page22 (1/2)

She puts her hands on her hips, glares at me, and says very slowly "My office Now"

Shit, shit, shit

While I consider Georgia to beto h, I pull the towel over my shoulder, toss it onto the counter, and turn toward her office, knowing that she and Brian are close on my heels

When we are inside and the door closes behind us, I turn to face both of the on"

"Gray said so to you at the arena that's upset you," Brian says matter-of-factly, his eyes pinned on mine "And I want to knohat it was"

I s hard, trying to push past the lump in my throat

To lie or not to lie?

To start this relationship off right, or to start it with hard feelings and untruths?

Without letting aze waiver from his, I tell him, "Gray advised me that I shouldn't see Roman"

"And what exactly did she say?" Brian asks neutrally

"She said he had a bad reputation She was concerned for me," I tell him

"And do you believe she meant that? Outside of the 'bad reputation' part, which speaks for itself"

"Yes," I say without hesitation "I think she was genuine"

"But that's not all?" he guesses

"I was advised of ot messy with Roman, it would reflect on the family"

"I see," he says slowly, and takes a step toward me With head tilted, he asks, "And what did you do?"

My chin tilts up "I told Roman I couldn't see him anymore"

"Hia, and I notice they share a look I'm not sure what it's about, but there's no doubt they've had a conversation about this in some detail When he looks back to me, he calmly clasps his hands behind his back and asks me, "And why in the world would you ever do that?"

"Huh?" I say dumbly

Justhuh?

"Why would you stop seeing a man just because Gray advised you to do so? Ienough to know you're a free thinker and have a good head on your shoulders So I repeatWhy would you ever stop seeing someone you're clearly interested in just because Gray said so?"

"What?" is all I can say

Brian shakes his head with a measure of disappointment in his eyes He raises a hand and taps the tip of his forefinger against my forehead "Think for yourself"

Then he drops his finger and taps it over the left side of my chest "And follow your heart"

"What?" I ask again,in confusion

And then the great Brian Brannon rolls his eyes at me The CEO and owner of the Cold Fury, worth hout the entire sports world, pulls a twelve-year-old's eye roll on me

"Lexi," he says "Stop being obtuse You understand me just fine"

And yeah, I do, but I' it "ButGray was concernedand then there's a reputation to upholdand--"

"Gray doesn't know everything," Brian interjects "So stop trying so hard to have soet there"

And now my eyes narrow at him in suspicion "You do know that Roht?"

"Sadly, I've read all the tabloid reports and I've obviously been privy to his suspensions," Brian says dryly, and I coia's snort