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  Vaughn’s head fell back, but he kept in his groan. Brie Soledad was the bane of his existence. “I’m sorry, Elli. I swear, she asks the dumbest questions, and I get so damn mad because I hate doing them—”

  “It doesn’t matter. You’re supposed to be professional. I know the questions are basic, but you have to answer them out of respect for Brie because you are the damn face of my team,” she said, her voice tight and hard. She was pissed and he understood why. But at the same time, come on! Ask better questions.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  “I know, and I want you to know we are fining you five thousand dollars for each curse word you used.”

  His jaw fell open. “How many did I use?”

  “Four.”

  Damn it! He wasn’t hurting for money, but still.

  “And every time you do this, I will fine you. People love listening to you, hearing you talk, and getting your insight, which is why you are on interview duty so much. I depend on you to do a good job on and off the ice. And if you can’t, then maybe we need to renegotiate where we are going in our relationship, which hurts me to say because you know I love you dearly.”

  “I know,” he said, cupping his face in his hands. Tricksie must have sensed his dismay because she whimpered as she crawled in his lap, licking his chin. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

  “Good, I hope you keep that promise.”

  “I will.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry to ruin your relaxing evening.”

  “I’m sorry I’m an asshole.”

  She laughed. “It’s part of your charm.”

  They said good-bye, and he hung up, shaking his head as Jensen asked, “What happened?”

  “I’m being fined for the poor choice of words I used during my interview with that brat of a reporter.”

  Jensen’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Who?”

  “Brie!”

  “Brie? The reporter for the team?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, she’s hot.”

  “She’s a bitch. I bet she’s the one who pushed for the fine. She’s such a pain in the ass and hates me, for no damn reason. Yeah, I’m difficult, but she asks lame questions and then walks around like the hottest shit. It’s annoying.”

  “Her questions for me weren’t lame. They were good. She seems smart.”

  “Yeah, okay, she’s a spoiled little brat, someone who probably grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She annoys the living fuck out of me.” Jensen just stared at him as Vaughn shook his head. “I just don’t get it. What’s her deal with me? Like, why can’t she stay in her lane, leave me the fuck alone?”

  “Just an innocent bystander, but I think you get in her lane, and you went douche on her.”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  Jensen held his hands up. “Yours, of course.”

  “Fine, then she’s a bitch.”

  “I can’t say that. She was really nice to me.”

  “She’s a bitch to me.”

  “Probably ’cause you ruin her interviews.”

  “Because they’re dumb!”

  “Okay, baby Vaughn, are you ready for dinnertime? And then we can come home and you can take a nap?”

  “I hate you,” he muttered, standing up and throwing his hands up. “I don’t want to do stupid interviews. Ask me something with substance.”

  “Maybe you should say that to her nicely, instead of cussing and calling her dumb.”

  “I didn’t call her dumb,” he said, his face wrinkled up.

  “Yes, you did, I heard you. Which is probably why Elli is so pissed.”

  Grumbling, he kicked the floor in frustration. Brie Soledad was a thorn in his side. She couldn’t ask an original question to save her perfectly shaped ass, not that he was looking. Or ever looked. Or ever noticed that she had great tits and a mouth that was begging to be kissed. Or that he really liked her as a blonde, more so than the caramel color she’d had the previous year. She was hot, he wouldn’t lie, but she was such a snotty bitch that he couldn’t even stand her.

  Not that he really knew her, but still…he didn’t like her.

  He hated her, and he really hated that he had upset Elli. He loved Elli, and he wouldn’t let that chick ruin his relationship with his boss. He had a great one with her, and while he’d rather continue being an asshole to Brie Soledad, he’d suck in his pride. He’d treat her with respect. He knew better, but there was something about her that made him twitch. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he wouldn’t upset Elli. He’d do right by her.

  “Whatever, let’s go. I’m hungry.”

  “Right behind you. Don’t eat my shoes, Tricksie Johansson.”

  Tricksie barked as she ran to the door, wanting to leave, but Vaughn had to push her back as he opened the door. “Sorry, love bug, you can’t go.”

  She whimpered as he went out, and he immediately ran right into something hard. Looking down, he saw his hallway was filled with boxes. “What the hell?”

  “What?” Jensen said as the door across the hall opened, and Vaughn’s nemesis came out, her eyes widening when she met his gaze.

  “You,” she gasped, her eyes going from surprised to slits, and he hated how attractive he found her as she stood in the middle of the hall all pissed off and shocked. It was always like that, though. Anytime he was around her, he thought she was a hundred shades of fucking hot. Even now, she was wearing a green sweater and sweat pants that had holes in them. Her hair was braided—even though her hair was too short to be braided, it looked fucking adorable. She had no makeup on and red splotches on her face, but he still found her delectable. She had something orange on her mouth that he suspected was Cheetos, and for some insane reason, he wanted to lick it off. Which was completely foolish. She’d just gotten him fined. He didn’t like her!

  But even he couldn’t ignore the fact that she was hot.

  Like a little bundle of sexy.

  Get it together, Jo. You hate her!

  With irritation in his voice, he growled, “You.”

  Heat filled Vaughn from the tips of his fingers to the soles of his feet.

  Anger, it was anger.

  He was not turned on.

  Not even in the least.

  Not even the Cheetos that were stuck in her hair, close to her ear, were turning him on. He wasn’t that pathetic. She looked like roadkill, death, a carcass on legs, and Vaughn wasn’t into that. He was attracted to beautiful women. Women with long legs, big tits, and hot—all the time. That was his kind of woman, one who rolled out of bed and was sexy before he woke up. Okay, maybe that was a little overboard since no woman had ever been in his bed longer than it took for him to fuck her, but that was beside the point. He liked his women gorgeous, that is, if he was dating… Okay, forget all that. His three-legged dog was his woman, and he didn’t need anyone else. Nor would he be attracted to anyone else.

  Yes. That was it.

  But then, he really loved Cheetos; they were a guilty pleasure. And he really loved Brie’s tits in that slouchy green sweater. He was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing a bra. And even for her size, Brie was packing some melons under that top. Wow, that sounded really sexist, and he wasn’t like that. He respected women, he did. He didn’t care, though, because he did not like Brie Soledad.

  “Up here, buddy,” she called out, and his eyes whipped to hers. “Perv.”

  He glared. “Please. Don’t flatter yourself.”

  “So you deny staring at my tits? Trying to figure out if I have a bra on?”

  His glare stayed in place. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of being on to him. “No, actually, I was trying to figure out how you got a Cheeto in your hair.”

  “By staring at my tits?” she asked dryly, and he threw his hands up in frustration.

  “Good Lord, enough with your tits.”

  “Because it’s killing you that you don’t know if I have a bra on. You’re sick, you know that?”

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