Page 18 of Worth the Risk
“Hmm?” I respond, as I stand up and make a big display of organizing my jewelry tray next to the bed.
“Look at me, baby.”
I sigh as I turn toward the bed and slowly bring my eyes to his. His expression is tender and soft.
“Don’t regret this, Hannah. Don’t get in your head,” Luca says as he throws his legs over the side of the bed and pulls me to stand between his legs. Even with him sitting, our height difference makes us almost eye level.
“Okay,” I whisper as he leans his forehead against mine.
“Another one done,” he says, and I furrow my brow in confusion. “Your bucket list. I’m just slowly checking them off, one by one.” He gives me a saucy grin before kissing me quickly. “I gotta get home so I can go to work. Can you give me your number? I’d like to be able to actually get in touch with you without midnight booty call type situations.”
“Is that what that was?” I say, horrified. He barks out a laugh.
“No, Hannah. I swear, it wasn’t. Give me your number so I don’t have to knock on your door at all. I can text you first,” he says cheekily as he puts on his jeans.
I walk into the kitchen to start some coffee. I have a long day ahead, meeting with four players and strategizing with the marketing team on player profiles.
Luca trails behind me, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his phone.
“What’s your number, baby?” he asks, and I rattle off the numbers. I hear my phone go off in the bedroom. “Now you have mine, too.”
“Okay,” I say quietly.
Luca smiles at me and leans in, giving me a soft kiss as he strokes my cheek.
“Dinner tonight?” he asks softly. I nod as he kisses me again. “I’ll text you later. Bye, baby.”
As I lock the door behind him, I let out a deep exhale.
I sure hope the rest of the day pans out as well as my morning.
My two morning meetings ran long and I was forced to eat lunch at my desk while catching up on emails. My two afternoon sessions are with the Russian goalie, Alexei Pavlov, and with the guy my uncle warned me about Luke Santo. To finish up the day, I’m meeting with my two interns. Kill me now.
Alexei is stoic and mostly answers me with one word responses. It’s like pulling teeth. He’s going to be a hard nut to crack, and I fear doing any kind of player profile on him where I have to make him appear personable. Other players and some staff have warned me that he’s very closed-off and private. I hate that people try to warn me about the players. This is why I didn’t do any research. I wanted to meet them without any preconceived notions. But since I was warned Alexei is closed-off, it makes me frustrated more quickly, and then I get very awkward with my conversation. Any attempt at a joke was either completely ignored, or went over his head. Possibly a language barrier? I don’t know. But the meeting was incredibly uncomfortable and felt like it dragged on for hours.
As I’m finishing up my notes, my uncle pops his head into my office.
“Hey, Han. How’s it going?” he asks.
“Good. Just have one last player interview and then I’ve officially met the whole team,” I tell him.
“Who is left?”
“Luke Santo.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t sound so thrilled,” I tease him.
“I just don’t like the guy. He’s a douche,” Uncle Bennett mutters.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Just watch yourself around him. He’s a player and he’d have no qualms about taking you down, consequences be damned.”
“Jesus, Uncle Bennett! How about a little respect for me here? I can handle myself,” I tell him. He gives me a crooked smile.
“I know you can, pot pie,” he teases me. I roll my eyes.