Page 33 of Here Be Dragons
His voice was low and hoarse. He could try and tell himself it sounded that way because he was yelling at players on the ice or he was still trying to catch his breath from the game. But he knew better. He knew the truth. He knew it was because of Ava.
She must've known too because she quickly pulled her hand away and cleared her throat. She was still trying to keep this a business transaction.
"As I have told other players, please keep in mind that you are signing as the player representative for your team. This is a legal document on behalf of every player on the Dragons."
He leaned forward in his chair so he could be closer to her and see her eyes. "How many other players have you talked to?"
"A few," she tried to say casually.
But Ava wouldn't make eye contact with him, which was unusual for her. It only motivated him more.
"How many of them did you see in person?"
"A few."
He scoffed. "Who?"
Ava finally looked up at him. "Jordan, for one. And now you."
"That's because Jordan plays in Detroit," he said. "What about the other ones? Did you travel to see them in person?"
Ava kept her eyes on him as she shook her head no.
"So just me?"
She nodded.
"Ava--"
"Nope, we're not doing this."
He had pushed too far, and he knew it as soon as Ava put her walls back up. But she was so close to him, and he was so close to getting her to admit the truth. He couldn't give up now.
"Did you come here just to see me?"
"I knew you would do this."
"Did you come here to see me?"
"You think I don't see what you're doing?" she said. "I'm a lawyer. I'm the one who asks the questions and I ask them better than you and I lead people in the right direction and you can not use those tactics on me."
Shane couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up in a teasing smile. "Ava, did you come here to see me?"
She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him. "Fine, I came here to see you. Are you happy now?"
That teasing look on his face became a full-blown smile from real happiness. "Where would you like me to sign?"
Ava gave him a skeptical look and leaned forward. "All the arrows. Start with this one."
Shane did as he was told. He had learned that sometimes it was best to just let Ava think she was in control of a situation, and sometimes it was best to actually have Ava in control of a situation. So he went along with it.
"Sign here." She would flip to a new page. "And here. And here."
Every page built up the tension between them more and more. But it was a good tension, a happy tension. It was like the energy that would start to build in his chest about five minutes before the puck dropped at the beginning of a game. And like those games, he was going to win this one too.
"Is that it?" he asked as she took away the final page.
"That's it."
