Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
But Vince Tanev was a playboy and a prick, and I wanted this assignment about as badly as I wanted my arm chewed off by rats.
“What about focusing more on the people the Ospreys highlight at each game as their community heroes?” I tried, pathetically. “They choose someone from the Bay each game who’s doing real work to give back. Let’s take it beyond getting a check and a two-minute spotlight at the game. What if we could really use our platform to elevate their community efforts?”
My beautiful bosses blinked at me, then at each other, before Reya offered me a sweet, sympathetic smile.
“Look, we hear you. We know that’s your goal, and it’s one of ours, too.”
“But this is huge,” Camilla cut in. “Like, unheard of.”
“And, honestly, it’s the perfect segue,” Reya added. “Vince Tanev is known for being charitable and spending time in the community. You can showcase that and shine light on how involved the Ospreys are.”
I suffocated the groan I wanted to unleash at that. Even if I did point out the fact that all players did that shit for public relations purposes, it wouldn’t change their minds.
This was my assignment, whether I liked it or not.
It had been a dream come true when I was pulled onto the TBB team. I was the only one outside of the founders to have a front-facing role. Sure, we had assistants and administrators, researchers and media buyers, account managers and creative directors, but I was a Babe.
I was making more money than I ever dreamed of — doing something that I loved — with the opportunity to have my own segment inciting the change I’d always hoped to.
I loved this job.
And if this little segment was part of the journey to get me where I really wanted to be, then so be it.
“Okay,” I said on an exhale.
The girls squealed in delight, and then I was yanked up out of my chair and wrapped in a hug by both of them. I laughed and hugged them back.
“This is going to be so fun,” Camilla exclaimed.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “The funnest.”
“Just wait until we tell you what the Ospreys are paying for this,” Reya said, waggling her brows. “You’re going to be living the sweet life during this assignment. They’re footing the bill for everything. I’m talking lavish hotels, a condo in the same building as his, a per diem so high you could eat at Michelin Star restaurants for every meal…”
She ambled on, but her voice went fuzzy in my ears. My eyes flicked to my phone, thinking about the bizarre notifications I’d scrolled through that morning.
I wondered how Vince Tanev would respond to the news.
But not as much as I wondered how I was going to survive a month up close and personal with the cockiest sonofabitch I’d ever met.
And the hottest one, too.
Distraction With a Capital D
Vince
“You’re serious.”
It wasn’t a question so much as a statement of mild disbelief. I arched a brow at Coach McCabe, who seemed about as pleased as Daddy P after someone managed to score on him, before I turned my attention back to our general manager.
Richard Bancroft was a joyful man, soft around the waist with pale white skin, ginger hair, and rosy-red cheeks. He always wore a smile like he’d just found out his only daughter was getting married, and he was also known for pitching some of the stupidest ideas with that grin firmly in place.
He was known by staff and players alike as Dick, which was the nickname he gave himself back in college. Of course, depending on what he’d wrangled the team into that week, the players might have used it in a more callous way than he intended.
“It’s brilliant!” he said, and I wasn’t sure if he was trying to sell me on that statement or my coach, who still wore an unamused frown and his arms folded over his chest.
Where Dick was soft and cheery, Coach Shane McCabe was lean, tall, and severe. At thirty-eight, he was the second-youngest coach in the league, and one look at the guy told you he had a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove. He was the kind of coach a player dreamed of working with, one who was stern and took no shit, but also didn’t ride your balls too hard.
“Just think of the buzz it’ll stir up,” Dick continued. “You’re the hottest news this team has had since 2004, kid. And if we didn’t use that to our advantage to fill those seats,” he added, pointing in the direction of the rink. “Then we’d be fools.”
“It’s a distraction,” Coach said from his corner.
“It’s a goldmine,” Dick argued, and the rare look of severity that overtook him as he looked pointedly at Coach told me this wasn’t up for debate.