Page 9 of How to Puck Your Boss (L.A. Hawks Hockey #3)

Chapter Five

P enny had time to pick up yesterday’s trousers in the hallway and put them on before Gareth entered the apartment. However, she was still wearing Jack’s t-shirt and smelled of sex — and her reflection in the mirror confirmed her bedhead.

“My goodness, Gareth,” she said out of breath, hurrying toward him in the hallway to keep him as far away from the bathroom as possible. “You haven’t acquired any patience in the last few years, have you?”

Her brother grinned broadly. He was only two years older and had recently turned thirty-one.

Small wrinkles surrounded his eyes, and his light brown hair was shaved short.

His dark blue, sparkling eyes and his mischievous grin were timeless, though.

He’d always had that expression, even when he had put frogs on her pillow and told her that babies hatched from chicken eggs.

Penny had not been able to eat eggs for three years as a child and became a vegetarian at the age of fourteen, possibly because of that blatant lie.

Or maybe it was because one of the maids had killed one of the frogs in question on her pillow, right in front of her.

“No, I haven’t. But I’m more cautious when it comes to you and your flight instinct,” her brother said somberly, shutting the door.

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a flight instinct, simply wanderlust.”

“Ah, so wanderlust had you fleeing the country five years ago?”

She swallowed. “No, it was because my brother broke into my apartment early in the morning.”

“Early in the morning? It’s eleven o’clock. Some of us hard-working people would call that noon. And, technically, it’s still my apartment…and I just couldn’t wait to see you.”

With that, he took the last step toward her and pulled her into a tight hug. Penny smiled broadly and wrapped her arms around him.

“Liar,” she whispered. “You just don’t want to go alone to the ominous family meeting Dad called. You’re afraid I’ll back out.”

“Yeah, that too,” he admitted. “Flight instinct, like I said. Don’t tell me you didn’t think about just staying in New York. Or Argentina.”

Yes, she had. However, her father had sounded uncharacteristically serious and stern on the phone. And, she didn’t have a good excuse for why she couldn’t stay in LA for at least a few weeks.

“I’m here, right?” she asked quietly. “And I know our family tends to bury its emotions deep, but…man, I’ve really missed you, Gareth. And it means a lot to me that you’re risking wrinkling your suit for me,” she murmured into his shoulder, hugging him a little tighter.

“Oh, I’ve got a steam iron in the trunk.”

She snorted. “Of course you do. But can’t you just leave it crumpled? So, Mom has something to criticize other than me?”

“I’m afraid nothing can take the heat from you today,” he said doubtfully, holding her at arm’s length.

“After all, you haven’t been home in over three years, and you dress like a hippie.

” He looked meaningfully down at her extra-large t-shirt and dirty linen pants.

“At least you got rid of the nose ring. She’ll be happy about that. ”

“It was always giving me problems at airport security,” she explained. “And better a hippie than an asshole like you, if the newspapers and internet are to be believed.”

The fact that she hadn’t set foot on American soil for several years didn’t mean that she hadn’t kept in touch with her brother…or hadn’t set up a Google Alert for his name. Gareth Clark was mentioned frequently online, usually connected to not-very-nice words.

Gareth waved her off and sauntered into the kitchen. “I’m not an asshole. Well, not most of the time. But, if you want to survive as a businessman in L.A., you have to be tough sometimes. You’ll discover that soon enough.”

Oh, she’d known it for years and developed a different kind of toughness. Her brother would go on the offensive and she’d retreated and patched her walls.

“Gareth, one could almost call that cynical.”

He shook his head. “Not almost.”

Penny sighed in mock drama. “What happened to that sweet little brat who deliberately caught the measles so his wonderful sister wouldn’t have to suffer alone?”

“He grew up,” her brother said absently.

She didn’t believe that. She knew he was still in there somewhere, behind the facade of indifference and the coolly raised eyebrows that seemed to be part of his personality now, that were visible in every recent photo.

But that was okay. He was probably better off knowing that most people only knew Gareth Clark as a lawyer whom they didn’t want on the opposing side and…

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the bathroom as if someone had sat on the toilet in annoyance. She jumped. She had almost forgotten that she was hiding a half-naked hockey player in her bathroom.

“Gareth, do you want to go out for breakfast?” she asked hastily. “I’ll take a quick shower, dress, and meet you outside, and then we can catch up?”

Anything that took place outside this apartment was good.

He grimaced. “There’s nothing I’d rather do, but I have to fire someone, and I have a meeting with Jack West. There’s something wrong with his paperwork that should have been dealt with long ago. A signature is wrong or something. I don’t know.”

Penny winced at the name and licked her suddenly dry lips. “Jack…who?” she asked, clearly confused.

“New addition to the Hawks,” her brother explained, waving it off. “You’ll get to know the players soon enough.”

Yes, some sooner than expected.

“They’re all really fine. They won’t have a problem with a woman becoming part owner. They’re just all a bit unsure and nervous at the moment because the team’s future is up in the air and they’re working hard to make the playoffs.”

“Aha,” she said, nodding thoughtfully. “Well, hopefully tonight, Dad will finally tell us what’s going on with the team. Do you truly believe we can share ownership?”

He let out a gust of air and stroked his hair. “I don’t know. Dad was extremely cryptic. Just said I should send you the documents so you could read up on them. That’s it.” He shrugged.

“I didn’t miss that,” she murmured. “Our parents, making plans for us without informing us.”

“Nope. But I’m glad you’re here. Maybe now Mom will finally leave me alone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alone with what? Telling you what an angelic smile you have and how beautifully your hair shines?”

Gareth grinned broadly. “Yeah. Being the center of her attention is exhausting.”

“Try being her only point of criticism.”

“Oh, come on, she’ll just be happy to see you.”

She gave him a dark look. “Just like Dad won’t mention tonight that you didn’t top the state in your exams?” she asked pointedly.

Gareth grimaced. “I was fucking number two!”

“I know, Gare.”

“Oh, whatever. I’ll defend you and you defend me. Like old times.”

She smiled and a feeling of warmth spread through her chest. Maybe coming home wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “Sounds like a plan. And…would it really be okay, Gareth?” she asked cautiously. “If we share the team? Even though I haven’t been in the picture for the last few years?”

Her brother furrowed his brow. “Of course, it would be okay. I don’t want to do this crap alone. Besides, that was always our plan! That was why you studied business first before getting your stupid bachelor’s degree in anthropology and mathematics. And you plan to stay, right?”

A lump formed in her throat. Stay? Forever? Less than an hour away from her parents?

Yes, since her father had given up banking to focus full-time on the Hawks, it had always been their plan to lead the team together. However, that was…then. “Let’s just see what Dad has to say first,” she suggested.

“Okay.” He nodded. “As long as we form a united front, nothing bad can happen, right?”

You’d think so. Somehow, though, her parents always managed to surprise her.

“Of course not. Now, could you…” She pointed to the door.

“I want to finally wash the airplane smell off my skin.” Even if it meant that she had to wash Jack’s smell off too.

And as soon as Jack walked out the door, he would never stick to her again.

The thought was more depressing than it should be.

“Oh, sure, I…” Gareth stopped abruptly, his gaze fixed on a certain spot on the floor.

“What?” she asked as she followed his gaze and froze. Oh, crap. There, along the wall in the hallway was a pair of shoes. Two huge shoes that no hippie would wear because they were simply too black and too masculine.

Gareth’s gaze slid slowly from the floor to her face. “Penny,” he said in a relaxed manner, “are we, perhaps, not alone?”

Heat rushed to her face, turning her cheeks the color of an electric burner on high. “Uh,” elegantly escaped her lips.

He widened his in disbelief. “Shit, you have a man here!”

Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut and put a hand on her forehead. “Possibly.”

“Who?”

“Some guy. It doesn’t matter.” She nervously pushed her hair behind her ears. “Absolutely unimportant. Weren’t you just about to leave?”

“You only arrived last night!” he replied, ignoring her words, shocked.

“One night is enough to pick someone up,” she informed him sagely.

Her brother made a disgusted face. “Fine. I don’t even want to know. Although, he must be a real wimp if he lets you hide him!” He purposefully said the last words loudly so that her guest could hear.

“Just go, okay?” she said, in total agony, and pushed him by the shoulders toward the door. “See you this evening.”

“Okay,” he said, although his curious gaze kept wandering to the locked bathroom door. “If you wear denim shorts and a crop top to dinner, I’ll give you twenty dollars.”

“You want to send Mom to an early grave, don’t you?” she said, clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

“Oh, she’s too stubborn to die. See you tonight.” He leaned toward her and said, “You can bring your conquest with you. God, I hope he’s a poet, a failed screenwriter, or a street artist like the last loser you dated. That’ll finish Mom off.”

“Go, Gareth!”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.”

The next second, he was out of the apartment and Penny breathed a sigh of relief. That was stressful. And she hadn’t even seen her parents yet.

The second door of the house slammed shut…then the bathroom door opened.

“So, you have a weakness for unsuccessful street artists,” Jack said with interest, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his shoulder against the doorframe. Unfortunately, at that moment, a single ray of sunlight fell through the window, making his skin glow over his taut muscles.

Oh God. Did he have to look so good? Did the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden have to shine so promisingly?

“Are you thinking about if we should do it again just to be safe, so that we don’t get a sudden urge when we see each other at the arena?”

She looked at him gloomily. He was an idiot — and she needed to get her lascivious expression under control. “Do you know how bad the statistics are for accidental deaths in your own home?”

“This, however, isn’t my house, and if you kill me, it wouldn’t be an accident.”

“I’d make it look like one.”

He chuckled softly and pushed off the doorframe. “Hmm. So, you don’t want to talk about work, family, or your ex-boyfriends. I’ll remember that.”

“Oh no, you won’t remember anything. Forget it!

That is what we both are going to do!” she corrected, pointing her index finger at him.

“Besides, the screenwriter may have been unsuccessful, but the street artist…” Okay, he had been unsuccessful too.

“It doesn’t matter!” she replied angrily.

“It’s none of your business. And why are you suddenly in such a good mood? You were just in disaster management.”

“Yes, but I’ve had time to think about it, and to be honest, it’s not that bad. And hey, I almost forgot about the appointment for the paperwork. So, it’s good that your brother reminded me. Maybe I’ll catch him outside and we’ll save ourselves a trip.”

She knew he was joking. Nevertheless, Penny wasn’t in the mood to laugh. “Jack, you just said it yourself; no one must know that this ever happened! No one .” She looked at him sternly. “I can’t screw this up before I’ve even started. Not again.”

“Again?” His eyebrows shot up.

“Yes,” she said without elaborating. “And I have bad news for you: You can’t ever wear those shoes again.” She pointed to the floor. “Your jacket too, in case Gareth noticed it. And your car…you should probably scrap that too.”

He gave her a wry look. “Your brother won’t remember your lover’s shoes.”

“My brother remembers everything . Why else would he be such a damn good lawyer?”

He sighed. “Fine. I’ll give the shoes away. But the car and jacket stay.”

Yes, she could live with that. “Fine. Then you can go.”

“Okay,” he said but didn’t move.

“Jack…” she insisted.

“Penny,” he replied calmly.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I need my t-shirt back.”

“Oh.” She dropped her hands. Right. She shifted from one foot to the other, uncertain, and then said, “Okay, turn around.”

He snorted. “I saw you naked barely an hour ago!”

“Yes, but I wasn’t your boss barely an hour ago!”

“Ah, right. You’re my boss,” he repeated slowly before chuckling softly and rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, can I at least get a raise for my efforts last night?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I’m sorry. You only get one after five orgasms.”

He glanced at his watch. “Well, I still have time.”

Ignoring the expectant shiver that danced down her spine, she rolled her eyes, pulled the t-shirt over her head, and pressed it against her chest. “Get your other stuff, the t-shirt will come last.”

She saw Jack swallow as his gaze flicked over her upper body. It didn’t matter if the fabric covered her, she immediately felt naked.

“Fuck,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes. “Put it back on and keep it. It’ll smell like you or us anyway and…make the whole forgetting thing difficult.”

She bit her lip and did as he said while he slipped on socks and shoes before finally pulling the coat over his bare upper body.

Watching the play of his muscles, a sigh escaped her throat. But before the sound made it to the air, Jack caught it in his mouth. Burying one hand in her short hair, he kissed her. Gently and slowly. Luxuriously.

“Just a reminder,” he whispered against her lips as he pulled away. “So I know what I need to forget.”

The next moment, he was gone.

Penny stayed where she was, staring at the door that Jack had closed behind him, his taste still on her lips.

It had been a perfect night. And the knowledge that it would never be repeated pierced her chest. If Jack had been anyone else…then what might have happened?