Page 29 of How to Puck Your Boss (L.A. Hawks Hockey #3)

Chapter Seventeen

I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”

“I asked Penny if she wanted to go on a date with me.”

“Shit, I did hear you — you did what ?” Dax stared at Jack as if he had just announced he had eaten his favorite stick. “What the hell for?”

“Because I like her,” he replied, shrugging before taking a sip of his non-alcoholic beer. “More than anyone in a long time. Including you.”

Dax snorted and shook his head sharply. “That’s professional suicide, Jack!”

Yeah, he was probably right. It wasn’t professional to ask his boss if she wanted to go out to dinner with him and do a lot of dirty things.

But, then again, it wasn’t professional to make her come on the side of a pool, either.

So, they might as well just agree that he was unprofessional and loving it. Period.

“What should I do, Dax?” he asked with excessive patience in his voice.

“Forget about her!”

“I tried. But I can’t. Besides, did I mention that I like her? Do you know how long it’s been since I liked anyone who wasn’t my teammate or my sister? A long time!”

“’A long time’ isn’t an accepted unit of time,” Dax muttered impatiently. “Have you ever thought about what it would mean for her to go out with you?”

Jack lowered his gaze and gnashed his teeth. Honestly, that was all he was thinking about.

“She’s already not taken seriously!” Dax continued, unperturbed. “Imagine what it’ll look like if she dates a player!”

Jack’s jaw clenched. He wanted to say something to refute Dax’s arguments — but nothing came to mind.

He knew his brother was right. Penny was right, saying the same thing.

But he also knew he was at his wits’ end.

He couldn’t sleep without dreaming about Penny and waking up hard.

She had taken control of his mind. And he felt like the only way to deal with it was to take control of her body and soul in return.

It was absolutely ridiculous, but hey, he had told himself worse lies. And God, he wanted her. On every level. Heart, mind, body.

“What are you talking about?” Leon Alvarez asked, coming up to their table at the Ice Lounge with Lucy, Fox, Moreau, and Matt and a variety of pitchers of beer. The players and Lucy squeezed into the booth and looked at Jack and Dax expectantly as they passed out fresh drinks.

“Oh, about what an idiot Jack is,” Dax replied lightly.

“Uh, I love that topic!” Matt said enthusiastically. “I have so much to add.”

Jack snorted and Austin Fox clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Pull yourself together, Matt. Jack scored two of the five goals today. He deserves a break from your bullshit.”

Matt made a grumpy face. “You know I don’t like getting reprimanded when Leon is around. It means I’m an even bigger idiot than he is at that moment and that thought is disturbing.”

“Hey!” Leon complained sharply. “Jack is the idiot. Didn’t we just establish that? Besides, I only get reprimanded all the time because Fox is such a killjoy.”

“One of us has to be sensible,” their team captain stated matter-of-factly. “And one can definitely not expect that from you monkeys.”

Nobody felt called upon to contradict him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Leon said, annoyed, dismissing it. “By the way, Jack, you’re being stared at.” He nodded to the right toward the nearby bar.

“What?” Confused, Jack turned his head and sure enough, a pretty blonde in a tight red shift dress was looking over, her eyes fixed on Jack.

“Hey, why can’t I be the one getting stares?” Dax complained.

“First, a lot fewer women look at you in bars since you got a steady girlfriend,” Leon cleverly replied. “And second, because Jack is much more handsome than you. Haven’t you seen the photos in Sports Illustrated?”

Jack grinned. “Yeah, for real, Dax.”

His brother glared at him. “I swear if anyone starts with that Sports Illustrated thing again…”

“Hey, it was a stroke of marketing genius on his agent’s part to land the deal,” Lucy chimed in, halfway through her beer. “Almost as good as Matt signing up with Maddie’s dating agency.”

“Still!” Dax replied angrily. “The blonde might be staring at me. Jack and I are sitting next to each other.”

His girlfriend rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Dax? You’re offended because instead of pining groupies, you now have me, the love of your life?”

He nodded. “Yeah, a little. Why can’t I have both?”

“Oh, you’ve lost your minds,” Matt said. “The woman isn’t into Jack. She saw his flashy Rolex and wants to ask him what time it is. That’s all.”

Fox, Moreau, and Alvarez laughed, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

Dax grinned broadly. “That’s got to be it.”

“Bullshit,” Leon said. “Nobody asks the time these days. Everyone has cell phones. She’s totally checking him out. She wants him to end his dry spell.”

“My dry spell is fine, thanks,” Jack muttered, glancing away. He could do without being hit on – by any woman who wasn’t Penny.

“She’s definitely trying to hook up with him,” Fox agreed now.

“Bullshit!” Matt insisted. “I know more about women than any of you. I have a fiancée, four sisters, a mother, and a grandmother, all of whom love me, so on the team, I am the most successful with female relationships. And I’m telling you, she isn’t interested in Jack.”

Leon rolled his eyes expressively. “You’re full of crap, Payne.”

“I don’t think so,” he said smugly, counting on his fingers. “Fox is divorced; you blush when you even think about women; Jack is celibate; and Dax’s closest relationship is with his puck.”

“Hey, I have Lucy!” he answered promptly.

“Yes, but you’re still closer to your puck,” Lucy said through a grin.

“Exactly,” Matt confirmed. “Then there’s Moreau, who…”

…raised a single eyebrow and looked at him with a combination of interest and studied coolness.

Matt cleared his throat quickly and glanced away. “I have nothing bad to say about Moreau,” he replied hastily. “He could be a total woman’s man, and we wouldn’t know it.”

“Chicken,” Leon muttered, but so quietly that their goalie didn’t hear. “And oh, she’s on the move!”

Curious, everyone turned and watched the blonde stride toward their table. Finally, when she was standing right next to Jack, she asked, “Excuse me. Do you know what time it is? I forgot my phone and I actually have a date.”

Leon’s mouth dropped, Lucy snorted into her hand, and Dax wore an expression of happiness on his face.

Jack sighed and glanced at his Rolex. “Yes, of course. It’s half past ten.”

“Oh, thank you!” The woman sighed. “I guess I was stood up. Thanks again!”

Then she turned again and disappeared with long strides toward the door. As soon as it closed, everyone burst out laughing.

“God, I wouldn’t have believed I’d ever say this, but Matt was spot on!” Fox said, shaking his head.

The striker grinned smugly. “I told you so! I understand women. I know exactly what their relationship and prey pattern is! All I have to do is look at their faces to…”

“Is that so?” an interested female voice interrupted. “What about me? Does my face tell you anything about my deepest relationship desires?”

Matt turned, confused, and visibly flinched when he recognized Penny, who had appeared next to their table.

“Uh, what?” he replied stupidly.

“What about me?” she repeated cheerfully. “I’m curious to know what my prey and relationship pattern is.”

Jack’s mouth twitched. She was wearing one of her floral dresses that could have camouflaged her in any botanical garden, and her eyes were gleaming with amusement. She was only trying to make Matt feel uncomfortable — and judging Matt’s hunched shoulders and pained expression, she was succeeding.

Well, he had told her to stop being polite. Apparently, she’d taken him at his word.

“Um, I don’t know,” Matt stammered awkwardly, running his hand through his hair. “What exactly are you doing here, Miss Clark?”

“Penny, please. I wanted to congratulate you on the fantastic game…and find out what kind of relationship type I am. So, come on!” she demanded, pulling up a chair while a grinning Lucy moved aside to make room between herself and Jack.

“I want to hear it. I’m curious. If you tell me what you know about me, I’ll tell you what I know about you.

” She wagged her index finger to include all of players huddled together on the booth seat.

“You know something about us?” Leon asked, irritated.

“Oh yes, a lot. Intimate details. Forbidden thoughts. Everything I need to know to judge if you’re good hockey players and people,” she stated, smiling smugly. “Isn’t that kind of my job?”

Jack raised the glass to his lips to hide his grin. Leon looked slightly panicked, which could be because he wasn’t sure if he was a good person.

“Now tell her what you know about the boss and her prey and relationship pattern,” he muttered. “I for one want to hear what she thinks she knows!”

Penny smiled and moved into the gap Lucy had created. Her leg brushed against his, sending goosebumps scurrying up his spine.

“I like that you show up here and can unsettle Leon with just one sentence,” Lucy remarked contentedly. “That’s a special skill.”

“Yeah, you have to teach me that too,” Fox muttered. “Very useful.”

Leon ignored them all and stared challengingly at Matt, who sighed long and drawn out.

“Fine! If you all want me to make things truly uncomfortable…Miss Clark – Penny – you only date losers and deadbeat artists who absolutely don’t fit in with your family because you’re rebelling against your father.

You know it won’t work out, though, with these types, which makes you feel safe.

You always choose the man with whom you’re least likely to have a successful relationship. ”

Absolute silence followed Matt’s words — though Jack opened his mouth in surprise.

Shit. Was that why she liked him? Because it was unlikely that it would work out between them? Because, technically, she was his boss?

The players exchanged uncertain glances until their gazes landed on Penny, who was staring at Matt in amazement…and then she started laughing.