Read Online Chasing Jillian: A Love and Football Novel by Julie Brannagh - Free Book Online
Authors: Julie Brannagh
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Urgent” e-mail (consisting of John’s telling her to cancel his nine AM appointment), a shadow moved across her desk, indicating the arrival of someone tall enough to block out the carefully calibrated spotlights overhead.
“Hey,” Seth said. “What’s up?” He also winked at her. Her heart skipped a beat in response. Her heart-monitor watch was probably shorting out or something right now.
She glanced up at him. “Hi. Don’t you have practice or something?”
“I’m here for the post-game health check.” He wasn’t going away. “What do you do in the mornings before you have to be in the office?”
She was attempting to talk to Seth while dialing the nine o’clock appointment’s cell phone. Of course, he wasn’t answering. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket, typed in the guy’s e-mail address, and shot him an e-mail marked “Urgent,” canceling the meeting.
Her desk phone was ringing again. She really needed to answer it, but she seemed to be frozen in place. “How come?”
“I figured out that if I leave my house earlier in the morning, the traffic isn’t quite so bad. Maybe we could grab some coffee or breakfast once in a while.”
He braced one hand on her desk as he watched her expectantly. She could answer him, but her mouth had just gone dry. He smelled good. The scent of clean skin and woodsy-smelling soap enveloped them.
“Six works for me,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”
“Six AM ? In the morning?”
She was still trying to concentrate on a ringing desk phone and cell phone and shuffled some paperwork on her desk. The last call must have gone to voice mail. If it was John, she was in some trouble. But if it was John, he’d be storming out to her desk by now, so she had a minute or so.
“Yeah. Are you busy?”
“Other than the usual showering and dressing for work, not really.” She wasn’t exactly alert at six AM , either, but maybe he wouldn’t really notice.
His smile was enchanting. “I’m guessing you need to have this spelled out. You. Me. Coffee or breakfast. What else is it that you do in the mornings that might prevent that from happening?”
She had to admit that the look on his face when she gave him a hard time was hilarious, and she wasn’t quite ready to stop doing it yet. “It’s a secret. I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Jillian watched the smile move slowly over Seth’s mouth.
“What’s with all the secrets? You’re only as sick as your secrets, you know.” He let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe I’ll run into you outside at noon.”
He marched off toward the players’ area of the building, and Jillian let out the breath she’d been holding. Vivian had just walked into the office.
“What was all that about?”
“Oh, he’s teasing me. It’s nothing.”
Vivian gave her a speculative look. “You know John fired his last assistant for getting involved with one of the guys on the team, don’t you?”
“He mentioned that.”
And he’d asked Jillian if she had a boyfriend during her interview. Jillian needed the job, and she sensed John wanted her to say yes about having a boyfriend, so she’d told Seth the same whopper. If anyone really wanted more information about her alleged “casual thing,” she could tell them he traveled a lot or something.
I T WOULD TAKE a bulldozer to shove Seth out of her mind, but she did her best. John had left quite a stack on her desk for this morning. She pulled up her e-mail, and there was even more work. He was trying to keep up with each week’s opponents, so there was a ton of printing and collating of lists and spreadsheets for her to get done. John asked for a lot of stuff, but he was pretty easy to work with, as long as she finished the work before he needed it. Then again, the only time she’d blown a big deadline, he’d laughed and said, “You’ll get it next time.”
There was too much to do to wonder why Seth kept asking her to hang out with him. She was
“Hey,” Seth said. “What’s up?” He also winked at her. Her heart skipped a beat in response. Her heart-monitor watch was probably shorting out or something right now.
She glanced up at him. “Hi. Don’t you have practice or something?”
“I’m here for the post-game health check.” He wasn’t going away. “What do you do in the mornings before you have to be in the office?”
She was attempting to talk to Seth while dialing the nine o’clock appointment’s cell phone. Of course, he wasn’t answering. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket, typed in the guy’s e-mail address, and shot him an e-mail marked “Urgent,” canceling the meeting.
Her desk phone was ringing again. She really needed to answer it, but she seemed to be frozen in place. “How come?”
“I figured out that if I leave my house earlier in the morning, the traffic isn’t quite so bad. Maybe we could grab some coffee or breakfast once in a while.”
He braced one hand on her desk as he watched her expectantly. She could answer him, but her mouth had just gone dry. He smelled good. The scent of clean skin and woodsy-smelling soap enveloped them.
“Six works for me,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”
“Six AM ? In the morning?”
She was still trying to concentrate on a ringing desk phone and cell phone and shuffled some paperwork on her desk. The last call must have gone to voice mail. If it was John, she was in some trouble. But if it was John, he’d be storming out to her desk by now, so she had a minute or so.
“Yeah. Are you busy?”
“Other than the usual showering and dressing for work, not really.” She wasn’t exactly alert at six AM , either, but maybe he wouldn’t really notice.
His smile was enchanting. “I’m guessing you need to have this spelled out. You. Me. Coffee or breakfast. What else is it that you do in the mornings that might prevent that from happening?”
She had to admit that the look on his face when she gave him a hard time was hilarious, and she wasn’t quite ready to stop doing it yet. “It’s a secret. I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Jillian watched the smile move slowly over Seth’s mouth.
“What’s with all the secrets? You’re only as sick as your secrets, you know.” He let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe I’ll run into you outside at noon.”
He marched off toward the players’ area of the building, and Jillian let out the breath she’d been holding. Vivian had just walked into the office.
“What was all that about?”
“Oh, he’s teasing me. It’s nothing.”
Vivian gave her a speculative look. “You know John fired his last assistant for getting involved with one of the guys on the team, don’t you?”
“He mentioned that.”
And he’d asked Jillian if she had a boyfriend during her interview. Jillian needed the job, and she sensed John wanted her to say yes about having a boyfriend, so she’d told Seth the same whopper. If anyone really wanted more information about her alleged “casual thing,” she could tell them he traveled a lot or something.
I T WOULD TAKE a bulldozer to shove Seth out of her mind, but she did her best. John had left quite a stack on her desk for this morning. She pulled up her e-mail, and there was even more work. He was trying to keep up with each week’s opponents, so there was a ton of printing and collating of lists and spreadsheets for her to get done. John asked for a lot of stuff, but he was pretty easy to work with, as long as she finished the work before he needed it. Then again, the only time she’d blown a big deadline, he’d laughed and said, “You’ll get it next time.”
There was too much to do to wonder why Seth kept asking her to hang out with him. She was
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