Stephanie Doyle - Betting On The Rookie

He glared as if he were about to snap at her, too, then she could see he just released his anger in a woosh of breath. As if simply by looking at him, she had soothed the savage beast. She had originally thought he was a white-knight hero, but he wasn’t without a little temper, either.

“It’s not right. Calling out your character like that. And sorry, but I’m not going to stand for it. You’ve got to deal with that. Okay? You’re my agent now. I get to say what I want about you when I want to. Got it?”

At his intensity, Sam felt a swirl of something in her chest. Like she was being looked after and cared for and protected. It wasn’t an uncommon feeling.

Of course she’d always had Duff.

Then there had been Bob, her mother’s husband and Sam’s biological father. Something Bob hadn’t known for eighteen years of Sam’s life because he’d been stupid by dumping Sam’s mother when he thought he was doing the right thing by her. Bob had wanted to fight her battles, too, like any other father would, but Sam was an adult when she met him. She’d been able to take care of herself, even at eighteen.

Yes, Duff and Bob were two men with flaws. But they were also two men who’d had her back.

Now Evan stood in front of her, and with him, she had that same feeling. Like no matter what, he would guard over her, snarling at anyone who dared to take a swipe at her, no matter how many times she told him she could save herself. Hadn’t he called her terrifying?

Terrifying people took care of themselves.

She opened her mouth to tell him one more time he didn’t have to save her. That she wasn’t that kind of woman who needed rescuing.

Instead she nodded. “Got it.”

He was looking at her warily, like he was waiting for more of a fight, but the truth was there was no point in arguing. She wasn’t going to change his mind, and she wasn’t going lie to herself and say there hadn’t been some satisfaction in watching someone else defend her. Someone else besides her say she wasn’t a liar.

“I’m going to be on Sports Center tonight, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Sam agreed. “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. A little buzz never hurt anyone. And since you don’t have a Twitter account, you’re not going to know what all the horrible Richard Stanson fans are going to Tweet about you for calling out their boy.”

“The fact that he still has fans... I mean, seriously, how do people reconcile that? How can you root for someone who you know has no respect for women?”

Sam frowned. “Because he wins. Don’t get me wrong—we’ll call him out for it, we’ll talk about him for a couple of weeks, we’ll even discuss domestic abuse and ways to help end it. But at the end of the day, people don’t really care about their sports heroes’ lives. They care about their own lives, and when their team wins, they feel good. That’s all that counts.”

“Doesn’t make it right.”

Sam walked over to him and brushed a little lint off his shoulder. “I told you before. Welcome to the Bigs, my friend.”

They looked at each other, and Sam could feel a shift in the dynamic. She was standing too close. She had made an excuse to touch him. Had there been any lint really, or had she just wanted to get closer to him? So she could be near the man who wanted to rush to her defense.

The man who had made her pout.

He was looking at her now not as his agent but as a woman, and she could feel the answer to that look all the way to her toes.

Yes.

No.

She tried to be casual about how she removed her hand from his shoulder, but before she could fully escape, he’d circled his fingers around her wrist, trapping her.

“Are we going to talk about this?” he asked, his voice low and slightly gruff.

“Talk about what?”

Sam almost wanted to smile at how well she had pulled off that line. She was cool, casual and sounded completely unaware of anything he might be talking about.

“I want you.”

Sam’s jaw dropped. Who did that? Who just said the thing they were thinking despite the consequences?

“I get it. I know it’s messed up. You’re my agent and I want it to stay that way, but maybe it would be better, easier, if we talked about the elephant. Because I’m pretty sure this goes both ways.”

Sam managed a weak huff. “That’s awfully arrogant of you.”

Evan shook his head slowly. “Not really. You’re trembling, and where my thumb is hitting your pulse point I can feel your heart racing.”

Sam jerked her hand away, and Evan let her go.

“We need a plan. A way we’re going to deal with it.”

“I had a plan,” Sam said. “I was going to ignore it. You were supposed to do the same. It’s how adults deal with things they don’t want to deal with.”

“That seems silly, doesn’t it?”

He was smiling, which made him look incredibly endearing. She wanted to slap his face. Maybe that would cure him of his desire. “Look, Evan, what did you think I was going to say?”

“I want you, too.”

Like that was going to happen. Like she would just put herself out there and see how he reacted. Raw and vulnerable.

“I meant, what did you think talking about this openly would accomplish?”

He shrugged. Then sighed. “Honestly I don’t know. Like I said, I don’t want to lose you as an agent.”

“Then you must know we can’t possibly have any romantic entanglement. Ours is a business relationship.”

“Entanglement? You make that sound like a game of Twister. I’m not talking about just an entanglement. Yes, I get our business relationship makes things more complicated. And, yes, it makes sense to walk away from any kind of personal relationship.”

Sam felt physically relieved. He understood. That was good. That would prevent him from making any more ridiculous comments.

“But it doesn’t change the fact we still want each other.”

Comments like that.

“Evan.” Sam sighed. What in the hell was she supposed to do with a man like this? One who was just so out there with himself. Wasn’t he worried he was going to get hurt? Because it’s what she would most likely do. To protect herself she would lash out like a cat that has encountered an overfriendly dog who wants to play. A few swipes and the dog would walk away whimpering.

“Okay, look, I can see it makes you uncomfortable to talk about it. I’ll drop it for now.”

“Thank you,” she said, feeling for the first time since he’d started speaking she could take a deep breath.

“Here’s the thing, though, Sam. I’ve learned a lot in the last few years since I first met you. I’ve learned you don’t get anything in this world you truly want without taking some risks. While our situation might not be ideal, don’t think it means I’m not going to try for it. For you. Because now I know what it means to take that risk and win. I’m not afraid.”

He moved around her, and Sam turned to watch as he opened the door to the office and left. Happy that she’d been able to keep her mouth closed. Because what she had really wanted to say was...don’t go.

Which of course was ridiculous. They were having dinner that night with Jocelyn Taft Wright and her husband, Pete. A thank-you from Jocelyn for Evan having agreed to the interview.

Today was Evan’s off day, and really it was generous of him to give up his free time to do the press conference in the first place.

Sam took a few deep, calming breaths. All things considered, nothing too terrible had happened. Evan had confessed to wanting her, but she hadn’t really done the same.

She hadn’t been able to work up the steeliness to actually lie to him, so it was better she say nothing. Now she knew she would have to work much harder to keep a personal distance between them.