Carly Phillips - Hot Stuff

And now Annabelle understood what Joanne meant when she'd called Vaughn's parents elitist snobs. She tensed, waiting for Vaughn's reply.

"Those delinquents are kids that the system ignores." Vaughn's voice rose in anger. "Sports is their only chance of getting into a decent college, and if I can help them see that academics are important too, then I’ll have accomplished something," he said, gritting his teeth so hard the muscles bulged in his neck.

She didn't know why these kids were so important to Vaughn, but at least now she understood his goals. From a business angle at least, Annabelle could come down on Vaughn's side.

"Actually from a public relations perspective, volunteer work is much better than work for hire," she said to Estelle. "Vaughn obviously doesn't need the coaching job to make a living and if he's giving back to the students and to the community, it's admirable." Her defense of Vaughn came too naturally for her peace of mind and she told herself she admired his goals, nothing more.

"Yes, well you're merely a hotel manager, dear. You wouldn't understand the world of academia that Brandon comes from." Estelle studied her from behind her large-framed sunglasses.

Annabelle suffered the subtle put-down in silence. Apparently her men's-style plaid pants and white T-shirt hadn't passed Estelle's inspection. The thought had her biting back a grin. She chose to shut her mouth and let his mother continue.

"Vaughn has the opportunity to make his father proud and it's time he took it," Estelle continued, oblivious to the fact that she'd long since lost her audience.

"A Superbowl ring wasn't enough for the old man," Vaughn explained to Annabelle in a bored voice she didn't buy for one second.

His father didn't find the biggest accomplishment in Vaughn's career enough? That had to hurt, Annabelle thought.

"Let's not revisit old drama again," his mother said. "You know how I hate airing family business in public. Just tell me you'll be at the dinner. Please."

"I agree with your mother," Annabelle chimed in, seeing the opportunity as a golden one.

"Like that's going to sway me." He folded his arms across his chest and stared stony faced.

She sighed. Whatever Vaughn's reasons for not wanting to attend this dinner, they couldn't be as important as the PR reasons for him to attend. College events would bring visitors who would need a place to stay. Though Vaughn didn't yet realize it, he needed the University President and Board Trustees on his side, referring guests to his lodge.

And since Vaughn was paying Annabelle to do her job, she damn well intended to push harder and explain her reasons to him later. "Your mother's right. I wouldn't understand academia," she said, neglecting to mention her college degree and her MBA. "But even a dinner party would be a nice diversion from this small town with no nightlife." She grasped his arm and squeezing tight. "Can't we go, please?" she asked him in a whiny, girlfriend voice.

His mother already thought them a couple. She saw no reason not to reinforce the notion.

He cleared his throat. "I don't think-"

"Oh, please? I brought a nice dress and I'd love an excuse to wear it."

Estelle remained silent, obviously weighing her options. Her son at the dinner party with his inappropriate girlfriend or no son at all. "Annabelle's right, Brandon. Give the young lady an excuse to get out of her sweats and dress up for a change."

Annabelle shot Vaughn a triumphant grin. Damn she was good at reading people and gauging their reactions. Estelle had played right into her hands.

"Fine. We'll be there," Vaughn said, patting her hand in a way that felt more like a slap than a love tap.

"I can't wait to tell your father." Estelle jiggled her keys and began to walk away.

Annabelle knew she'd pay later, but for now she was darn proud. She'd just performed her first duty as his publicist and garnered him an important public appearance with her by his side.

Now all she had to do was keep things as superficial as the "jock bunny" label implied. Which shouldn't be a problem considering Vaughn's distant attitude. It was her own growing desire she had to keep in check.

VAUGHN WANTED TO KILL Annabelle. Short of that he'd settle for strangling her and that fairy pooch that didn't know how to pee like a man. Instead he'd driven her to his resort and handed her over to Nick for a tour. Meanwhile he'd headed to his on-site office to get some work done.

He needed the time to deal with the fact that she'd just put herself smack in the middle of his family hell. Add to that she was forcing him to show up at one of his parents' ridiculous cocktail parties in the name of good PR for the lodge.

If he'd known he'd have to make that kind of sacrifice, he'd have sold the entire place to Nick and been done with it. Nothing was worth subjecting himself to his father's boring speeches intended to impress the Board of Trustees and, Vaughn was certain, to remind him of all the so-called brain power his son lacked.

Yet as frustrated and angry as he was with Annabelle, he was forced to admit her reasoning made sense. He'd figured the lodge as an upstate getaway for kids during the summer and a cozy lodge resort in the winter. He'd never even thought about local colleges. He should have. But now thanks to Annabelle, he'd tap into a brand-new market. It was brilliant, he thought, as long as he didn't have to admit that to his new publicist.

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to the stack of paperwork in front of him. Thanks to the delays, the plumbing installation was behind schedule, but they'd made up good time in other areas. He hoped they could continue on such a smooth path.

Calmed somewhat, he headed to meet up with Nick and Annabelle. He found them near the lake where they had spread out a blanket beneath a tree. Annabelle and Nick sat side by side, laughing and eating from a picnic basket. The dog hopped up and down on his hind legs begging for attention and when that ploy failed, he ran laps around a nearby bush.

From Vaughn's perspective, the son of a bitch who called himself Vaughn's best friend had decided to romance Annabelle.

Vaughn came up to the oversized blanket they sat on, "I thought we were here to work."

Annabelle glanced up. She hadn't expected to see Vaughn so soon and her adrenaline shot up a notch.

"We did work," Nick said as he shot Vaughn a sidelong glance. "I gave Annabelle the grand tour and we came to find you, but Mara said you weren't to be disturbed."

Annabelle grinned at that. Mara was a woman who spoke her mind about business and a whole lot more. She'd been in Nick's face, flirting, but Nick had deliberately ignored her blatant interest. When he'd asked her to call a local restaurant to deliver a lunch picnic for himself and Annabelle, Mara had nearly flung the telephone at his head.

Oh, those two were interesting, Annabelle thought. As was this picnic, which had taken her by surprise. Then there was Vaughn, who looked ready to grind either their lunch, or her hyper dog jumping at his feet, into dust.

She grabbed Boris away and spoke to Vaughn. "Actually your assistant said you bit her head off and ordered no interruptions unless she wanted to lose her job."

Vaughn ran a hand through his hair. "It's been a long day."

"It's only eleven." Nick chuckled. "I hear you're going to the university fund-raiser after all. Plan on giving that coaching position a shot?"

Vaughn shook his head. "I told you to apply for it. They'd be damn lucky to have you."

"As second choice. I'd rather manage this place like we talked about."

Annabelle listened to the discussion between the two men with interest. Nick was Vaughn's best friend, but despite Joanne's assertions of loyalty, he was obviously runner-up to his pal, both in the lodge and in coaching choice. Could there be jealousy there? Enough to cause Nick to sabotage his own investment? The notion didn't seem likely but she couldn't afford to overlook any possibility.