“No buts, Jackie. Let me be there for you. Most of all, let me be there for my son.”
Jackie finally nodded yes.
Antonio smiled. “If anything goes south, I’ll let you know. You’ll be on a flight back to Atlanta in a heartbeat. I love how you ride for your clients like that. I especially appreciate that for PJ.” He kissed the back of her hand, and she blushed. He loved making her do that.
Jackie smirked as she typed. “You do know I’d do that for any of my clients. Not just the ones who have hot dads.”
Antonio let out a laugh. “You think I’m hot? Am I a DILF?”
Jackie chuckled, shaking her head as she typed. “First of all, you know you’re fine. And please never say that again.”
It felt so good to laugh with her. It was like putting on a coat in the middle of winter, all warm and fuzzy.
Once the laughter died down, Jackie moved to her desk. Her fingers hovered over her phone screen before she finally began typing. “I guess I’ll need to thank you for stepping in for me.”
“For you, Lucky, I’ll do anything.”
Jackie shook her head. “It makes it hard for me to hate you when you say things like that,” she typed.
“Why waste your time hating me, when you can love me instead?”
Shit.
Antonio didn’t know why he’d said that. It just came out. Jackie stared at him, her brown eyes wide. Damn, why did he have to go and make shit awkward?
“I-I—” Antonio stammered. “You know what I mean.”
Jackie ran her hand down her nape.
“And like I said, no need to thank me.”
Jackie bumped his shoulder before typing, “Maybe I want to, Steele. Let me thank you.”
“Well…” Antonio looked at Jackie. “Alright. I’d love for you to thank me.” His eyes trailed down the length of her curvy frame. Today, she’d had the nerve to wear a tight black pinstriped skirt, and those legs of hers were on full display in a pair of sky-high black heels. Louboutin, of course. The thought of those heels and her legs draped over his shoulders was making Antonio wildly uncomfortable in his boxers. When his eyes trailed back up Jackie, her eyes were staring right into his.
“Eyes up here, Steele,” Jackie’s app parroted his favorite line.
Antonio chuckled, trying to pull himself together. “Seriously, I do have a way you can thank me. Can you look over the contract for this snowboarding deal? Shit is all fuzzy to me.”
Jackie quickly typed, “Yeah, I heard you signed Rakim. I got you, no problem. Just email it to me.” No sooner had the app finished relaying her message, than her phone began to buzz. She sighed, shaking it to indicate that she had to take the call.
Antonio took that as his cue to leave. “Cool.” But then he leaned over, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll let you thank me all you want when you get back from Miami.”
Jackie pulled him gently by his chin, tugging at his goatee until they were eye-level. She returned his kiss, hers a lot hungrier than his chaste peck.
Antonio could feel himself getting brick-hard as she tugged his beard. He didn’t know what it was about pain that turned him on so much. It probably had to do with the adrenaline rush of getting hit on the field. He probably needed to see a therapist about that. But right now, he was enjoying it too much.
Jackie finally released his chin and winked at him. Her phone buzzed again, and she refocused her attention.
Antonio stood there, a bit stupefied.Fuck. This woman. She was going to be his undoing. Antonio adjusted himself before heading out of her office. He looked up to see Calvin staring at him, a hint of judgement in his eyes.
“I see Ms. Miles is calmer after your visit,” Calvin remarked, looking up from his computer with a smirk. “You must have the magic touch.”
If only you knew, thought Antonio.
