Page 14 of Against The Boards

“I have to admit, I felt bad when I asked you to start right away, but I needed the position filled.”

I waved her away with my hand, dismissing her apology. “It’s fine. I’m staying with my brother until I find a place of my own.”

“But he’s in Russia for Worlds, right?”

I nodded.

“So why Philly?” she asked.

I shrugged while I swallowed my food. “I needed to get out of my hometown. I’ve been going through a bad break-up, so I figured it didn’t hurt to apply. I never expected you to hire me on the spot.”

“I’ve been having a hard time getting suitable applicants. I offered it to Maxine twice, but she didn’t want it.”

I wracked my brain for the names of all the people I met today. Maxine was the petite blonde sales associate. She said she started as an intern in college and had been there since. I wondered why she didn’t want it; it would have meant more money, and it would have looked great on her resume.

“Why didn’t she want it?” I asked.

Quinn shrugged. “Not sure. It would have been great for her. Honestly? I know she loves working for the team, but I don’t think she particularly likes the job itself.”

I made a mental note to remember that. I didn’t want someone on my team who hated their job. I wanted my employees to like what they did. I wanted the team to be successful. If Maxine enjoyed working for the team, maybe we could find her something more suitable.

We spent the rest of lunch talking about sales strategy for the upcoming season. Since the Bulldogs failed to make the playoffs again this year, it would be a tough selling season. But Philadelphia was a hockey town, so Quinn wasn’t concerned; there were always diehard fans in this city. It reminded me of the market in Toronto. The Wolves might have sucked forever, but tickets to see the team were always in high demand and expensive.

My anxiety about the job was dissipating. Maybe I made the right choice when I took this job on a whim. Now I just had to find a place to live. I had no interest in sharing a condo with my sworn enemy. The sooner I found a place, the better.

I keyed into my brother’s condo and was hit by the smells of spices and a good home-cooked meal. I spied Benny in the open-concept kitchen, hunched over the countertop and garnishing two bowls of some sort of stew that smelled way too good to be poisoned.

“Um, hi?” I asked, confused by what he was doing.

“Hey! I made dinner. I hope you like authentic Mexican,” he said.

He looked back at me with a grin, and I noticed for the first time that he had a beautiful smile.

“I do,” I said as I toed off my high-heels and walked into the kitchen.

The words coming from my lips felt foreign to me. Without venom and spite, I didn’t know how to talk to him.

He smirked. “I was hoping you would say that.”

I caught myself staring when his biceps flexed in his too-tight black t-shirt. It fit across his broad chest in all the right places. I spied a colorful tattoo peeking out beneath his shirtsleeve. I wondered what he would look like without that shirt.

Get it together, Roxanne! This is Benny! He might be hot, but he’s 100% an asshole.

I took a bowl from him and set myself up on the barstool in front of the kitchen island. I hesitated to bring a spoon to my lips. It smelled amazing, but I was also suspicious. After how rude he was to me last night, I had my hackles raised, ready for another fight.

“It’s not poison,” he said as he took the seat beside me.

I put the spoon in my mouth and took my first bite. A wonderful combination of pork and spices filled my mouth. Wow, Benny could cook. I thought all hockey players were as useless in the kitchen as my brother.

“This is amazing...but why did you make me dinner?” I asked.

“It was my sister’s suggestion. I wanted to apologize for last night. I was an asshole, and I’m sorry.”

I stared at him, wide-eyed. “Holy shit, hell has frozen over.”

He glared at me. But instead of poking the bear, I shoved more food into my face. I told Tristan I would try to be civil, but it would be a challenge. After dinner, I would start researching where to move so I could get out of here as soon as possible.

I had to admit it was nice to come home to a meal I didn’t have to prepare. Not that I was going to get used to it. It was nice sitting here with him and not trying to tear his eyeballs out, though.