Page 23

TWENTY-THREE

SCOUT

“… a nd based on the data we have from the Lions social, we should see the new channels double in audience size every month for the first six months before growth steadies. Sales predicts that we can bring in revenues within the first month. In summary, we can soft launch the channel with the new brand before taking it public, and it will work to build presence much quicker.”

Three sets of eyes stared at me. I stared back until it became clear they didn’t realize I was done talking. I knew I should have added a final slide at the end.

Dammit.

“Any more questions?”

There was a pause as Lowe Slater, Ava Martinez, and Tim Chang shared a look I couldn’t decipher, but it was enough to have me searching for the nearest trash can to puke in.

My guts had been churning all morning—actually, since last night—and had been gradually getting worse as my interview got closer.

I waited. Somebody. Anybody go first. Tim took the honors, thankfully before I hurled.

“Can you go further into how you’re proposing to differentiate the channels from each other?”

I flicked back to the slide I’d shown them at the beginning of my presentation. “The Lions, the Jungle Kings, and New York Lions corporate have three very different personalities. The corporate channel will focus more on stats and data, charity projects, and news that encompasses the business as a whole. The other two largely stay the same, homing in on their individuality as teams in the MLB, and widening our audiences. We do want them to both be thought of as the Lions family, however. We want the players involved too—charity games against each other, that sort of thing.”

I took Tim’s nod as one of approval, though it was followed by another stretch of resounding silence that made me wonder if I’d answered the question totally wrong.

For the life of me I couldn’t recall my interview for my current job being this nerve wracking. Or as long. And there hadn’t been three people in it. It had been me and my current boss.

This time the silence was broken by Ava clapping her hands. “Well done, Scout. This was a really great presentation, exactly what we’re looking for. Your ideas are fresh, I loved the one about the players taking over the account for the day. Let us regroup, and if we have any more questions, we’ll follow up before the end of the week.”

I returned her wide smile with one of my own. Mine wasn’t quite as wide, and contained an element of unease, plus it was hard to ignore the ringing in my ears.

“Thank you, I’m happy to hear that.”

Lowe stood, along with Ava. My time was up again; they had a very clear way of cutting things short, I’d give them that.

Guess that’s why they were paid the big bucks.

“This is a big job, Scout,” Lowe said. “We know we’re asking a lot of you, but we think you’re more than capable of delivering. And you can build your own team to support you.”

I gathered up the notes I’d brought in and walked with them to the door.

“We still have a couple of other candidates to see for this role, and we’ll be running a second round of interviews next week for those who go forward, but we’ll be making a decision immediately after that. Needless to say, we’re delighted you’re already part of the Lions family. You’re reliable, creative, and an asset to this company.”

I held in the blush as best I could. A blush was probably unprofessional. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“No, thank you for coming in early. Go and get a coffee, and I’ll look forward to seeing what you have planned this week.” Ava grinned.

I managed a small laugh now I wasn’t quite so tense about messing up my interview. “It’s going to be fun.”

Lowe leaned against the door frame. “Do share.”

“It was an idea the interns on our team came up with. Do you know the dog we use for Opening Day bat collection?” The two of them nodded. “He’s coming in, and once I’ve found some willing participants, they’ll race him around bases. The sales team is working with pet care brands for the week, and it’s to announce the Lions for Dogs game.”

Ava wagged a finger at me and laughed loudly. “See, this is why you’re perfect for this job. Man, I’m looking forward to that game, I’m bringing Stanley, my doodle. It’s going to be chaos.”

I nodded, grinning wide. “It sure is.”

Lions for Dogs—an idea that was added into the mix at the beginning of the season and immediately green lit—was taking place in a couple of months to highlight and support the role of service dogs, as well as raising money for several service dog charities. It was an idea entirely stolen from the Dodgers, but, as I understood it, once Penn Shepherd had caught wind, he immediately insisted it was made bigger and better.

The plans were still being finalized for the entire Lions eleven-acre site to be turned into a doggie paradise for the day—including grooming salons, play areas, and swimming pools. Each pup in attendance would receive a doggy bag containing a special dog-sized Lions jersey, lots of doggy treats, and heaps of Lions-branded dog necessities.

My personal favorite was the Lions poop bag dispensers coming out the dog’s butt.

“My husband is too competitive for his own good.” Lowe chuckled. “We’ll let you get back to work, message us when you’re filming the race this week. We’ll come down and watch.”

“I will do. Thank you again.”

The moment I heard the meeting room door close behind me, I rushed down the corridor, ducked into the bathroom, and breathed the biggest sigh of relief.

It wasn’t the best interview of my life, but it could have been worse. And now it was over, for the moment, until the next interview. If there was a next interview.

Standing in front of the mirror, I gave myself a thorough once-over. Not much had changed since the one I’d given myself right before the interview, save for a fresh glob of mascara under my bottom lash I hadn’t noticed before.

My heart rate slowed, the tension across my brow lessened, my shoulders lowered.

I’d survived.

I turned on the faucet as my phone pinged.

Parker: Hey Davison, are you done?

Scout: Yes

Parker: Awesome. Meet me downstairs by the elevators in five minutes.

Scout: What for?

Parker: Surprise. I want to show you something.

Scout: On my way

G iving myself a couple more seconds to stare at my reflection, I finished washing my hands, wiped the glob of mascara from under my eye, and headed back out.

The way to the elevators took me past the comms team, the group who managed the chatter around the players.

They were the first port of call for any news coming out of the club, any inquiries from the press, along with the all-important reputation management. It was a big team, and I knew enough of them to say hello to, but there were still a couple that I never seemed to recognize, including the two currently staring at me.

Or they had been staring at me. Now they were looking at anything but me, and totally silent, having shut down their conversation the second I came around the corner.

If they’d stayed chatting, I wouldn’t have given them another thought.

But they didn’t.

I forced myself to look straight ahead and not roll my eyes like I wanted to.

Since the girls in the bathroom last week, Alice had tried to drill into me about gossip being a sign of positivity. It was a theory I was yet to subscribe to, but I guess until I signed Parker’s form, it was something I had to get used to. Or maybe this is how it would be from now on.

It was like I was walking under a microscope with the magnifier increasing by the day.

By the time I reached the ground floor, I was still ruminating on being the subject of so much gossip and I forgot why I’d come down, until I heard a loud pssst . Spinning a full 360 degrees, I couldn’t see where the noise came from until it happened again.

“Pssst.” Parker’s head popped from around the corner, followed by his finger crooking at me.

I walked over to where he was. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh.” His head snapped left then right, and he grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”

Pulling me down the corridor away from the elevators, barely stopping in front of a door I’d never noticed, I was yanked inside and shrouded in darkness before I knew what was happening. It smelled like cleaning supplies.

“Parker…”

“Hang on. There’s a light,” he said, followed by the sound of him slapping the wall before he found what he was looking for. Yep, I was standing in a cleaning closet. “Ah, there we go.”

He looked so pleased with himself that all at once the annoyance from the two upstairs, along with the final shards of tension I’d been carrying throughout my interview, melted away when he took my face in his hands and his lips found mine. His tongue slipped along mine, leaving a hint of peppermint, like he’d just chomped down on a candy cane.

I didn’t bother to hold in the moan as I relaxed into him.

This kiss was exactly the antidote I hadn’t known I’d needed.

That was another thing about Parker. He was an incredible kisser. Incredible. I don’t know why I was surprised the guy was so good, but he was. I could kiss him forever and never get bored.

“That’s much better,” he mumbled against my lips as he eased away, his green eyes sparkling with amusement and holding my gaze. “You know, I think you’re even prettier since I last saw you.”

I arched a brow at him. “You saw me two hours ago.”

“I know, and you’ve gotten prettier…anyway, how was it?”

Blinking out of my lust-fueled haze, my forehead furrowed a little. “How was what?”

“The interview, Davison. The interview. Am I looking at the new social media manager for the Lions, or what?”

“Oh, well I don’t know yet. They still have more people to see, but we find out in the next week.”

He smacked his lips to mine once, twice, then a third time. “You’ll get it.”

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I took a deep breath, soaking in that distinctive Parker scent I’d become so familiar with; earthy, leathery, and rich, with a hint of sweetness breaking through, exactly like him.

“So, what’s this surprise?”

Parker swept his hands through the air. “This.”

I glanced around. Mops, bottles of Clorox, shelves of laundry detergent and fabric conditioner, floor cleaner…you name it, if you needed a domestic product, it would be in here.

“The supply closet?”

“Yup.” He grinned. “It’s our new at-work meeting spot.”

“Our new meeting spot?” I replied, biting down my smile, because honestly…this guy.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Secret meeting spot.”

Pushing my fingers through the silky curls at the base of his neck, I took his mouth with mine, kissing him with the full barrage of emotion coursing through me—lust pushing its way forward. It was debatable what was going to get me higher—the fumes from the cleaning products or Parker’s mouth.

“You found this while I was having my interview?”

“I did. We’ll stay a secret until we sign the form, but I’m still going to need a kiss to get me through the day, so this will have to do.”

“It’s only for a week or so,” I muttered against his lips, while wondering if we could lock it from the inside and how long we could actually be in here before the fumes became dangerous.

“I know.” One big hand cupped the back of my head, while the other slid down to my ass. “But I think I could get used to this. Making out in a supply closet is way hotter than I thought it would be.”

“That’s the fumes talking.” I chuckled. “But seriously, thank you.”

“Anything for you, Davison. Just name it.”

His tongue slipped back into my mouth with a soft moan, right as the list of what I had to do this week flashed into my head. “Actually, there is one more thing…”