Blitzed (The Alpha Ballers #3) by Lucy Snow Read Free Book Online Page B

win-win. There are probably a dozen teams that would line up to take him off your hands.”

    “We certainly could do that.”

    “It’s better than having him on the roster, signing him again, and then needing to keep him even when his numbers decline because his contract is too valuable.”

    “He’s made team-friendly deals in the past.”

    “Yeah, but from what I read, players have a way of seeing the end coming a little sooner than the teams they play for, and then the team-friendly contracts start becoming a lot more player-friendly, if you know what I mean.”

    “I have an idea.”

    “Yeah.” Steve finished his drink and looked around. “Listen, I didn’t mean to start talking so much shop all at once.”

    “Don’t worry about it, actually, I kinda liked seeing you all fired up.” I smiled. “It was pretty cute.”

    “Yeah, well, I can get even cuter.”

    “Oh yeah? How does that work?”

    “It’s a little tough to show you in such an, ahem, public place.” Steve’s smile got a little naughty, and as my second drink took hold, that naughty smile looked sexier and sexier.

    Up until now if you had asked me where Hudson Asher was in the room in relation to me, I could have pointed him out without hesitation, but after getting into it with Steve over contracts and football talk, I wasn’t even sure if he was still at the party.

    I thought that was an improvement, all things considered. I was here with Steve, and there was no reason for me to be indulging in a harmless schoolgirl crush on one of my father’s employees.

    And if he lasted a little while longer with the Patriots, Hud would be one of my employees, with how things were going.

    “I like the sound of that,” I said, and finished off my drink, setting the glass down on a table nearby. I rested my hands on the table and looked at Steve, challenging him. “So, what do we do now?” Liquid courage was pulsing through my veins, and I felt like being bold.

    Steve was the perfect guy to be a little bold with. Nothing too out of hand or out of character. And if nothing else, Steve could help me get over my little crush on Hudson Asher.

    If I could even call it a little crush anymore.

    Steve stepped closer to me, around the table that until that moment had been between us, and put his arm around my waist. I let him pull me in, my senses going into overdrive, a little self conscious about public displays of affection, especially in a place like this, with people I worked with, and people who worked for me.

    And Hudson Asher. But I was trying not to think about him, and I was doing an OK job at it. Maybe.

    “Steve, we can’t,” I whispered, looking around, thankful that no one else looked to be paying any attention to us at the moment. Steve didn’t match my glance, focusing on me the entire time. “Not here, I work with these people.”

    “No one cares,” he said back, and kissed me briefly on the lips. My whole body fluttered at his kiss, but I wasn’t sure it was because I had craved it or because it seemed a little taboo in a room full of coworkers at a charity event. I had never really thought of charity events as exciting before, so this was new.

    “I do, though. I don’t want people to talk.”

    “What’ll they talk about? You’re on a date.”

    I gave Steve something that approached a glare. “It’s different for me, Steve, you wouldn’t understand.”

    “Try me.” There was no rancor in his voice; Steve genuinely looked like he was interested.

    I looked at him some more without replying for a few seconds, just to check, but he only raised his eyebrows and nodded. “It’s just…different.”

    “Come on, Mackenzie, that’s not good enough and you know it.”

    “OK, OK, two reasons. The first is, I’m a woman working in a man’s field.”

    “So?”

    “So every thing I do gets judged against that. If I slip up, my entire gender takes a hit.”

    “And the second reason?”

    “My father