Page 55 of The Wedding Deal
“It’s not something I can just shut off.”
“Well then let me do the honors,” he said, lowering his lips to hers and making her forget what they’d been talking about and why she’d thought it’d been important in the first place.
Chapter Twenty-One
As tempting as it was to get lost in Charlotte again and again, Lance’s phone refused to stop ringing. If he didn’t answer, it’d only ring more. Dropping off the grid would also worry people or possibly lose him the chance to snag a player he might need, and as he lifted the phone, despising it the tiniest bit, he had to work to keep a snarl out of his greeting.
Charlotte started to slide off his lap, their lunch/make-out break over, but he put his hand on her knee, holding her in place.
“Say that again.” He needed to know he’d heard what he’d thought he’d heard correctly. Because it sounded like the agent on the other end of the phone had said the Pythons were willing to part with their second-string quarterback.
Gavin Frost was a great player who rarely got game time—hazards of being backup for one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
Lance swiveled the mouthpiece and gave Charlotte the name. Her eyes widened. He loved how she automatically understood.
She slipped off his lap and began pacing the room, which struck him as funny since they’d reversed their usual positions for whenever he was on a call.
Excitement rose up, growing stronger with each second, despite his best attempts to tell himself not to get too carried away. Not to let his desperation show. “What’s it going to take to get him to play for the Mustangs?”
“Look, I’ll just lay it out there. He’s gotten a lot of interest. Money’s important, but it’s not what’s most important to him. We were both impressed when we heard the kind of changes you’re making, and he’d like to be part of rebuilding a team. What we both want is to find a place that’d make him a franchise quarterback, one synonymous with turning around the team. He’s scrappy and determined, and he won’t stop until he wins a championship, either.”
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for,” Lance said.
“So, make us an offer.”
“I’m definitely interested, but I need some time to crunch numbers and see what we can do. I’ll get back to you.”
“The sooner the better.”
“I hear you. I’ll be in touch.” He hit the end button, waiting a few extra seconds to make sure the call was disconnected. He was almost afraid to say anything or even hope this could work. He’d admired Gavin Frost’s college career and wondered why no one had snatched him up until the third round of the draft. He was a damn good quarterback who’d sat the bench unless he was saving the Pythons’ praised golden boy from injury or fatigue. That would’ve irritated the shit out of him back in the day, so he could only imagine how frustrated Gavin had been the past three years.
“You haven’t said anything,” he said, glancing up at Charlotte. She’d stopped her pacing, but she was biting her thumbnail, anxiousness radiating off her. His gut sank. Maybe he was wrong about Frost. If she told him she didn’t think he was the one, either, they might have their first huge disagreement about the actual team, and he wasn’t sure what that’d do. To them or to his head—it’d give him more doubts than he wanted to have about a decision this big, that was for sure.
Her eyes met his. “I was waiting for you.”
“I want him on the team.” Everything inside of him yelledyesall over again. There wasn’t a better option; he felt it in his bones.
She nodded. “He’s exactly what we’ve been looking for. And we can afford to lose a third-round pick if we get a decent quarterback with a few seasons under his belt. I’m afraid to say it because I don’t want to jinx us, but that thing I said earlier about the other guy not being…you know. Well, Gavin Frost, he’s…you know.”
Half the time he couldn’t follow her rambling or her references, but he perfectly understood what she was saying in this instance. The fact that she agreed and clearly felt so strongly about it sent reassurance rushing through him. “How do we figure out how much to offer so we won’t break the salary cap, lose him, or go completely broke?”
“That’s a question for the CFO. I know I said that before when we were talking about the lawsuit, but this is a decision like that times twenty. You need to call John.”
Lance could feel himself bristling, his shoulders crawling way up to his ears. It went against everything in him. Once he made a decision, he’d made it, and he dealt with the consequences, good or bad. “I told you I’d consider it.”
“The time for considering is over, Lance. You need to call him, apologize, and beg him to come back so that we have that information ASAP.”
Beg?Like hell he’d beg. His pride wouldn’t allow it. Not only was he shit at apologizing, his pride was one of the few things he’d kept all through his injury and even when his ex tried to break him in other ways. He’d be damned if he lost it now. “Just do what you can. I trust you.”
Charlotte slowly walked around the coffee table, perched on the edge of it directly in front of him, and grabbed his hand. She smoothed his fingers out from the fist he hadn’t even realized he’d formed. “I’m good with numbers, but I don’t have access to those records. Even if I did, I don’t know the ins and outs, and I can’t take on another job.”
She slipped her fingers between his, her calming influence breaking through his aggravation. “Even if it would mean not having anyone else to make uncomfortable at the office with all our PDA. Not that we’ll still be… I know we’re just taking it a day at a time, so I’m not saying…”
“I know what you mean.” He almost addedof course we’re still going to be doing this when we return to the office, because now that he’d had his hands and lips on her, he couldn’t imagine going back to not kissing her. Not touching her. But there was what he wanted and what he could realistically do. No promises or guarantees, not right now. And if he couldn’t get a reliable quarterback, that wasn’t going to change for a long time.
“It’s too much pressure, and it’s unfair to ask that of me. It’d be setting me up for failure.” She was right. He hated that she was, but it was also why she was good for him.
“Fine. I’ll…call John.” He eyed his phone but didn’t pick it up. “I’m not good at swallowing my pride. Not good at apologizing.”
