Full Court Seduction. Synithia Williams
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bitterness of that situation took a hold of him. He’d come here for a distraction. He let his gaze slowly roam over every inch of Danielle’s sexy curves. “Instead of talking about the past, how about we get out of here?”
The sympathy in her eyes evaporated. “Excuse me?”
“I thought we could catch up. It’s been years.”
“Yeah, and we can catch up right here, right now.”
“You don’t have to be shy with me, Danielle. You popped up at my game, in the seat right behind me. Kind of reminds me of that night. I’m good with us hooking up again.”
Danielle leaned back. “I was there because one of our donors gave us his courtside seats. I didn’t think you’d even remember or recognize me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I never heard from you again after that night in college.”
“That was my mistake. Believe me.”
A vision of Christy in his hotel room after the draft, crying and saying they belonged together and that she was pregnant, popped into his mind. She’d dropped a positive pregnancy test on the bed when he’d accused her of showing up just because he’d been drafted. Would Danielle understand the sense of responsibility that had come over him when he’d seen that plus sign and Christy’s tears? That nothing else had mattered other than being a better father than the one he’d had.
“You know you’re just the same as you always were.” Danielle broke into his thoughts.
He met her gaze, was surprised to see anger in her eyes. “Excuse me?”
“I came here because you invited me. I thought that maybe, despite that night together, you would be cool and decent. That we could... I don’t know, talk like the adults we are. I didn’t come here so you could try and sleaze your way into my bed.” She hopped down from the stool. “You have a good night.”
He watched her storm off. She said a few quick words to Debra, who glared at Jacobe before she dropped her pool stick and followed Danielle to the door. Kevin, Isaiah, and Will gave him confused looks. Jacobe cursed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Damn. Now he’d have to go down to that River Watcher place and apologize for being a jerk.
* * *
Jacobe’s shoulders were tense as he entered the main conference room for the Gators with his agent, Eric Jones. Eric had caught a red eye flight from Los Angeles to be here for this early morning meeting. Eric would probably be the only one who had Jacobe’s back today.
Meetings with the management staff were never fun. He had a pretty good idea of the lecture he was about to receive. Tone down the aggression. We can’t afford to lose you right before the play-offs. Try and keep your name out of the headlines. He’d heard the same lines constantly over the past few years. Never mind that he had toned down his behavior recently. The situation with Christy was a blow he hadn’t known how to handle. He’d taken out his aggression on and off the court. For the most part, he considered himself over that blow. It was only when assholes like Rob used the situation against him on the court that his efforts to stay out of trouble were forgotten.
Three people sat around the conference table. Coach Simpson in the usual polo shirt and khakis he wore on off days. His teal-gray eyes met Jacobe’s with determination. Rebecca Force, the team’s public relations supervisor, sat primly next to the coach. Brian McClain, one of the team’s owners, was the last person at the table. Jacobe’s shoulders tightened even more. Brian reminded Jacobe of his high school principal with his graying brown hair, stiff suits and perpetual frown. Like his high school principal, Brian never saw anything good in Jacobe off the basketball court and made no qualms about his opinion that Jacobe joining the team would be a distraction. Only their joint goal of a play-off win for the Gators kept them civil toward each other.
“Are we waiting on anyone else?” Eric asked, after they greeted everyone and sat in the chairs to Coach Simpson’s left.
Rebecca shook her head. “No, just waiting on you two.”
“Sorry for keeping you all waiting,” Jacobe said.
Rebecca gave him what he guessed was supposed to be a friendly smile. The tightness around her eyes contradicted the action. “You’re actually right on time. We met for a few minutes before you got here to discuss a few things.”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. “Let me guess—you met early to talk about me.”
Eric held up a hand. “Wait a second, Jacobe. Before you get upset, let’s hear what she has to say. Though I would have liked to have been included in any discussions regarding my client.”
Jacobe would have liked that too. He looked at Rebecca. “What do you have to say?” He didn’t bother to hide his frustration.
He didn’t like being discussed beforehand like he was a threat that needed to be neutralized. Never had. Not when he was sent to the principal’s office in school, or when his mom used to get on the phone with her girlfriends and discuss the latest note sent home from school and all the reasons Jacobe couldn’t be well behaved like other kids.
Rebecca broke into his thoughts. “The league commissioner called this morning.”
Jacobe scoffed. “Already? I guess he couldn’t wait to tell me I’ve messed up. So what is it? A fine? One-game suspension?”
Eric glared at Jacobe. “Let me do the talking.”
Brian jerked forward in his chair. “Try a five-game suspension.”
The words stunned Jacobe into temporary silence. “Five games?” He’d expected to miss a game, maybe two, not five. They were a few weeks away from the play-offs. If the team lost at this time they could miss their chance at being a number-one seed. Worse, they may not make it at all.
“Yes. Five,” Brian said. “Your antics are hurting the team. When the rest of the owners overrode me and brought you here, I knew it would be a problem. You don’t care about this team. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“I care about the team.” The words were automatic. Programmed. Though the guys on the team had grown closer to him than any other teammates he’d had since college, he cared mostly about making his way to the play-offs and, ultimately, Phoenix.
“Of course he cares about the team,” Eric said. “He’s done everything to dedicate himself to the team.”
“If he cared about the team he wouldn’t have knocked Rob out.”
“Rob deserved a lot more than being knocked out.”
Coach sighed and leaned his forearms on the table. “What did he say that set you off?”
“Something he shouldn’t have.”
Brian scoffed and tossed his hand toward Jacobe. “See, utter lack of caring about the consequences of your actions.”
Eric held up his hands. “Look, he gets why he shouldn’t have hit him during the game.”
“After would be better?” Brian asked.
After the game Jacobe wouldn’t have hit him just once, but that was beside the point. “I shouldn’t have let my temper get the better of me. I want to take the team to the play-offs just as much as you want to get us there.”
Brian didn’t reply. He just sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. He might hate Jacobe, but they both wanted wins.
Rebecca glanced between Jacobe and Brian. When Brian didn’t say any more, she focused on Jacobe. “Your popularity with the team’s fans is high, but last night there was a lot of chatter on the internet about how you’re not good for the team.”
“You’re winning,” Eric said with a grin. “They’ll get over it.”
She lifted a hand. “That may be true,