doesn’t matter. You were sexually harassed almost nonstop. A good attorney can get around whatever you signed.”
“Maybe. But who can afford a good attorney? Besides, Stoker has been building a case, finding reasons to criticize me,” Viv admitted. “Little stuff, ridiculous, really. But it started right after he warned me to stop being a ‘distraction’ to the players. I’m sure he’s got a file full of excuses to fire me.”
“God, this pisses me off!” Lulu exclaimed. “You get the shaft because you wouldn’t go out with some spoiled athletes, and there’s nothing you can do about it? I can’t believe you’re not throwing bricks through their office windows.”
“Maybe I’m just tired of fighting,” Viv said, more to herself than the others. She’d always been tough, a fighter—her dad said she was as ballsy as her brothers. But the past few months had taken their toll. And it wasn’t just her job, but also what had happened last spring with Dale, the guy she’d been dating.
She was weary. And more than a little heartsick.
Making eye contact with the waiter, Viv pointed to her already half-empty glass. Lulu, and even Amelia, nodded for more, too, out of solidarity, though it was a weeknight. Viv appreciated them meeting her at their favorite bar. Lulu was a newlywed, and Amelia engaged, so their girls’ nights were few and far between. It was good to know her friends always had her back, even if the team’s management did not.
“Can you go over his head, to the team’s owner?” asked Lulu.
“I’m not sure who the owner is—some big corporation, I think.”
“That’s not unusual,” Amelia interjected. “Often a few millionaires pool their money, start up a corporation to shield their other assets and buy a team.”
Viv and Lulu eyed their completely unathletic friend.
Amelia explained. “You don’t suppose I can be engaged to a sports reporter and not pick up some stuff, do you?”
Viv sighed. “Lex is a good one. You are both so lucky.”
“You will be, too,” Amelia said. “There are other nice guys out there.”
“I’d be happy with one who didn’t believe he had the right to grab my crotch because he makes millions playing a damn game.” Running a weary hand over her brow, she added, “To be honest, I’m kinda burned out on the whole male species right now.”
Lulu waggled her brows suggestively.
“Not that I’m suddenly into girls,” Viv said with a chuckle, understanding what her friend was implying. “You know I love cock. If only I could get it without a bunch of strings.”
Amelia stuck her fingers into her ears and feigned shocked innocence. Considering she was shacking up with Lex, who was a Hottie McHottentot, it would take a lot more than that to singe her pretty ears.
“There’s always your dildo,” said Lulu.
Amelia coughed into her fist. Viv and Lulu both smirked.
“Yeah,” Viv replied, “but it’s not the same as real, genuine man meat. Unfortunately, lately, all that meat has been attached to asshole jerks.” And not just at work, either.
“The perfect guy is out there waiting to nudge his way into your heart,” said Amelia, skipping the man-meat comment.
Viv almost retorted that she only wanted one to nudge his face between her thighs, but figured she’d shocked the other woman enough for one evening. “I can’t look for one now. I have to get a new job and straighten myself out before I can even think about letting any man near my heart.” Her vagina was a different matter, but she didn’t mention that, either.
“Neeley ought to be shot for making you feel that way. Or at least arrested for assault,” said Lulu.
She laughed bitterly. “Oh, that would go over well.”
Talk about bad publicity for the new team, and she wouldn’t do herself any favors in the long run. She needed to look toward the future, toward landing another job, and fast. She lived in an expensive high-rise in Arlington, and only had enough in reserve to cover two months’ rent. Filing charges against a huge sports star—the most popular guy in the state right now—would not win her any friends among hiring officials, or anybody else.
Heck, her five brothers—all of them hockey nuts—might even be annoyed at her. Of course, they all also might want to kill Neeley. She honestly didn’t know how her family would react, and didn’t want to find out. She only prayed that the story wouldn’t go national, and her family wouldn’t see any coverage of it in the tiny Pennsylvania town where they all lived.
“I hate it, and it goes against everything I believe in, but I have to just let it go,” she said. “Gotta hope karma takes care of this one for me and Neeley gets what he deserves.”
“If there’s anything Lex can do, I’m sure he would,” said Amelia. “He’s no fan of Neeley’s. He thinks he’s a fathead.”
“Well, he’s certainly a hardhead. And thanks, I appreciate it,” Viv said, meaning it. Amelia’s fiancé was a popular DC sports reporter. If worse came to worst, it might not be bad to have him on her side. “But I guess I just want to get the firing over with and move on.”
“Don’t give up,” said Lulu. “Somebody in that room had to have seen what Neeley did. Or you can explain to the general manager. He might be so worried about bad publicity that he’ll let you stay.”
It was possible, she supposed, and she allowed her friend’s words to cheer her up momentarily.
But they proved to be overly optimistic.
Because about eighteen hours later, after a meeting with the team’s general manager that left her humiliated and angry, Viv was cleaning out her desk.
Fired.
* * *
WHAT DAMIEN BLACK knew about cars would probably fit on the inside cover of a matchbook. But as he watched a shapely blonde lift the hood of her sedan and stare with a complete lack of comprehension at the inner workings of the engine, he found himself wishing he was an ace mechanic.
One thing he did know how to do, however, was spell AAA. So without even hesitating, he changed direction, heading not toward the exit and the adjoining office building that he owned, but to the woman with the car trouble.
“Problems?”
The blonde had been mumbling some colorful words under her breath as he walked up behind her, and obviously hadn’t heard him approach. His words startled her. She jerked her head, glancing at him over her shoulder, giving him his first real look at her.
Damien’s lips parted in a small, surprised inhalation, but he quickly schooled his features. He was used to not giving anything away, and he definitely didn’t want to let this gorgeous female know he’d been briefly rendered speechless by how stunning she was.
He’d seen the golden-blond hair confined in a tight bun, and the tall body clad in a somewhat baggy gray suit as he’d approached her. But nothing had prepared him
