Page 16 of Here Be Dragons
"Because Max is my friend, and Logan is my friendandmy teammate." Jordan took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "This would be bad."
"No, it wouldn't," Shane said from his spot on the bed. "Just be honest with them. You heard a rumor and does this Max person know someone who can help."
Jordan put his hands on his hips and stared at the Cleveland captain. "So I'm just supposed to say, 'Hey, Ava told me that Jack told her that something is going on and I need your help.' Doesn't that negate the whole sour grapes problems we're trying to avoid?"
Shane shrugged. "You don't have to tell them every little detail."
Ava could kiss him. Right now. She wouldn't even care that everyone in this room saw them making out. She would do it. She would throw herself at this man who supported her and used her own line to argue for this favor. It didn't even matter that she used it against him when he was pissed at her.
Unfortunately, there were other people in this room right now so she had to be the professional lawyer on her best behavior.
"Fine," Jordan muttered. "I'll call them.
"Great, so we have some ideas."
Mark's voice had a little bit of enthusiasm to it, and Ava was trying hard to not let it become infectious. If he was too hopeful, that might make her too hopeful and that could spell doom for all of them.
But the players all nodded in agreement. They had their plans and they were ready to execute them. This could work.
Shane stood up, his athletic body stretching out next to Ava's bed. Damn, she really wished she could have that again. But even with this meeting that was actually productive and professional, she doubted that they would ever share more personal time together. Shane seemed to make that clear by the way he acted around her tonight. He may have supported her with Jordan, but he was only doing that as a professional and not because he wanted to be with her. It was probably for the best anyway.
"You coming?" Jordan asked Mark as they headed for the door.
"Go ahead," the lawyer replied. "I just want to go over a few more things with Ava for tomorrow."
Ava could see the scowl on Shane's face before he turned away towards the door. Was he jealous? Was he actually worried that she was going to be alone in her room with Mark even though they were talking business? Because that wouldn't seem right, especially after she practically had to beg him to come here tonight. But if he actually did care about her, even if just a little, that could give her hope. Perhaps she could see him naked again.
She watched as Shane followed the other players out her door and once again, for just a moment, she thanked whatever athletic-wear gods decided to make those track pants so thin.
Chapter Six
Shane got back to his hotel room and immediately did what Ava asked him to do: call the reporter in Cleveland. Dale was so excited that he didn't even answer with a "Hello."
"Please say you're calling to tell me the strike is over!"
That's how he answered Shane's call.
"Hey, man," Shane tried to say calmly. "Not yet."
He could hear Dale's sigh on the other end. "Don't make me write another story about the next 'must-have' drink cocktail in Cleveland? I've written seven of those this month."
Shane rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that." He took a deep breath, determined to get this back on track. "So can I talk to you off the record?"
"Uh, sure."
Shane could tell Dale was trying to play it off as if it was no big deal. He was failing. Shane had been in this league for almost a decade now and had talked to many journalists. "Off the record" wasn't just something a shady politician asked for in some action thriller movie. Athletes did it too and for many reasons. But this was the first time Shane ever did it for a business reason.
As he talked, he started to realize Dale was the perfect person to leak this information to. Apparently, covering business for months now gave Dale a better understanding of what to ask, including a few things even Shane hadn't thought of. Shane had tried to come up with a believable cover story before he called, but Dale was asking him questions he didn't think to have answers for. Luckily, he recovered quickly enough to have a back-up plan for those.
"Wish I could help, but I'm just a hockey player."
"Not sure how it all fits together. I'm just a hockey player."
"Dunno."
"You're just a hockey player," Dale finally repeated.
Shane shrugged. "Sorry."
