The Game by Vi Keeland by Vi Keeland

Contract negotiations at midnight?

The New York Bruins’ star quarterback’s contract is up this year. Are Christian Knox and new team owner, Bella Keating, deep in negotiations at midnight?

Ugh. As if I didn’t have enough trouble with people taking me seriously around here. “Shoot. Don’t these people have anything better to do?”

“The last time I talked to you, you were going on a second date with Julian last night. Instead you went out with Christian?”

I leaned back in my chair with a sigh. “I actually did go out with Julian last night. But Christian showed up and sort of crashed my date.”

Miller cackled. “I fucking love that dude! There is nothing sexier than a man who knows what he wants and goes after it. Except maybe a man who knows what he wants, goes after it, and has a big dick, which I bet he does. And oh my God, you better not be a tight ass with information like you usually are. You have to spill on this one. How big is it? I bet it’s eight inches, at least. He’s circumcised, right? I’m not into a hooded warrior. How was his manscaping? I saw a picture of him on the Internet the other day, and his chest hair is cropped tight. The curtains should match the rug and—”

“Take a breath, crazy man,” I interrupted. I probably should’ve started with the fact that I had no clue how big Christian’s dick was, but I was too curious about something else. “You just happened to see a shirtless picture of Christian online the other day?”

“Yes,” Miller said primly. “I wasn’t even looking for it. I went to add something to my kitchen-redecorating Pinterest folder, and my Christian folder popped up instead.”

“You have a Christian Pinterest folder?”

“Trent started it. We were going to collect them for you, but then we realized it was a fun hobby for us. Looking at pictures of him is better foreplay than watching The Vampire Diaries for the eighth time.”

I laughed. “You’re seriously warped, you know that?”

“Don’t change the subject. How big is Hunka Hunka Burning Love?”

“I wouldn’t know. He crashed my date, and then we went out for dessert, and he dropped me at home. I didn’t sleep with him.”

Miller sighed. “God, you’re boring.”

I leaned back in my chair. “I’m so confused, Miller. Julian is right for me. I know the way I picked him might have been a tad unorthodox, but I was starting to settle into the idea of having a real relationship for the first time. We were such good friends; taking the next step wouldn’t have been that hard. But I wasn’t even upset that Christian crashed our date.”

“Things change.”

“But Julian and I are perfect for each other.”

“Perfect on paper doesn’t always make a love match, sweetheart. I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but you can’t feed a bunch of data into a formula and decide who you should fall for. Love is illogical.”

I frowned. “I hate illogical.”

Miller chuckled. “I know you do. You like things to be orderly and sensical. It kills you if something happens that you didn’t see coming. But sometimes the best things in life are the unexpected ones.”

“Julian sent me flowers this morning,” I said. “So did Christian.”

“Whose are bigger?”

I looked over at the two vases on my desk. Christian’s gargantuan one dwarfed poor Julian’s—in size, vibrancy, and even personality. There was a parallel between the flowers and the men.

“Christian can have any woman he wants. You should’ve seen the waitress last night stumbling over her words when she came to take our order.”

“Maybe. But it seems like the woman he wants is you.”

I took a deep breath in and exhaled audibly. “I agreed to a date with Christian tomorrow.”

“We need to go shopping. I’ll be at your office at six. Where are you going?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, you’re rich now. We’ll buy multiple outfits so you’re prepared for anything.”

“I have plenty of clothes at home.”

“You have plenty of clothes to date Julian Morehouse. Trust me, you have nothing in your closet worthy of Christian Knox.”

I should’ve been insulted by that comment, yet he was probably right. “Make it six thirty. I have a meeting at five, and it might run longer than an hour.”

“You got it, sunshine. I’ll see you later.”

One good thing about this job was that I didn’t have time to overthink. After I hung up with Miller, I had to run to a meeting, and then three more after that. By the time I got back to my office, it was almost four. I walked to the wall of windows and looked down at the field. Players were scattered all over the turf, so it looked like practice was finishing up. Christian was in the endzone, throwing the ball to one of his receivers. I watched for a few minutes, in awe of how graceful such a large man could be. He made it seem so easy—like I should be able to throw a ball sixty yards. After a few more minutes, he and the player he’d been throwing with slapped hands, and Christian headed toward the tunnel, talking to the offensive coordinator.

“Why haven’t you signed the sponsorship deal I put in for signature last week?” My sister Tiffany’s voice made me jump. I turned to find her already in fight mode, her legs spread wide and arms folded across her chest. “And where is my car lease?”