Power Play - A Fake Dating Ice Hockey Romance

Madison Dammit, why am I always late? I try my darndest not to be yet there is always something that holds me up. As I juggle my mocha coffee in one hand and my hot pink Chanel bag in another, I manage to scrape through the revolving doors to my office building. I make a run across the marble floor, feeling mildly embarrassed from the click-clacking of my Jimmy Choo shoes on the hard surface. As I round the corner to the elevator, I bang into something hard causing the hot coffee to spill all over my top and almost burning my right breast. “For hell’s sake!” I say looking up. My jaw drops to the ground as my nemesis, Golden boy of the NHL, Alex Stone stands in front of me blocking everything out. His shoulders are so wide and powerful that it knocks my senses sideways. I recover rather well I think, as I remember just who is standing in front of me. “Why don’t you look where you are going? He quirks an eyebrow at me at my outburst. For a hot second I lose myself in his arresting blue eyes that could easily melt a girls panties. Quickly, I get myself together. “I beg your pardon? It was you who turned abruptly without even looking.” His voice is low and gruff, hIs jaw square with enough scruff on it to be sexy. Halt right there.” This is Alex Stone you’re thinking about!! “What are you doing in my building? Aren’t you lost?” I snipe at him, narrowing my eyes. “You ruined my top.” “This isn’t your building, Lane.” He has a cocky look on his face, I want to slap it right off his face. Just send me the dry cleaning bill or I’ll buy you another one,” he remarks flippantly with a grin on his face that exposes some swoony dimples. What the hell? There is nothing cute about Alex Stone. Get a grip Madi. “That’s not the point, you ran into me. Aren’t you going to apologize?” I seethe with anger. Being up close and personal to Alex Stone is not on my agenda today. Or any other day for that matter. “Apologize? To you? Are you shitting me right now? No chance, you ran into me. Next time, Madison Lane, perhaps you ought to watch where you are going.” The cheek of him, who the hell does he think he is? He even acts like he owns the place. “For your information, I have a mate who works in the building who I was on my way to meet. Not that it’s any of your business. However, being the journalist that you are, you can’t help but pry into anyone’s business can you?” He walks off leaving me with my mouth opening and closing like a goddamn Goldfish. The gall of him. Eventually the elevator arrives and I step in and press the button to take me straight to my boss’s office on the top floor. Ruben is sitting down behind his desk looking serious. I’m not accustomed to his serious face. “Madison good you could make it,” he looks pointedly at his wrist watch causing me to roll my eyes. “Sorry I’m late, I er, had an accident.” I point to the coffee stain, he looks embarrassed since it’s right on my tit and averts his gaze. “I want to get straight to the point.” Oh God, I hope he isn’t firing me for lateness, I’ve just paid for the house. I NEED this job. “An assignment has come up, and I need you to take it. It will involve six months in Colorado, Aspen to be specific.” My eyes almost pop out of my head. Six months? What the hell, that’s a lifetime. What about decorating my new house? “Seriously? You’re asking me to travel to Colorado?” I am not impressed. I live in Austin, Texas. Lived here all my life, all twenty-two years of them, and I have no intention of relocating anytime soon. And I have my little dog to think about, Honey-Belle, the love of my life, a cute pale Chihuahua. “Madison, Madison,” Ruben says - my boss and founder of the sports paper where I work. “You are my best digital sports reporter. You read people well, they open up to you and as far as I am concerned you are the best in your field right now. There is nobody else who can do this remit.” His flattery might just begin to work a bit of magic on me. I did study my ass off at Austin University to get to where I am at this age. I gave my all to this job, mostly to support my Chanel buying habit. I fold my hands in front of me on my lap and pick at my trademark siren, red nail polish. Although, I do break my rule for coral in the summer. “Yes, Colorado.” My boss is saying as he stands at the door of my goldfish bowl office where I still have no blinds up. Honestly, I’ve been harassing our maintenance team for months to fit my office out with some privacy blinds. How hard can it be? “And the assignment starts in one week, so you need to get your skates on with this.” One week, is he joking? He’s joking right? I look at Ruben as if he is from another planet. “Don’t give me that look, young lady.” He raises his bushy eyebrows to his forehead. “Er, I don’t think you can get away with saying that,” I tell him. Ruben is in his early forties, so he ought to know better. It’s not like he is a dinosaur and to be honest for running his own reporting agency, he’s done extremely well having worked his way up from the bottom covering menial stories to setting up on his own. His wife Jocelyn tells me she hardly ever sees him and that’s why their twenty-year relationship has survived. Sounds good to me. I’m thinking a relationship where you have benefits but don’t have to see each other often can work pretty well. That’s why nowadays I only do casual hookups. Where to even start with my love life. At Uni I dated a law student, he was kind of cute until he decided to go all weird on me. First, everything was perfect, you know how it is. You can’t keep your hands off each other, you have to spend literally every minute with one another, kissing is like your lifeline and s*x is the only thing you can think of. We were that inseparable, coochy-coo couple that everyone was jealous of. Until Riley decided he wanted to take a role in New York when he was done studying. He’d been made an offer that even I knew was too good to resist. Yet, NYC isn’t for me - no way. Like I said, I’m a home girl. I love where I live, and I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else except for a holiday. We fizzled out, there was no way we wanted a long-distance relationship. Okay, I’m bending the truth here a bit. I could have gone with it but he couldn’t. His words. Babe, I need someone by my side, and I don’t want to be dealing with the stress of coming and going, getting on and off planes, working through manic schedules… There was more to it, but I’m guessing you get my drift. “Maybe not.” Ruben is saying, I assert myself back to the conversation from my failed relationships. He continues. “Apologies. But this is a big story and you’re the best girl. Er, woman for the job.” He runs his hands through his dirty blonde hair. His brown eyes look tired, too many late nights at the office and a couple of young kids at home can do that to you. So I hear. “What’s the detail?” I ask Ruben as I tap away at my keys on the laptop. I’ve got a deadline on a piece I’ve just run for the local high school basketball team. Some up and coming player, Milton Swaney is going to be the next big thing. Trust me, I have an eye for spotting them, and he’s already got about every scout sniffing after him right now. “It’s to cover Alex Stone.” My ears prick up. Not THE Alex Stone? Golden boy of the NHL scene. The one with a potty mouth and the total man w***e, with his face plastered everywhere and always with some new girl. Re captain of the Coldridge Icebreakers, and star of the NHL, who can do no wrong. The Alex Stone with the cute-af dimples that I just bumped into. I let out a groan. “Are you shitting me?” “Nope. You’ve basically got to follow him around 24/7 and report back on a daily basis with your Vlog and social posts.” I feel a migraine coming on. I don’t want to be associated with Alex Stone. “Can’t you assign someone else? I don’t think I can do this. He’s really not my kind of player.” “Be serious, Madison. He’s the best there is right now. Besides, with the playoffs coming up, you are the only one who can do the job. You’re the best and you’re covering it.” “But Colorado? Alex Stone. This is my worst nightmare.” Yet, I do need this remit and I do need the promotion. Having just purchased my place, I used nearly all of my savings and there is only a small amount now left in my pot. But Alex Stone. “Tough. I’ve secured you an apartment and you take your dog of course. All expenses paid plus a rewarding bonus. Madi, if you want partnership and a long term career here, this is your only option.” Okay, two things here. The word bonus always makes my heart race some and gives me that feeling as diving into a milk chocolate bar. Second, is he telling me if I don’t go, I won’t make partner nor have a long-term career? Shit.