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“I’m sorry,” she said. “I must have misunderstood. I thought you wanted to see me at nine o’clock. I can wait in the?—”

O’Rourke moved behind his desk and sat in his chair. “I did. The meeting has started. Take your seat.”

“But—?” She glanced down at Lukas, then at the empty chair beside him.

“This meeting pertains to the both of you,” O’Rourke said.

For the life of him, Lukas couldn’t fathom what O’Rourke was talking about. There was no commonality between him and Elliette. For years, he’d worked hard to make sure of it.

“I’m teaming you up,” O’Rourke said.

“Teaming us up?” Lukas’s heart lunged for his throat, his battle instincts piqued. “To do what?”

Elliette took her seat, or more like withered onto it.

“Our roster is stacked. Most talent we’ve had in years. Analysts can’t stop talking about us. Expectations are high, and season ticket sales are better than they’ve ever been. But we can do more.”

He paused to take a breath, then said, “I’ve already spoken to Ms. Rogan about this, but I’ll explain to you that we need more chatter.

And not the kind you hear on all the sports shows.

We need the personal interest stories so the fans start to see the players as family.

People they know. People they want to be loyal to. Bakken?”

“Yeah?” Lukas asked.

“You’re the newest shiniest toy in our playroom. We need to capitalize on that.”

“Fine,” Lukas said. He’d expected that, especially after winning the championship with Baltimore last season.

“Ms. Rogan,” O’Rourke continued, turning slightly in her direction.

“I’m hiring you to run a campaign on each of our players, starting with Mr. Bakken.

The goal is to drive ticket sales to a diverse demographic.

Whatever it takes to build curiosity and attract attention.

Monetize his reputation. Build even more excitement for this team.

Sex appeal sells, of course, but I’m not looking for stories about a rutting man whore. ”

“ Jesus ,” Lukas muttered as heat rushed into his face.

O’Rourke gave Lukas a pointed look. “Listen. We all know your reputation, but this is the Midwest. People here are less tolerant of scandalous behavior. The women prefer beta men to alphas—artists, chefs, Christmas tree farmers… I want them to feel like you’re family, though not like a brother.

More like a desirable and legitimately available second cousin. ”

Lukas balled his hands into fists. The only consolation was that Elliette seemed to be similarly displeased with the assignment. Her little finger trembled against the chair’s armrest.

“What do you say?” O’Rourke asked. “Do you think an alpha wolf can show our fans some beta?”

At the word alpha , a muscle ticked in Lukas’s jaw.

O’Rourke leaned back in his chair. “Can you let Ms. Rogan show off your softer side? ”

“With all due respect,” Lukas said. “This is hockey. There is no softer side.”

“True,” O’Rourke said. “While I want half of Ms. Rogan’s posts to create an air of desirability, that’s for the female fans. And I suppose for some of the men, too. The other half of her posts should focus on your strength and ability to win games.”

“I take all this to mean that you liked the sample article I wrote about him?” Elliette asked.

Lukas narrowed his eyes on her, and a bitter taste flooded his mouth. She hadn’t held back in the parking lot when it came to sharing her unflattering opinions of him. He could only imagine what she’d written. “I want to read it. Now .”

“Later,” O’Rourke said, leaning forward again. His chair groaned with the shift in his weight.

Lukas kept his eyes on Elliette, but she remained focused on O’Rourke.

“Starting pay is thirty-two hundred a month,” O’Rourke said, “plus benefits.” He pushed a contract across the desk toward her.

“Seven thousand,” Elliette said without looking down at the paper.

Lukas nearly choked. Not many people had the balls to stand up to a berserker boar, least of all a twenty-five-year-old human woman.

Elliette removed her hands from the armrests and put them in her lap where O’Rourke couldn’t see them. Her fingers curled into the lightweight fabric of her dress, but she maintained eye contact with the boar.

Judging by the shocked look on O’Rourke’s face, he was just as surprised as Lukas. Doubling the already decent offer was a bold and potentially fatal move .

But maybe that’s what she was doing. Maybe Elliette was trying to negotiate her way out of a job, out of the need to spend any more time with him.

That actually made sense, and Lukas couldn’t blame her. He’d done everything he could to make her keep her distance.

“That’s quite the demand,” O’Rourke said, his voice flat.

“So is yours,” Elliette said.

She was unflinching, and the corners of Lukas’s mouth curled into the barest of smiles. He was going to have to thank her for taking this bullet for the both of them.

“I thought you wanted to be the team’s social media manager,” O’Rourke said.

“I do,” Elliette shot back. “But you’re also asking me to do PR and image branding. Lukas is an excellent hockey player, but his personal life has never been stellar.”

Lukas turned sideways in his chair to glare at her.

“Fortunately,” O’ Rourke responded. “Social media is many things, but honest isn’t necessarily one of them. Do the best you can with the raw materials. Forty-five hundred.”

Lukas snapped his head back to O’Rourke. He couldn’t believe it. The boar was actually negotiating?

“Five thousand, seven-hundred and fifty,” Elliette said. “If that’s agreeable, I’ll start immediately.”

“What?” Lukas asked.

Elliette twisted her neck to look at him. “Quiet.”

O’Rourke smiled and leaned back in his chair. “You are a very impressive young woman, Ms. Rogan.”

“I hope that you find me to be a very impressive writer,” she replied.

“Indeed,” O’Rourke said, and he reached across the desk to shake her hand. “I’ll have the contract redrawn. Until then, you’re dismissed. You both have a lot of getting-to-know-you work to do.”

Elliette rose from her chair. Lukas remained rooted to his.

“And Ms. Rogan?” O’Rourke asked.

“Yes?” She stopped with her hand on the doorknob.

“I agree with your assessment of Mr. Bakken’s public-facing persona, so while I want you to introduce Minnesota to the real Lukas Bakken, aim for the better-than-reality version, please.”

“Understood, sir.” She opened the door and stepped out. “You’ll barely recognize him.”

To this, O’Rourke threw back his head and roared with laughter.

Lukas let out a low growl. He wasn’t going to let Elliette get away with this. By the end of next week, she’d be begging for a new assignment.