Page 74 of The Wedding Deal
“It’s fine. Let me call you back.” Lance disconnected the call and tapped Charlotte’s number. As the phone rang and rang, he paced the lobby like a madman. Considering he’d completely lost his mind, it was accurate.
He swore when it reached her voicemail, earning him dirty glares from a few of the people in the lobby. With no other choice but to go on with the day he’d planned before his life fell apart, he went back to his hotel room, shoved everything in suitcases, and called for a car to take him to the private airfield where a plane would be waiting for him.
On the drive over, he wrote up two press releases using the examples of others he’d found online—one from the team and one for Gavin. Then he fired them off to the sports reporters he had a good rapport with and told Gavin and his agent they were free to shout the news from the rooftop.
He called Charlotte again as he was boarding, leaving her a voicemail that begged her to call him back.
Just before the plane landed in San Antonio, he called again and left another voicemail.
Lance’s phone rang nonstop the rest of the day, long after his flight had landed and he’d arrived back at his empty penthouse that seemed even emptier than when he’d left it.
But none of the calls were from Charlotte, and as he fell into bed at the end of the day, completely exhausted, he worried that she’d never talk to him again.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Charlotte’s heels clacked a happy-sounding rhythm against the hardwood floor Tuesday morning, so at odds with how she felt inside.
Those sucky emotions were going to stay under a rock-hard facade of okayness, because she was nothing if not professional. Over the last couple of days, she’d seriously thought about quitting. Enough so she’d called in a personal day yesterday so she’d have another twenty-four hours to decide. But to let go of everything she’d worked for because her boss turned out to be an asshole?
Nope. She wouldn’t let Lance take that from her.
She settled behind her desk, opened her inbox, and winced, and then she got to work.
After two hours, she’d filled out and emailed enough forms to make her head swim.
At the heavy footsteps that neared her door, she tensed and steeled herself.
But it was just Sean Bryant, their new head coach. Official as of yesterday, and the news had hit the interwebs first thing this morning.
“Hello,” she said, standing halfway and extending a hand. “So nice to meet you in person.”
“You, too.” He gave her hand a firm shake and settled into the chair across from her. His blond hair was thick and had a hint of strawberry to it. His simple T-shirt and jeans style paired with the beard, chiseled facial features, and all the muscles gave him a sort ofAll-American Dude meets Vikingvibe. His knees went to bouncing, the frantic energy she’d heard a hint of over the phone fully on display now. “The receptionist said you were the person who could help get me started.”
“I am. Let me just get some information and a few signatures and then I’ll grab you an employee handbook, and you’ll be good to go.”
A lot of the paperwork had been done thanks to one of the many emails Lance had sent her—some business and some personal—but she inputted the few missing items into her computer, printed off the forms, and had Sean sign.
“Is Quaid in yet?” he asked, his knees bouncing again.
“I haven’t seen him,” she said, since she didn’t know and she didn’twantto know, and holy hell she was going to have to see him and his name was enough to cause her internal organs to deflate.
“Here’s the handbook.” She twisted in her chair to snag one off her shelves and slid it across her desk to Sean. “I know you’ve got a ton to study and write up as you’re whipping the team into shape, but please make sure to read through the policies, and if you have any questions, feel free to come to me.”
He nodded and slowly stood, looking unsure what to do next.
“Did you have the grand tour yesterday?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He glanced around before conspiratorially leaning in, as if someone might be spying on them. “Confession time? I was so excited to be here yesterday, and then I got the official offer, and it was all kind of a blur.” He scratched his neck. “I, uh, don’t exactly remember which office is mine.”
Charlotte laughed. It surprised her to hear the happy sound come out after days of gloom and doom, but it gave her a sliver of hope maybe she wouldn’t be sad forever. “I’ll show you where it is, and if you’d like, we can grab coffee on the way.”
“That’s right. You said something about dessert coffee.”
“If you don’t like it, I’m afraid we can’t be friends.” As she stood, she realized how tall he was. Sure, everyone was tall compared to her, but he had to have even a few inches on Lance. So an extra point to the Viking comparison, but the baby blues swung him back to All-American.
No doubt he’d be joining Lance on the eligible bachelor list soon, and she really needed to stop thinking about him because the gloom was settling in like a fog again, smothering everything happy.
Sean ran a hand over his beard. “Wow, and I thought the most pressure I’d feel today was when I meet up with the players this afternoon.”
