Killian (On the Line #1) - Brenda Rothert Page 0,7
with that guy. The pull she had over me made my chest uncomfortably tight. I had never answered to anyone and I wasn’t about to start. And I sure as hell was not going to kowtow to a ball busting team owner who chastised me for having a little fun.
But I was going to have fun with her. I wasn’t leaving the team, and we both knew it. She couldn’t afford to lose me, and she knew that I knew that. I had the looks and charm to be the one player with a pull over her. It would take time and patience, but I was up to the challenge. With the assistance of some Internet research, I’d plan and execute her seduction before she even saw it coming.
Sidney
Early the next morning, I sat at my desk and closed my eyes after seeing the one hundred and six unread emails in my inbox. I took a fortifying breath. I hadn’t left the office until after eight last night, and these messages had all come in since then.
My administrative assistant Barb set a mug of coffee in front of me and I took in the scent of the hot brew and the sweet creamer she’d stirred in.
“Drink and then we’ll talk,” she said, sitting down in front of my desk. I obeyed, downing half of the coffee before saying another word.
“Better,” I said. “Thank you. Looks like we have a busy day ahead.”
“Meeting with Orion at eight. You need to finish by eight forty-five so you can catch a flight that leaves Indy at ten. Flight time to New York is two hours and fifteen minutes. You’ll have lunch on the plane. I requested a salmon salad. Your meeting with the investors for the Gideon development is at one. I set aside two hours for that, but your next meeting isn’t until four so there’s some time there.”
“Who’s at four?”
“Tom Hardesty from HR at Firestorm.”
I rubbed my temple and sighed. Since taking over the hockey team I hadn’t been as involved in my tech company as I needed to be. Firestorm was normally a well-oiled machine, but I was the president after all and I liked to be hands-on.
“You’re scheduled to fly back to Indy at six fifteen this evening, but I can move it to tomorrow if you’d like to stay at your apartment in New York tonight.”
I shook my head. “I’ll come back tonight.”
“Can I get you some breakfast? It’ll help give you energy for this long day ahead.”
Barb was always looking out for me in a motherly way. It’d caught me off guard at first, because my own mother hadn’t been motherly at all. No one had ever been as nurturing to me as Barb.
“That sounds good, actually. Why don’t you order something for all of us from that deli? I’ll take an egg white scramble and some fruit.” I glanced at my watch and groaned. My meeting with Orion was in thirty minutes.
“I can go through all those emails and make a digest of anything you need to address,” Barb offered. “You may want to focus on the contract for your meeting about the Gideon development. And your father called yesterday and the day before, so you may want to return his call.”
“Eh. I’m already stressed and that call will likely push me over the edge.”
“I’ll tell him you’re very busy when he calls today.”
A wave of guilt hit. “No. I’ll call him. Might as well get it over with.”
Barb stepped out and pulled my office door closed. I pushed a button to call my dad and after two rings I started hoping I’d gotten lucky enough to get his voicemail.
“Sidney.”
Damn. I wasn’t lucky after all.
“How’s my little girl?”
“I’m good, Dad. How are you?”
“No complaints.” His voice was muffled as he stopped talking to me to direct his driver as to which road to take. “What’s this I hear about you investing in Gideon?”
“I haven’t inked anything yet, but I’m leaning that way.”
His sigh was loaded with aggravation. “It’s an undervalued company, I’ll give you that. But it’s too risky. You’ve been lucky, Sidney. Don’t squander what you have on a risky investment.”
“What you call luck, I call working my ass off.”
“Of course,” he said, chuckling. “You’ve done well, honey. But when are you going to stop focusing all your energy on work? You’ll be twenty-eight on your next birthday. Your mother and I are approaching sixty. We’d like some grandchildren soon.”
“I’m not even seeing anyone, Dad.”
“Exactly.