Payton
I settled into both the penthouse and my temporary office and, for the next week, I did my best to avoid Dax, but he was having none of it. At home, he maintained a respectful distance, extending dinner invitations and making coffee every morning, but leaving me alone as I settled in.
However, work was a different story. He’d come into my office more times than I could count sometime to ask a question and other times just to talk about sports teams and draft possibilities. He irritated me, but I couldn’t find a real reason to cut him off or out.
And if the truth be told, I didn’t want to cut him out.
On Wednesday afternoon, Dax came to my office and broke the news that we were going to be heading south to training camp at the end of the week.
“Why do I have to go?” I asked, looking up from the scouting reports and player stats I’d spread out across the desk.
“Because you’ve had plenty of time to settle in and now it’s time for us to start going public,” he said plainly. “We need to generate publicity and training camp will be chock full of photographers and journalists. We need to be seen together.”
“I guess this means I need to break the news to my mother,” I said glumly.
“Unless you want the press to do it,” he replied. “I mean, there’s some benefit to having them do the dirty work, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, except she’s going to pitch a fit no matter how I do it,” I said, envisioning my mother’s response to learning that her daughter was not only dating, but living with, the owner of the Bears’ rival.
“But you’re going to win,” he said giving me a confused look.
“You do understand that winning comes with a price, don’t you?” I asked, irritated that he seemed to blind to the fact that this shift in loyalties wasn’t something easy for me.
“I get that, but there’s a price for everything,” he said as he stared at me. “Sometimes the price is small, and sometimes it’s large, but you figure out what you can pay and keep moving forward.”
“I’m glad you find it all so easy,” I shot back as I grew even more annoyed.
“I don’t find it easy,” he said, watching me closely. We stared at each other without speaking for several moments, until Dax cleared his throat and said, “So, be ready to head to training camp on Friday.”
I nodded in acknowledgement and turned back toward the computer without saying another word.
CONTRACT VOLUME III
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dax
Most teams had training centers, but some borrowed the facilities from colleges or universities. I hadn’t had time to build a facility, so I had arranged for the Storm to train at the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champagne and live in the dorms during training week. I’d arranged for Payton and I to occupy a suite of rooms at the hotel near where the Storm would be training, and I’d leaked the exact location to a couple of reporters who I knew would be interested in following us around.
We’d ridden down to the hotel together in silence. I knew Payton was still annoyed about the night she’d moved in, but I also knew there was no way I was going to let her run roughshod over me. Neither one of us had approached the issue of sex in the past week and a half, but I knew we were going to have to discuss it eventually. My attraction to her had grown stronger since she’d moved in, and, right now, sitting next to her in the back seat of the SUV, I could feel the pull.
She was wearing a sundress that combined the bright yellow and blue of the Storm colors, and she looked fresh and lovely in it. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she checked her phone before sighing and then storing it in her purse.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s just…” she trailed off looking out the window.
“Just what?”
“I’m just preparing myself for my mother’s reaction once she sees the articles that will come out about this trip,” she said, not looking at me. She continued, “It’s one thing to feel resistant, but quite another to actually be resistant, you know?”
“Not really,” I said earning a sideways glance from her. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing, so I tried to explain. “All I mean is that I’ve never had to resist my family, so I don’t know what that feels like.”
“Ah, I see,” she nodded. “Well, I can tell you that it doesn’t feel good.”
“Can I help make it feel any easier?” I asked, genuinely wanting to do something if I could.
“No, I got myself into this mess,” she said shaking her head. “I’ll shoulder the responsibility.”