Page 11 of Traded

“Hello?”

The voice that calls out definitely doesn’t belong to Elena. “Sorry to interrupt. I thought I heard Rosie’s voice. Is she here?”

Shit. I forgot I’d said fifteen minutes. I glance down at my watch and wince. “Sorry. Come in.”

Lauren steps gingerly into the room. She looks even more put together compared to the chaos left scattered around us, and I watch her look around. Her nose wrinkles. “Huh. Smells exactly how I thought it would and yet… worse.”

Rude. That is the musky stink ofteam spirit.

Although she might have a point.

While I’m searching for something to say, Carter blessedly steps in to save me from the awkwardness. "Yeah. Hockey isn't the nicest smelling sport. I'm Carter Reynolds. Captain and center. This is Liam Kessler, our defenseman, and Jonas Hart, left wing. We're also Rosie's pack."

She offers her hand to shake, but he doesn’t take it. She yanks it back and looks at me, fingers curling in and mortification sweeping her face. “Right. Of course. I’m sorry.”

“Who’s this?” Liam says behind me. His voice sounds tight, and I slip him a grateful glance. But he’s laser focused on Lauren, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah. Hi.” A hand raises. Neat, clean, trimmed nails. Not fussy. “I’m Lauren. I’m the… Just started today actually. Helpingwith content strategy, so I’m trying to get my head around how things work around here.”

“Right,” Liam says shortly. And then he turns his back on her completely. “Carter, can I have a word? In private?”

Lauren’s eyebrows raise. Jonas doesn’t say anything at all. But he’s watching her, a faint crease between his brows as he glances between us. When he inhales deeply and stiffens, Lauren flushes.

I try not to feeltoosmug.

“Sure.” Carter glances between us. “You two are meeting now anyway, right? Ro, we’ll see you later.”

Lauren takes a deep breath as we step outside into the hall. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” I rock back on my heels. “You do get used to the smell after a while.”

She grimaces. “I thought that at the last place, but I never did.”

“Where was that?” That’s a normal question, isn’t it? Much better thanwhy the hell did you steal my job, you bitch?

Unfair, I remind myself. It’s not her fault she has the job I’d love.

She didn’t know I existed.

“New York.” She falls into step beside me as I head down the hall, fully intending to stop by Georgio’s cart for a top up. I dare Liam to say a single word about my caffeine intake after the day I’m having. “Good team. Nice people, but I was ready to move on.”

“And now you’re here.” I try to smile.

“I guess so.” We share awkward glances, and Lauren sighs, stopping and turning to face me. “I meant what I said about your work, you know. I didn’t realize I was walking into something here. They reached out and asked if I’d be interested in a move, and I… I needed it. Didn’t think too hard before I signed the contract, truthfully.”

Damn it. I don’t want tolikeher.

“Rosie!”

We both turn, and I frown at Carter jogging back down the hall. He must have ripped his skates off to catch up to us. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He grabs my hand and tugs me away from Lauren with a muttered apology. “I need to talk to you for a sec.”

I stare up at him as he steers me toward the wall. “You sure about that? Because it doesn’t look like nothing.”

I saw him two minutes ago, and he lookswrecked.His pupils are blown wide, his hair messed up. “Is it your shoulder?”

He grunts. “No. Will you stop? My shoulder is fine, Ro.”