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I blink. “One of the guys? As in, one of the Paragons?”
“Yeah,” he says, like it’s no big deal.
Sera and I exchange a look.
“You want me to take one of the Paragons to the gala with me?” I repeat. Just to make sure I’m not misunderstanding the words being said to me.
Meanwhile, Liam seems to grow more certain that this is a good idea. “Yeah. Get one of the Paragons to tag along with you. Take your pick.” He chuckles. “Won’t be hard. All of the single ones have the hots for you.” He watches me out the side of his eye and mutters, “They find you mildly terrifying but they definitely have the hots for you.”
"I’m starting to wonder if I missed my stop on the crazy train because, suddenly, we’re in the Twilight Zone and I’m not quite sure how we got here.”
Sera nudges my knee, glaring at me. “Oh, come on. Don’t be self-deprecating. You’re a hottie. The guys know it. You know it. We all know it.”
Liam just keeps right on talking. “All of the players get an invitation to the gala every year and hardly any of them ever show up. They think that cutting a check to the charity is enough. It’s not. We need to get serious about our community presence. About making our mark around town. Especially with the iffy football season we’re having. We need to give the town a glimmer of a reason to love the Paragons again.”
My friend eyeballs me as she shoves a saltine cracker into her mouth. “If you want, I can have Jace ask around and see if any of the guys on the team would like to go with you.”
I vigorously shake my head at Sera, hoping Liam’s too busy poking around on his phone to notice. I know that Sera’s only trying to be helpful, but she’s practically helping Liam dig my grave at this point.
I watch our boss’s face turn up to the ceiling and his eyes squint. An idea is forming in his head and I have a feeling I’m not going to like it. “Now that I think about it, Harry was at the event last year.”
My stomach does a nervous flip. “Harry? Westbrook?”
Liam nods. “He was there with his mother.”
I didn’t notice Harry at the event last year. I would have noticed him if he were there. I mean, he’s tall. Really tall. Hard to miss. Because he’s tall, I mean.
Liam is still talking. “Noelle Westbrook is the principal at the elementary school right next door in Honey Hill. Harry’s super involved in their sports program at the school. Chances are, he’s going to the gala again this year.”
I’m bordering on a full-blown panic attack at the moment. The man pushing me closer to the edge does not seem to care. “Liam, this is not in my job description—going to charity events with your big, burly football players.”
I do a lot for my job. I go above and beyond, sacrificing my evenings and weekends, taking work calls at all hours of the night, cutting my vacations short to get back to the office. But if there’s ever been a time to draw a line in the sand, it’d be now.
My billionaire business tycoon boss actually has the nerve to roll his eyes at me. “It’ll be fun. You look like you could use a little fun. Plus, Harry’s harmless.”
“Your six foot two, two hundred and twenty-five pound professional football player is harmless?”
“Familiar with his stats, are we?” Liam pokes at me and Sera fights a snicker. Now, I’m the one rolling my eyes. “I’ve seen you negotiate with BezoandMusk. You can handle a football player.” He bumps his shoulder into mine, giving me a rare glimpse into his playful side.
“Wow, Liam! You’re resorting to stroking my ego? You’re just playing dirty now. We’re going to need to re-negotiate my salary,” I tell him and I’m not even sure I’m joking.
“Who’s playing dirty now?” He smirks.
I quirk an eyebrow at him, not backing down.
“You don’t need the extra money,” he tells me.
I shrug. “I’ll donate the money to charity. I just want to make your pockets hurt for forcing me into this.”
He grunts. “Okay. Sure. Whatever. You’re worth every penny,” he concedes finally. “So what do you say? Will you go to the gala? And drag Westbrook along?”
Sera watches on with wide eyes from the sidelines, waiting to hear what my answer will be.
Fuuucccckkkk! I hate Liam Kline so much right now!!I’m screaming internally while nodding robotically on the outside.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
10
