Hot Number (Hot Zone 2)

Lola treated him to a smile he couldn't figure out. "I'm not saying yes or no. Life's full of risks and it's time you took one." She rose from her seat. "One beyond standing up on a chair and ranting like a fool," she muttered and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" It wasn't easy to admit but he didn't want her to leave.

"I have a lunch date and then I have to get back to work. I promised the girls I'd start going over the files and figure out who can cover your clients while you're laid up. The merger's got to be on the fast track now."

He'd had a hard enough time swallowing his pride and agreeing to join his firm with Atkins but he couldn't let the agency flounder and the girls' PR business suffer. What with me young agents nipping at his heels, it was a smart business move. That didn't mean he had to like it

"Okay. Make sure Irwin draws up the paperwork. I want my lawyer doing the drafting," he said to Lola.

“Then I suggest you talk to one of the girls and have them arrange it. I don't work for you anymore, remember? And I didn't hear I love you, Lola, or I'm sorry, Lola, come out of your mouth, so I don't really feel compelled to help you out." She reached for her purse, which had been lying on the moveable tray. "Besides, I'm still working for Spence and until the merger's complete, that would be a conflict of interest".

Yank punched his covers with his hand. "Of all the-"

"Good morning," Micki said in a too-cheerful voice as she walked into the room.

The little peacemaker had probably heard the arguing from the hall and decided to come fix things.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Lola smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Nothing you need to worry about I was just leaving, so he's all yours."

"Oh joy," Micki said, laughing.

"When are you coming back?" Yank asked Lola.

She turned. Her eyes held a fierce determination he'd seen only once before, when she'd given him her ultimatum and then walked out.

His stomach churned in anticipation.

"I'll be back when you have something to say that I want to hear" She waved goodbye and walked out the door. Out of his room and out of his life.

"Pardon my French but I suggest you shit or get off the pot, Uncle Yank. The woman may have the patience of a saint but even saints have their limits and she's obviously reached hers," Micki said.

He leaned back in his bed, everything in his aging body aching. "I need a nap."

"You need to get out of that bed," the chipper physical therapist they'd met yesterday said as she strode into the room.

And with that, Yank entered a hell that was second only to watching Lola leave him again.

THE RENEGADES SPLIT the two-game series with Los Angeles. Tomorrow was a travel day, which gave the team some freedom tonight although Coach Donovan insisted they remain in the hotel and hit their rooms by midnight. Damian sat at the hotel bar, nursing a beer with his teammates, participating in jokes and wondering how Yank and Micki were holding up.

He didn't plan on calling Micki, thus proving to himself that while he was on the road, only his career mattered. But that hadn't stopped him from tossing and turning in his cold, lonely hotel bed, wondering what she was doing, what she was wearing to bed and most of all whether or not she was missing him.

He rose and walked over to the bar to order a fresh drink.

"Hey." A drunken Carter sauntered up beside him.

Although Damian had watched him down drink after drink tonight, Carter had been unusually quiet and subdued this road trip, making Damian wonder what trouble the rookie had up his sleeve.

"How's it going?" Damian asked.

The other man shrugged. "It's going."

Damian waited for Carter to leave, but he lingered, then grabbed a stool and sat down.

As team captain, Damian had listened to the guys when they'd had problems that might interfere with their game and he'd given advice based on his years in the league, but in the short time Carter had been with the Renegades, he'd never come to Damian for a damn thing. As far as Damian could tell, Carter needed no one except his ego.

As Micki had once said, he was young. He'd learn.