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"I'd expect you to do things your own way," Dan replied, refusing to take the bait.
Gary Hewitt, who was working nearly as many hours each week as Dan, poked his head through the door. "Sorry to interrupt, Dan, but we've got some new film I want you to look at. I think we may have an answer to the problem with Collier."
"Sure, Gary." He turned to Phoebe, and by the slight lift of his eyebrow asked if she wanted him to stay to lend moral support.
She smiled. "We can finish our discussion tomorrow."
He wrapped his tow
el around his neck and, with a nod to both of them, left.
Reed slapped his black leather gloves in his palm. "Let me take you out to dinner. It'll give us a chance to catch up."
"I'm sorry. I try to eat with Molly during the week."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I haven't told you how much I admire the way you've taken over with her. You're hardly the maternal type, so I know it's been a sacrifice."
"I enjoy Molly. It hasn't been a sacrifice at all."
"I'm glad. Now that Bert is gone, I can't help but feel at least a little bit responsible for you. I guess that's only natural since I'm your only surviving male relative."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm doing fine."
"I'm just grateful that you're a woman of the world. It's obvious from what I saw when I walked in here tonight that the sharks are circling."
"Sharks?"
He chuckled. "It's all right, Phoebe. You don't have to pretend with me. I'm sure you find Dan's courtship as amusing as I do. Nobody expected the Stars to get this far—not even their coach. I suppose it's natural that he'd hedge his bets, although I would have expected him to be more subtle about it."
"Reed, I have no idea what you're talking about," she said stiffly.
His forehead knit with concern. "Oh, God, Phoebe. I'm sorry. I thought—You're really serious about him, aren't you? God, I feel like an ass. I didn't mean to be so clumsy about this."
"Why don't you just say what's on your mind." Phoebe affected a calmness she didn't feel.
He gazed at her as if he were a kindly uncle. "Football is the most important thing in Dan's life. Both of us know that. Having even an outside chance of getting his hands on the Stars has to be driving him crazy. Now he's using you without any risk to himself. If the Stars lose, he can ease out of the relationship with no harm done. But if they don't lose—" His jaw tightened. "I think you can expect our head coach to hit you with a marriage proposal so fast your head will spin."
Dan wasn't without his faults, but he wouldn't use her to get the Stars, and she had never liked Reed less than she did at that moment. He was slick and oily, totally unprincipled and utterly selfish. Even so, she knew he probably believed what he was saying since that was what he would have done had he been in Dan's shoes.
"Thank you for your concern, but I think you're taking my relationship with Dan more seriously than I am." Liar!
"I'm glad to hear that. I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it. This discussion will be pointless by Sunday evening anyway. The Stars are overmatched this weekend. I hope you're prepared for the team to lose."
"We'll see."
After Reed had left, she stood in the empty weight room and thought how ironic his suspicions about Dan were. If Dan was trying to get his hands on the Stars by romancing her, he was certainly botching the job.
Ron had to make a last-minute telephone call from his car phone, and Phoebe was alone as she entered the impressive silver and blue lobby of one of DuPage County's newest and most prestigious country clubs. It was three days after Christmas, and the lobby was still decorated with evergreen boughs and poofy silver bows. Since Jason Keane was the prime backer of the club, she wasn't surprised that he'd chosen its private dining room as the site of this meeting she had requested.
She was still trying to absorb the fact that the Stars' hopes were alive for at least one more week. Contrary to Reed's prediction, the Stars had beaten the Chargers by a field goal in an unbearably suspenseful game on Sunday, managing to win the AFC Central Division title over the Steelers, who had lost to the Bengals in overtime. Now they would have another chance to keep her dream alive.
She was undoubtedly setting herself up for a fall. Bert had tried unsuccessfully for years to renegotiate the stadium contract with Jason Keane, and she had no reason to believe she could resolve a situation that had defeated her father. Her weeks of study had given her a fairly comprehensive understanding of the team's finances, but she had no experience with complex negotiations.
Logic dictated that she simply sign the new contract the lawyers had delivered last week. There would be no more last-minute reprieves for the Stars; their next defeat would put them permanently out of the running. If she somehow managed to improve the terms of the stadium contract, she would only be helping Reed. On the other hand, until the Stars lost their next game, she was still the owner, and she was going to do what was best for the organization.
Thinking about what lay ahead of her tonight had taken its toll, and her stomach was churning. The sensation escalated as the heavily etched glass door marked Members Only swung open on the far side of the country club lobby. She sucked in her breath as she identified the tall, well-built man in the tuxedo as Dan.
Planning for this evening had kept her mind too busy to dwell on his rejection of her kiss in the weight room last week. Now the hurt came back, and she stiffened as he walked toward her.
