Jace was a few feet in front of my desk. Those green eyes were studying me closely. I had the impression he’d been watching me for a while. God, how could he be so gorgeous? I tried to find one single flaw and failed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as he walked toward me.
“Cashing in on our drink. Threw in dinner as a bonus.” He sat against the edge of my desk, his gaze fixating on my lips. The distance between us seemed to simply disappear. When I could no longer stand the tension, I turned my head, looking at the bag he’d set in front of me, but I could still feel the heat of his gaze.
“What did you bring?”
“Chinese and wine.”
“Sounds good. Let’s dig in.”
I relaxed during dinner. We ended up talking about his family a bit, and he told me about an education center his brother Will and his fiancée had set up.
“They’re focusing on teaching marketable skills to people who for one reason or another didn’t have access to education.”
I listened closely, finding the concept more intriguing with every word.
“It’s a great initiative.”
“I think so too. I’d love to get involved more than just playing soccer, but I’m not sure how.”
“How is this financed?”
“Grants, but mostly private donations. My brother Landon owns an investment fund, and he’s a big contributor. Everyone from the family chips in. But there are a lot of external donors too. It’s smart to spread the risk. I’d like to do more than donate and kick ball with the students, but I don’t know how.”
I thought this was absolutely adorable.
“Have you thought about approaching some of the companies you have endorsements with to see if they’d like to become donors?”
“That’s a great idea, but am I legally allowed?”
“I’ll look over your contracts this week, to see if there’s any clause regarding that.”
Every player and their agent had agreed it was the most productive if they gave me unrestricted access to all their contracts.
“You don’t have to do that. It’ll take a lot of time. I can ask my agent to look over it.”
“I want to.”
“Thanks, Brooke.” He flashed me a smile. “I promise to keep you company.”
“What? No, that’s not necessary.”
“I’ll make myself useful.”
“Maybe you’ll just divert my focus.”
“Well, I could... but I promise I won’t.” Was his tone flirty or was I making this into more than it was? He drew his chair closer to the table, resting his chin in one palm.
“And how exactly will you make yourself useful?”
“I can do whatever you need me to do, Brooke.”
“I bet you can,” I murmured. The tips of my ears felt ablaze. Had he meant it as an innuendo or was I imagining things because I just couldn’t shut off my body’s reaction to him?
Later that evening, he walked me to my car, even opening the door for me. When I was about to slide in, he touched my shoulder, winking at me.
“See you tomorrow, Brooke.”