Play Date (Play Makers Book 3) (50 page)
Read Play Date (Play Makers Book 3) Online
Authors: Kate Donovan
Tags: #football, #sports, #Romance, #Bad boys of football, #sexy romance, #teacher, #contemporary romance
“And the second friend says, ‘Yeah, one of us should make a move now. I hear her dad just died. She’s gotta be looking for a warm body. Why not ours?’
“Johnny gives him a steely look, says ‘Have some respect,’ then motions to the bartender and says, ‘Another round of Lager Storms for us, and give this note to the blonde in the black dress.’ Then he scribbles something on a cocktail napkin and hands it to the bartender, who hands it to a waitress, who delivers it to the blonde. She reads it, then looks up at Johnny and gives him a wistful smile.
“And the disrespectful buddy asks, ‘What did you write?’
“Johnny says, ‘Just that I’m sorry about her dad. And if she needs someone to talk to, I’m available.’
“And the buddy says, ‘You’re a genius. She’s yours for the taking now.’
“At that moment, the bartender brings three Lager Storms, and Johnny hands one to the bad buddy and tells him, ‘Have some respect. And drink this somewhere else. I’m done with you.’
“And the other buddy—the quiet one—says, ‘Yeah, what a douche.’
“Then the bad one slinks away, the shot fades as time passes, and we see Johnny at a table with the blonde, drinking his Lager Storm and listening as she tearfully talks to him. And there’s something—well, sweet in the whole exchange. And then the voice-over says . . .”
She paused, loving the way the whole room seemed at the edge of their seats.
Then she announced the tagline:
Drink Lager Storm. And don’t be a douche
.
The room was silent for a long, long moment before Steve Adler said reverently, “I love it.”
“Except you can’t say ‘douche’ on network television,” Frank assured them. “And like I said, Spurlings don’t do promo.”
She glanced hopefully at Caldwell, knowing
his
was the only opinion that mattered.
He smiled weakly. “It’s good, Erica. But Frank’s right. We can’t use that kind of language. Even if the network allowed it, the NFL wouldn’t. And then there’s Helmut Hunt, the client. He calls himself a churchgoing man and I think he means it.”
“If he’s a churchgoing man, he respects women. That’s the whole point.” She leaned forward eagerly. “Don’t you see? We’re saying it’s fine for guys to go to bars to pick up women. And for women to go seeking men. And for everyone to seek beer. But there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed. A line Johnny Spurling would never, ever cross. It’s all about decency. So the network, and the NFL, and churchgoing men will make an exception. And so will Aaron Spurling. Plus”—she flashed a knowing smile—“Johnny Spurling
hates
being called the Player. I see it in his eyes during interviews. He wants to shed that image, probably because he wants to get married and have children—
daughters
—someday.”
Julio interceded. “What if we use the same idea—which is excellent, Erica—and just substitute the word ‘jerk.’
Drink Lager Storm and don’t be a jerk
. It works almost as well, and we eliminate the controversy.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “I like it, but it doesn’t really hit the essence of the problem. The guy in the ad is a douche. The kind of guy no one else wants to associate with. Men find him tasteless, women are repulsed.”
“Because he’s a douche,” Steve Adler agreed. “It’s worth a shot, KC. The league is struggling to balance the macho stuff with some sensibility. And in this case, Erica’s not using douche to titillate or be crass, she’s using it to draw a line in the sand.” Taking a deep breath, he repeated, “It’s worth a shot. And if Erica’s willing, she can use my team—my resources and know-how—to pull it off.”
As Erica held her breath, KC pursed his lips and thought about it for what seemed like forever. Then he shrugged. “If you can get tentative approval from the network and the NFL, we’ll take it to the client. And if
he
approves—” He paused for a sly smile. “We’ll take it to Johnny Spurling.”
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Playing for Keeps
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Books by Kate Donovan
The Play Makers Series
Play by Play
Playing for Keeps
Play Date
Time Travels and Paranormals
Timeless
Time Weaver
A Dream Apart
A Dream Embraced
The Untamed Beast
Young Adult Science Fiction
Mech Girl
Historical Romances
Game of Hearts
(A Mail-Order Bride Series)
Carried Away
(A Mail-Order Bride Series)
Meant to Be
(A Mail-Order Bride Series)
Night After Night
(A Mail-Order Bride Series)
Fool Me Twice
(A Mail-Order Bride Series)
Love Passages
Action-Adventure
Identity Crisis
(The SPIN—Strategic Profiling and Identification Network—Series)
Exit Strategy
(The SPIN Series)
Spin Control
(The SPIN Series)
Parallel Lies
Charade
Romantic Comedy
Harmless Error
Stolen Kisses
Space Opera Novellas
Space Fever
Star Fever
The Perfect Specimen Series
Perfect Specimen
Brietta
About the Author
Kate Donovan spent her childhood in Ohio and Rhode Island, where she wrote mysteries with pen and paper and stashed them under her bed. When her family moved to California, she headed to UC Berkeley, where she met her future husband, Paul, and together they survived college and law school (UC Davis). They’ve been married and practicing law ever since while raising two great kids—a son and a daughter.
Kate has had more than twenty novels published in genres including fantasy, historical romance, legal thriller, romantic suspense, and young adult science fiction. Most recently, her historical romances are being rereleased in electronic format, her first young adult sci-fi (
Mech Girl
) was released, and aliens have abducted her heroines (in
Perfect Specimen
,
Perfect Specimen: Brietta
, and
The Last Noel
). There’s also a time-travel story in the works and some light horror on the horizon—hopefully in terms of genre only, not real life. You can visit Kate’s website at
www.katedonovan.com
.
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