RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE) (84 page)

M
y hands were shaking
as I walked into Jones’ office. I can’t believe I let Luke talking me into risking my job. He had a strange spell over me.

“Good morning, Bria. What can I do for you?”

He was a very direct man. I liked that he didn’t beat around the bush like Schreiber.

I watched him shuffle the documents he was working on. Younger than his partner by a good fifteen years, David Jones was another in the long line of lawyers his family produced. He had neatly cropped, short blond hair and a solid jaw. His suit probably cost more than my car.

When he finally looked up I considered abandoning the whole plan and running back down to the records room.

“Bria… what is it? I have a busy morning.”

“Mr. Jones, I uh…”

Be confident. Like Luke said.

“I need two weeks off,” I blurted.

He sat back in his chair. The springs made an audible creak.

“Time off?”

“Yes.”

I had to push through. It was like ripping a Band-Aid off.

“I hope there isn’t a family emergency,” he said.

“No, nothing like that. It’s to go on a… vacation. With my… friend.”

He cocked and eyebrow and the expression on his face was almost comical.

“And when do you plan on taking this vacation? Because the last time we spoke you went on and on about how committed you were to the firm. You said that you would do anything for a spot on the team once you passed the bar.”

“I’m leaving the day after tomorrow,” I said, meekly.

“The day after tomorrow.”

His laugh was incredulous.

“You mean to tell me that you are going to take off for two weeks to go gallivanting around and you’re only planning on giving me forty-eight hours’ notice?”

“I was just hoping-.”

“Hoping? There’s nothing to hope for. It’s sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“I don’t want this to seem disrespectful, Mr. Jones, but I’ve been working hard here for a long time. I put in long days, I come in almost every weekend, and I do
really
good work.”

It was like Luke’s words were coming out of my mouth.

“And the bottom line is I’m starting to burn out. I’d love the opportunity to work for you in the future and I still plan on giving you the same effort when I get back, but I’m not going to be any good to anybody if I work myself into the dirt. A once in a lifetime opportunity popped up. If I didn’t really need this, I wouldn’t ask. And I think you know that.”

Jones closed the laptop that was perched on the corner of the desk.

“Have you been studying?”

“For the bar,” I asked. “Yeah. Every night when I get home.”

“Then why haven’t you taken it?”

“I want to make sure I’m ready.”

“You’ve been ready for months. But you’re putting it off because you’re afraid.”

“I…”

“You’re afraid of failing. You know you’re ready, but you’re scared.”

“Sir, again, with all due respect I didn’t come here to talk about the bar. I just really need some time.”

He paused and seemed to be thinking to himself. It was a common trait among lawyers. Take your time formulating your words carefully so you don’t commit too much one way or the other.

Finally, he spoke. And when he did, he said what I never would have imagined.

“Take your vacation.”

My jaw almost hit the floor. When it did, the usually stoic professional couldn’t even help himself from cracking a smile.

“In fact, don’t wait for the weekend. I want you to leave now.”

“Is… is it a
permanent
vacation?”

“Bria, you’re right. You have been working incredibly hard and I don’t want you to think we haven’t noticed. I’ve been waiting to see a little life out of you.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“So no, this isn’t a permanent vacation. We value your effort.
I
value your effort. If you need to get away to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I don’t mind being short-handed around here for a while if it means I keep one of my top employees happy.”

“Oh, Mr. Jones! Thank you!”

“No need to thank me, you earned it. Just try to give me a little more of a heads up next time so I can get my ducks in a row. I suppose that while you’re gone I can have Jamie manage your workload.”

That was the icing on the cake. I wanted to be a fly on the wall when Jamie found out he would be picking up my slack.

“There is one condition, however.”

My smile dropped away.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“When you get back, you’re taking that exam. In fact, that’s the last thing I want you to do before you leave. Set it up with the association so you can take it upon your return.”

“I… Uh…”

“Don’t make me regret this decision,” he said with a warm smile.

“Of course. I’ll make the arrangements right now. Thank you again Mr. Jones.”

He gave a polite nod and jumped right back into his work.

I felt like my head was in a cloud. I couldn’t wait to tell Luke.

I
pulled
into the parking lot a Luke’s gym feeling like a new woman. Part of me still couldn’t believe that it actually worked. Was I really about to take off from work and spend a wild two weeks with one of the sexiest and most famous athletes in the world?

Yep.

Was I going to take the bar when I got back and finally get my ass out of the basement?

Double yep!

I walked by the girls at the front entrance, this time without giving them as much as a second thought.

“Do you even work out here?” One of the asked as I passed.

“This gym’s about to close ladies. Have a good night.”

I said it without looking back and didn’t care when I heard one of them call me a cunt under her breath.

Luke was stepping out of his office just as I rounded the corner. I planted an open hand in the middle of his chest, shoving him back inside. The door swung closed behind me.

“Whoa. What’s gotten into you?”

I walked him back toward his office chair. He sat down, intrigued.

I straddled him and planted a long, passionate kiss on his full lips. His rock hard erection was barely concealed beneath his mesh gym shorts.

“I’m guessing things went well?”

“Unbelievable,” I said.

“Jones let me take off early AND said he didn’t have a problem with me leaving for so long.”

“I told you. You just needed a little push.”

“I’m so excited. I can’t wait. I have to go shopping, get my hair done, tell Kaitlyn. Oh my God, it’s gonna be so fun.”

“Calm down, kitten, you’ll have plenty of time to do all that. First things first, though. You look amazing in that getup. I never knew it but I think I might have a thing for the professionally-dressed woman. Your ass is amazing, but those heels take it to another level.”

He grabbed two handfuls of my butt and massaged.

“I want to thank you for bringing me with you. I know it’s not something you would normally do.”

“Don’t worry about what I would
normally
do. All that matters is that you’re coming with me. I’m gonna make sure you have plenty of time to relax. You’ll experience more on this trip than you have in your entire life.”

I let my hands slip under his shirt. His skin was taut over his rippling muscles.

“Is this office… private?”

“Yeah, it’s private. But let me go make the rest of the gym private because I don’t want you to feel self-conscious about your screaming.”

He lifted me off of him and set me down on the desk. His shorts poked out in a tent and I wondered if he was going to do anything about it before going out front.

It didn’t seem to bother him.

Less than a minute later he was back with the good news.

“All clear,” he said. “Everybody’s out and the door is locked.”

“Even the girls who hang around by the front entrance?”

“They were the first to go. I made sure to slam the door extra hard when they started to complain.”

I tugged his shirt over his head to reveal his incredible form.

“You’re in a hurry today, aren’t you?”

“I need to feel you inside of me.”

“Kick your shoes off and come here.”

I did as I was told, letting him catch me in an embrace at the edge of the desk.

“I think I’m starting to get attached,” I whispered.

“Good. Because I’m not letting you go anywhere.”

My fingers traced over his defined chest while he went at my neck.

“Don’t be gentle,” I whispered.

It was all he needed to turn into a wild animal.

Luke tore at my blouse as I worked nimbly to undo the buttons. I was able to slip it off my shoulders just before he ripped it to shreds.

I reached into his shorts and took hold of his yearning tool. I stroked him eagerly as he shoved a hand down the backside of my skirt and played with my pussy.

Luke slipped one finger into my slickened slit. I felt the blood surge in his cock the second his fingers found their mark.

“Fuck me. Right now,” I pleaded.

He withdrew his hand from between my legs, placing it on the desktop.

“You asked for it,” he said, with a devilish grin.

I felt like nothing could stop me when I was with him

Luke didn’t even bother to undo the hook on my bra, instead pulling it down to my midsection. With forceful hands he spun me away from him and shoved me over the desk.

“I like it,” I groaned through pursed lips.

He yanked my skirt up over my hips and tugged my underwear down to my knees. I waited there, precariously perched over his desk as I listened to his shorts hit the floor.

His fingers dug into the soft flesh at the top of my butt as his raging cock bounced between us. He let it slap down a couple of times against me before grabbing hold and manipulating it against my lips.

He ran the length of my folds with the head, teasing me into near submission. I tried to push back into him but he moved away. letting my wiggling backside chase him.

He took a fistful of my hair with one hand and pinned me to the desk with the other. When he lined himself and entered without using anything to guide his member, my knees buckled inward so hard I almost face planted.

Luke moved against me expertly. I could feel every inch as it slid in and rubbed against my spot. He increased the intensity slowly but relentlessly.

“Ahh, ahh, ahh…”

We created a perfect friction between our parts.

“Ungh, ahh, ahh…”

My moans grew in both volume and quantity as he fucked me harder and harder.

“Oh my gawwww…” I bawled.

He finished me off with a rhythm of powerful thrusts that almost sent me right through the desk.

I came first. My body didn’t know what to do. I tried to scoot free of his weight to let the wave wash over me, but he held firmly.

Luke pounded harder, causing the bursts of pleasure going on inside of me to amplify.

My drenched pussy could hardly contain him as he came to orgasm. He popped free and held himself against one of my butt cheeks as he shot his hot load against my back.

I dripped with satisfaction as he collapsed on top of me.

“That was incredible,” I said, in between pants for air.

“You’re incredible. I thought I was going to break you.”

He slipped an arm around my waist and held on tightly. His hard body felt nice against my soft butt.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now, we shower.”

He got to his feet and lifted me high above his head and over his shoulder, just like he had the other night. I pulled my skirt the rest of the way over my head and was able to kick my underwear off of my foot before he could get me beneath the water.

I tensed as a cold stream hit him in the chest and splashed against my side. I let him lower me down just as it started to warm.

We spent the next twenty minutes washing each other with hot soapy water. It was the first time I’d been able to really take my time with his body. I tried to get to know every bit of him.

Freshly showered, we made our way back toward the locker room. He wrapped me in an oversized towel, then fitted one around his own waist.

“I guess I should find my clothes,” I said coyly.

“Hang on, I have just the thing.”

He ran out front and came back with a set of women’s workout gear. A black shorts and tank top combination that actually fit my style. It was the right size, too.

“Where in the world did you get that?”

“Picked it up for you this morning. Now you can’t tell me you have nothing to wear when I ask you to go for a run with me.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m running with you. I wouldn’t last five minutes.”

“I bet you would do better than you’re giving yourself credit for. Either way, try them on.”

“What, right now?”

“Yep. And right there. I want to watch.”

I took the tank top off the hanger and held it to my face. I loved the way new clothes smelled. I pulled it down over my head. It fit snugly.

“Perfect,” he said. “Now the bottoms.”

This man had just taken me on his desk, then showered with me, but for some reason I was still nervous to dress in front of him.

“The way you put clothes on is sexier than the way most women take them off.”

He knew just how to give my confidence a little boost.

I stepped into the black spandex jogging shorts and pulled them up over my butt. They felt good.

“You look like an athlete now,” he said. “I like it.”

“I hope so, it feels like I hardly have anything on at all.”

“That’s the point. It lets you be free in your movements. That’s important when you’re working out.”

It was my turn to watch him as he slipped into a pair of jeans and collared shirt that he had hanging on his door.

“My place or yours,” he asked.

“You have the time?”

“I’ll always have time.”

I
hurried
through the house trying to gather all the stuff I’d need for the trip. My team handled the big stuff – the wardrobe, the swag, the training equipment.

I liked to travel light but there was a lot of shit to take care of in preparation for these press tours. I’d done a couple in the past, but none were this large in scale.

The most import part was the training equipment. Headgear, Thai pads, stuff like that was too hard to find and replace on the road so you had to make sure to bring it.

Then, you needed posters and headshots to sign for all the organizations that wanted to get a piece. Most of the time is was for the non-profits to use in their fundraising auctions.

It was all a pain in the ass. But it was a necessary evil. And I couldn’t wait to see the look on Bria’s face when she experienced it. It would be a lot of lights and cameras and pushy journalists and it was set up to be a bit of a shock for her. For as much as she acted like she was uncomfortable by my fame I could tell there was a part of her that was excited by it.

I made one last sweep of the house then set the alarm. I grabbed my duffle bag and headed off to pick her up.

We had a commercial flight to Miami but from there on it was all private jets. The owner of the organization liked to make sure his top fighters went places in style and I wasn’t about to complain.

After Miami we were scheduled to go up the east coast. We would do an event in Boston and the New York before jumping on a plane to hit San Francisco and L.A.

The final stop was in Vegas. We’d hold the last press conference before the fight in the very hotel and casino where it would take place two weeks later.

I turned into the parking lot by Bria’s condo. She was waiting by the front door, bouncing on her toes.

She ran up to the car and hopped in.

“What’s up, darlin’. You look good today.”

“You too! This is gonna be SO awesome. I didn’t know what to do with myself this morning when I got up and remembered I didn’t have to go into work.”

“It’s the life for you now babe, wait until you see what I have in store for you.”

She looked so hot in her little outfit. I wanted drag her inside really quick and fuck her brains out. If we hadn’t been cutting it close with the flight already I would have done just that.

“Thanks for sending the service for my bags, too,” she said.

“Yeah, you look like a girl who packs a lot of clothes. I didn’t think everything would fit.”

She gave a quick look toward the back seat and told me I was right.

I stomped on the accelerator and cranked the wheel. She squealed along with my tires as we rocketed toward the airport.

When we pulled up at the passenger pick up/drop off lane I had to pry her hands off my junk. She started working me through my pants somewhere along the expressway. I was convinced she was trying to make us crash.

“Not here, tiger. Remember, this car sits low to the ground. People can see us.”

She gave a shy smile and slid out of the car.

“I know what I’m doing.”

“I bet you do,” I said.

“Wait to see what happens when we get on that plane.”