Feeling his face getting warm, he cleared his throat and pushed off the wall. “Yes, that’s me, Miss Duncan.”
“I thought so.” Elena arched a sardonic eyebrow. “You’re the only one who looks like someone who owns a football team.”
Jason looked down at himself. “What? I thought I looked like any other guy.”
“It’s not your clothes. It’s your demeanor.” Elena shrugged. “I’ve met plenty of men like you. They’re easy to spot once you know what you’re looking for.”
Jason didn’t know what to say to that. He was in the company of a beautiful woman who was making him feel uncomfortable, and he was at a loss for words. Struggling for something to say, he cleared his throat.
“Did…” God, why was he croaking? He tried again. “Did you have anything to eat on the plane?”
Elena’s mouth twitched. “Since when has plane food been edible?”
“Fair point. How about we grab a bite to eat before we go to Wenstown? You can satisfy your belly before you get into the car. Especially after sitting down for hours.”
Why was he doing this? He should be getting her back to the car and over to Wenstown as soon as he could so she couldn’t change her mind. Why was he suggesting they had something to eat?
Elena regarded him thoughtfully, her gaze piercing as she looked him over. Then she smiled, and Jason felt like he had been punched in the gut.
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said. “I’m starving.”
CHAPTER6
ELENA
Elena had not looked Jason up after she agreed to come to Nebraska. She’d planned to, but by the time she actually got around to it, she was already on the flight to Lincoln. It was something that had just passed her by while she was preparing for the big move.
Very nearly everyone was taken by surprise about her sudden move, and almost all of the people she’d told thought she was mad. After all, she worked with the biggest teams in Seattle, so why would she go to a minor team that wouldn’t register in the top leagues? Elena simply said she needed something different to do, and she was up for the challenge. Only her sister Fleur and her dad thought it was a good idea, urging her to make the most of it.
She had to admit that she was quite excited by the change. It was something that she hadn’t done before, throwing caution to the wind. Elena liked to play safe and keep to what she was comfortable with. Doing this had her hurtling towards deep waters she had never swum in before.
And frankly, she was enjoying the rush.
She sat across from Jason Munro as they looked at their menus. As she tried to find something to eat, Elena kept glancing up at Jason. He wasn’t what she had expected at all. His voice was still deliciously smooth, and it seemed to make the hairs on her arms stand up, but Elena had thought Jason was an older man. Instead, he was only just a little older than her, tall and muscular with jet-black hair brushed back from a tanned face. There was a slight kink to his hair, or maybe it was the way the light was angled on them. He had high cheekbones, and a firm jaw. Elena had tried really hard not to stare at his handsome face. He could have said he was a model and she would have believed him.
And that body of his was just as impressive. In jeans and a simple sweater, paired with a black leather jacket, he looked like any other ordinary man, but Elena could feel his aura. He practically oozed wealth. Just the type of person who would decide to buy a football team in the middle of nowhere.
Elena realized that she was still openly staring, and looked back at her menu. God, she had to stop behaving like a girl on a first date. This was not a date, this was a business transaction with her new employer.
Her very hot employer as well.
Elena wished she could turn her brain off and reset it. She had been on the plane for too long if she was ogling the man sitting across from her.
The server came over and took their orders, giving both of them bright smiles as she retrieved their menus and walked away. Elena noticed that she was trying to get Jason’s attention, but Jason wasn’t paying attention to her at all. Instead, he was focused on Elena, which made Elena want to squirm. Why were those dark eyes so intense?
“So…”
“So…” Elena fiddled with the straw in her drink. “When do you want me to start work?”
“You want to start immediately?”
“It’s the pre-season period, isn’t it? There’s a lot to get going on, and I don’t want to be behind everyone else.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. We’ll understand if you want a couple of days to get yourself settled and find your bearings.”
Elena shook her head. “It’s okay. I can do that on my days off. I’ve got an apartment ready for me to move into. I just need a day off in a week to receive the rest of my stuff, but that’s pretty much it.”
Jason nodded. “We can handle that. Whatever you need, you only have to ask.”