“You would say that,” Andre quipped.

  Paige was not going to walk down that particular path. Discussing Tom Armstrong with Andre would only make her angry. “I’m not wrong.”

  “Regardless of whose influence it is, the kid has game.”

  Kid. Paige didn’t know Zach very well, but was certain he would dislike that particular nickname.

  Andre glanced at his phone. “Oh. Hey. I need to go. But hopefully I’ll see you around?” He leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek.

  Paige managed a grin. She was glad Andre had found someone. Really, she was. But if he was moving on, did that mean she should be doing the same? “Sure thing.”

  She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and took the few strides required to reach the elevator, then pressed the button to call for it. She was painfully aware that Zach was nearby, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, so she kept her eyes trained on the numbers above the doors. It was taking forever. Absentmindedly, she looked to her left and spotted Zach just as he turned in her direction. Their gazes connected and he flashed a grin. Her head swam. It felt like a bolt of lightning had cracked open the hotel’s ceiling, struck her in the chest and all that electricity headed straight between her legs. She quickly looked away and jammed the call button repeatedly. “Come on,” she muttered, then pulled out her phone to check the time. Her first sponsor meeting wasn’t for another hour. Needing something to do or a lifeline of some sort, she sent April a text. Tell me again when you get here? There was no response.

  She looked up from her phone, only to see Zach was right there. Mere feet away. With his eyes trained on her. “Going up?”

  “I think it only goes up from here.” She hoped the same could be said for her day.

  “Right. Which floor are you on?” He punched the button several times and shook his head. “The elevators in this hotel take forever.”

  “I’m on eight.”

  He turned to her with a look of utter surprise and, oddly enough, a bit of delight. “Funny. Me, too.”

  So much for her day improving. Of course Zach was on the same floor she was. Fate just had to play that little trick on her. The elevator dinged and Paige jumped. The doors parted and let off an entire carload of people. Zach held the door for her as soon as the coast was clear. She stepped on board and he was right behind her, along with at least another dozen people, including a family with so many roller bags that it was a miracle there was room for any passengers at all. Everyone had to jockey for position and crowd together. That left Zach and Paige penned in the corner by suitcases.

  “I saw you talking to Andre Held,” Zach muttered quietly. He lowered his chin to his chest to speak to her. “You don’t represent any of his players, do you?”

  She peered up at him, uncomfortably aware of how hard it was to breathe in his presence while trying not to stare at his mouth. If he was half as good at kissing as he was at making her feel unsettled, making out with him would be all kinds of fun. “He’s my ex.”

  His eyebrows popped up in surprise. “Ex-boyfriend?”

  “Husband.”

  “Oh. I guess I didn’t know that.”

  “Yeah.” Of course, Paige wasn’t about to tell Zach that his beloved stepdad, Tom, had played a role in the demise of her marriage. That wasn’t a subject for light conversation, especially with so many strangers within earshot. The elevator dinged. They were on the eighth floor.

  Zach valiantly marshaled everyone out of the way so they could get off the elevator.

  Paige consulted the sign directing guests to their room. “I’m this way,” she said, pointing to the right.

  “Me, too. Room 860.”

  This day could not get any more ridiculous. “I’m in 858.”

  He laughed. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “What are the odds?” He reached for the handle of her suitcase. “May I?”

  She held up her hands in surrender. “Knock yourself out.”

  With Zach pulling her bag, they started down the long corridor. The walls were bathed in gold-and-black wallpaper with a beautiful scrolled pattern, dramatically lit by elegant wall sconces that made it feel more like midnight than morning. The carpet underfoot was impossibly soft. Everything in Vegas was about seduction. It was one long tease designed to make you feel loose and uninhibited. To make you feel good about making poor choices. It was the worst possible place for her to be with Zach Armstrong.

  “I heard that you signed Ryan Wilson. Congrats. That’s a big deal.” Paige was eager to figure out whether Zach planned to make a habit of poaching clients from other agents.

  “Thanks. It seemed rude to just come out with it. You and I barely know each other.”

  Something about “barely know each other” excited Paige. It was the “barely” part. Even though she didn’t trust Zach at all. “I had no idea Ryan was looking for new representation.” They slowed as they reached Paige’s door, and the air hung heavy with the implication she’d made.

  “He was, but only behind the scenes. He kept it quiet. He’s not the kind of guy who tells a sports reporter that he’s not happy. But he did tell his friends.”

  Paige pulled out her room key card and waved it in front of the sensor on her door. When the light turned green, she turned the handle and stuck out her hip to keep the door ajar. “I didn’t know you and Ryan were friends.”

  “We are. I’m such a football nerd that I blathered on and on about how great he is the day we first met. The friendship grew from there.” He looked into her room. “Let me take your bag inside.”

  “Oh. Great.” She took a step and held the door open as Zach wheeled the suitcase into her room and parked it at the end of her bed. She trailed him inside and let the door shut behind her. Paige couldn’t help but admire two things about Zach—his genuine love of sports and his gentlemanly ways. “Well, congratulations are definitely in order with Ryan.”

  “Thanks. I’m excited.” He wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling window, which spanned nearly the entire width of her room. “The view on this side of the hotel is amazing.”

  Paige joined him to take it all in. They were on the back side of the building, with a stunning view of the pool area down below. Far off in the distance was the craggy outline of the sandy brown mountains surrounding the valley in which Las Vegas was so carefully nestled. It was a gorgeous day with bright blue skies and only the most delicate of white, wispy clouds. She didn’t love everything about Vegas, but she was indeed in awe of this view.

  “It’s beautiful in the most unusual way,” she said.

  “It’s nice to get away from New York every now and then.”

  Paige drew in a deep breath, eyeing Zach as subtly as she could. He was awfully nice to look at and being all alone with him, talking about something other than business, did something to her. It made her feel like it might be okay to let her guard down. It made her wonder what it would be like to kiss him. “It is nice.”

  Just then, Zach’s phone buzzed with a text, snapping Paige back to reality. He pulled his cell out of his pocket. “Dammit. I need to go.” He quickly tapped out a response to the text. “One of our new agents, Derek, is downstairs. I promised I’d walk the exhibition hall with him and introduce him to people.”

  This was for the best. She couldn’t stay in her room all day, fantasizing about Zach, or worse—acting on the thoughts in her head. “Time to go be the boss, huh?”

  “You probably have a full day, too.”

  “I do. Too many meetings.”

  He started toward the door, then turned back to her. “I’d love it if we could find a way to grab a drink or a meal together. Maybe dinner? Tonight?”

  Paige would’ve loved that, too, if she had the courage to be entirely honest. But she still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. “Maybe we’ll run into each other? My schedule is packed and my best friend, April, is here. I rarely get to see her.”

  “April Chapman?”

  “Do you know her?”

  “I don’t. But I’m a great admirer of her work.”

  Paige wasn’t surprised. Not only was April a super talented sports reporter, she was so beautiful it was hard to take your eyes off her. All sports-oriented men seemed to be great admirers of April’s, and she had no doubt that Zach was, too. “I’ll be sure to tell her.”

  “Or maybe I’ll run into you two?”

  “Maybe.”

  Zach resumed his short trip to the door, Paige following behind. “I’ll see you later,” he said as he opened the door.

  “I’m sure you will.” Paige let the door close behind him, then stood there frozen for a moment. She still wasn’t sure what to make of Zach, but in many ways, that made him all the more dangerous. She was glad she’d had the courage not to make a plan with him. It was better to simply stay away.

  Paige strode over to her suitcase and went straight to work, unpacking her clothes, shoes and toiletries and getting it all nice and organized. Then she grabbed a small cross-body bag that she used for the essentials while at a conference and headed downstairs. Her first stop was to get her conference badge, then she ducked into the exhibition hall. There was no sign of Zach and his new agent, Derek. It was probably for the best.

  She next made her way to the lobby, where she met up with her first appointment of the day—a rep from a luxury watch brand. After that was a lunch with a rental car company, an early afternoon meeting with a worldwide fast-food chain and her three o’clock with a video game developer. By the time that meeting was concluded, Paige was already exhausted. Giving the same spiel about her star athletes over and over again was so draining, and it only made it worse to either be met with blank stares, meaningless nods or balks at the money she wanted for her clients, especially Alexis.

  So she was in many ways thrilled when she got a text saying that her four o’clock appointment needed to back out. She quickly called April. “Hey. Where are you? Do you have any time?” she asked.

  “I’m up in my room. I just finished writing a post for our website. And I do have time. Do you want to grab something to eat?”

  Paige felt so cooped up. She’d been in the hotel all day long. “Let’s kill two birds with one stone and go to the pool. They have a full menu down there. The front desk pitched it pretty hard when I checked in.”

  “Perfect. I’ll meet you there in fifteen?”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Four

  Zach prided himself on being a pretty energetic guy, but five solid hours of meetings left him dragging. Even though things had gone incredibly well. A few of his appointments had been downright exhilarating, where he effortlessly reached his stride, pitching projects and partnerships with ease, then just as easily asking for the money he wanted for his client and receiving remarkably little pushback. Even after all of that, he needed a break.

  He also needed time off from his most junior agent, Derek. He’d shadowed Zach for most of his meetings and had held his own, but mentoring was exhausting. “Hey. Derek. I’m going to splinter off for a bit if that’s okay with you. I need to make a few calls,” Zach said as they stood outside the exhibition hall.

  “Sounds good,” Derek said, a bit distracted by all of the hubbub around them. “I was hoping we could grab dinner tonight if that’s okay.”

  Zach was still holding out hope that he’d run into Paige and convince her to have a meal with him, but maybe he needed to stop holding out hope. She kept saying no. “I have one person I’m waiting to hear from.”

  “Another potential sponsor?”

  “No. Another agent.”

  “Great,” Derek said with entirely too much enthusiasm. “I’d love to come. I won’t talk. I’ll just listen. I learn so much when I’m around you.”

  Guilt was bearing down on Zach. This was a work trip and Derek needed his guidance. Plus, Zach was not about to invite Derek along if he and Paige got to have dinner. “Maybe you and I should just go out on our own. Grab a burger. Play some blackjack?”

  Derek’s face lit up. “Yes. That sounds amazing. Seven? Meet in the lobby?”

  Zach clapped Derek on the shoulder. “You got it. I’ll catch you later.”

  Zach parted ways from Derek and wandered past the bar. He stepped inside the dark and moody space, made quick survey of the room and came to the conclusion that Paige wasn’t there. He would’ve been lying if he said that he wasn’t more than a little disappointed. Running into her would certainly put the spring back in his step, but that wasn’t meant to be. For now.

  So he returned to his original plan and headed up to the eighth floor to put up his feet. He strolled down the hall and hesitated for a moment at the door to Paige’s room. He raised his hand and left his fist hovering in midair. Was she in there? Would she invite him in? He had to find out. No rewards for the timid. He knocked twice, then waited, the anticipation making his pulse race. “Dammit,” he muttered to himself when it was clear that no one would be answering, then continued on to his room.

  He dropped his key card on top of the dresser and sat at the desk before opening his laptop. After a few quick e-mail responses, he closed it up, then kicked off his shoes and sat on the bed. He leaned against the headboard and put up his feet. The bed was so soft and sumptuous. It would’ve been so easy to flip on the TV and catch a game, or maybe even fall asleep for a quick fifteen-minute nap, but Zach had to be responsible and give Tom a quick call and an update. He’d promised to deliver at least one while he was away.

  “Zach, my boy. How’s Sin City?” Tom said when he answered the phone.

  “No sins for me,” Zach countered. “Just lots of incredible meetings.”

  “Big deals?”

  Zach sat back a little more and ran his hand through his hair. “Everything I could have hoped for. And more.”

  “Tell me, then. Everything.”

  Zach gave a quick rundown of the details he knew Tom would care about most—the players, the partnerships and the payday. “The three Ps,” as Tom called them. As Zach rattled it all off, he knew he’d done a fantastic job thus far. He knew Tom would be proud. He’d have to be. “So those are the highlights from today.”

  “Well done. If the rest of your meetings go that well, you’ll be able to call the expo a rousing success.”

  That was exactly what Zach was shooting for. After all, Tom had exceptionally high expectations. Meeting those was one thing. Zach was going to have to keep kicking ass if he wanted to exceed them. “Thanks.”

  “Where are you at with Paige Moss and assessing her hold on Alexis Simmons? Assuming you’re still wanting to pursue the plan to bring on female athletes.”

  “Of course I’m still pursuing my plan. And Paige and I are getting to know each other.” Zach’s throat went dry. “I’ve talked to her some and I’m hoping we can have a meal together or maybe a drink. Just so I can find out how things are going with Alexis.”

  “I hope you aren’t cozying up to Ms. Moss, Zach. I’ve told you how she can be. She’s no friend of Armstrong Sports, that’s for sure.”

  Zach had been struggling with his stepdad’s opinion of Paige from the moment he met her. Every additional minute he spent in her company made it seem all the more ludicrous. “Dad, I like Paige. She’s smart and she knows her stuff. I really don’t think she’s the enemy. And honestly, I don’t think going after another firm’s client is going to make us any friends in the sports world.” The other end of the line went dead quiet. “Are you there?”

  “I am.”

  “Are you okay?” Zach worried he might have given him another heart attack.

  “I am. I’m fine. I’m just struggling a bit with letting you have full run of the business, okay? It’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. And I think you’re doing an amazing job. I just need you to make smart decisions. I want you to consider the long-term implications of the moves you choose to make. Think about the big picture.”

  Zach got the message loud and clear, but the only problem was that his big picture was quite different from Tom’s. “I won’t disappoint you. I will hit every projection I’ve made. And then some.”

  “I trust you’ll do everything you’ve told me you will. That’s all I ever ask.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Oh. How’s the new agent panning out?” Tom asked.

  “Derek? He’s learning the ropes. He sat in on a few of my meetings today. Listened. Took a lot of notes. I think he’ll do well once he has a few more clients.”

  “Excellent. Glad to hear it.”

  “Well, I’d better get back to it,” Zach said.

  “More meetings?”

  “I have some phone calls to make. A few of my meetings for tomorrow aren’t set in stone.”

  “Don’t work too hard, Zach. You are in Vegas. I’d expect you to have a little fun.”

  “Really?” Tom had always spent so much time stressing the importance of working as hard as possible.

  “Yes. Of course. No man can be all work and no play. You can’t be good all the time. It’s not sustainable.”

  Zach’s mind immediately flew to Paige. It was nearly impossible to shake the thought free. If he was going to play or be bad, he wouldn’t mind doing it with her. She was tempting like nothing else. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

  “That’s my boy. Take care, son.”

  “Bye.” Zach ended the call and set his phone down on the bed, then got up to walk over to the window and look out over the pool area. It was crowded with people, but that blue water was calling to him. A few laps would do him good. Then maybe a search for Paige and another invitation—perhaps for a drink—if he could work it into the conversation. That was all he needed. Especially if he could get her to say yes.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17