Page 20 of Not A Chance

I could teach a college class on media relations at this point. I didn’t say any of that, though. The last thing I wanted to do was ever draw attention to my background. I couldn’t help who my family was. I absolutely did not want to draw attention to the fact that I was here because of nepotism.

“On second thought, you’re going to need to censor Campbell. Make sure you reiterate that they are obligated to give us final approval on the article. You never know what that wildebeest will say.”

“No problem. You can count on me.” And he could. Letting my bosses down was not something conceivable in my world. I may not have wanted to stand out at my last job, but my work was always well done. I wouldn’t let this first big assignment be any different.

Even if my father had thrown me into this new position, I had mypride. I wouldn’t succeed for him; I’d do a great job in spite of him turning my life upside down.

With no new updates required outside of the norm after Saturday’s game, Monday found me waiting outside the Tempests’ locker room after their morning skate. There was no way I was going into that changeroom full of half-naked, hungry athletes who expected to go home for food and their pregame naps.

It was less about a sense of propriety and more about a self-serving approach. None of them wanted to see a member of the communications team there to interrupt their day. Instead, if I stood just outside the door, I could catch an unsuspecting Connor Andrews rather than facing a cacophony of hangry groans.

Plus, it was kind of nice listening to the muffled sounds of the team ribbing each other good-naturedly. I couldn’t make out what was being said exactly, but their boisterous tone, punctuated by various amounts of laughter, made it seem like they had a genuine sense of camaraderie with each other.

A few efficient players started exiting the changeroom, notably avoiding eye contact with me. The alternate captain, Campbell, seemingly a lone wolf in his lack of reticence, offered me a charming smile as he slowed down to pass by me. When it became clear that I wasn’t there for him, he gave me a wink and made his fingers into the signal for a phone and mouthed, “Call me,” much to the amusement of the two third (or fourth?) line players walking with him.

I wonder how Theo has settled in? Does he feel welcome in that room?

I shook those thoughts from my mind. I didn’t have time or inclination to dedicate space in my head to Theo. He was a big boyand could handle himself.

But what if he misses home as you do? Did he have best friends like Emery and Abbie that he left behind too?

Thankfully, Andrews finally made his way out the door of the changeroom, offering me a small wave. He seemed like a sweetheart. I felt a little bad about disrupting his routine.

“Hey, Connor. Can I borrow you for a sec?” I waved him over, using his first name.

Campbell, who apparently was not far enough out of earshot, turned around at the end of the hall. “Indie! You wound me, darlin’. What does the rookie have that I don’t?”

He was endearingly incorrigible. I couldn’t stop the smile that I directed his way. I tried and failed to put a haughty look on my face.

“Well, if you were half as charming as you think you are, we’d have something to talk about… darlin’.” I parroted his cheeky endearment back to him. “For now, it’s Andrews I’m after.”

“Dammmmmn, Campbell. She put you in your place,” one of his teammates called out as he slapped him on the back.

A faint redness tinged Connor’s ears. I’d bet most of his feelings, especially embarrassment or anger, showed on his pale, freckled skin. It was pretty cute.

Despite his size of six foot two—it was decidedly weird knowing the personal health statistics of most of my “coworkers”—Connor was deceptively stealthy as he appeared by my side while I was distracted by episode 1000 of The Ryan Campbell Show.

“Oh! Wow, how’d you do that?” I asked, commenting on his ability to sneak up on me.

“I have three older sisters. It came in handy when I used to sneak up behind them at unsuspecting moments.” Connor offered me a warm smile.

Damn. Once this guy relaxed a bit, he was almost drool-worthy. The media and fans were going to eat him up.

As someone nearly five years his senior, I gave him what I thought was a pretty good impression of a mock stern tone. “My goodness, Mr. Andrews. I can’t imagine a consummately professional young man such as yourself stooping to such antics.”

“I take it you’re an only child.” He laughed. “My favorite pastime is annoying the hell outta my sisters.”

“You got me there,” I admitted. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”

“You mean, you didn’t come looking for me so we could spend some time getting to know one another.” Connor widened his beautiful blue eyes in some sort of deadly kicked-puppy expression.

Caught in some sort of trance by his cute pout voodoo, I heard the locker room door swing open and shut again in the background. I sensed more players passing by us, but I didn’t turn to acknowledge them.

Jesus, his adorableness factor skyrocketed. I bet he could get out of trouble with anyone with that look.

I tried to think of an appropriate non-flirty response—I wasn’t here to hook up, only do my job— as my gaze slid to the side.

To Theo, of course. Theo was taking his sweet time in leaving the locker room. He made no secret of glancing between Connor and me pointedly.

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