Hope Smolders Page 12

  He leaned back in his seat and smiled.

  Now it was Haven's turn to shine. And he was just the person to make it happen.

  *

  Haven tried to muster up enough saliva to swallow as she pressed the button to return the phone call she'd missed from her boss.

  She knew what was on the other end of that phone call.

  Her ass was going to be fired, less than six weeks after she'd gotten the job of a lifetime.

  It would have been better if she could have resigned. It would have looked better on her resume, but then again, what did she care? Her career in journalism was over anyway, right?

  Never quit. Whatever you do, Haven, never give up on anything until you're sure you've given it everything you have.

  Her father's words rang in her ears, guilt squeezing her stomach until nausea caused her fingers to pause on the call button of her phone.

  It was too late to beg to keep her job. She'd already passed up multiple travel assignments, content to do the local ones, then sit in her apartment in New York, dwelling on how much she missed home, her mom.

  Her dad.

  This wasn't the right career for her. She'd made a mistake accepting this job. She wasn't cut out for the rigors of sports news--the travel, the insane schedule, the arrogant athletes.

  What was she thinking? Her father hadn't even been gone a year yet. She couldn't do it.

  Be brave, Haven. You can do anything, be anything you want to be. Just be happy.

  Tears pricked her eyes and she swiped them away as she replayed every conversation they'd had those last few weeks over and over in her head.

  Be happy.

  She didn't know how to be happy without hearing her father's laugh, seeing his smiling face, being able to pick up the phone and talk to him every day.

  Who was she going to go to when she needed advice?

  She loved her mother, and in the ways of relationships and men and things like that, she had always gone to her mom.

  But her dad--he'd been her buddy. She'd learned about sports from her father, had sat next to him and watched football, baseball, hockey, and every other sport imaginable. He'd taught her balls and strikes in baseball and the difference between a post pattern and a shovel pass in football. They'd driven up to St. Louis together and taken in hockey games, and she'd never been more thrilled than to see the players blasting that puck across the ice.

  She'd learned to love sports because of her dad. She'd gone after this job because of him.

  And now she was going to be fired because after his death she hadn't had the energy to do this job she'd wanted for years. For that, she had only herself to blame.

  "I'm sorry, Dad," she said, then pushed the call button on her phone. "Haven. I've been waiting for you to call."

  She cringed as the loud and very no-nonsense voice of her boss, Chandler Adams, came on the line. "Hi, Chandler. Sorry. I got tied up."

  "Well, untie yourself. I have a job for you."

  "A . . . job?" He wasn't firing her?

  "Yeah. You know Trevor Shay, right?"

  "Trevor . . . Yes, I know him."

  "Great. We're going to do his bio. A whole feature on the life of Trevor Shay. Personal and professional. We've been after him for years to do this, and he's finally agreed. And he's asked for you."

  "For me?"

  "Yeah. Says you two go way back, to college."

  "Uh . . . yes. I knew him in college."

  "Then it's a damn good thing we hired you, Haven. Pack a bag. You'll meet him at his place in St. Louis to get everything set up. Narrative and background first, then we'll get camera work involved later."

  Was she in some alternate universe? She hadn't been fired. In fact, she'd just been assigned a profile of one of the biggest stars in the sports world right now.

  "Okay. Sure. Thanks, Chandler."

  "No, problem. I'll e-mail you the specs on what we're looking for from you on this, Haven. This assignment's going to take a while, so clear your calendar."

  "Consider it done."

  When she hung up, she sat back and stared out the window of her very tiny apartment, stunned that she hadn't been kicked out the door. She stared at the boxes in her apartment, already half packed. She'd been mentally prepared, set in her mind that she was going to head back to Oklahoma to be near her mother, her roots.

  Where memories of her dad were. Now she had to change her focus.

  Why had she agreed to do this? This wasn't what she wanted to do anymore. Was it?

  She sat on the bed.

  Follow your dreams, Haven.

  She still heard his voice so clearly in her head. Maybe he was trying to tell her something. She didn't know if this was her dream anymore, but she'd agreed to take this job.

  With Trevor Shay, of all people. She hadn't seen Trevor since her dad's funeral. She wondered how he'd react knowing it was her doing this assignment.

  He'd probably ignore her, just like he had in college.

  No, wait. He'd specifically asked for her. He'd agreed to the interviews, so this time, she wouldn't allow him to pretend she didn't exist.

  She got up and went to her closet to grab her suitcase.

  Her and Trevor Shay. God, she'd had such a crush on him in college, back when she was tutoring him. All those nights they'd spent shoulder to shoulder, when she'd done her best to try and convince him to focus on his books when all she'd really wanted was for him to notice her as a woman.

  He'd been more interested in trying to finagle a way to get her to do his homework. Now she was going to be in the driver's seat.

  She stared out over the boxes, debating whether to unpack them.

  She'd leave them, see how this assignment went. If it didn't work out, if it didn't light the fire under her after a few days, she'd call Chandler and tell him she was out.

  But she'd give it a try. For her dad.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jaci Burton is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author who lives in Oklahoma with her husband and dogs. She has three grown children who are all scattered around the country having lives of their own. A lover of sports, Jaci can often tell what season it is by what sport is being played. She watches entirely too much television, including an unhealthy amount of reality TV. When she isn't on deadline, which is often, Jaci can be found at her local casino, trying to become a millionaire (so far, no luck). She's a total romantic and loves a story with a happily ever after, which you'll find in all her books. You can learn more about Jaci and her books at jaciburton.com.