Page 75 of Vegas Heat

“Thank you all so much,” Kaylee says. “This has been great and I’m so excited to get started.”

She seems sweet, although when Cooper tackle hugged her when she walked in, I felt my hackles rise as my claws started to emerge…until I realized I have no ownership over him. He’s free to hug whomever he wants. He made that pretty damn clear.

And I also caught the way he stiffened when Justin walked into the room and sat beside me. I’m not saying I’m going to take advantage of that, but I’m not saying I’m not going to, either.

“Let me just check in with HR, and they’ll send a copy of our intern contract so you can get started,” Joanie says, and she heads to her desk and taps around.

I glance over at Justin, who looks a little bored. He’s probably early-twenties like me, and if nothing else, maybe I can make a friend.

“Are you at UNLV?” I ask while Joanie gets my paperwork together.

He shakes his head. “I was. I graduated last year.”

My brows dip. “So what are you doing interning here?”

“I took a sabbatical, and my dad told me I had to get a job when I got back.” He shrugs, and I laugh.

“A sabbatical? Do you mean a gap year?”

He offers a wry smile. “Sabbatical sounds better. But very few employers are excited about hiring someone with zero experience who took a year off from the real world, so my dad hooked me up with this gig.”

“Where’d you go on your sabbatical?” I ask, suddenly full of questions.

“Europe for a while, and then I headed to Australia and worked in a bar there for a few months to make dear old Dad happy.” He rolls his eyes, and he seems like the kind of boy who gives his dad a ton of trouble but has the sort of winning smile that gets him out of it most of the time.

“And how was it?”

He shakes his head and closes his eyes. “I didn’t want to come back. It fulfilled that dream of freedom and independence and it was just the fucking best.”

“But your dad made you?”

He nods. “He’s one of the executives I’m sure your dad introduced you to up in the front office. Dean Larson, Executive Vice President and Business Manager of the Vegas Heat.” He rolls his eyes and leans in, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I don’t evenlikebaseball.”

“I totally heard that,” Joanie calls from her desk. “I promise I won’t tell.” We both laugh.

“So what do you want to do for your career, then?” I ask Justin.

He shrugs. “Something that will allow me freedom, independence, creativity, and travel.”

“Sounds like you need to figure out something where you can work for yourself.”

He glances up so his eyes meet mine. “Or find something where I can partner up with pretty girls.” He raises a brow, and I feel my cheeks heat.

Joanie walks over with a tablet, and she sets it in front of me. “Fill out these forms and let me know if you have any questions. Justin, you can head back to Caitlin’s office. I think she has some graphic design work for you.”

He nods, and then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He hands it to me. “Text yourself.”

My brows dip in confusion.

“Text yourself so you have my number,” he clarifies. “You know…in case we need to get in touch about our project.”

“Oh,” I say dumbly. Is he asking me for my number? Well, no. He’s demanding my number, but it seems innocent enough. “Sure.” I tap in the number, send myself a text that says Gabby Grant, and hand it back.

“Nice to meet you, Gabby Grant,” he says, and his fingers brush mine when he takes his phone.

“You too, Justin Larson.”

He grins, and then he walks out of Joanie’s office, and I’m left wondering whether the cute boy who just gave me his number is interested in friendship or something else.

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