“I have an early day tomorrow, but I’d love to see you again.”
“I’d like that too.”
Brent’s eyes brightened. “I’ll call you. Maybe we can grab lunch during the week.”
“That’d be great.”
He walked Brent out, accepted another brief kiss, and watched until he turned the corner. Sighing, he closed the door and touched his lips. Brent was the perfect gentleman—no pushing his tongue inside Armi’s mouth, no teasing touches or licking his ear.
Armi shivered and rubbed his face.Dammit. He had to stop thinking about Hayden. He’d made it crystal clear that there could never be anything between them. Maybe if he and Brent started dating, he’d forget Hayden. He didn’t want to, but he had to. Armi went to take a shower and get ready for Monday morning.
**
Blond hair gleaming under the overhead lights, Hayden sat at his desk. Fresh roses filled the vase on his desk—pink again. His smile reached across the distance. “Good morning.”
“Hi.”
“I’ll have your coffee in a minute. There are several inquiries from magazines and newspapers asking for interviews. I sorted them and put them in order of exposure for the team. Plus,Out in Sportsis looking for an exclusive about being an out gay man as the owner of a football team. I think that could be very good for your image and for the team.” The phone rang on his desk, and Hayden reached for it.
“I agree.”
Inside his office, the roses were now a striking coral. He bent to sniff their spicy-sweet perfume. “Fragrant Cloud,” he murmured to himself.
“That’s what the florist told me,” Hayden said from behind him. “Do you like them?”
“They’re beautiful. And they last. Perfect for an arrangement. Thank you, Hayden. It lifts my mood to come in and see all the roses.”
“Not a problem. Now, Martin Price is waiting on Line One.”
Armi tensed. “I-I don’t want to speak to him.”
“Good. I don’t think you should.” Hayden’s eyes twinkled. “I just like keeping him on hold, hoping.”
Armi laughed. “You’re terrible.”
Hayden winked and left. A few minutes later, the light disappeared on his phone. In a better mood, he read through the interview requests, marking the ones that would give his message the most visibility and putOut in Sportsat the top of the list. Hayden was right—he should use his position to promote normalizing queerness in sports.
He picked up the phone. “Hayden, please call back Steve Fontana fromOut in Sports. You can schedule the best time to meet.”
“You’re booked pretty solid this week, but I’ll find the first available. How about the others?”
“I looked them over. I’ll send you the list.”
“All right. Don’t forget the meeting at ten thirty to go over the scouting reports from the weekend.”
Having spent the rest of his night with his roses, Armi wondered if what he was doing here mattered at all. He propped his chin in his hand and sighed. “Maybe I should just do what everyone expects and take my share and let Russell run theshow. What do I really know about any of this? I don’t even know what all the positions on the team are yet.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Armi. Positive thinking. You’re doing great.”
Compliments never sat well with him, mostly because he didn’t believe them, but hearing them from Hayden had the desired effect of strengthening his resolve.
“Thanks, Hayden.”
Feeling more confident, he picked up his iPad and carefully read through all the scouting reports, making notes as he went. With his attention on the screen, he reached for his coffee and took a sip. Some of the hot liquid missed his mouth, dribbled down his chin, and dripped on his shirt.
“Goddammit,” he yelled, and his door bounced open.
“What’s wrong?” Hayden scanned him, his gaze lighting on the collar of his shirt. A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. “Oh. Well, it’s your lucky day because I have a stain remover pen that’ll fix that up right away. And you should bring in a wardrobe change to keep here. I’ll be right back.”
