Armi scrolled to Russell’s number and texted him what had occurred. Not even ten seconds passed before Russell called.
“Armand, what the hell?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. We were just talking and—”
“And you revealed sensitive, inside information about the team? Didn’t I warn you not to say anything to anyone?”
“Yes, I know. I didn’t think—”
“That’s the problem. You didn’t think. Were you so excited to be on a date that you couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”
Russell had never spoken to him like that. Those hurtful words stung as if he’d been slapped in the face. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“Yeah, sure, unless another team gets wind of it and makes him a better offer tonight and we lose him. I have to talk to our lawyers. Hopefully we can do damage control and I can fix thismess you’ve made. How many more will there be this week? This is number two. Third time’s the charm, right?”
Without another word, Russell ended the call. Armi hadn’t felt this low in months. He trudged up the stairs to his room, brushed his teeth, and went to bed, but there was no rest to be found.
At dawn, he showered, dressed, and having no appetite, decided to head to the office. He knew it was early when he arrived and Hayden’s desk was empty. He yawned and stood in front of the coffee machine, waiting for it to make a cappuccino to kickstart his brain. Hayden walked in, his face filled with concern.
“Armi? What’s going on? What time did you get here? I went by your house this morning, but no one answered.”
His smile was wry. “I couldn’t sleep. I’ve only been here a few minutes. About to have my first of what will be multiple coffees.”
Hayden proffered a large cup. “Here’s another. Extra-large cappuccino.”
“Thanks.”
“Now what the hell is going on?”
“I had a date with Brent last night…”
Hayden’s lips thinned, and his green eyes narrowed. “Did he do something? He was pretty slick.”
“He was fine. Pushy because when we got back to his place, he wanted to…you know…” He lowered his voice. “Have sex.”
A growl escaped Hayden’s lips. “The fuck he did.”
Hayden getting a little caveman was sexy as hell, and Armi watched as he continued to rant.
“Yeah. It made me kind of sad—I thought he wanted to get to know me, but he said we weren’t kids and made it sound as if having sex right away was the norm.”
“Not for you. You’re different. I knew he was a player with that fake-ass grin. All he wanted was to get in.” The fact that he and Armi met as a hook up wasn’t the same to Hayden. He wasn’t about to explain his reasoning—mainly because he couldn’t—but that was his story, and he was sticking to it.
“Hayden, calm down. Nothing happened except a few kisses. I told him no and walked away.”
“You don’t deserve that. You just met the guy.” When Armi raised a brow and crossed his arms, Hayden backtracked. “Okay, but what happened between us was not the same as this. We met at a club and hooked up. You and Brent were on a date.” Hayden put a hand on his arm, and Armi swore he felt the pressure of his fingers all the way to his toes. “That’s not why you texted me last night. What’s upsetting you?”
“I opened my big mouth, that’s what,” Armi answered, miserable again. “And it could jeopardize the team’s signing of Masterson.” He recounted what happened and gulped his now cool cappuccino.
A grim-faced Hayden drummed his fingers on his thigh. “What time is the signing?”
“The meeting is at nine thirty.”
Hayden’s lips thinned. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
**
Masterson was probably the biggest man Armi had ever seen up close—at six foot seven and two hundred seventy-five poundsof pure muscle, he barely fit into the chair at the Mark, where Hayden knew themaître d’and got them a table for breakfast with less than an hour’s notice.
