Power Play

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO Noah

Noah Rodgers walked out of his hotel into the warm October air. He’d arrived in the city in the middle of last season, and so far Pittsburgh had been welcoming. Taking in all the sounds of the city, he was glad to be back here.

Last season hadn’t ended the way he had hoped, and the off-season had seemed to drag on. It had been nice to go back home to Montreal and to spend the time with his parents and sisters. He had busied himself with working out, training, and even a yoga class. But nothing helped take his mind off Pittsburgh and its attractions. And the main attraction was Jordan.

Noah admittedly had a way with the ladies. He liked women; no one would deny that. His little black book was proof, filled with the numbers of every woman that had crossed his path. But he hadn’t been interested in any of those digits of late. The only number he wanted to call was the one he didn’t have, and it belonged to Jordan Baker.

Stopping beside the arena, he needed to check on his newest project. Noah wanted something to tie him to Pittsburgh, something to be remembered for, other than playing hockey. He was getting older, and it was time to put his efforts into something solid.

When the bar outside the arena became available last season, he had jumped at the opportunity. It needed a lot of work—the décor and fittings were outdated, and the former owners had left it in a mess. The crew Noah hired had worked through the summer, and his plan was to have it up and running by the time this season started.

A small electrical problem in the kitchen had held things up for a few weeks, but they were finally closing in on an opening date.

Noah ducked into the restaurant. “G’Morning, Carl. How are we looking today?”

Carl, the foreman, nodded. “Good. We are right on pace—well, the updated schedule, anyway. I don’t foresee any other setbacks.”

Noah chuckled. “Never say that.” He knocked on the closest piece of wood, not wanting to take any chances.

Carl chuckled. “You hockey players and your superstitious ways.”

“I’m heading to lunch. As always, call me if you need anything.” Noah walked out onto the sidewalk. Immediately, he was approached by two young ladies. They were already in fangirl mode, as if they’d been casing the place, just waiting for him to show.

They pulled out their phones, and when he agreed to a photo, they put their arms around him. He was sandwiched in the selfie, between the two girls doing their duck-face thing.

They giggled over him the whole time, and unusual for him, he found it a little irritating. Giggling fangirls had always been his thing. They were attracted to him like a magnet, and he had always happily obliged, in every way possible. But for the first time in his career, he wasn’t interested.

It wasn’t only the selfies with attractive fans that had lost their appeal. He thought about his last big night out, and winced. Maybe he was growing up, but not remembering the girl he’d woken up next to in the morning wasn’t enjoyable anymore, either.

When the two girls finally left, he stared across the street at the building that housed The Sin Bin, where he knew Jordan would be, busy at work as usual. Her work schedule, just like the moment he’d first laid eyes on her, was burned into his brain.

Noah had been traded to Pittsburgh early in the spring, and he’d been excited to play on the same team as Tyler Kidd, Dom Zanetti, Kaden O’Conner, and his buddies, Harrison Dash and Sam Morris. On his first night in Pittsburgh, the guys had taken him to dinner at The Sin Bin, along with a couple of rookies that had been called up from Wilkes Barre.

Tyler had been running a little late, so everyone had already ordered and had started eating. When Tyler finally showed up, the most amazing woman hurried to the table and took Tyler’s order.

Noah had been enjoying his meal and was laughing at something Sam Morris had said, but he literally shut up and stopped eating, and he couldn’t take his eyes from her. Her hair was swept up in a no-nonsense bun, and she wore a tight fitting business skirt. The up-tight look wasn’t something he usually went for, but that skirt hugged her hips like a lover’s hands. In his brain, it simply spelled s*x, in big capital letters. The sexy librarian look intrigued him and suddenly became his new favorite.

He chuckled to himself. There he’d been, seated at a table with a bunch of hockey legends, including Tyler Kidd—the Tyler Kidd. Most guys would’ve been fawning all over the dream team, but all he could do was stare at that gorgeous woman, wondering what her pouty, soft-looking lips would taste like.

Back then, he hadn’t even known her name, but he knew he had to have her. She carried herself with confidence and talked to the Renegades players as if they were old friends.

For the rest of that evening he had watched her like a creeper, as she strolled around the restaurant. He’d been especially captivated by the rear view—the way her skirt curved around her ass and showed off her gorgeous, slim legs. He’d done his best to catch her eye, but to no avail. In fact, it was as though he were completely invisible to her. Which of course had only made her even more intriguing.

Since that night, he’d learned that there was a lot more to Jordan than her sexy-as-hell legs—despite the fact that she still never gave him the time of day. He might’ve been attracted by her beauty first, but he’d discovered that she was intelligent and fantastic at her job, too. Those were attributes he’d never really taken much notice of in a woman before. But now it seemed to him that she was exactly the type of person he wanted running his bar.

He hurried into the building, slid into a waiting elevator and pressed the button for the twentieth floor. When the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened directly to The Sin Bin dining room, and he strutted into the restaurant. Today, he was supposed to meet Harrison Dash there at noon. But instead of looking for Harrison, he found himself scanning the dining room for Jordan.

The hostess caught his attention, smiled, and directed him to a table in the corner where Harrison was waiting.

“On time for once, Rodgers?” Harrison teased.

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious,” Noah said sarcastically, and sat across from his friend.

The waitress blushed, as she brought him a glass of water and took his order. Even after settling into town last season, he still tended to have that effect on females.

“Your usual, Noah?” the waitress asked with a shy smile.

But out of the corner of his eye, he spied Jordan, as she hurried from the kitchen area and made a beeline for the hostess station. When she was around, he didn’t notice any other girls.

“Rodgers,” Harrison said with a sigh.

“Huh?”

“Are you going to order or stare at her all day?” Harrison asked.

Snapping out of the trance that woman always seemed to put him in, he turned to the waitress, who was patiently waiting for his answer. “Sorry, um…?”

“Your usual?” she repeated, smiling. Surprisingly, she still seemed thrilled that for the moment she had his attention, and he felt a twinge of conscience. “Sounds good. Thanks,” he said, returning a smile.

“Your usual? You haven’t been here in three months,” Harrison teased, as the waitress made her retreat.

“Didn’t you know? I am quite memorable.” Noah half-grinned, proud of his comeback.

Last season, after every morning skate they’d had at the arena, he had eaten lunch here. It was efficient, being that the restaurant was right across the street from the arena. He was able to have a nice hot lunch, versus grabbing a fast-food burger on the way back to his hotel room. It was a bonus that he got to see Jordan each time he came here.

“Must be that ugly mug of yours. It’s pretty hard to unsee that.”

Noah shook his head, not being able to hold in his laughter. “Ugly mug? That was hurtful, bro.”

“No regrets here.” Harrison shrugged innocently.

Clearing his throat, Noah commented, “Time to get down to business.”

The waitress placed a cup of ice water and a plate consisting of a turkey club and a little bowl of tomato soup in front of Noah. He grinned and thanked her.

“I know I’m married and have a kid, but how come the ladies act like I don’t exist when I’m with you?” Harrison rolled his eyes. “Anyway, are you happy to be back in Pittsburgh?”

“For sure. I really like it here.” He had one year left in his current contract, and was determined to get a new one from the Renegades. He was twenty-five years old and was tired of jumping around from city to city. When he was younger, it was fun and exciting, and there were so many women to enjoy. He must be getting older and wiser, because now the last thing on his mind was how many women he could meet.

“Yeah, the Renegades are a family. And I think you fit in perfectly.”

“I agree,” Noah said quietly. Taking another bite of sandwich, he contemplated how nice it would be to make a home somewhere and no longer live out of his suitcase. “Which is why I bought the sports bar. I’m ready to put down roots.”

Harrison stared at him for a second before speaking. “I’ve never seen you so content. Pittsburgh looks good on you.”

Noah shrugged. “I agree. I think seeing the life you’ve made for yourself has had an effect on me.”

He had just got traded to Pittsburgh and no longer wanted to bounce from team to team. His reputation in Nashville was less than desirable, and he didn’t think the people of Pittsburgh would take kindly to a playboy who had what the Nashville media had called “a bad attitude.”

But being part of this group had changed him. Finding a place that he wanted to call home had taken him by surprise. Maybe this was just the chance he was looking for. A chance to put himself out there as a player the fans could love—and a chance to shed the negative playboy image.

“How are things coming along with the bar?”

“Everything seems to be right on schedule. We’re in the process of hiring now and getting the staff trained.”

“And how’s that going? Are you getting a lot of applicants?”

Noah shrugged. “I have a bunch I’m looking at for servers, dishwashers, hostesses, that kind of stuff. And I did hire the chef you told me about. He recommended kitchen staff, so that was easy to fill.” The whole process had been intense and exhausting. He rubbed his hands over his face.

“Sounds promising. So why do you look so stressed?”

Noah sighed. “I haven’t found someone to run the place yet. Let’s face it, I might own it, but I can’t be there all the time.”

“Sounds like you need a Talia 2.0,” Harrison said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I think that’s what got me stuck. Every application I look at, I am searching for certain experience, and it’s just not there. I mean, I need to be able to trust this person one hundred percent.”

Harrison simply sat grinning at him.

“What? Are you holding out on me? Do you know someone? I need names, Dash.” Noah was starting to think there wasn’t anyone out there that would meet his expectations, not unless Talia could clone herself and run both places. He knew enough about business, but not a ton about running a restaurant. He was hoping to bring in someone with that knowledge.

“You already know her.”

The goofy look on Harrison’s face had Noah well aware of whom he was thinking. Not like she wasn’t on the top of his list already. “Jordan?”

“She is everything you’re looking for. Jordan practically ran this place while Talia was on maternity leave. And now that Talia works less hours, Jordan is her go to. She’s great at what she does.”

Jordan, the woman he had his sights set on since day one.

Noah tilted his head and stared at his friend. Harrison was right; Jordan had all the qualifications. But poaching Jordan from Talia, his friend, didn’t seem like the safe option. It wasn’t as though Jordan had come to him for the job.

“And how do you think your wife would feel about this idea?” Noah knew Jordan was the answer to his prayers, but tearing her away from Talia, who relied on her, sounded like a bad idea. Especially after Harrison and Talia had opened up their home to him.

“Are you kidding?” Harrison chuckled. “She’d hate it.”

“And she’d hate me too.” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’d never be invited over for dinner again.”

“Eh.” Harrison grimaced. “I can work on her.”

“After she kicks my ass,” Noah teased. “You know she will. Even if Jordan decided not to take up my offer.”

“Nah,” Harrison shook his head. “Well, maybe.”

“Funny.” Noah pushed his plate away, frowning. “But if Jordan is Talia’s right hand person, who would take her place here?”

“There are a couple of trainees that Jordan’s been instructing. And if Tal doesn’t think either of them is up to it, she could always advertise.”

Noah wasn’t too sure about that, but their conversation ended abruptly, as Talia strode towards them.

“Hey babe,” Talia said, putting her arm around Harrison. “I’m ready for lunch.”

Harrison stood and pushed his chair in. “Sorry Noah, I got a better offer. See you later.”

“Story of my life,” Noah teased, as Talia and Harrison walked away.

His friend wasn’t wrong about Jordan. She seemed to be everywhere in the restaurant at once. Watching her move around the room, help the servers, solve issues, and make sure everyone was happy, he knew she was who he needed running his bar.

Eventually she walked by his table as she was checking in on customers. “Noah. Is everything satisfactory here?”

He smiled. She had actually noticed him for a change, and he took it as a good omen. “Actually, Jordan, I have a question for you.”

She stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“Do you like your job here?”

She frowned and looked taken aback. “I love my job, why?”

He finally had her attention, so there was no point beating about the bush. “You should come work for me.”

“Excuse me?” she asked sharply.

“Managing my sports bar.” She still looked confused. “The one that I’m opening.” He nodded his head in the general direction. “Right across the street.”

“Oh.” She pursed her lips, not the reaction he’d hoped for. “Is that your place?” One side of her mouth twitched, almost as though she didn’t approve.

Wow, she really didn’t like him. He wasn’t used to females not liking him. It really was a conundrum, and for some reason it caused a tight feeling in his gut.

“Why are you staring at me?” she questioned. By her tone, it was evident that she was annoyed with him.

Putting on his best smirk, he asked, “Why don’t you like me?”

Jordan shook her head, and her expression softened. “I never said I don’t like you.”

Her words contradicted her actions. He’d tried many times to talk to her, even got the nerve to try to ask her out, but she’d shut him down before he could even get two words out. Her obvious attempts to keep him at arm’s length were deafening. But the cute way she crossed her arms over her chest seemed like proof that his question made her uncomfortable.

He sat back in his seat. “Did I offend you by asking you to come work for me?”

“You didn’t offend me.” She rolled her eyes.

“But you’re mad that I asked you.”

“Yes! I work here, for Talia. She needs me.”

“Is that why you don’t like me?” he asked with a laugh.

“I never said I don’t like you!” She huffed, seeming more irritated than ever. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do,” she said through gritted teeth. “And I hope you find a manager soon,” she added as she walked away.

“General manager.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

That went about as well as he figured it would.