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COLE
“You haveto work on their defense.” I scowled as the hockey players skated past us, getting beat back to the net once again. The other team scored, and I cursed under my breath.
“They need more training. That guy looks winded.” I pointed to our newest wing. “Tell him he’s doing sprints, or he’s getting cut.”
The coach blinked at me. I’d hired him a few months ago to manage my hockey team, the Rhode IslandThunder, right after I’d fired the last coach.
“We just paid top-dollar for that trade. You want me to threaten to cut him?” he asked.
“Yes. Yes, I do. You aren’t getting the results I’m looking for.” I turned my scowl toward him. “I’m going to be busy for the next week—my best friend’s brother’s getting married. When I get back, this defense better be crushing it. Otherwise, you can start looking for a new job, too.”
His shoulders slumped. He’d probably heard I was a prick to work for—and the rumors were true. “Yes, Mr. Bryson. I won’t let you down.”
“If you do, it won’t be for long.” I turned on my heel and almost ran smack-dab into my personal assistant, Shirley. As usual, she was in a rush, and she was also frowning at me.
“Why do I have the feeling I’m about to be chastised?”
Her frown deepened. Shirley was in her early sixties, with blond corkscrew curls, broad shoulders, and athletic legs. She did a lot of running around on my behalf. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” But I knew what she was going to say.
“Being a dick.” She peered over my shoulder at the coach, who was white as a sheet as he watched the hockey scrimmage. “That’s the third coach you’ve hired in the past year. You need to give him a chance.”
“Ineedto win a championship.” A defensive tone crept into my words. I tugged at my collar.
“Youneedto let the man do his job. Or at least try to do it,” she admonished.
Shirley was the only woman in the world who talked to me like that. She gave it to me straight. That’s why Shirley had been my assistant for over ten years. She was the only employee and the only woman in my life to have lasted that long.
“I’m giving him a chance. And some notes.” I shrugged. Sometimes, when I spoke to Shirley, I felt like a petulant teenager talking to my disapproving mom—but I wasn’t because my mother was dead. She had been for a long time.
“Fine, fine.” Her frown disappeared, replaced by an eager look. “Did you find a date for Todd’s wedding yet?”
“No. And I told you—I’m going solo. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of new ‘friends’ at the reception to keep me company.” I waggled my eyebrows.
Shirley sighed. She considered it her duty in life to see me married off. “When’re you going to meet a nice girl and settle down, huh?”
“Never!” I grinned. “How else am I going to keep you busy?”
“I’m plenty busy!” She followed me through the arena, keeping pace with my long strides. “Plenty busy trying to keep you out of trouble and find you a wife!”
“Who needs a wife when you have a life? That’s fromSex and the City, by the way.” I chuckled.
“I know where it’s from!” Shirley sounded exasperated. “And you should not be taking dating advice from an HBO show! Heaven help me.”
She was behind me, so I couldn’t see her, but I knew Shirley well enough to know she was crossing herself.
“Fair enough.” I wasn’t taking dating advice from an HBO show, and I wasn’t taking dating advice from Shirley, either. I was Cole Bryson, billionaire and ladies’ man. I was doing just fine by myself, thank you very much. I was winning the game of life.
What more could a guy want?
JENNY
“You needto get over here,stat,” Elena growled over the phone. Elena was a madam, and she was also my boss. “I’m packing Dre for an important assignment, and you have to encourage her. You know what she’s like.”
“She’s my best friend, so yeah, I know what she’s like,” I said. “Stop picking on her!”
My friend Audrey—Dre, for short—had recently gotten fired from AccommoDating, Inc., the escort agency where we both worked. Elena had stopped giving her assignments after she ran out on some client who’d given her the heebie-jeebies. Apparently, Elena was giving Dre another chance.