Page 28 of Here Be Dragons
He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest to make himself look intimidating. "Can't do that, buddy."
Jason stared at him, his nostrils flaring as he took a few deep breaths. "Get out of my way, you dumb fucking jock."
He could see Dylan still sitting at the table behind them, staring down at his cup of coffee. He looked broken. This raging jackass of an owner controlled Dylan's contract and Dylan's career, and there was nothing Dylan could do right now. But that didn't apply to Shane, and it didn't apply to Jordan King either.
"That's enough, Jason."
Jordan's voice was right next to Shane. They would stand there together against this idiot who thought he could play tough guy this morning. By now, the place had quieted down, and Shane was sure they were making a scene.
"You two need to let me through," Jason huffed. "This has nothing to do with you. It's between me and that bitch of a lawyer."
Shane could feel the muscles tighten in his jaw. There was definitely no way he was going to let that jackass close to Ava.
Then he heard a voice behind him. "Thank you, boys."
Shane could feel Ava's reassuring hand on his bicep as she pushed her way past the wall of hockey muscle. He would make a move if that idiot tried anything with her, but Shane was also coming to the realization that she didn't need them to protect her. He knew she could hold her own against anyone, even a millionaire hockey team owner.
"Hello, Jason." Her voice was cold and measured as she stared at him. "What I can help you with?"
Jason's nostrils flared and his face went red. "You screwed up this whole thing."
"No,youscrewed you this whole thing."
Under normal circumstances, Shane would be physically turned on by the sight of her looking tough right now. Instead, he was actually a bit fearful for Jason. That idiot was picking the wrong fight with the wrong woman.
Jason's jaw flexed, and he took a step closer to Ava. Shane could feel the tension in his muscles, the coiled energy ready to be released if that man took one more step. But Shane held back, instead watching Ava hold her ground.
"How did I screw this up?" Jason growled.
"You were the one who tried to divert money from your team, and you were the one who hired a lawyer who lost all of his power as soon as I walked in the room." She smirked at the owner and straightened her spine so she was almost eye level with Jason. "By the way, will we be seeing George at the press conference later? Or is he just another one of the many failures that you won't actually take responsibility for?"
"You fucking bitch!"
Jason took a step forward, eyes ragging, nostrils flaring. The tension in Shane's muscles was about to snap, and he wasn't sure he could control what he did next. Jordan was next to him, Ava's brother was at her other shoulder. One more step and Jason was going to be bombarded by the three men.
And then Ava cackled. Yeah, it was a cackle. The kind of sound you would expect from some witch on a cheesy television show on basic cable. It was amazing and hot.
"Do you honestly think you're the first man who called me that?" she asked.
Shane took a deep breath, but he still couldn't stop the smirk that was spreading across his face. The tension in his muscles started to disappear as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back a little so he could watch this all unfold. He was going to enjoy this.
"Jason, you aren't even the first man to call me thatthis week. If I had a dollar for every time a man called me a 'fucking bitch' for doing my job, I would be a very rich woman." She smirked at him. "Oh wait, I already am. At least I'm richer than you are judging by how much you've messed up your team's balance sheet. Tell me something. Do your players know they probably won't be paid until two months into the season?"
"What the fuck!"
Dylan stood up quickly from the table, sending a plate crashing to the floor, and turning all eyes on him -- even Ava's.
"That's not true," Jason tried to say reassuringly.
"I've spent weeks here trying to negotiate a deal and you don't even plan to pay us?" Dylan spat. "I sat here quietly so I wouldn't be seen going against my team owner, and you never planned to give me a paycheck?"
"We can talk about this later."
"Nope," Dylan said. "No. No way. I'm calling my agent. There's no way I'm playing for you this season."
Dylan started to walk towards the door but quickly stopped in his tracks.
"You." He pointed at Ava. "You're my new lawyer. I'll have my agent call you to look over my contract and get me the hell out of Bay City. And you." He turned and pointed to Jack. "I'm available and I'd love to play for you."
