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“Yes.”
“Then he’s gone. I’ll deal with him personally.”
“I don’t want him gone. I want him brought to justice.”
Gabe dusted his hands together. “Fine. Then we’ll do that. Whatever you want.”
I scoffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He smoothed his tie and rose in one fluid movement. “Leave this with me. I’ll deal with Jerry, and you can come across this afternoon and sign with us.”
“It’s not that simple. I have other things to think about—”
He looked at me intently, then strode toward me, closing the gap between us. My senses filled with his spicy cologne. I took a sharp breath at his nearness. His fingers fluttered around my cheek before he drew his hand away. His voice was as soft as a kiss. “What happened to your eye?”
My hand flew to cover my bruised cheek. “Nothing. An elbow to the face.”
His extraordinary eyes clung to mine. “You’re good enough to play for England. You have more talent in your little toe than most players. You can throw as many reasons at me as you want, but in the end you’ll realize …”
“Realize what?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“That I always get what I want, and I want you. Don’t drag this out longer than it needs to be. We both know you want this, too. You’re an athlete. Winning is all that matters to people like us. Stick with me, and I’ll take you all the way to the top.” He quirked a dark brow, his low voice like silk draped around my bare skin. “Wouldn’t you like to be on top, Forster?”
My whole body spiked with heat. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his full lips. What were we talking about? He was standing so close; his beautiful mouth hovered inches from mine. His eyes fell to my lips. My heart pounded. Oh God. Why had I let myself get so close to him?
Even if he got rid of Jerry, I couldn’t walk away from the Swans. Those girls were my best friends. I owed them loyalty. Besides, I had no time to go up the league. Training was already becoming inconvenient with visiting Mum, and when she got out of hospital it would only get worse. My caring responsibilities would take precedent. My job was looking after Mum and my family. Not football.
Try again, Rivers.
“Winning isn’t anywhere near the top of my priority list.”
His brows set in a straight line. “Then what is?”
I took a breath and stepped away. “You wouldn’t understand. If you’ll excuse me, you’re making me late for the team I actually play for.”
Chapter 11
Gabe
Ireclinedintheleather chair in my new office, testing the bounce. Outside, women in white kits ran laps around the sprawling expanse of rough training pitches. These grounds were tiny compared to the men’s facilities. Ruby, my PA, sat in the corner making calls that sounded important and scrolling her phone.
“Why are we here, Ruby?”
She covered her phone’s mouthpiece and cocked her head. “Here? You have a meeting with Jerry. That’s followed by PR, and then after that—”
“No. I mean, why is the women’s team training over here? The men’s team has the best facilities in the country. State-of-the-art turf, gym, sauna, personal trainers. What are we doing over here? We could be sharing those facilities.”
Ruby shrugged. “It’s the way your dad set things up.”
“If we want the best team, we need to give them everything they need to be the best. Find out the schedule for the men’s team and fit our sessions around that. I want our women in the gym over there, using the men’s facilities.”
Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “The men’s team won’t be happy about that.”
“Tough luck. They need to learn to share.”
Ruby peered through the glass office door. “It looks like Jerry’s here. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Wait.” I watched Jerry through the glass and kept my voice low. “Have you ever heard any … rumors about Jerry?”
