Fourth Down and Dirty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (22 page)

“Here you are,” he
said, setting it down on the coffee table. I immediately took the glass and
drank half of it.

“Smooth,” I
muttered before polishing off the rest.

Without asking, he
poured some more into my glass. I wanted to wait to drink it, or thought I
should, but my morning had been too crazy for that sort of self-restraint. I
downed the second round and he poured in some more. This time, however, I
refrained from drinking it. I knew how easily I could get plastered if I drank
too much, too fast.

The two of us sat
quietly, not even looking at each other. I was no longer feeling quite so
worked up. The drinks must have worked. Not only that, I was starting to
realize Hayden’s rude behavior had stopped and he was trying to take care of
me. I turned to look at him and that was when his blue gaze met mine.

My stomach clenched
slightly and I took a deep breath. Was he really not as bad as I had thought he
was? I bit my lower lip, still not quite ready to accept any act of kindness on
his behalf. How could I possibly know if his intentions were honest? Either
way, he had created a game that had garnered a massive
amount
of media attention with the main character looking
exactly
like me,

“You certainly
look calmer,” he said with a slight smile. He sounded a bit cautious, something
that threw me for a loop.

“Who wouldn’t with
that scotch you offered up?”

“Are you accusing
me of something, Miss
McClane
?”

“Nothing worse
than you stealing my looks.”

Hayden scoffed,
mockingly acting as if I had offended him, before getting up to get another
glass. He took his seat back on the couch, this time a bit closer to my chair,
and poured some scotch into his glass before taking a small sip.

“Ah. That is
smooth,” he agreed. “You’re absolutely right. How could you not be calmed down
by such a good drink?”

“Maybe if I just
think back on the hordes of people outside the building waiting to take my
photo I can get worked up again,” I shot back. Hayden responded by pushing my
glass closer to me. I rolled my eyes. “You can’t just keep me calm by getting
me drunk and not actually doing anything to remedy the situation.”

“Not pretending
to,” he said casually. He took another sip of his scotch, eyeing me over the
rim of the glass before setting it down on the coffee table and asking, “But,
really, what do you propose I do?”

“That’s your department,”
I responded. “After all, you’re using my image to sell a product without my
consent.
And
I can also claim
defamation of character since this Via Mace is absolutely nothing like me.”

“And how can I be
sure of that?” He leaned in and looked at me in a subtly way. For a moment it
felt like there was a small amount of desire in his eyes. I wasn’t entirely
sure how to feel about it. Earlier, I would have felt even more angry. Now I
felt a million different emotions and I could tell some of those feelings
weren’t entirely negative. It bothered me. After a prolonged silence I finally
shrugged, eyebrow arched.

“I guess I’ll just
have to get to know you then.”
 
He said.

“You should be so
lucky,” I replied coolly, reaching out for my glass. He smirked. I ignored him
and took a drink. I had to admit he had a certain charm to him, but I couldn’t,
on principal, fall for it. At least that was my plan. My thoughts were
interrupted by a knock on his office door.

Before he had a
chance to call out to the person on the other side, it opened and a pretty,
young woman popped her head in.

 
“Hayden,” she said in a sickly tone. It was
clear the two of them were either dating or the woman
wanted
to date him. There was something going on between them, but
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She stepped inside, eyeing me oddly, as
she continued to speak to him. “Don’t forget
we
have plans to go out celebrating tonight,” she said. Her tone
had quickly changed and there was no way to have missed the jealousy in her voice.

“Oh,” Hayden said,
turning to look at me.

This irritated the
woman even more. She stepped forward feigning confidence to stretch out a hand
and introduce herself. “I’m Gina,” she said.

“Alice,” I
responded, shaking her hand briefly. Gina’s stare bordered on dangerous, but I
got the distinct feeling the two weren’t actually in a relationship. The woman
was much too insecure and her behavior seemed like she was trying to stake out
a territory from someone she perceived as a threat. That someone was me.

“I’m sorry to do
this, Miss
McClane
,” Hayden said as he lightly
touched my arm in a consoling manner. My heart skipped. “Gina, don’t you notice
something about her?”

“Of course I do,”
Gina replied coldly. She wasn’t at all impressed that I looked exactly like Via
Mace. “Anyway,” she said, finally turning to look at Hayden. She grimaced when
she caught how he was staring at me.

“I’ll have to take
a rain check,” he informed her. He turned to give her an apologetic look. “Miss
McClane
and I need to have a private meeting.”

The tension was
palpable and I felt even more awkward than I had when I was first in Hayden’s
office. I sat there looking at the two of them, wondering what would happen
next. Gina scoffed, “Sure,” before turning on her heel and storming out of the
office.
 

Hayden turned to
look at me. “I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, mind you.”

“Excuse me?” I was
caught off guard and by the time my mind processed what he was referring to, he
had already started talking again.

“Tonight– a private
meeting, a dinner, even a celebration of sorts. I will not take ‘no’ for an
answer from you,” he told me, mouth curving up in cute grin.

I was stunned. The
man certainly was bold. Pushing aside my annoyance that I no longer held such
strong disdain for him, I nodded in agreement. Perhaps it was worth hearing him
out and getting to know each other a bit. I convinced myself it was all in an
effort to clear my name. I was willing to go to great lengths to do just that.

“What do we have
to celebrate?”

“That we found
each other,” Hayden replied quickly, as if he had the answer waiting at the tip
of his tongue to use at the very first chance he got. I was surprised.

I had absolutely
no idea how to take his statement, but I couldn’t deny I was glad to have found
him. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be sitting across from the man I blamed
for my mess of a life. It was the only way to fix it, come to terms with it,
and move forward.

“So,” he said,
raising his glass and eyeing mine until I reluctantly did the same. “To us
getting together tonight.” Our glasses clinked and I finished the rest of the
golden brown liquid in one gulp. Hayden escorted me to the elevator shortly
after. “I’ll be by to pick you up at 8pm,” he told me. I nodded and handed him my
card, as per our agreement as we walked down the hallway.

I stared into his
baby blue eyes until the steel doors of the elevator closed between us and the
humming of the elevator began. My phone was buzzing in my purse, but I ignored
it. I was lost in my thoughts and those thoughts were revolving around the very
person I had wanted to rip apart just hours earlier– Hayden Dunn. Now I didn’t
know what to feel about him and that bothered me even more.

I stepped off the
elevator and took a deep breath before readying myself for the crowd outside.
Even though I had put my scarf and sunglasses back on I was sure they would
know it was me.

“Miss,” a deep
voice rang out from somewhere on my right. I turned to see a tall man
approaching me. He wore a suit and an earpiece so I figured he must have been
the building’s security. “Mr. Dunn has arranged for you to exit through the
garage and, if you would like, for a company car to drive you home.” I stared
at him. I was stunned. I nodded slowly, allowing the man to escort me down. My
mind was reeling. Could Hayden Dunn actually be a decent man?
   

I spent the rest
of the afternoon hiding in my apartment.
 
It was 6pm when my phone rang and I saw an unfamiliar number on the
screen. My stomach flipped.

“Hello,” I
answered after the fourth ring.

“I was starting to
wonder if you were going to ignore me,” came Hayden’s voice on the other end.
He spoke in his deep, yet playful tone of voice. There was something about it that
reached through the phone and grabbed a hold of me. “Miss
McClane
,”
he said.

“You can call me
Ali,” I interrupted. My eyes clenched tight. We weren’t friends and I didn’t
even consider us to be on ‘friendly’ terms so why had I just told him to call me
by my first name?

“Ali,” he said. He
sounded more relaxed than at the start of the conversation. If I wasn’t
mistaken, there was also the sound of satisfaction in his voice. “How would you
feel about a change of plans?”

My heart sunk. I
knew it was all too good to be true. Hayden Dunn wasn’t a good man. He had
played it off that way just to get me out of his hair and there was probably
already a photo of me plastered on the security office of the building with the
words “entry forbidden” printed at the top.

“Right,” I
muttered.

“I’m sorry,” he
said. “I don’t quite understand what you mean by that. Does that mean you’d be
opposed to a change of plans?”

Then it
registered– he wasn’t asking to cancel plans or for a rain check; he wanted to
do something else.

“Oh,” I replied,
shaking my head and feeling stupid. “What’s the change?”

“How do you feel
about surprises?”

He arrived in a
luxury sedan. The driver opened the door for me and closed it once I slid into
the back seat next to Hayden. I drew in a deep breath as I settled into the
car. Hayden’s familiar scent tickled my nose. I saw the way he eyed me and knew
he was thinking I looked good, but he wasn’t going to say it. I hated to admit
it, but I kind of
wanted
to hear him
say it. When I noticed we were heading toward his building in the business
district, I finally asked what was going on.

“You were able to
wait all evening and you want to ruin the surprise now?” He said with a
charming smile.

“Well it just looks
an awful lot like we’re going to your office,” I replied, still busy looking
out the window and wondering if he had lured me into some sort of press
conference.

The driver pulled
into the garage and I turned to look at Hayden. He looked amused.

“We’re going to
the top of the building,” he clarified. At that moment the driver pulled my
door open and I climbed out of the car, despite how I was now starting to feel
weary of the whole situation. Hayden thanked the driver and led me to an
elevator different from the one I had been on earlier that day.

“This is the one
that goes all the way up,” he explained as it started to rumble and hum.
“You’ll see.”

The doors slid
open and the breeze kissed my cheeks as we stepped on to the rooftop. I gasped.
There was a helipad and, on it, a helicopter. A man was standing in front of
it. When he heard me gasp, he looked up from his phone and smiled.

“Mr. Dunn! Good
evening,” he greeted the two of us cheerfully. “All ready to board?”

“What?” I was
floored. I couldn’t believe the change in plans actually involved a helicopter
ride. It was all too surreal and spectacular. I started to wonder if I had
somehow fallen into the world of Mind Lash as the actual Via Mace. I shook my
head, knowing I was just being silly. The last thing I needed to be doing was
comparing myself to Via Mace.

“Are you okay?”
Hayden asked. He looked genuinely concerned. “Have you ever been on a
helicopter? If you aren’t comfortable with it–”

“I’m fine!” I
said, maybe a tad to forcefully. “Sorry, I’m just
really
surprised.”

“I can see that,”
he responded. His smile widened.

A light tingle
fluttered up the back of my neck as Hayden gently placed the palm of his hand
on my lower back, guiding me toward the helicopter. It was so gentle and natural
feeling I was surprised I even noticed it. Once I was secured in my seat beside
him, the helicopter started up and lifted into the air. I was glad for the
noise it made as I squealed in a mixture of fear and excitement. It was a
feeling unlike any other I’ve experienced. My long, auburn hair whipped around
violently, so I smoothed it behind my ears as gracefully as I could. I looked
down to watch the rooftop get smaller and smaller.

I snuck a
side-glance toward Hayden and was relieved to find him looking out his side. I
let out a little gasp, immediately clapping my hand over my mouth to cover it.
That moment, however brief and trivial it may have been, marked the first time
I cared about how I looked to him. I grimaced at the thought. There was a little
voice in my head that constantly reminded me that I was supposed to be angry at
this man.
He
was the one responsible
for everything I had been going through.

“Everything okay
over there?” I jumped in my seat when Hayden’s voice came in over the helicopter
headset nestling against my ears. It was soft and smooth with the faint hint of
a smile.

I nodded without
turning to look at him, cheeks burning. At that moment I couldn’t help but
wonder why I had agreed to this ridiculous meeting after all. I reminded myself
that it was in my best interest to get close to the man who had created all
this mess to begin with. If spending some time with him meant fixing my life, I
was more than willing to put in the work. Of course, I wasn’t nearly naïve
enough to think one evening with Hayden would reverse everything that had
happened to me since Via Mace hit the world by storm.

 
By now the Via Mace character was in every
form of media outlet imaginable. It wasn’t a far reach to say Via Mace had become
more famous than the actual Mind Lash game. I found it distasteful and
wretched. I couldn’t for the life of me wrap my head around why people liked
Via Mace so much. But I had a very biased view on the entire ordeal. Not
everyone’s life had been ruined in one morning.

Despite all those
awful feelings, I couldn’t shake the undeniable attraction I had toward Hayden.
I scoffed inside my head. Why couldn’t he just be some ugly, socially awkward,
video game geek? Instead he was Mr. Sauvé. One way or another I had to take my
mind off those feelings creeping up inside of me. This was business and I was
on a mission.

I drummed my
slender fingers on my thighs, looking out at the city below me. What would my
boss say about my exploits during my mandatory time off from the company? I
wondered if he would have a positive response to me taking such a hands-on,
albeit unconventional approach to solving the matter. I sighed. Perhaps it all
would have been different if I had gotten my job entirely on my own, rather
than with my brother’s help.

None of it
mattered though. Thinking of what could have been if things had started off
differently was no use to me now. I needed to focus on the task at hand.
Deciding to enjoy the first helicopter ride of my life since I was already on
it, I turned my head and looked at the city’s skyline against the backdrop of a
gorgeous, orange sky.

Just as we were
zooming over the Golden Gate Bridge I turned to see Hayden staring at me. It
wasn’t creepy or intrusive. His look was almost affectionate and I realized my
excitement must have been written all over my face. I grinned as he smiled back
at me. For a brief second we shared moment where I had forgotten all about why
I was there in the first place—the stress, the video game, him forcing my life
in to shambles.

Just when I was
reflecting on all those thoughts the helicopter suddenly dropped a few feet.
Instantly I felt the weightless feeling inside my chest. I instinctively shot
my hand down to my side to grab on to something. Luckily, the turbulence was
gone as quickly as it came.

“That happens
sometimes, nothing to worry about.” Hayden said as he gave my hand a reassuring
squeeze. My heart dropped worse than it had just a moment ago. I had
accidentally grabbed his hand! I looked over and gave him half smile as I
pulled my hand back. I tried to play it cool and nonchalantly pushed a strand
of hair behind my ear.

 
It wasn’t long after the helicopter swooped
over the Golden Gate Bridge that it eventually lowered down to a helipad in a
large green area.

As the pilot
helped me down, I was still unsure where we had landed. All I knew was that
from my view in the sky, it was a beautiful place with a lot of greenery
surrounded by the bays and the Pacific Ocean.

“Welcome to Marin,”
the pilot said with a friendly smile before letting go of my hand and walking
away.

Hayden stepped in
front of me in the pilot’s place, a welcoming and beaming smile lighting up his
handsome face. He held out his arm and I reluctantly took it, if only because I
still hadn’t gained my balance after the helicopter ride. As much as he made my
heart skip, I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. I wasn’t about to fall
for him and forget everything that had happened.

 
The two of us walked in silence down a lighted
path toward a building that fit in with the surroundings. For a brief moment I
found myself holding on to his arm longer than I needed to. As soon as I
realize I was still touching him I let go. He looked over at me and I gave him
a half smile. I wasn’t there to develop any kind of feelings for the man, I was
there for business.

Hayden opened the
door for me and I walked in. The simple elegance of the place wasn’t lost on
me. A fancy sign hung atop a large fireplace. The words MARIN COUNTRY CLUB caught
my eye. I gulped. It was no secret Hayden Dunn was wealthy, but chartering a
private helicopter ride to land at an exclusive country club in an affluent
area was beyond what I had envisioned. Suddenly feeling nervous, I flattened my
hair against my temples and shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

“We have just one
stop to make before the main event,” Hayden announced as he led me to the exit,
where a luxury sedan was parked out front waiting for us. The driver popped out
from the driver’s side and greeted us cheerfully.

Once we were
settled inside, the car ride was silent and a bit awkward. I had absolutely no
clue where we were going. I had even less of an idea what the so-called main
event was. Now, I was more acutely aware of Hayden’s level of wealth. Not only
that, I was finally starting to admit to myself that I found him attractive. On
top of all that, I had barely bothered with my appearance. The night was just
beginning and I was already fraught with confusion.
  
 

It was only a bit
over ten minutes later when the car turned into a residential area. The
neighborhood looked like the type of place where the residents kept to
themselves. It was quiet and the houses looked big and nice, but unassuming at
first glance. Then it hit me.

“Are you taking me
to your house?” My voice came out a bit shrill and the alarm was nowhere near
hidden, but I didn’t care. I figured if he had the nerve to drive me to his
house without a warning or question then I shouldn’t have to worry about how I
came off.

“Don’t worry,” he
said with an unaffected smile. “We won’t be there alone.” Right then, the car
pulled up in front of a house with three cars parked in the driveway in front
of the garage. The lights inside were on and I saw a shadow move across one of
the panels of the frosted window next to the front door.

“Give me a shot,
won’t you?” Hayden said. I thought I heard the faintest bit of pleading in his
voice. I couldn’t be sure, but if I had heard it then it was the first time he
had shown any sort of vulnerability.

I turned to look
at Hayden’s hopeful eyes. A small flutter rose in my chest, which I attempted
to shut down by placing my hand flat against it. I nodded slowly. He gave me a
quick smile before getting out of the car and walking over to open the door for
me.

“We shouldn’t be
here long,” he muttered, motioning for me to head up the walkway. I walked up
slowly, taking in the appearance of the house. Like the others in the area, it
had an unassuming exterior although there was something about it that gave it
character. The area in front of the front door was large and square, covered
with a vaulted ceiling of wood. It was all an appealing beige color, not drab
at all, the wooden door had a nice pop of orange against it. I was particularly
fond of the frosted windows and I made a mental note to check if the person
inside had an unobstructed view to the outside world.

I stopped in front
of the door and held my breath when Hayden’s arm crossed over me to knock on
the door. It pressed gently against my shoulder and I felt the slight flutter
in my chest again, making me let go of the breath I had been holding. A
beautiful young woman sporting a short, blonde bob and a simple but cute royal
blue cocktail dress opened the door.

“You’ve arrived!”
she exclaimed, taking a step back to carefully observe me. It was awkward. “My,
you truly are Via Mace in the flesh. Stunning.”

Every ounce of
awkwardness and strange, unwanted fluttering in my chest disappeared in a
second to be replaced with white-hot anger. Just as I opened my mouth I heard
Hayden say, “She’s
not
Via come to
life, I’ve learned.” He said it in a light-hearted way, but it only served to
anger me more.

I turned to face
him. “I am not,” I repeated in a menacing whisper. I didn’t want to be rude to
the clueless woman who had just opened the door, but I didn’t want Hayden to
think he could make fun of the entire situation. It also irked me that he had
spoken first, taken the words right out of my mouth. He wasn’t my spokesperson.
From my perspective, he was treating me as his creation and I wasn’t going to
stand for it. “I think I gave you enough of a chance and you just–”

Hayden arched his
eyebrow. I stopped speaking.