Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(40)

Reed went to the bar for another glass of wine. I took the opportunity to check out more of the selection of food left on the buffet at the back of the room. There were only two of us, but it was enough food to feed the hockey team.

At the end of the buffet, there were several little cakes and cookies. I picked up a new plate and grabbed a few of the delicious chocolate ones.

The door opened again, and this time a man in full hockey gear entered the room. He looked at me and then over at Reed.

He returned his attention to me and grinned. "Hello."

Reed came out from behind the bar with a scowl on his face. "Bo, what are you doing here?"

So this was Bo. The player who was making mincemeat of the other team on the ice. The one Reed said frequently got into trouble off the ice. I imagined some of his exploits had to include other women, as he was handsome with his blonde hair, hazel eyes, and boyish grin.

Bo winked at me. "Excuse me for a minute." Then he turned his attention to Reed. "Pierce said you were up here, and I decided I needed to come and get that money I won off you. You said I couldn't get a hat trick against the Ducks and I did. So pay up." He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers.

"What's a hat trick?" I asked.

Bo turned and walked over to me. He looked at my plate of cookies. "A hat trick is when you score three goals in one game. Can I have one of those?"

I held up my plate. "Sure."

"Bo, you can get your own cookie from the buffet." Reed's voice was tense.

Bo picked up a cookie and grinned at me as he took a bite.

“Is scoring three goals in a game hard?"

"Not for me," Bo said with a mouthful of cookie. "If you want, I'll do it tonight for you. I'm Bo Tyler." He held out his hand.

I put my hand in his. "I'm Analyn Watts."

"Are you here with the old man?" He nodded toward Reed.

I was, but I couldn’t have him think it was a date. "I work for Mr. Hampton."

Bo looked over his shoulder where Reed was still scowling at him. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I'm sure. I only just started, and Mr. Hampton was nice enough to bring me to a game."

"Are you enjoying it?"

I nodded. "It's fast, and I have a hard time watching the puck, but so far, I'm enjoying it. I don't know much about the game, but Mr. Hampton pointed you out, and I can tell that you're good at it."

"Next goal I score will be for you, Analyn. And if you want, you can come with me to the next game."

"Bo!" Reed's voice made me jump. "Shouldn't you be in the locker room getting coaching points from Pierce?"

"Like I said, I came for my money." He looked at me again. "I can't help it that I'm distracted by your new employee."





21





Reed





I didn't like the way Bo was looking at Analyn. Or talking to her. I especially didn't like that Analyn had explained to him that I was her boss. I knew it was the truth. And of course, she would say that because of her concern about the world finding out our true relationship.

True relationship? I didn't know what the hell that was, but I knew I didn't want it to be that I was simply her boss.

The fastest way to get rid of Bo would be to pay him his money. I reached into my pocket, pulling out my wallet and nearly all the money I had in it. It was way more than I owed him, but I didn't care. I slapped it into Bo's hand and then shoved him out the door. "Go back to playing the game and not picking up fans."

With him out of the room, I turned to Analyn, whose brows were raised in surprise.

"If you're worried about your reputation, he's the last person you want to be seen with."

"Is that why you pushed him out of the room like that? Because you're worried about my reputation?"

There was amusement in her eyes, but I was too worked up to join in on her game. "You're the one who tells me that you're concerned about your reputation. Or is that just around me?"

Her head tilted to the side, the amusement still glinting in her eyes. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous."

I took a step toward her. "What is it that you think you know better about?"

The twinkle in her eyes dissipated slightly.

"I was pretty sure we were both in agreement that there’s something between us. Just because you're trying to deny it, or are trying to ignore it, doesn't mean it's not there."

She let out a sigh. "You know I couldn't say anything different to him, right?"

I nodded, not liking the clawing feeling in my gut. The one that wanted to claim her once and for all.

"All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed between us. Maybe I should go."

Her words were like a punch to the gut. It told me that my behavior was making her uncomfortable.

"There's no reason to leave." I went to the table where I'd set her wine and picked it up, bringing it to her. "I think Bo stole one of your cookies so you might want to get another one.”

She eyed me warily.

I got my drink and went to sit down on the sofa. "Once you've got your cookie, come sit here, and I'm going to quiz you to see if you've been paying attention."