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“So, I think you should take the job.” Talia hugged her tight. “I love you, and I’ll still love you when you’re working across the street. Besides, it’ll be great for our friendship.”
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
“We won’t be working all opposite shifts now. Which means we can go out together once in a while.”
The knot was still in the pit of Jordan’s stomach. It was a great opportunity, but leaving Talia would be difficult. Not to mention her hangup about Noah. “Okay, I’ll think it over. But no promises.”
Jordan went home, reheated her take out from The Sin Bin, and changed into shorts and a sweatshirt. Then she poured a glass of wine and sat down to eat. She stared at her plate. She had absolutely no appetite.
Talia’s words ran through her mind. Her friend had made more sense than Jordan cared for. How wasn’t Tal angry at her? She’d been so calm. Tal was such a good friend. Kind, understanding, and always looking out for her best interests.
Jordan turned on the end of hockey game. The Renegades were playing in Nashville, and with five minutes left in the game, they were leading 3–1.
Confused about everything that had transpired today, Jordan sat back and sipped on her wine. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten all day, so it was no wonder her stomach was yelling at her. She picked at the plate of chicken parmesan and considered the pros and cons.
First off, she would be the boss and would make all the decisions. Even though Noah owned the business, he had a busy schedule during the season, so he would count on her to run everything and the success of the place would depend upon her making the right decisions. At The Sin Bin she had a lot of responsibilities, but she didn’t have the title or the pay. Sure, she covered for Talia when she couldn’t be there, but she always had to consult Talia on most decisions, since Tal was the owner. Her position at The Sin Bin was as high as she could go. The next tier was co-owner, and that was taken by Talia and Harrison. There was no good reason to bring in a third partner.
Secondly, Noah was at Slap Shot. She chewed her fingernail, deep in thought. Was that a pro or a con? Sure, he was handsome and suave; that wasn’t lost on her, no matter how she played it off in his presence. When he flirted with her, she caught butterflies. But would that hinder her new position?
Finally, there was the money. Noah had offered her considerably more than she was making at The Sin Bin. She lived comfortably with her current salary, and had managed to save quite a lump sum. A higher salary was always a bonus, and would bring her dream of owning her own place closer.
She huffed out a breath. All this time she had thought Noah had been flirting with her because he was attracted to her. That was undeniable, but on the other hand, he had also been examining her work. She knew that he had offered her the job because she was smart and right for the position.
She twirled some spaghetti on her fork and stabbed a piece of chicken. Taking a bite, she knew what her decision should be. Looking at all the information, the obvious choice was to take the job. This was something she wanted since she’d arrived in Pittsburgh. And that was exactly what Talia was trying to tell her. Not taking this job would be doing herself a disservice.
It was time to take a leap. She picked up the slip of paper and dialed the number. But it went to voicemail.
“Noah, it’s me, Jordan. Um, yes, I’m accepting the job.”
Immediately her phone buzzed with a message: I’ll be back in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Come by Slap Shot on Monday afternoon and we’ll work on Grand Opening plans.
She didn’t know how she should feel. The guilt she felt for leaving Talia and The Sin Bin was still lingering. But a rush of excitement ran through her as well.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Noah
The entire trip away, Noah had been looking forward to coming home. During the three-game road trip that had ended in two wins and a loss, his mind had been on Jordan almost every minute. Noah walked into Slap Shot. It was Sunday, so things were quiet. Just a few of the workers were here today putting some finishing touches on the paint.
He expected the men had finished building the shelves in the office—a last-minute request, but he thought Jordan would appreciate a well fitted out office space. He strolled back to the office to inspect the final result, opened the door, and came face to face with Jordan.
“Noah!” Jordan screeched, and tossed the papers she was holding into the air.
“Jordan? What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow.” He bent down and began gathering the papers.
She joined him on the floor picking up the papers. Keeping her eyes on the floor, she spoke, “I thought I’d look through some resumes. We’ll need a manager. I talked to Jared while you were gone, and he hadn’t hired one yet. He thought I should do the interviewing, since the person will be my number two.”
Stopping what he was doing, Noah turned to look at her, but she was still focused on the papers. “You’ve been in while I was out of town?”
“Well, yeah. I—” She turned to look at him.
Their faces were inches apart. He couldn’t help but stare into her amazing hazel eyes.
She was in yoga pants and a zip up hooded sweatshirt. Her hair was swirled up into a bun. He entertained thoughts of delving his fingers into it and pulling her hair loose, to see it fall to her shoulders.
“Noah? Is there something wrong?” she asked, touching her hair.
Snapping out of it, he cleared his throat and stood. “No. Nothing wrong. I was just looking at your hair. Do you always wear your hair up on your day off?”
