Chapter 12
"A sports piece?"
Janet looked at Gemma, her gaze unwavering. "Yes, and I'm going to need it ASAP."
"But what about Sandra from weather? She knows a hell of a lot more about sports than I do!"
Janet shrugged. "I already asked her but her vacation days are coming up so she can't do it. Everyone else is either gone or too busy. You're my last hope, Gemma."
She stared at her boss wide eyed, pleading for anything other than this assignment. The sports analyst, Chris, had come down with a severe case of the flu, and with no one else as his backup, Janet had come seeking Gemma's guidance.
"It's a short project, only a few weeks, and all you have to do is travel with the team once every week until their name gets cleared up from all the drama. Think of it as PR experience."
Gemma frowned. "But I don't want to be a PR."
"Like I said, only a few weeks. The teams' PR manager will be doing most of the work with them, so all you have to do is take notes on what she wants to be aired for the show next Monday and maybe get some shots of the progress."
Gemma sighed and rubbed her eyes. "So, what team am I supposed to be following?"
"The Boulder Jets."
Gemma's eyes widened as she gulped. "The... Jets?"
With a concerned look on her face, Janet spoke. "Yeah... everything alright?"
Gunner's going to hate this was her first thought. The Boulder Jets were the second-best hockey league in Colorado and ranked only a few places below Gunner's team nationally. They were the Blazers' rivals through and through.
"Yep," she swallowed, nodding as confidently as she possibly could. "When does my flight leave?"
"3 PM tomorrow. You'll board with the team on their jet and fly out to LA from there."
Letting out probably the 100th sigh of the day, Gemma leaned back in her chair and nodded. "You got it, boss."
Janet smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Thanks Gemma, I owe you one."
Oh yes, you certainly do.
♣♣♣
Back at home, Gemma waited patiently for Gunner to come back. She had been thinking about how to break the news to him, grueling over dinner about how to tell the man she's been sleeping with that her job for the next month is traveling with the team he despises.
It's not like it mattered that much, and usually, she would tell herself that what he thought didn't matter because it was part of her job.
But the sex. The great, amazing, hot sex complicated everything.
At around 8, Gemma was starting to doze off when the door unlocked. The apartment was dark except for the light of the TV, but Gemma could still make out Gunner's strong features.
"Hey," she said softly, rubbing her eyes. Gunner set his bag down and came to her on the couch, plopping himself down lengthwise and resting his head on her lap. "Hey."
She ran her fingers through his hair, loving the silky way it felt. "You look exhausted."
He let out a low laugh. "I don't know if I should be offended."
Gemma took in the way his face looked in the light. The sharp, structured jaw, the perfect nose, and long lashes... everything was perfect. "Trust me, you look great."
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was on, and they watched while talking and laughing about their day. When Gunner asked her how work went, she tensed.
"I was actually going to tell you that I'm going to be gone this weekend, it's for work. They're making me do a sports piece."
He looked at her with a smile, curious. "That's pretty neat. What sport are you writing about?"
She cleared her throat. "Uh, hockey, actually."
His face turned quizzical. "Hockey? Why do you need to travel out of town for hockey if we're right her-"
He stopped mid-sentence, all of it clicking together. "Please tell me you're joking."
Gemma tried to smile to lighten up his mood. "It's just a PR thing. They're airing a segment about it next Monday."
"They're making you follow around that joke of a team?" he sat up, hair all unruly. It was extremely cute. "Those guys are all trouble. They're in the middle of a strip-club, cocaine scandal right now, for Christ sake!"
She winced. "I know, and that's what their PR is focusing on. They need a new image, a better image, and since the Denver Morning Show is the local TV around this whole area and Boulder, we decided to air some pieces of them doing things like community service, etc."
Gunner ran his hands over his faced and groaned. "I know what I say isn't going to change your mind..."
"You're right," she added, earning a look from him.
"... but I can't stand those guys. Especially Henderson."
Gemma couldn't help but laugh a little at him. It wasn't like him to express his distaste in someone, but she knew that this subject would change things.
He relaxed against the back of the couch and folded his hands behind his head. "So, when do you leave for hell?"
Rolling her eyes, she boldly sat up and put one leg on either side of him, straddling his hard body. "This Friday at 3. And don't be so sour, I know you'll miss me." She winked jokingly.
Gunner smiled and ran his hands up and down her back. Tucking his face into her neck, he trailed his lips across her sensitive flesh, igniting a whole firework show inside her. "I'm going to miss a lot of things about you."
She hummed, enjoying the way his body felt under hers. "Like what?"
"The way you feel, the way you taste, how you practically scream my name..."
Gemma's mouth fell open. "I do not!"
He smirked. "Mhm, last night you almost woke up the neighbors."
Her face flushed. Okay, so maybe she had been more than verbal last night, but it was all his fault. She couldn't help it with him. No other lover had made her feel the way she felt with Gunner. He paid attention to her, made her feel things she didn't even think possible, all while completely taking over her body with his.
"Stop talking about how loud I was and kiss me," she said, sliding up more on his body.
He laughed. "Yes ma'am."
When his lips pressed against hers, every thought went away. There was no work, no Boulder Jets, and no worry on her mind. Just his mouth teasing hers in ways that sent the familiar tingle up her spine.
She held onto that feeling for the next few days to come.
♣ ♣ ♣
"Gentlemen, meet Miss Gemma Holloway."
The locker room filled with the stench of sweaty gear and salt was not what Gemma was anticipating from this trip. The group of very large and very intimidating men all looked at her in the center of the room, making her feel very much like a mouse in a room full of cats.
They could squish me like a bug any second... she thought insanely.
"She's your ticket out of this shitshow for now," the president of the Jets, Klein Hardaway, spoke, looking not at all too pleased. "You're to treat her with respect, kindness, and decency. I know I shouldn't have to tell you all this, but you've made me have to take my precautions."
Gemma winced. Klein had briefed her on the events that had unfolded for the team after their loss two weeks ago against the Titans. Everyone was pissed off and tired, so of course their ultimate mode of action was to go to the local team bar, have a few too many rounds to drink, and proceed to get involved in a team fist fight with a big group of men who had been antagonizing them about their, in a nutshell, 'lack of male genitalia and guts to fight'. There were broken noses (on both sides), beer glasses thrown, and many lawsuits charged. And it didn't help that a few teammates had been caught snorting drugs at a private strip club event the week before. Just thinking about all of it gave Gemma a massive headache.
Now, it was her job to convince the public that their beloved hockey team was back to their good-hearted ways. It was time to put her amateur PR pants on and get to work.
She gave a slight wave. "It's nice to meet you all. I hope I have the chance to get to know you all a little better during our time together." Looking around, every man in that locker room looked bored to death. Gemma gulped and continued:
"I'll be conducting interviews with everyone individually during the next few days. After, I have many community service events planned, public outings, and finally, a public apology to the ones harmed during the fight."
"Fuck the apology!"
"I have nothing to say sorry for!"
"No way in hell am I apologizing to those motherfu-"
"QUIET!"
The whole room fell in silence when Coach Klein's voice boomed throughout every bone in her body. He was furious, obviously, as his face was starting to turn red in stress and frustration. Gemma knew that the team wouldn't welcome the idea of a public apology with an open heart and mind, but at this point, she could care less. She just wanted to get out of there.
"You're going to do as I say, say as I want, and act less like a bunch of sorry little kindergarteners if you want to keep your jobs," she said, feeding the annoyance and anger of them into her words, along with the fact that she didn't necessarily want to be here in the first place. "Do exactly what we ask of you and you'll have nothing to worry about. Refuse and you'll find out exactly what early retirement looks like."
Grabbing her bag, she made no point of looking back as she walked out of the locker room. Once in the hallway alone, she let out the breath she'd been holding. Holy shit that felt nice.
She quickly reinforced the idea that no one was going to walk over her. She may not know a whole lot about sports broadcasting, but she sure as hell wasn't going to act like she didn't.
Gemma was about to head up the elevator when she heard someone call out to her.
"Hey!" Looking back towards the locker room, she saw a man pacing towards her. Matthew Henderson.
"Listen," he said, coming to a stop in front of her. He towered over Gemma like a skyscraper, and she thought of Gunner. "I apologize for the way they acted back there. We know we have a lot of shit to straighten out and it's just been harder for some of the guys."
Crossing her arms, Gemma straightened her back and gave a small shake. "If you want your team to succeed not only on the ice but off it, you're going to have to show the public a better image than rowdiness and illegal night life. Think you can do that?"
Matthew grinned, stunning Gemma for a moment with a dazzling smile and killer dimples. "You underestimate me, Miss Holloway."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't even know you."
"We're going to change that," he said, walking back towards the locker room. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
Frowning, Gemma shook off the undeniable itty-bitty visual attraction she just had and continued her way to the PR Manager's office. Hating to admit it, she already missed home. And by home, she meant Gunner... and his bed... and lips... and everything else that he had to offer...
She just hoped that the next two days would be over before she knew it.