Page 4 of Offsides

But gone was the young girl who had crushed so hard on the rock-solid man standing opposite her now. She was a reporter first, woman second. That was her mantra. And she would repeat it to herself as many times as was needed to make sure that she remembered. Standing here, face-to-face, Theo reminded herself again that she had a job to do and would not let herself be distracted. She had this man right where she wanted him. At least professionally.

Personally, she wanted him underneath her, or on top of her—she wasn’t picky. Not that she would ever admit that out loud either.

“Sports Down South is doing just fine in the ratings, thanks,” she countered. “But I also know what my viewers are interested in. The Rising has been the talk of the town since before y’all even played a game. But y’all have hit a snag with Tiago’s injury, and the fans are interested in how this is going to affect play. If you don’t want to tell me though, I can just ask Felicity.”

She gave him a wink, a sly smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. His gaze narrowed even more, his mouth slowly opening up to respond. A thrill raced through her, anxious to hear just what he had to say to that.

“Ask me what?” Felicity inquired, suddenly appearing next to them.

“Truth be told, I have no idea,” Cowboy laughed, his Texas charm returning. “I think Theo is just dying for some girl talk and for some reason thought that I was the one for the job. Don’t get me wrong, ladies, you know I love a good gossip session. But it’s probably a better idea if I grab Keaton and Isaac and we head down to the pitch for the second half. Show them what a Rising game feels like from down there. Make sure they know what they are getting into.”

“Great!” Felicity answered, sounding way more enthusiastic than Theo had expected. “I think that sounds like an excellent plan.”

Theo started to object—after all, she hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to Isaac Peters, since he’d been glued to Felicity since the start of the game. Hadn’t the point of inviting her and some of the other local reporters to the owner’s suite been to get to know the candidates? She’d barely talked to them. And she was sure some of the other invited media hadn’t talked to them at all—not that she was really concerned with the competition not getting a quote. But Cowboy was faster on the draw, not even bothering to hide that he would much rather be down on that field with his team. Theo knew that was part of where the magic of this team came from—that he was so involved with all the players—but it didn’t help her in the slightest.

One swift nod from him to Felicity and Cowboy was turning on his heel, power walking to gather the two other men. Theo watched as nonchalantly as she could as the group made their way out of the suite, leaving her with the team’s owner.

“Want a drink? I could use a drink,” Felicity said, pointing toward the bar.

“Oh, I shouldn’t; I’m working,” Theo answered, trying to be polite. Drinking on the job was a no-go, and Theo was nothing if not a rule follower.

“So? I am too.”

“Yes, but part of your job is the entertaining. For me it’s—”

“Being entertained. Or at least today it is. C’mon, live a little. Your secret is safe with me.”

Theo sucked in a breath, nerves fluttering about what to do. One didn’t say no to Felicity Sutherland. Especially when she potentially held the keys to your success. It wouldn’t hurt to loosen up this once, right?

Theo nodded solemnly, a slight shrug of her shoulder showing her acquiescence. A simple hand gesture from Felicity and the attendant behind the bar produced a martini seemingly out of nowhere for her.

“What’s your poison?”

“A French 75. It’s—”

“Champagne, gin, lemon juice, and sugar,” Felicity finished for her. A warm smile spread across her face, making Theo feel a lot more at ease. “My best friend, Saxony, is a bartender. I was her guinea pig as she was learning how to make drinks.”

“Tough job.”

“It’s harder than it sounds actually. She can mix a mean drink now, but when she was learning…well, some of those moments we have vowed to never speak of again.”

Theo let out a laugh, trying to remain as professional as possible. Felicity Sutherland was a powerful woman in this city—not only was she the owner of the Atlanta Rising, but she was also partial owner of Southland Holdings, the Rising’s parent company and one of the largest corporations in America. Felicity was sharp, tough, and more than a little infamous for her attitude. Felicity Sutherland was everything Theo wanted to be.

“Get everything you needed from the candidates?” Felicity asked, handing Theo the glass the bartender had placed down on the bar.

The seamless transition caught Theo off guard for a split second. Taking a quick sip of the drink, Theo said a silent thank you to the universe for the excuse to right herself.

“Maybe? I only got to talk to Keaton for a moment, and barely got to introduce myself to Isaac. But I should probably have enough to profile them a bit on tomorrow’s show. I’m not looking to go incredibly in-depth until one of them is named for the role. When do you think you’ll make a decision?”

“I’d like to have it done this week,” Felicity answered. She nodded toward the row of seats at the very front of the suite, that overlooked the pitch. Theo followed, drinking in what an incredible view of the stadium they had from up here. The train horn blew again, this time signaling the start of the second half, the roar of the crowd kicking up as players on the field worked their magic. “But we play Toronto next weekend, and I know Gunnar and Cowboy have a lot on their minds regarding that game. So, any announcement will probably come after that. They’re too focused on making sure we keep our momentum going in to playing the current league champions.”

“That’s understandable. Toronto is a tough team.”

“Tough, but not unbeatable.” Felicity smiled, giving Theo a conspiratorial wink.

“Does the Rising have a secret weapon coming in?” Theo asked, seeing an opening. “Like, say…Beau Blackwood arriving sooner than we thought?”

Theo’s heart started to race, hoping that Felicity would give her the answer she’d been after for days. Just because the team’s technical director hadn’t been cooperative didn’t mean that the team’s owner wouldn’t be.