I choke on thin air, coughing as I reread the message.What the fuck, Keels?
SALVATORE: Thanks.
I think?
What do I even say to that? And why has my mind gone somewhere it absolutely shouldn’t? She’s clearly joking, and yet, now I have our kiss back in the front of my mind. Not that it ever really left.
Keeley sends me back a laughing emoji, and since I have no clue what the hell she means by it, instead of replying, I distract myself with work.
Maybe it’s not Paige or the Storm drama that’s going to kill me. Maybe it’s Keeley.
Chapter Nine
KEELEY
TWO MONTHS LATER
My heels clack against the polished concrete floors as I rush through the halls, needing a moment to myself after the day I’ve had. Tension coils in my shoulders, but when I’m close to Sal’s office, I lift to my toes, softening the sound of my heels to sneak past unnoticed.
It’s not that I don’t want to see him, because that’s usually the highlight of my day, but he’s had a lot going on, and if he sees me right now, knowing I just finished a meeting with our sponsors for the season ahead, he’s going to want to talk about it.
He might be a boss when it comes to his delegation skills, but he still loves to take on more than is necessary. And right now, he has bigger issues to work through. Namely the budget. It hasn’t looked good since our previous owner fucked us out of the television series deal.
I’ve just made it around the corner when Luke calls my name from where he’s standing in Sal’s doorway.
Dammit. I tried.
“What can I do for you, Luke?”
As Luke moves toward me, Sal pops his head out of his office and raises an eyebrow, his way of questioning how I’m doing. I smile back as his phone rings, and he waves apologetically before walking inside, closing the door behind him.
Saved by the call.
At least until Luke smirks. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” I walk toward my office and Luke follows after me, leaning his shoulder against the doorjamb while I put my notebook and laptop on my desk.
“You’re going to love it,” he tells me. “I found you another man.”
Ugh. I audibly groan, but cough to hide it. “Thank you, Luke. I appreciate all that you do, but as I’ve said for the past few months, I don’t need your help.”
“Sorry, Keels. You know I can’t stop. It’s all part of your support group.”
“I don’t—” I cut myself off, curling my lips into a grin. “I know you want to help. But no offense, the last three were…” I trail off, unsure how to describe Luke’s epic failures.
I never had any intention of actually going along with the “Keeley needs a man” bullshit until I heard about the misery it was causing Easton every time Luke mentioned setting me up. After that, I couldn’t help but play along. Easton’s my brother; I live to make him miserable.
Only it came back to bite me on the ass. Because where the hell did he find the guys he set me up with?
Guy number one wanted to know which of the players I’d “hooked up with.”
Guy number two couldn’t understand why I worked for a football team and asked if I was going to quit when I had kids.
And guy number three tried to kiss me before we’d even sat down for dinner.
If I didn’t know Easton better, I’d wonder if it was him getting me back. Except that’s not something he’d ever bother doing.
“I know.” Luke cringes, pushing off the wall to walk closer. “They were duds. In my defense, most of my friends are either taken or football players and you won’t date either.”
“I won’t date guys that are taken?” I question, my brows raised.
