Page 133 of Vegas Heat

And then I get an idea. “Follow me,” I say, and we head down to the weight room.

We find a very hot and sexy Cooper as he works on the rowing machine. Danny Brewer is on a squat machine nearby, and Rush Ross is lifting what looks like a fairly heavy weight on the bench press with Nick, the trainer, spotting him from above. We take some footage of the guys doing their thing since it is, after all, part of what happens in this stadium.

And as I take a video of Cooper on the rowing machine, I can’t help but think part of me is taking it for my own personal use.

He wears a hat backward on his head, and he glances up at me as I take the video. His eyes flick from my chest up to my lips before landing on my eyes, and a salacious smile lifts his lips as he narrows his eyes at me a little. The sheen of sweat makes him somehow glow even hotter than usual. He isn’t wearing a shirt, and I don’t think our female judges are going to complain about the view.

In fact, I think the way he just looked at me and shot me that sexy little smile—as caught on camera…that’s what’s going to help us win the challenge.

I make sure to get a little footage of Rush and Danny, too, and then we head back toward the offices to find a quiet place to share footage and edit it into one amazing video.

We meet back in Joanie’s office at the end of our time limit. “I’d like to introduce you to the judges,” she says as we all wait patiently to showcase our videos. “First is me, of course. And then we have Zelda,” she pauses dramatically as Zelda walks in the room, waving to us all. “Caitlin,” she calls, and Caitlin from marketing walks in with a wide smile. “Trainer Nick,” she says, and the man from the weight room comes in. “And finally, third baseman Mr. Cooper Noah.”

My chest races at the mention of his name, and his eyes find mine when he walks in. He glances away quickly, but after we made him the star of our video, I feel like we’ve got a pretty good shot to win.

We watch Justin and Mackenzie’s video first, though Joanie doesn’t say which video belongs to which team. It’s pretty obvious by the way Justin preens thinking how great it is. Theirs is mostly shots of the stadium from the outside, and they tell a story of what it would be like to walk through the doors on game day as a fan.

Brian, Chase, and Dylan’s video is next, and they show snippets of different parts of the stadium, focusing on the dugout and the locker room.

Our video is last.

We start with the outside of the stadium, and then we have a few shots inside, too—the seats, the field, the dugout. We head into the locker room for a few sweeping shots, and then we show the batting cages and finally, the weight room. We end with shots of the players. Rush first, then Danny, and then that gorgeous look Cooper gave me, the smile lifting his lips the final image on the screen.

The image that will stick in my mind for days.

Cooper chuckles a little at the end, but hehasto know how freaking sexy he is.

“Wow,” Caitlin says, clearing her throat as our video wraps.

Nobody said anything like that after the other two videos.

“The judges will now write down a one, two, or three to indicate which video they think is the best.” The judges hide their papers as they write, and then Joanie collects the papers and reads them.

I catch Cooper’s eye, and he nods a little as if to tell me he voted for mine.

Joanie clears her throat. “Well, it’s unanimous. All five judges chose video three, so congratulations to Chloe and Gabby for earning a point for this first challenge.”

I hear Mackenzie scoff a little, but that’s the only reaction from the group other than Chloe and me high fiving.

The judges head out, and when Cooper passes by me, he says, “Congratulations.”

I melt.

I don’t even know why, but hearing that single word that feels like praise coming from him means everything to me.

I can’t wait to do more things to earn his praise.

CHAPTER 10: GABBY

“Before I left, Mackenzie told me it wasn’t fair I was in contention for the job since my dad’s the manager,” I tell Cooper later that night as we sit down to dinner at my dad’s kitchen table. He’s not home, and we’re feasting on some chicken Cooper ordered in from some restaurant nearby.

“Did she say anything about Justin?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Apparently it’s different since Justin’s dad is a business manager, not theteammanager.” I shrug.

“Nepotism is nepotism, right?”

I shrug. “I think only when it’s me.”

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