Free Touchdown Baby by Rose Harris Page B

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    Jace let out a deep chuckle at the memory of the eight women trying to drink him and Alex under the table. The amazing thing was most of them actually did. Although, he’d attended his fair share of parties during his college days, he had never become a heavy drinker. The thing with being an athlete, he was watched constantly, and his coaches monitored his actions practically daily. That meant binge drinking was not something he did on the normal basis most college students did. He was considered a lightweight compared to some of his friends, but he had been holding his own that night.
    Bob sat silently across the desk from him. Jace knew he was going to sound like a spoiled rich boy when he revealed the rest of the long night, at least the parts he still remembered. Making eye contact, Jace sat up a little straighter in his chair and held his back straight, so his presence would command attention, and revealed the final moments of the memories he had of that night.
    “After growing tired of being ignored, a couple of the local boys recognized us and interrupted our little party for autographs. Normally, I love meeting fans and talking football, but like I said, I had had a few too many drinks and felt bulletproof. The guys didn’t take too kindly to being insulted and left the table. At some point, the girls got up and were dancing, and I joined them. Alex sat in the booth and talked to several other ladies.” Jace paused when a knock on the door interrupted their meeting.
    Bob politely excused the interruption to Jace as he responded to whoever was beyond the closed door. “Come in.”
    The door opened on silent hinges, and Ava appeared to let Bob know an important conference call that had been scheduled prior to the unexpected appointment with Jace was holding. Bob looked at Jace and apologized for the inconvenient timing of the call but reiterated he needed to take the call.
    Bob excused himself from the office, and as he exited, he asked Ava to make sure Jace got something to drink while he waited.
    Jace watched Ava take a deep breath and walk into the office and in her professional voice, she followed her boss’s order. “Excuse me, Mr. Johnson, but would you like anything to drink while you wait? We have coffee, tea or water.”
    Raising his right eyebrow, Jace looked her up and down, “Honey, why are you being so formal? Are you or are you not the same lady whose shirt I had my hand up and whose tongue was in my mouth not even thirty minutes ago?” Not giving her time to respond he continued, “I would appreciate a bottle of water if you don’t mind, and Ava, I need to see you after I get done in here.”
    When she cut her eyes at his graphic reminder of their earlier encounter, he imagined if she had a gun, he would be the first person she would shoot. With a nod of her head, she agreed to get his water and hopefully his request to talk, before she stepped out of the room. He would have to apologize for his rude behavior.
    Jace expected Ava to bring in his drink and was shocked when an unknown young woman in a chocolate brown suit and stiletto heels appeared with his water. She handed it to him while stroking her fingers over his. Being used to the attentions of admiring females, this was nothing new to Jace, so he flashed his signature smile and politely thanked her. As she exited the office, Jace noticed she added a little more sway to her walk. He opened his water and drank deeply from the cool bottle until Bob returned. The meeting took up exactly where it had left off.
    “After a couple of songs had passed, the guys we’d had trouble with earlier started harassing some of the ladies. I felt ten feet tall, so I got in their faces. The bouncers really didn’t care about my status or reputation and asked me to leave, but just as I was getting ready to go, the girls decided they would take Alex and me out with them in their limo for the rest of the evening.
    “We agreed to go, and the ladies all