Game for Tonight (8 page)

“‘No biggie.’” She blew out a harsh breath. “Right. No biggie for you. My life, on the other hand, will be turned completely upside down.” It already felt like that.

“You do it and you get a promotion,” he said, dropping the words casually. They went off like little bombs in her head, one after the other, making it hard for her to breathe.

A promotion. Which would mean a raise, and she desperately needed one. Living expenses were crazy in the Bay Area. And a promotion was something she’d strived for since she’d hit the ground running at the Hawks franchise. She hadn’t been there long, but she’d worked so hard trying to prove herself. But she didn’t want a promotion like this. It felt…wrong.

“Or don’t do it, and I’ll be forced to make…departmental cutbacks at the end of the season. Jobs might be lost. Including yours.” Harvey smiled, but the smile was ice cold. He had her by the throat, and he knew it.

“That’s blackmail.” She could hardly get the words out.

He shrugged. “I call it incentive.”

This was all sorts of twisted. He was holding her hand over the fire and giving her no choice but to get burned. Pretend to be in a relationship with Flynn and she’d end up scorched. Don’t do it and she’d be nothing but black ashes scattered all over the ground, jobless.

Faking with Flynn could end up hurting her. She liked the guy. Their attraction was undeniable, and when it came to him, she was weak. So weak. She’d probably fall right back into bed with him, and it would be good. Too good. And she’d start feeling something real for him, and he might start to feel something real for her, and all the while, she’d know in the back of her mind that…

Harvey had put her up to this so she could keep her job. So she could get a promotion. How awful was that?

“You like him,” Harvey continued, crossing his arms. “Don’t deny it. You spent the night at his house, Aubrey. You had sex with the supposed virgin. That’s pretty damn serious, am I right?”

This was beyond embarrassing. “It wasn’t like that.” Her night with Flynn had been spectacular but nothing so serious as the oh-I’m-giving-you-my-virginity-now-so-we’re-bonded-forever type experience.

“Whatever it was like, it happened, and now you can easily pretend to be in a relationship.” He paused again, the air heavy and filled with so many unsaid things. Things she didn’t want to consider. “Just say yes, Aubrey. It doesn’t have to be so hard.”

A dirty joke flitted through her brain at his words, and she stowed it away. Now was not the time for dirty jokes. Everything was going to change with this decision, and she didn’t like feeling so completely out of control. This was her life Harvey was messing with, and he was turning it into a photo op, as if it was no big thing.

“Fine,” she muttered, meeting his gaze. “I’ll do it. But no press conference. That’s too much.” She felt sick to her stomach, agreeing to something like this. It didn’t feel right. As if she was tricking everyone, including herself.

Including Flynn.

“Excellent. And the press conference is happening. It’s already scheduled.” Harvey rubbed his hands together. “I knew you’d say yes. You can put a positive spin on this. If anyone can do it, you can.” He pushed away from his desk and made his way toward his office door. “Keep the promotion part of the deal to yourself, though, okay? Flynn doesn’t need to know all the details.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

“I’ll grab Flynn and send him back in here. Then I’ll leave the two of you alone so you can talk about this further.”

“But…” Aubrey clamped her lips shut when Harvey exited the office and shut the door behind him.

Shit. She so didn’t want to have this conversation with Flynn now. There’d been no time to prepare, she had no idea what to say, and oh my God, could this get any more humiliating?

Flynn walked back into the office not even two minutes later, returning to the seat he’d just vacated. He appeared edgy, a little tense, and she was immediately filled with the need to reassure him.

Stupid. She should be the one who was being reassured. Not only did she have to fake this relationship but she had to pretend to Flynn that she was all for the idea.

She really hated her boss right now. Like, with a passion.

“You’re angry,” Flynn said, his deep voice rumbly and low.

She flashed him a quick, albeit miserable, smile. “No, I’m not.” Yes, she was. But it was time for her to rein it in and put on a show. Besides, it wasn’t his fault they were in this so-called scandalous situation. “I don’t understand why the media is so fascinated with your sex life.”

“Really?” The incredulous expression on Flynn’s face was obvious. “Aren’t you the one who played that angle up?”

“Me?” Leaning over, she set her coffee cup on the edge of Harvey’s desk. Her anger surged higher. “Are you serious? I was
informed
I should play up that angle by my
boss
. And weren’t you the one who went along with it?”

“I was doing what I was told.” He shrugged.

“Well, so was I.” She stood, resting her hands on her hips as she towered over him. Sort of. Even sitting down, the guy was built like a mountain. A mountain she’d already climbed, and if she was being honest with herself, was desperate to climb again.

No. No climbing mountains allowed. This man should be off limits. You can pretend all you want, but the sex thing isn’t happening again. Do you really want to get hurt when it’s all said and done? Because this won’t last. Flynn Foley is capable of breaking your heart.

“Don’t try to blame me for this,” she said.

“I’m not blaming you for anything.” His voice and his expression were both irritatingly calm. “You are proving that you’re mad at me, though.”

“I’m mad at the situation we’ve put ourselves in. Big difference.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, noticed the way his gaze dropped to her breasts and lingered there. Her cheeks heated at his blatant perusal.

She should be mad. She should yell at him “Eyes up here, asshole” or something. But no. She stood there and let him look his fill, secretly enjoying his hot gaze on her.

Yeah. She had major issues, all of them dealing with Flynn.

Finally he lifted his gaze to meet hers, no doubt noticing her pink-with-embarrassment cheeks, but he never said a word. “So we should make the best of it.”

“Make the best of what?” Wow, he was handsome. Staring at him made her forget her troubles, which was ridiculous. But he looked tired. His cheeks were covered in stubble, and his hair was a bit of a mess. As if he’d run his fingers through it again and again.

He smiled, momentarily dazzling her with that quick flash of straight white teeth. “Our situation. We may as well enjoy it…”

Oh. Was he serious? She could make the best of anything if she had to. It was a criteria of her job, after all. “What are you suggesting?” she asked carefully.

Don’t listen to him. There will be no “enjoying it” involved.

“Maybe we should try to date for real,” he said with a slight shrug. “I like you and you like me, right?”

“Right.” She blinked, hating how she’d automatically agreed with him.

“So let’s try this thing out…for real. And if we can’t stand each other, then at least we tried. He smiled, and the sight of it was dazzling.

Okay, maybe he would make this easy on her. She needed easy. Difficult would screw with her mind. She thought she’d have to be the one to ask him out, and instead, he’d done it for her.

But what would happen once the play-offs were over? Would they go their separate ways? As Harvey so kindly had reminded her, employees dating was against the rules at the Hawks organization. She’d signed the form in the back of the employee handbook, stating she knew the rules and wouldn’t break them.

Here she was, breaking them. Publicly. With her boss’s permission and threats of losing her job if she didn’t follow through. Insane.

“You don’t have to say anything. I don’t need an answer right now. It’s awkward enough between us.” He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up further. God, he looked cute. “I gotta tell you this, though, Aub. I’m not sorry for what happened the other night. And I meant to call you, I swear, but—”

“Don’t say it,” she interrupted, silencing him. “Don’t explain yourself. Don’t make up some lame excuse. What happened happened. Let’s leave it at that.”

They stared at each other, Flynn’s intense gaze sending goose bumps scattering all over her skin. She reacted to him so easily, and it scared her. When she got near Flynn, she simply…felt. Everything.

Not smart. Reckless wasn’t her style, but that’s exactly how he made her feel.

“You keep looking at me like that, and I’m going to believe you forgive me,” he murmured, his hot gaze locked directly on her.

A shiver moved through her. “There’s nothing to forgive.” Really, there wasn’t. At least, when it came to Flynn. He was now the innocent party in all of this. She was mad at Harvey for putting her in this position. And okay, maybe her pride had been hurt, too. But they had other things to worry about now. Like the media believing they were a real couple. That she’d taken his virginity as though it had been some sort of prize for her to claim.

God. What a mess.

He reached out and circled his fingers around her wrist. “We should have a press conference, announce that we’re seeing each other.”

She slowly shook her head. Maybe if she convinced Flynn to think like her, he’d convince Harvey to cancel the press conference. “It would distract from the team during a critical time. I don’t want to do that. Let’s keep it low key.”

“I’ve tried the low-key route. It doesn’t work. They’re like vultures picking at my flesh until they hit bone. They want a story. We can give them one.”

“I don’t know…”

“Trust me.” He stood, never letting go of her wrist, and she liked it. Liked having him so close, his presence nearly overwhelming, his hand still on her. She could get used to this.

And that was a scary feeling.

“I know you’re the public relations expert, but I know what the media wants from me,” he continued, smiling down at her. “And right now, what they want more than anything is us.”

Us.
She could get used to the sound of that. Despite the very temporary feeling of it all, despite the proverbial gun held to her head, she was curious. What was it like to be a very popular “us”? She’d seen it in earnest with Jared and Sheridan Quinn and lately with Willow and Nick. Now they could be a Flynn and Aubrey.

Despite it all, she wanted that, even just for a little while, which was dumb, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe they could mix their names like all the celebrities do. “Brangelina” was still hot, after all. Maybe they could be “Aubrynn”? “Flybrey”?

Clearly she’d lost her mind.

Chapter Seven

Flynn Foley’s New Girlfriend: “She’s the love of my life,” Foley says.

Aubrey stared at the headline on
TMZ
’s website, shock coursing through her at seeing the words in bold black-and-white on one of the most popular gossip sites in the country. She thought she could handle this, but clearly it was going to take some getting used to.

She’d never been called the love of anyone’s life. Let alone a guy she’d barely spent time with, who she was now involved with in a publicity relationship.

The article on the site had a picture of the them leaving the Hawks facility earlier today, right after they’d had their second meeting with Harvey on how to handle this mess they’d gotten themselves into. In the photo, they were hand in hand, with matching, giant smiles on their faces. Anyone who’d seen them would have thought they’d looked happy and madly in love.

Crazy, how easy it was to fake something.

For the past hour, from the moment she’d gotten home, she’d been scouring the web, looking for articles about the two of them, which were easy to find. It was all the media seemed able to write about. Talk about a slow-news day. Their names and faces were plastered everywhere, much to her growing fascination. She’d always been on the other side of the publicity spectrum. The one who drummed up interest, never the one who everyone was interested in.

It was a trip.

Like a good little publicist, she got comfortable on her bed and created Google alerts so she’d be notified when anything regarding her and Flynn together popped up on the web. After going through a bunch, she sent on the better, more positive articles to Harvey-the-jerk. She kept the nasty, spiteful little articles to herself, though it would take nothing for Harvey to dig those up, too.

Flynn claimed not to read much of his own press, which she could hardly believe, but whatever. If he wanted to remain clueless as to what they were saying about him, about her and Flynn together, then so be it. She, on the other hand, wanted to know everything.

Both the good and the bad.

Her cell rang, and she grabbed it from her bedside table to check who was calling. It was her mom. Crap. Her heart sinking into her toes, she offered a tentative, “Hello,” hoping against hope her mom had decided to crawl under a rock the past few days and knew nothing about her and Flynn.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” her mother screeched the moment Aubrey answered. “You’re in love with Flynn Foley? I knew working with those football players would mess with your head, sweetheart, but now you’ve gone off the deep end and fallen in love with one? Are you crazy?”

“Mom.” Her mother still ranted. Even though she’d been divorced from Aubrey’s father for years, since Aubrey was thirteen, she still had negative feelings toward the male sex. Thank God, Aubrey was an only child and had no male siblings. They would’ve been done for, what with the man hater Sharon Cooper had turned into.

“And to think I tried my best to raise you right. Don’t you know football players are nothing but a bunch of cheating Lotharios who enjoy nothing more than getting women all twisted over them?”

“Mom, jeez. Let me explain myself.” Aubrey sighed and let her mother continue on for a few more minutes. She may as well get it all out of her system first, then Aubrey could explain what was happening.

There was no way she’d tell her mom the truth. She already thought Aubrey was crazy enough for being in a so-called relationship with Flynn. If she knew it was fake? She’d probably end up telling everyone. The very last thing they wanted.

“Are you done?” Aubrey asked when her mom finally paused, seemingly to catch her breath. “Can I have a turn and tell you what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to feed me a bunch of bullshit over how much he loves you and you think he’s going to take care of you for the rest of your life? Because he won’t, sweetie. He’ll find someone else eventually and leave you to figure out the hard stuff on your own,” her mom said.

Aubrey closed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard. Her mom was so negative. She projected all of her earlier experiences with Aubrey’s dad on everything. She had no faith Aubrey could find a good guy for herself because, hey, they all sucked. Every last one of them.

“Listen. Be quiet for a minute,” Aubrey said when she got her chance. “I’m seeing Flynn Foley, yes, but it’s nothing too outrageous. He’s a nice guy. We have fun together. That’s it.”

“The segment I saw on
Entertainment Tonight
said the two of you were hot and heavy and that there’s even talk of marriage.”

Well, that was taking it a little too far. They’d “come out” publicly and confirmed they were together, and now there was talk of marriage? “Don’t believe everything you see or hear, Mom. Take it from your publicist daughter.”

“So you’re not engaged to this boy?”

“Of course not! We’ve only just started dating.”

“And you didn’t take his virginity? I can’t even believe I just asked you that question. Don’t answer it,” her mom said hurriedly.

The virgin thing hung in everyone’s mind. It drove Aubrey freaking nuts. What she’d first thought might be kind of fun, to mold and teach a man exactly what she wanted in the bedroom, had turned into this crazy joke of a situation, where the public deemed her the virgin stealer.

“Trust me. I won’t answer it. What happens between Flynn and me is no one’s business,” Aubrey said.

“Honey, I hate to point this out, but your relationship with this
player
—and I’m not just talking football—has turned into everyone’s business, real quick.”

Aubrey didn’t need an explanation for why her mom called Flynn a player. “We’ll navigate it as best we can. Don’t worry. This is what I went to college for, after all.”

“I’m just afraid he’ll try to take advantage of a sweet, trusting girl like you.”

“I need to go, Mom. Don’t worry about me, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Do you need to go because he’s there? Are you at your apartment? If you’re going to insist on having a relationship with this man, then at the very least, spend most of your time at his house. I’m sure he lives in a gorgeous mansion. Let him spend money on you, honey. Take advantage of what he has to offer you financially,” her mom encouraged.

“Can’t believe you’d suggest that—I’m not a gold digger, Mom.” Good Lord, the woman had clearly lost it. “Talk to you later, okay?” She hung up before her mother could get another word in. She set her laptop aside and stretched out on her bed, tired of dealing with…everything.

It wasn’t even six o’clock, and she was already exhausted. What with Harvey, Flynn, the reporters and photographers, and now her mother, she was done. She needed a nap. Forget her growling stomach and the work she still needed to do. It would all still be there in a few hours. Or tomorrow.

…

Flynn drove, his grip tight on the steering wheel of his brand-new truck Harvey had picked up for him so they could throw the paparazzi off his trail, his gaze never straying from the road in front of him. He was a man on a mission, and nothing was going to distract him.

The shrill ring that filled the interior of the vehicle blew that thought to pieces. Worse, the man calling him sent his mood straight into Shitsville.

Reaching out, he hit the button on his bluetooth and answered the call. “Hey Dad,” he said. Waiting for the verbal blow that he knew would come.

“Son.” That was it. Nothing else.

Flynn clutched the steering wheel even tighter, if that was possible. “What’s up?”

“Your aim was off.”

No kind words, no congratulations on your team making it another step in the play-offs. Just immediate criticism. He was surprised it had taken him this long to call.

Welcome to the world of having James Foley as a father.

“I played maybe five minutes,” Flynn retorted, wincing the moment the words came out of his mouth. What was it about talking to his father that turned him immediately into a sullen teen?

“And for those five minutes, your aim was off. You’re throwing to your left. Didn’t your coach mention that? Haven’t you guys been working on this fault of yours?”

He sure had, not that Flynn would admit it to his father. Besides, he was damn lucky they’d given him a few minutes of field time. Quinn’s shoulder had been acting up, and they’d had such a strong lead going into the fourth quarter, they’d let him out to play. “Listen, we won the game, so isn’t that good enough?”

“No thanks to you,” his father muttered. “If you think you’re going to stay on with the team with that sort of game play, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Flynn pressed his lips together to keep in the string of awful words that wanted to pour out. He rarely disrespected his father and hadn’t done so in years. He hadn’t ever displeased his father much to earn this barrage of words, either, until this season. Last season had been amazing, what with him having to step in and take over for Quinn while he was out with his shoulder injury. Flynn had done well, earned a ton of press, and had been sitting on top of the world.

They’d called him Golden Boy. He’d been on the cover of freaking
Sports Illustrated
, for the love of God. His dad had bragged to everyone what a superstar his boy was. Never doubting Flynn or his skills for one single moment. Flynn hadn’t doubted his skills, either. He felt as though he’d not only conquered the world but damn near owned it.

Until Quinn had come back this season, fresh and better than ever, knocking Flynn right off his pedestal. They kept Flynn on, just in case, scared that Quinn could reinjure himself, but it never happened. He played as if he hadn’t been injured, worming his way back into everyone’s eyes, minds, and hearts as though he’d never freaking left.

Then the guy had to go fall in love with and marry the sweetest woman on the planet. Everyone loved Jared and Sheridan. They were the perfect couple.

And now the media mocked Flynn as much as they could. Why wasn’t he playing? What happened to the Golden Boy? The rumors, the gossip, the harsh criticisms—they all spurred him on and made him want to play harder. Better. Faster.

“If they trade me, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Flynn finally said to his father, not really giving a crap any longer. He’d loved the Hawks since he was a kid, because it was his dad’s favorite team. He’d wanted to play with them ever since he could remember…with his father’s influence, of course. And when it actually happened, when he’d been signed with the Hawks right out of college, it had been like a dream come true for both him and his father.

But they didn’t play him anymore. He was going nowhere, and he was wasting valuable time. Everyone knew it, too, and he sensed a trade could happen. Nothing personal, he just knew his chances with the Hawks were slim to none, what with Quinn being completely unstoppable. Flynn was sick of sitting on a bench. He wanted to play.

“You want to be traded? Are you insane?” His father sounded incredulous. No surprise. The very last thing he wanted was Flynn leaving the Hawks. He bragged about his son as much as possible, not that he’d done much talking lately. “You’re not helping matters with this girl you’re seeing. Your publicist.”

The disgust in his father’s voice was no surprise. Flynn didn’t know how to answer him, either.

“I don’t know what I want.” That was the truth. “And keep Aubrey out of this.” He flicked the vehicle’s blinker on and turned right on Aubrey’s street. Yep, he was going there. He didn’t have a choice. She was all he could think about. She freaking consumed his thoughts, and he knew it was crazy but damn it, he needed to see her. Make sure she was all right.

“Keep her out of this? She’s an even bigger problem, don’t you think? What did I tell you about staying focused, huh? Getting involved with a woman—one you work with, I might add—is about the worst thing you could go and do at this particular moment.”

He took his father’s chastising, and when he’d finished, Flynn reassured him that he wouldn’t let a woman distract him from the most important games of his career. That promise didn’t appease his father whatsoever, so Flynn pulled over on the side of the road and sat there for another ten minutes, listening to the dangers of becoming involved with a woman and losing his sense of self, then
finally
hung up.

If Flynn’s mother ever heard that particular speech, what would she think? His dad’s words were insulting to women and his supposed sacred views on the institute of marriage. It made Flynn wonder if his dad, such a faithful guy all these years, was secretly miserable?

The guy was never flat-out happy. When had he ever been? As a kid, Flynn had loved making his dad proud when he’d accomplished something on the field. As he’d grown older, though, he’d realized his dad seemed to live through his every success. He pushed and pushed, not always because he cared, but because he wanted to look good and impress his friends.

He’s always controlled you. You don’t know how to live any other way.

Hell. The realization made him furious.

His father had always led him down the right path. Had supposedly always watched out for his best interests. What Flynn wanted, his father wanted, as well. His entire life had been about football. He’d been consumed with it. Knew nothing else
but
football.

He was starting to realize there was a lot more to life than just football. And he was missing out on all of the opportunity that surrounded him.

Like Aubrey. Like living a real life, with friends and a girlfriend and not having to think about football all damn day.

Within minutes, he was pulling into her complex’s parking lot, and he hurried to her building. It was dark, the night was quiet, and he was almost afraid someone was lurking in the shadows or behind a bush. He’d lost the paparazzi, who had been trailing him heavily all day, thanks to his new truck, which any average Joe could own.

That was exactly what Flynn wanted. Something that could help him blend in and not be obvious. He was tired of obvious.

So freaking tired of it.

Earlier he and Aubrey had stopped and posed for a few quick photos when they’d left the Hawks facility, just before they’d parted ways for the afternoon. When she’d gazed up at him, her expression all adoring, dreamy-eyed girlfriend, he’d dropped a quick kiss on her upturned lips. The buzz that had gone through him when their mouths had made first contact hadn’t gone unnoticed on his part. Though she’d seemed completely unaffected.