The Billionaire Boss (8 page)

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Game For Love

Chapter One

Savani Shepfield was not a fan of waiting for people. She’d ditched her former hairdresser because she’d made Savani wait one too many times. An appointment was an appointment. If another client showed up late, why should Savani’s start time be pushed back? She’d walked out of business meetings because of lateness. And she’d left her ex-boyfriend because, after four years, she was tired of
waiting
for a ring.

She tapped her black Manolo Blahnik heels against the restaurant’s floor. Checking her watch, she saw that Nolan Reynolds was more than forty minutes late.

But she had to wait.

She was beyond annoyed that her time was being wasted. So even though she’d called
Express D.C
magazine’s office fifteen minutes prior, she called her boss once more.

“Yes, Savani.”

“Matthew. He’s still not here. I have another appointment in an hour and a half.” Savani did not want to be late for her next meeting. She also wanted to show Nolan that he was not the most important person in the world.
NBA players were so full of themselves
.

Savani knew her boss was a bigger stickler for time than she was. As editor of the magazine, he’d drilled into his staff that time was money.

Most people, from politicians and business professionals to those in the creative arts, showed for their interview on time. But Savani had learned that athletes were a different breed. Especially the basketball players. She wasn’t too fond of the self-involved hoop stars.

“You’ll just have to wait for him,” Matthew said.

Savani let out a sigh of exasperation. This was why ballers felt so important.
People catered to them.

“Okay.” She didn’t have anything left to say.

“Where’s your next meeting?”

“On Wisconsin Avenue.”

“Okay. That’s just a fifteen minute drive west. D.C. traffic isn’t too bad before 4 p.m. I’ll send another journalist to the meeting if I don’t hear from you in an hour. Getting Nolan to open up for this interview will be a gold mine for the magazine. I sent you because I know you can do it. Was I wrong?”

“Of course not.”

“Well then, later.” Matthew hung up the phone.

Savani put down her phone. The waiter came over and refilled her glass of water. Savani took a sip and smiled in disbelief.
Some people had all the luck.
She shook her head.

Nolan Reynolds was a popular NBA player. He also stood out because he was a white boy from the Midwest with a distinct accent. Savani would say he was built to be an athlete. Tall with broad shoulders and a physique that would make any woman double-take.

Savani appreciated a man with a nice body. Her ex had played in the NFL. She sensed Nolan looked amazing undressed. But Savani was no groupie. She’d met her ex in college and their relationship had left a bad taste in her mouth. She was done with athletes. Though she couldn’t say for sure that her ex had been unfaithful, she didn’t understand why he was reluctant to marry her.
Athletes had too many women to choose from
, she thought.

She was glad she had an education and ambition. Otherwise she’d probably be stuck as an ‘athlete’s girlfriend’ right now. Sure, her bills would be paid. But her bed would probably be cold. Her ex often went MIA and claimed he’d been out practicing late, working out at the gym, or partying. Dealing with the bullshit had become too much.

Savani’s belly grumbled. She scowled. She was hungry and irritated. If Nolan thought he could show up late and charm her into saying “it’s okay” when he apologized for being late, he was wrong.

***

Nolan Reynolds parked his silver Lexus into a parking space at The Palm, a popular Washington D.C steakhouse
.
He turned off the ignition and braced his head against the headrest. He wasn’t interested at all in the interview he was about to do. But his publicist, Reese, had convinced him that he had to it.

“You’ve already got a great image. This interview will only cement it in people’s minds,” she’d explained.

Nolan was a star athlete. He’d become a businessman after watching accountants and other dubious persons take advantage of teammates. But Nolan tried to avoid the limelight as much as possible. Being voted MVP a second year in a row only spurred on the paparazzi when he left D.C. He was glad, in a way, he didn’t live in another state, like California, where photographers easily snapped photos, where there was a fever pitch interest in
celebrities
.

Nolan knew his friends on other teams were regular people like everybody else. Still, they were
stalked
online, in magazines, and on TV. People just couldn’t get enough of celebrities’ personal lives.   

He got out of his car and headed to the entrance of the restaurant.

Nolan had a plan. Though he would have to answer some of this interviewer’s questions, he would stay away from certain topics.

1. His personal life. Though he didn’t have much of one, he wasn’t into talking about whether or not he had a girlfriend.

From his observation, if he admitted that he was single, it’d only spur on the women looking for a baller or a millionaire. And if he said he was in a relationship…well, many women did not care. It was groupies for the taking in his world.

2. He would not divulge too much about his personal history. He’d revealed once that his single mother had raised him and his two siblings on welfare for a time. That had led to a nosy reporter knocking on his mother’s door.

Nolan didn’t need to feed the fire. If he revealed anything to the public about himself, they only craved more. And having a private life was paramount to Nolan.

3. He wouldn’t talk about any other topic that threw him off. These writer/reporter types were sneaky. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up saying more than he wanted. For Nolan, basketball had been a way out, yet he’d rather skip any explanation of why.

He’d come to realize basketball was also big business. That’s why he was doing the interview.
Express D.C
was an esteemed local magazine. But his publicist had told him it was circulated all over the US and had a popular online following. Good press could bring in more endorsement offers. He already had a shoe deal and had finished a sports drink commercial the week before.

Nolan was no fool. Being a product spokesperson was easy money. A few more deals and some good investments, and his family would be set for life.

He was greeted by the restaurant’s hostess near the door.

Nolan told her that he was there to meet someone.

“Sure, this way, sir,” the hostess said with a smile. She blushed while looking at him. Nolan knew he brought out the admiration of the ladies. But they didn’t know him. Their reactions were simply carnal desire. As much as people didn’t want to admit it, men and women were similar.

She led him to a table in the back. There was no one there.

Damn. The reporter must’ve left
. Nolan scanned the room. A few people were looking at him.

He sat down. . He was hungry so he might as well eat. There was an empty glass across from him at the table.

A waitress quickly came over and offered water and a menu.

“I guess the reporter couldn’t wait,” Nolan said aloud. He checked his Timex watch. “I am late.”

“No, she’s still here. She must’ve gone to the ladies room,” the waitress said. “Except don’t make the mistake of calling her a reporter.”

Nolan raised an eyebrow.

“She’s in here often, interviewing people, and will quickly tell you she’s a journalist.”

“Ahh.” Nolan nodded and smiled. He had a
classist
on his hands.

The waitress poured the water and glanced up. “She’s coming.” The waitress left.

Nolan’s back was to the person. He smelled her before he saw her. She smelled like a vanilla cookie. He planted a smile on his face and looked up. Nolan took in a short breath. She was striking. He almost got lost looking into her deep brown eyes. It reminded him of the maple syrup he liked pouring over his pancakes as a kid. His smile turned genuine.

Chapter Two

Savani felt her palms go sweaty. She paused and looked into the deep green eyes that stared back at her. Then she scowled.

He flinched, which made Savani smile. She liked getting people to react. She preferred a more positive reaction, but this pampered baller had annoyed her.

Instead of stretching out her hand, Savani walked over to her chair. She wanted to see if Nolan was a gentleman or if her ass would touch the chair without him even bothering to stand. Her hand had just touched the chair back when Nolan stood and smiled.

Savani twisted her lips to the side, but quickly recovered and gave a small smile. She tried to ignore the sexy man in front of her. Nolan sure was tall. And she liked the color of his eyes. She saw vitality in them.

Savani respected people who engaged in life and left their mark on the planet every day. She suspected that there was more to Nolan than athletics. She’d been assigned the interview because she was one of the magazine’s best interviewers, getting people to open up who’d had a reputation of being closed off. She admitted to herself that she previously wasn’t that interested in Mr. Reynolds.

But seeing the man in person had a strange effect on her. She ignored the sweaty palms, nodded, and sat down.

“Mr. Reynolds.” She placed her hands on the table. “I’m glad you can finally show.” Savani batted her eyelashes. They were naturally long, allowing her to go sans mascara except for special occasions.

Nolan smiled. He had a tiny dimple in his left cheek.

Savani liked dimples. It was so rare on a man that she always noticed when one had it.

“I’m sorry about that. I got tied up.”

Savani scrunched up her nose while smoothing out her skirt at the sides. Nolan was eliciting reactions from her when she was used to displaying a more resigned expression.

He smiled. “I can tell you’re a woman used to people being on time. It won’t happen again.”

Savani watched him. It wasn’t just because she had to listen to him, she felt drawn to him.

The waitress came over and snapped her out of it. “Can I take your order?”

Savani checked her watch. She had about forty-five minutes left. She didn’t have time to eat.

“Ahh,yes. I’m starving,” Nolan said.

Savani sighed. Nolan was scanning the menu. She couldn’t possibly tell the man not to eat. She calculated the time in her mind. Only a small portion of the interview would be done that day. They’d have to reschedule.

Her stomach grumbled.

“I’ll have the porterhouse steak with a baked potato, lots of veggies.” Nolan closed the menu.

He had sandy brown hair. Savani liked how it was cut. She’d looked him up on the internet to do her pre-interview research. There weren’t a lot of pictures of Nolan outside of those where he was in uniform.

Savani was surprised by this. Normally athletes were all over cyberspace.

“And for you Ms?”

“I’ll have the Ahi tuna steak, thanks.” Savani didn’t need to look at the menu. She visited the restaurant once or twice a month.

When the waitress left, Savani pulled out her Sony digital recorder to begin the interview.

Nolan let out a sigh while she took out a small notepad. Savani looked up. She saw the tension in his jaw. She was quick to size up any interviewee. Savani decided a business-like approach wouldn’t be the way to go. Nolan was no politician. He was an athlete used to people judging his performance. She’d talk to him like a good friend.

“I’m going to turn on the tape now. You’ll let me know if you’d like me to turn it off at any time.” Savani smiled. Nolan looked at her lips. He met her gaze once more and Savani was sure there was seduction in his eyes.

But she wasn’t having it. No matter how attracted to him she may have been.

She hit the button on the recorder to get started. “Savani Shepfield’s interview with Nolan Reynolds. Star NBA player and two-time MVP.”

He sighed again. It was probably why she’d found only a handful of interviews with the guy. Matthew had also collected a DVD with clips from Nolan’s publicist. Normally, Savani would’ve interacted with the publicist herself. But she was glad Matthew had requested the information.

It was just her luck that Nolan’s publicist was her former best friend. They hadn’t spoken in the past four years. Savani guessed that Reese wasn’t too pleased when Matthew told her who at the magazine was conducting the interview. Then again, Reese wouldn’t have balked. She was a woman hard to read, even when Savani and she were friends.

***

“How does it feel to be voted Most Valuable Player for another year? That’s a great honor.”

Nolan watched the cinnamon-hued beauty across from him. The notepad she took out lay on the table, but the red light on the recorder made him slightly nervous. Not as nervous as the journalist herself.

He hadn’t expected her.

There was no reason to look up a journalist’s name before he did an interview. Most of the time it was a man. Maybe the magazine sent a woman to soften him up.
It was already working
, he thought.

“It feels great,” he said.

She frowned slightly then replaced it with a lax smile. “Can you tell me more? What made it great?”

“Well. Being a top athlete takes a lot of discipline. To differentiate myself from the others, I have to be willing to work when no one else is working.” He leaned forward. “I guess you could say that I have the luxury to do that though. I don’t have a wife or family to go home to, so I’m putting in the work now.”

She arched an eyebrow.

He’d revealed a little about himself from the jump. But Nolan wanted Savani to know he was single. He tapped his finger against his knee. He wore khakis and a button-down shirt. It was nice enough yet casual at the same time. He preferred functional attire.

“Every athlete has a story, but many people don’t know too much about your background. Where did you grow up and what was your family like?” she continued.

The waitress came back then with their order.

Savani cleared her throat. “I’m going to have to turn off the tape.”

Nolan nodded in relief. He wanted to have a regular conversation with the woman that sat across from him.

After their plates were set in front of them, they dug in. Nolan watched as Savani took a hearty bite of her tuna. He loved a woman who could eat.

He’d noticed Savani’s curvaceous shape as she sat down. She was about five foot four, neither petite nor fat. Her breasts were full and her butt looked like just enough to fit into his hands, with a little extra. Nolan smiled. “Where did you go to college, ‘Ms.’ Shepfield?”

“I went to Georgetown.”

So she wasn’t married.
He tried to figure out a way to find out whether she was taken. “You seem to have a thriving career.”

She glanced up from her plate.

Nolan didn’t, in fact, know anything about her career. But he didn’t mind fudging it. “Does your boyfriend mind your work hours?”

“My work hours are long. But it’s like that for many people.”

They sized up each other. She was good. Nolan chuckled. He wasn’t surprised. Nosy reporter types tended to not like people prying into their own business.

“Since the recorder is turned off, I’ll ask you this straight. Do you have a man?”

The look on Savani’s face was priceless. She smiled and chewed.

“I see that you’re amused. Why don’t you answer my question?”

“No.” Savani started to laugh. “Well, I didn’t expect this.” She cleared her throat and got serious. She looked at her watch. “I have another meeting. We’ll have to conduct the interview another time if you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine.” Nolan took a forkful of steamed broccoli. “I’ll make the time.”

“No, I mean, I’ve got to leave now.”

She signaled the waitress over and her food was quickly packed in a takeout box.

“Mr. Reynolds, you can take your time and finish your lunch. It’s on the magazine’s tab.” Savani stood and gathered her things into her handbag.

“Leaving so quickly?”

“Well, we would’ve had more time, but someone was late.” She clucked her tongue.

Nolan felt heated. He sensed that she felt empowered, knowing he was attracted to her. “So when can we meet again?”

“I’d like to meet tomorrow. My office will arrange the meeting.” She pushed in her chair and slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “It was nice to meet you.”

Nolan stretched out his hand. They shook and Savani’s hands felt soft. Nolan ran his thumb over one of her fingers. “Well, I guess we’ve officially moved pass the introductions.” He squeezed her hand and saw that her eyes intensified.
Hmmm. A responsive woman.
“Until next time,” he said, before letting go of her hand.

She sighed.

Nolan saw that she was trying to figure him out. He waited for her to respond. Instead she nodded and left.