Dare to Desire (Dare to Love 2)

“I’ll give you that one insult because I deserved it.”

She wrinkled her nose in confusion.

Good. He liked her off balance. Much better than spitting mad. “Any more and I’ll have to take action.”

She opened her mouth then closed it again, because as they were both intimately aware, he’d have no trouble following through on his threat.

“Care to tell me what you have planned for this program?” he asked, deliberately all business. He strode over to the chair at the head of the table and settled in.

She obviously realized he was serious because she headed for the stack of folders on the table and sifted through them.

Coming up with the one she wanted, she opened it and glanced down only briefly before speaking. “Football players—anyone in training for prolonged periods of time—live a very regimented life. From what and when they eat to their exercise routine to when to practice and attend team meetings, everything is laid out for them. One injury and everything changes.” She eyed him warily from beneath her lashes.

He was surprised she’d still worry about his feelings after how he’d treated her. “Go on. I can take it.”

She nodded. “Suddenly they can eat what they want, when they want, and they gain unhealthy amounts of weight that isn’t balanced out by the exercise they used to do. Lack of education and preparation result in poor financial choices. Most athletes run through any good money they might have made in a short amount of time. Marriages crumble from the strain. Not to mention, they get bored, and depression sets in. I have statistics, but for now, you can just take my word for it.”

He didn’t have to. He’d begun experiencing some of it himself.

“What’s your solution?” he asked, impressed with the knowledge she already had regarding the problem they faced.

“Education.” She tapped the folder on the table. “All football colleges and universities need to have programs geared to post-career options. It’s not enough to offer a finance or business major. They need to target post-professional life. From our perspective, that means we start from the ground up. We contact schools and propose just such an approach. We hire ex-players willing to speak to the kids about the importance of thinking beyond football. And at a team level, we begin to provide all sorts of counseling and training. Nutrition, business classes, psychological counseling. Another goal is to eliminate the stigma of retirement, and to do that, we need to prepare our players for the future.” She finished her speech, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes wide, her passion for the subject evident.

Fuck, she was gorgeous.

He’d seen a similar look on her face before, right before h

e’d slid his fingers inside her and teased her to climax. He closed his eyes, dragging in a controlled breath.

Wrong time, wrong place. Wrong everything.

He might want to return to where they’d been before he’d opened his big mouth and thrown her out of his hospital room, but she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame her. He needed to win her over before he could let himself even think about sinking back into her body. She needed to see he’d changed, grown up.

And maybe he needed to prove the same thing to himself.

“I’m in,” he told her.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll take the job.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t Ian tell you it’s up to me who to hire?”

Alex shook his head, silently cursing his manipulative brother. “No, I think the plan was to throw us in here like gladiators and see who survived.”

To his surprise, she let out an amused laugh.

The desire to kiss the dimples on either side of her mouth was strong. Beneath the table, he curled his fingers into fists, curbing his desire. His frustration wasn’t as easily controlled.

“I really don’t think we can work together,” she said, sobering.

“Then I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”

TWO

Two weeks had passed since Alex had come on board. He’d shown up at the stadium daily, ready to dig in and work. To Madison’s surprise and disappointment, they shared an office—due to lack of available space, according to Ian. Madison called bullshit, but only to Riley. She wasn’t about to start trouble with her boss.

Alex had stepped out a couple of minutes ago. Alone for the first time, she grabbed complete concentration time and stared at the list of speakers she’d begun lining up for workshops. She wanted to run programs dedicated to everything from health and nutrition to finances and taxes. There was one well-known lecturer in particular she wanted to secure, but she had the feeling nailing him down would entail a trip to Manhattan to convince him. He was on the pricier side, but luckily Ian had given them a generous budget to work with, indicating how important this issue had become to him. She wondered if his newfound relationship with Alex was the root of his support or if he just sensed the need in the sport. A combination of both, she assumed.