It makes me all light-headed. My heart pounds as I stare at her, trying to memorize every inch of her curves.

“Do you want to meet her?” Zara whispers in my ear.

I don’t take my eyes off her. “More than anything.”

Zara heads over and introduces herself to her people. A lady in a pantsuit who was just talking to Zara whispers in my girl’s ear and she looks over at me.

I get a jolt of something fierce when we make eye contact.

She promptly ends the interview, excuses herself, and comes over, marching right up to me with a gleam in her stunning green eyes.

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