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chapter 2
With a resigned sigh and a slurp of her iced coffee, Katie deleted the email from Erin, accepted the invite to the meeting that would no doubt go well past four-thirty, then mentally accepted being stood up for the second time by TIFF. All caps, no last name.
The girlfriend of third baseman James Vonnegut, TIFF had almost two million followers online, although Katie couldn’t quite figure out why. Lori didn’t care much about the why, only about how many viewers a profile on her would draw to the "Beyond the Clubhouse" section of the Mavericks' website. Katie had set up the interview through the TikTok star’s publicist, but wasn’t too surprised or disappointed that it fell through, especially with the new meeting that just got tacked on to the end of her day.
Naturally, she was the last one to RSVP to the staff meeting. Even Craig The Intern had accepted. Everyone on Lori’s team knew that the last peon to the party got the most grunt work, and by the looks of it, there was going to be quite a bit to dole out. The annual team charity banquet, Lori’s pet project for the season, was less than a month away, and she wanted to change the theme? Katie didn’t particularly care for the current denim and diamonds theme, but a change this late in the game would be a nightmare. Add on the discussion about Stan Takahashi, and they wouldn’t be out of the office before nightfall. Lori seemed damn near obsessed with the visit from the Japanese media mogul, and that was further out than the banquet.
With a long afternoon of work looming in front of her, Katie peeked out the window. The coffee shop TIFF’s publicist chose was right in the middle of the ritzy Randall Park neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown. The day was sunny, the sidewalks just starting to come alive. Katie had purposely slipped on a comfortable pair of sandals with her sundress that morning, just in case she got thechance to take a peek around the neighborhood, and the boutique across the street with long, flowy dresses was calling her name.
She ran a quick internet search for other shops and food she might want to check out, and was jotting down a list, with an estimated time spent at each spot, when a deep voice broke into her concentration.
"Hey Katie, Lori let you out of the dungeon?"
It had been seventeen days, eight home games, five meet and greets, and two private VIP visits since she’d last heardthat voice say her name. Since Landon Ryan had last spoken to her directly. But who was counting?
Katie’s heart danced in her chest even before she looked up to meet those intense blue eyes, his presence so magnetic she couldn’t believe she’d missed him walking into the coffee shop. He wore an old ball cap with a logo she didn’t recognize and jeans with a black t-shirt. His dark hair poked out of the hat, curling around his ears and just above his collar, and a day’s worth of stubble framed a boyish grin that threatened to turn Katie into a bumbling, fangirl mess.
I'm here for work, Katie reminded herself, and Landon Ryan was her work. So she sat up straighter, put on her best professional smile, and gave his little joke about Lori’s dungeon a polite laugh. "Ha! More like she let me out on work detail. I was supposed to meet Vonnegut’s girlfriend here for a WAG interview."
"Ah the infamous TIFF. That should be fun," Landon said, with a knowing raise of his eyebrows that had Katie jotting down a mental note to see if they’d ever dated. Not that she cared.
"Well I’ll never know because she canceled on me. But what are you doing here? I thought the team flew to Colorado yesterday."
"I stayed back to consult with some docs about the wrist. I’m flying out this afternoon." Landon twisted his right hand in a few quick circles. "Soooo no TIFF…does that mean you get the rest of the day off?"
Katie scoffed. "Yeah right, but I just moved here a few months ago and still haven’t checked out Randall Park, so I figured maybe I’ll play hooky for an hour and look around."
"Oooh a bad girl, I like it." He grinned and glanced down at her notepad. His neck twisted to get a better look, then he spun it with his hand so it faced him.
"Oh, by all means," Katie said around an astonished laugh.
He shot her a funny look, one that indicated he probably didn’t called out on anything ever, but he skimmed her list anyway then looked back at her with one eyebrow cocked.
"You have a detailed itinerary for a stroll around the block? Maybe not such a bad girl after all."
Katie snatched the notepad back as Landon chuckled and held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Landon?" the barista called out from behind the counter.
A poorly muffled shriek rang out from a table of girls wearing t-shirts with Boise State logos. "See, I told you it was him!" one whisper-squealed to her friends.
Landon rolled his eyes with a sheepish grin, then strolled over to pick up his drink.
An email from Lori popped into her inbox and Katie did her absolute best to focus on the words staring back at her. Her eyes betrayed her, of course, flickering up to watch as Landon got roped into photos, first with the college girls, thenwith the cashier, then with just one of the girls, a petite redhead who pulled him aside from her friends.
A jealousy Katie had no right to feel rumbled uncomfortably in her chest as she watched him smiling and nodding at the girl before taking hold of her phone for a selfie since his arm stretched longer. Katie balled her barely touched muffin up in a napkin and made her way to the trash can, mostly so she wouldn’t have to watch if he put his number in the phone, or worse, left with the redhead.
But Landon didn’t leave. He met Katie back over at her table, this time sliding onto the chair next to her, so close his sleeve brushed up against her bare arm and she could smell his deodorant. So close it scrambled her brain and she didn’t even realize he was talking to her in a low murmur until he was nearly done with his sentence.
"—to get away from that chick."
Katie blinked back at him. "Hmmm? What?"
He gave a nod in the direction he’d just come from. "I hope you don’t mind, but I told that girl over there that we were on a date to get away from her. To get away from all of them, actually."
Uptight Katie Masterson on a date with hot, sexy, bad boy Landon Ryan? With a guy that could have any female he desired? Ha!The idea was laughable—just ask Kyle, her mother, or half the girls she went to West Lakeview High School with.Hell, just ask the group of college girls across the room.
The redhead was holding her phone up to take another picture of Landon and other people in the coffee shop were looking in his direction with sparked interest. Even the barista had his cell out.
