ONE
GAVIN RILEY KNEW ELIZABETH DARNELL HAD BEEN avoiding him for the past several months. And he knew why.
She was afraid he was going to fire her just like his brother, Mick, had.
Oh, sure, Mick played in the NFL and Gavin played Major League Baseball, so in a lot of ways they were similar. And since Mick was Gavin’s big brother, many people thought Gavin followed Mick’s lead, especially in business matters. After all, Mick had hired Elizabeth first, and Gavin had followed suit.
But people assumed wrong. Gavin made his own decisions about business and didn’t do everything his brother did. Even if Liz had messed with Mick’s personal life, had hurt Mick’s girlfriend and her son, and had done just about everything humanly possible to piss his brother off. She might have apologized and set things right with Mick, Tara, and Tara’s son, Nathan, but it had been a case of too little, too late.
There were things a sports agent did that were valuable to an athlete’s career. But screwing with an athlete’s love life could be the kiss of death for an agent.
Liz had never once touched Gavin’s love life. In fact, Liz threw women at him like a pimp. Beautiful women. Actresses, models, the kind of women that made Gavin look good. Gavin had no complaints. In fact, Liz had done the same thing for Mick until Mick had fallen in love with Tara Lincoln and put an end to Liz coupling Mick with the latest and greatest starlet on the cover of whatever magazine would get him the most exposure. But Liz had tried to get Tara and her son out of Mick’s life, which had resulted in Liz getting fired.
And that’s why she’d been avoiding Gavin, no doubt afraid Gavin had sided with Mick and was ready to do the same, which Gavin found pretty damned amusing. Elizabeth watched over her clients like a hawk, and for her to go to complete radio silence was like giving up and letting the vultures swoop in and take over her prime real estate.
Not that Gavin was the best player around, but she’d sat on him since she signed him, not letting any other agents get within talking—or signing—distance.
Maybe it had something to do with that night Mick had fired her.
Mick had walked out of the locker room, leaving Elizabeth alone with Gavin.
Liz had come up to him looking all teary-eyed and vulnerable, two things that were totally uncharacteristic of her.
Then she’d kissed him. And walked away.
Not that he’d thought about that kiss over the past months.
Much.
Except after that she’d disappeared, hadn’t called him, e-mailed him, seen him, or stalked him in any way—also uncharacteristic of her. So had it been the kiss that had sent her into hiding or the fear if he saw her he’d fire her?
Did she really think he couldn’t hunt her down if he wanted to cut ties with her?
It was time for her to come out and face the music.
She couldn’t avoid him forever, especially not at this sports banquet where she had several clients—him included, though she’d been doing her best to steer clear of him.
He’d lain low most of the night, letting her flit around and focus on a few of his baseball peers. He always enjoyed watching her work a room full of hotshot jocks. Elizabeth commanded attention. It didn’t matter whether a room was filled with the hottest females around—a guy would have to be either limp-dicked or dead not to notice her. Hair the color of his favorite red sports car, incredible blue eyes, creamy soft skin, and legs a man could only hope to have wrapped around him someday. And she showed it all off with practiced precision. She was a walking sex bomb with a wicked brain. A lethal combination.
Gavin would be lying if he didn’t admit to being tempted by Liz. But he never mixed business with pleasure, and he took his opportunities elsewhere. Liz had been a great agent, had locked him up tight with the Saint Louis Rivers Major League Baseball team right out of college, and she’d worked her ass off to make him rich, get him product endorsements, and keep him in his position at first base. He never wanted to do anything to change that.
Besides, he doubted Elizabeth was his type.
Gavin was pretty damned particular about the women he chose. And ballbusting women like Elizabeth? Definitely not his type.
But they needed to get a few things straight, and she could only avoid him for so long.
The banquet was winding down, and most everyone was leaving. Liz was with Radell James and his wife, walking toward the main ballroom doors. Gavin shot out a side door and hung back, unobserved, while she said her good-byes.
She looked good tonight in one of her usual business suits. Black, which seemed to be one of her favorite colors, and tailored to within an inch of its life. The skirt hung just above her knee, and those shoes she wore played up her toned calves, too. She walked through the front doors of the hotel and outside with Radell and his wife.
Gavin stepped outside unnoticed while Liz talked with Radell. Gavin stood in the background and watched until Radell and Teesha’s taxi arrived.
After they left, Liz leaned against the brick wall and closed her eyes. She looked tired. Or defeated. Her guard was down.
Time for Gavin to make his move. He stepped in front of her.
“You’ve been avoiding me, Elizabeth.”
Her eyelids shot open, and her eyes widened with shock. She started to push off the wall, but he pinned her there by placing his hand on the wall by her shoulder. There was a planter on the other side, so she had nowhere to go.
“Gavin. What are you doing here?”
“It’s the sports banquet. You knew I was here. In fact, I’d say you danced around tables doing your best to not run into me tonight.”
She blinked. Her sweetly painted mouth worked, but nothing came out for a few seconds. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her at a loss for words before. Her gaze darted from side to side like a cornered animal looking for escape.
Finally she relaxed and the old Elizabeth was back, her game face on. She tipped her finger down the lapel of his jacket.
“I wasn’t avoiding you, sugar. I picked up a new client, so I had to babysit him a bit and introduce him to all the right media people. Then there was Radell, and we had a few things to discuss that were important. I’m so sorry we haven’t had a chance to catch up. Did you need me for something?”
“Yeah. We need to talk.”
In an instant, the warmth fled. Her expression narrowed. “About what?”
“You and me.”
Something flashed in her eyes, something hot he’d never seen before.