In The Pocket (Sample - First 5 Chapters)

3 You Owe Me

"Best day ever!" I could hear Nick and Tyler shouting from down the hall. I closed my eyes for a moment before glancing at the clock. Seven o' clock. Emily had given me several hours of peace. I would have to think of a proper way to thank her later. She entered first, giving me a wide eyed what-have-you-done-to-me look as she did, moving to the side to admit the hooligans behind her. Tyler came first, fist pumping and cheering. Nick followed, no less of a display, beer in hand that made me wonder where he even got it.

"Boys," I greeted and they turned, smiling, to face me.

"Reagan, it was incredible. Emily showed us the cafeteria, the weight rooms, even the locker room. Though no one was in it, of course," Tyler was telling me. I nodded, biting my lip as I looked over to Emily who rolled her eyes. I mouthed an apology that the boys didn't see due to their reminiscing about seeing Coach Arnold from afar when Emily took them past his office.

"I'm going to take them home," Emily sighed, flipping her car keys in her hand as she pushed off of the bookshelf she had been leaning against. "They both found the bar a little too interesting."

I nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Emily," I told her as she ushered them through the door and toward the exit. "For everything!"

"You owe me," she called back as I sat back down to my desk and returned my focus to my computer, but it was muffled a bit by Nick's far louder cry.

"See you at home!" he shouted.

"At home?" someone else asked and I looked up to see Liam Oliver standing in my doorway. My lips parted a bit in surprise and my heart flew into my chest at the sight of him, straight out of the showers after weightlifting with the team. His curly brown hair was still a bit damp, I noticed, as his megawatt smile burned into me.

"Uh, yeah," I answered, stuttering like a fool as I stood back up. "Those are my friends. We live in the same building. They're... I'm sorry about them. What can I do for you, Mr. Oliver?"

"You're the new Director of Player Relations," he said and I nodded without answer. Had he come here to summarize my afternoon announcement? "You took over for Phil Evans."

"I did, yes. Did you work with Phil often?"

"I did."

"Well, I can imagine that I have big shoes to fill but-"

"Phil was an asshole."

I blinked at him in surprise, "I- Pardon?"

"He was married. Three kids. But he still hung around the cheerleaders every chance he got. The guys on the team used to joke about where you could find old Phil if you needed him," he explained and, for whatever reason, I felt my cheeks heating for the third time today.

"Oh, I- didn't know that. He sounds like a..."

"Scumbag?"

I smiled, "Something like that."

He smiled back and we stood there for a moment, neither of us speaking, just looking at one another as if trying to size each other up. He broke the silence first.

"You cost me $20 million this morning," he told me but his tone was lighter than any man's should be when talking about that kind of money. It caught me off guard almost as much as the abrupt change in topic and I cleared my throat to regain my composure and what little professionalism I might have left after openly ogling him in the locker room before.

I nodded as heat flooded to my cheeks, "Ah. I hope you don't intend for me to pay you back."

"Dinner," he said and I blinked at him again, wondering if he had just said what I thought he did. It wasn't possible. And yet, he repeated it. "Let me take you to dinner and we'll call it even."