But there was no denying that his focus was nearly always split between hockey and socializing. He was a good enough player that he’d maintained strong numbers even with his focus split.
How good might he be if he made the change to his social life that Grizzly suggested? And how hard would it be to make it?
His thoughts, as they seemed to do whenever he’d let them these days, inevitably turned to Roxy.
He had been so disoriented when he first woke up in her bed that he hadn’t even remembered where he was. Then the memories had surfaced, bringing a good amount of mortification with them.
Finding himself alone had been a relief, yes, but it also added to his embarrassment because it meant Roxy had gone on about her day, making it clear his presence wasn’t wanted. It was something he related to all too well, which just amplified the humiliation.
Before exiting the bedroom to make his Walk of Shame, he plotted out how to escape her apartment as quickly and glibly as possible. He would thank her for sharing her evening with him, mention the meeting he had to get to, and go on his merry way. There was no need for them to see each other again, he told himself, something he was convinced would be just fine with her in light of his performance the night before. He could put this whole debacle behind him.
Then he heard the voice of her landlord. It had been so loud that he’d opened the bedroom door in case Roxy needed any assistance. He had overheard everything.
And instead of sticking with the sound plan he had made, he went and fucked it all up.
He hadn’t been able to stop himself. Learning she was in financial trouble had tripped his protective switch. If there was one way he could help her, it was with money.
He had considered and immediately dismissed the idea of offering to cover her rent for her. He might not know Roxy all that well, but she was clearly a proud woman who was used to taking care of herself. It wasn’t hard to reason that she’d be offended by the offer of a handout, however well-intentioned it might be.
She had turned to face him then. The defiant lift of her chin confirmed that the offer of money would be a bad idea.
Uncertain how to proceed with her, he had edged into the family room and did what he was good at.
He winged it.
The idea of hiring her to help him find a new house had popped into his head when he joined her at the counter. He happened to catch a glimpse of her laptop’s screen as he sat down and noticed an MLS listing for a home. He really didn’t have any desire to move, but if it helped her out, he’d buy three houses. Hell, he could buy them and have her sell them again to earn the commission from the sales if he needed to.
It seemed like the perfect solution to help her out while preserving her pride. And now here he was, facing an unknown amount of future time with the woman he’d been fully prepared to leave that morning without ever seeing again.
Grizzly’s mandate that he focus on hockey had him debating whether he should call Roxy and tell her he had changed his mind. House hunting—especially with a woman he couldn’t get out of his head—would definitely serve as a distraction. Was he setting himself up for failure already by doing this for Roxy?
You’re just helping her out, he told himself as he pulled into his condo’s parking garage. You’ll find a place, buy it, and provide her with some rent money. No big deal.
Besides, the preseason didn’t start until mid-September, he mentally added to his internal argument. That was six weeks away.
Plenty of time to buy a house and get Roxy out of his system so he could focus on his game when he needed to.
Chapter Fourteen
A few days later, Roxy stood outside Callan’s condo door and reminded herself that she was simply meeting a client, not the man she slept with once who had offered her a financial lifeline the very next day.
Not that she could exactly afford to turn away his business either way.
It sure stung her pride to be in this position. She was fortunate that her client’s closing had taken place during the week as scheduled. Her broker had agreed to give her an advance on her commission, which meant she had been able to make her rent payment by Mr. Stilinski’s deadline. But her landlord hadn’t hesitated to remind her that her rent for the following month was due on the first, and if she was even one day late, he was going to evict her.
In the past, she probably would have given up on real estate at this point and moved on to the next job. Plenty of other money trees to shake, she’d say, and see where the winds took her.
But she still felt she had finally fallen into her niche. She just needed to find her groove. Losing so many of her strong leads to Bentley Kamps had shaken her confidence, which pissed her off. It was a problem she still needed to resolve.
The conversation she managed to have with Arnie about it hadn’t helped. Her broker had essentially patted her head and told her these things happen, especially within a shared target market. His proposed solution was to “explore new marketing avenues” and “invest in herself” to procure more viable leads.
Just how the hell was she supposed to do that when she was broke?
At least Darcy had been more helpful. When Roxy approached her mentor about the issue, she had been notably concerned about the correlation Roxy discovered between her lost sales and Bentley Kamps.
“Arnie’s not wrong that these things happen,” Darcy said, “but not usually with so much regularity. It’s worth keeping an eye on.”
Roxy had made a sound of agreement as she sipped her martini, having claimed the raincheck with Darcy for a round of drinks on her.
“In the meantime,” Darcy said, “let me help. I’ve got a few prospects I’ve been nurturing.” When Roxy started to protest, Darcy held up a hand to stop her. “I’ll be honest, they’ve been rather large pains in my ass and they’re pulling my attention from my contracted clients. If you took them, you’d actually be doing me a solid.”
Roxy took the leads. She was too grateful to put forth much argument. Besides, she wasn’t intimidated by the need to put in some hard work to earn a client’s business.
While at first she suspected Darcy made up the story about the clients being difficult to preserve her pride, it unfortunately turned out to be true. The two prospects were sucking up a ton of her time and still hadn’t signed the agent agreements she sent them. It wasn’t likely she’d see any income from them any time soon.
It had therefore come as a huge relief when she received Callan’s signed buyer’s agent agreement just a few hours after sending it to him. She emailed him the agreement shortly after they talked about it, both to gauge his sincerity and out of a hint of desperation.
At least that prick, Kamps, can’t steal this one away from me, she thought.
She straightened her appearance and lifted her hand to knock on Callan’s door. Before she did, the door to the condo on her left opened. When she saw who stepped out, her jaw dropped.
“Javy Rios,” she said.
Her family had always been huge baseball fans. Her brothers had all played in Little League, and Bradley and Jeremy had gone to college on baseball scholarships. Her parents had season tickets to Atlanta’s games. Javy Rios was the team’s catcher and one of the best players in the league.
And, dear Lord, was he ever hot.