Page 96 of Love Game

Jonas peeked at the figure written on the scrap of paper, and his eyebrows flew toward his hairline. A laugh escaped him as he looked up and nodded. “He did. I almost feel bad about taking a cut of that.”

“Feel free to waive your percentage on any terms you didn’t negotiate,” she said mildly.

“I said almost,” her agent quickly replied.

Smirking, Kate turned her attention back to the athletic director. “And the other terms?”

Mike shook his head, conceding defeat in the face of her persistence. “I can’t do anything about the stadium situation until we have ticket sales to justify the change, but we do have a donor who has pledged a generous sum toward the improvement of the practice facilities.”

“Have you now?” Kate turned toward Richard Donner, an amused smile tugging at her mouth. “I wonder who it could be?”

“Of course, there are some stipulations on the money,” Richard warned.

“What kind of stipulations?” Danny asked, speaking up for the first time, his wary gaze on the wealthy alumnus.

“The Richard W. Donner Athletic Complex,” the man announced, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

As always, Kate was both amused and annoyed by the man’s desperate need for glory. She’d been so sure he’d be unable to resist, she’d banked her entire career on it. “Sounds wonderful. As always, thank you for your generous support of our programs.”

“Yes, thank you,” Mike echoed, then elbowed Danny sharply.

“Thank you,” he managed to grunt.

Donner nodded, accepting their gratitude as his due, then turned to Kate. “I’m just glad you caught me in the flyover states. It’s a helluva lot harder to file a change of flight plan when you’re out over the Pacific, you know.”

Danny, Mike, Gene, and Jonas all turned to her in unison.

“You did this?” Danny asked.

“I should have known,” Mike muttered.

“Way to go, Coach,” Gene said, leaning back in his chair and gazing up at her with blatant admiration.

Only Jonas dared to laugh. “That’s our Kate. She plays hard, and she plays to win.”

Richard Donner turned to Danny and offered his hand. “You’re a lucky man, Coach McMillan.”

“Don’t I know it,” Danny said, fixing an unsettling, blue stare on her.

A few beats of awkward silence filled the room, and Kate forced herself not to fidget under her husband’s intense scrutiny. If he thought he could psych her out when she already had the game in hand, the man had another think coming.

“Speaking of lucky men,” Donner prompted, breaking the tension.

Mike sprang into action like a windup toy. “Oh! Right.” He pulled a key card out of his pocket and held it out to them. “I can handle the nitty-gritty stuff with Gene and Jonas. You two have better things to do.”

Danny glanced at the key card. “We do?”

“It’s your wedding night,” Donner boomed, grinning expansively. “Chancellor Martin thought securing the honeymoon suite for two important personnel would be a nice gesture on the part of the university.”

Danny shrank back from the key as if it were a snake. A dull red flush crept up his neck. “Oh, he did, did he?”

Before things got too far out of hand, Kate snatched the key from Mike’s fingertips and reached for Danny’s hand. “Well, that was right nice of him,” she drawled. “Wasn’t that nice, sugarplum?” she cooed, fluttering her lashes at her husband.

In an instant, all that intensity zeroed in on her. “No. No sugarplum.”

Tugging on his hand, she started for the door. “Come on, honey lamb. Let’s leave the nice vipers to earn their cut off the top.”

“No honey lamb either,” he said, shooting a warning glare at his old friend when Mike started to snicker.

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