“Neither of those,” I said soothingly. “That seems like something your dad would expect from them because he’d do the same thing if he were in their shoes.”
“Except they’re not. Their sons are in charge. And my cousins have both made it clear they’re against the announcement.”
My mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“Perception or some such shit. I don’t know. But to be honest I really can’t think about any of that now anyway.” He took my hand. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re here?”
“A time or two.”
His stomach rumbled.
“You haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast, have you?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine though.”
“No, you’re hungry. At least let me get you some food.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll be right back.”
* * *
* * *
Nearly four hours after I arrived, the doctors came into the waiting room.
Jax and Nolan stood by their mother’s side while the rest of us hung back. Somehow Lucy and I ended up holding hands as the doc delivered the news that Archer had survived surgery and was resting in ICU.
Not long after, everyone left. I managed to sneak down to the cafeteria before it closed and grab a few sandwiches. For them claiming not to be hungry, they sure devoured everything.
When it came time for Nolan to visit his dad, I got ready to leave.
He tried to get me to stay, kissing me in that slow, druggingly sweet manner that usually left me clinging to him and begging for more. Despite the tingling in my body and the buzzing in my head, I managed to extricate myself from him. And I’ll admit, when he murmured, “Please. Don’t go. I need you,” I almost gave in.
“Your mom needs you. I’m a phone call away. I don’t care what time it is, if you need to talk, call me. Promise.”
“I promise.” He brushed his mouth across my ear. “I’m crazy about you, Gabriella. It seems as if I’ve always felt this way about you.”
“Don’t you dare make me cry, Nolan.”
He kissed me again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
* * *
* * *
The next day, I had a million things to do at Lakeside, including fielding phone calls from people offering to help after word got out about Archer Lund being hospitalized. Even in such a short amount of time Jax had created a family vibe at Lakeside. I knew I’d miss that.
A tired-looking Jax showed up right before closing time.
“Hey. Any fires I need to put out?”
“Just the usual ten thousand people asking . . . are you starting club hockey teams for next season?”
“Christ. The season barely ended.”
“Parents and students want their names on the list even if there’s only a slim chance Stonewall is coaching club hockey.”
He snorted. “I have no idea what the hell I’m doing next week, let alone months from now.” He sorted through his messages without looking at me. “Have you talked to Nolan today?”
“We’ve texted a few times. I suspected he was swamped when he went into the office this afternoon. Why? Is something going on I need to know about?”
“They named him acting interim CEO. And he doesn’t seem happy about it.”
“Probably because it feels disloyal to your dad. Archer hasn’t even been out of surgery for twenty-four hours and LI already named his replacement.”
Jax’s laser-eyed gaze pinned me in place. “Did Nolan tell you he felt that way?”
“No. But I know him, Jax. Anyone who thinks he wants this right now doesn’t understand him at all.”
“So you think that’s why Ash and Brady were so against Nolan being named acting interim CEO? They knew he didn’t want that added pressure?”
I shrugged. “Nolan doesn’t talk to me about his work.”
“What do you two talk about?”
“Maybe we’re too busy fucking to talk,” Nolan said as he walked into the office. “Isn’t that what you really want to know? If there’s anything more substantial than just sex between Gabriella and me?”
“Whoa.” Jax held up his hands. “Where did that come from?”
“Have you forgotten you warned me off Gabi?”
I hated when Nolan called me Gabi. I’d gotten so used to that deep, sexy, drawn-out Gab-ri-el-la that it almost seemed sarcastic when he called me what everyone else did.
“Yeah, I had forgotten that, because it was out of line. I was out of line.” Jax erased the distance between them. “If you think I’m anything less than ecstatically happy about you finding a woman who is worthy of you, then you don’t know me at all, brother.”
They glared at each other—which made no sense.
“Well, good,” Nolan finally said.
“Dumbass.” Jax looked at me. “If he gets out of line? He’s really ticklish below his ribs.”
“Jesus, Jax. You had to tell her that?”
“Yep. See you both tomorrow.” He paused in the doorway and turned around. “For real, Nolan, if you want to talk about any of the LI stuff, I’m here.”
“Thanks.”
Nolan didn’t move until he knew his brother was gone. Then he came up behind me, banding one arm across the front of my body and tilting my head to get at my neck.
The feeling of his warm mouth and the nip of his teeth made my knees weak. “God, I love the taste of your skin after you’ve been on the ice. The salt of your sweat turns your sweet scent into this warm musk that drives me fucking insane. I want to strip you down, bend you over, drive into you when you’re still wearing your skates.” He nuzzled my damp hairline and the air from his rapid breaths sent shivers flowing through me. “You’d have to rely on me to keep you balanced. You’d have to trust that I could wring every bit of pleasure out of you with my fingers between your legs, my mouth on your skin and my cock buried deep inside you.”
“Nolan.”
“I’ve been fantasizing about that a lot. One of these days? I’ll make it a reality. But for now . . .” He spun me around and clamped his hands on the sides of my head, smashing his lips against mine. This ravenous kiss proved how perfectly we meshed; how I needed this verbal and physical reminder of who we’d become to each other.
Everything.
He slowed the kiss gradually, then kissed my chin, my jawline, my temples, my eyebrows, my forehead, all while holding me in a way that felt like he needed me to hold him up too.
“You all right?”
“Been a surreal day.”
“How’s Archer?”
“Better than yesterday. He hates being seen as weak, so he refused all visitors after his brothers left this morning. He wouldn’t even let Mimi come.” Nolan stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “Is it asking too much if I want you to stay with me tonight?”
I hadn’t slept well last night, and Nolan had stayed at the hospital, so I wondered if he’d slept at all. “I’ll need to borrow your toothbrush again. And your robe.”
“Of course.”
* * *
* * *
After a long shower, Nolan barely lasted long enough to eat an omelet.
I crawled in bed with him until he fell asleep, then got up and worked on my coaching strategy. No rec team from Lakeside had ever been invited to the Cities’ End of Season Invitational Tournament, so my girls were pumped to compete.
As excited as I was to start a new challenge, I wondered how much I’d miss coaching.
And refereeing.
And teaching workshops to girls who acted like I was a rock star.
And watching the newbie players become seasoned.
And the time I spent alone on the ice. And the time I spent on the ice with players who loved the sport as much as
I did.
I’d miss Margene.
And learning from Jax.
And how was I supposed to walk away from Nolan now that I’d found him? When I finally mustered the guts to tell him about the required move that went along with the job, would he accuse me of putting hockey above everything else?
If he asked me not to take the job, what would I say?
He’d say you should’ve told him the job required you moving to Duluth as soon as you knew that was a stipulation.
Sleep was pretty damn elusive for me after that.
* * *
* * *
Nolan woke up energized.
Very energized.
He hadn’t let me out of bed until he’d “made up for” his neglect last night.
By the time he finished with me I decided being on time for work was overrated anyway.
Still, I couldn’t help but tease him. “So as the acting interim CEO, you can just show up whenever you want?”
He swatted my ass. “I’m large and in charge, baby—and don’t you forget it.”
“Mmm. You reminded me of that very thoroughly this morning, Mr. Lund.”
His smirk was entirely justified.
“What is on your agenda for today?”
“There’s a board of directors meeting on Thursday. I’m sort of treading water until then.” He drained his coffee. “How about you? Any more news from Wolf Sports North?”
I shook my head.
He glanced at his phone. “I’ve got to run but I wanted to give you something first.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unhooked one key from the rest of the ring. “I want you to come and go as you like. Naturally, I’d prefer you to be here all the time, but I won’t push.” Then he held the key out.
The key dangled between us for a moment. I curled my fingers around it and was tempted to clutch it to my heart. “Thank you.”
“There’s an alarm code to open and lock the door: 8532. That’s mine. We’ll set you up with your own as soon as you decide on one. The security box is identical to the one at Lakeside so you shouldn’t have a problem. Any questions?”
“No. I’m actually a bit speechless.”
Nolan kissed me. “I’ll call you later.”
I watched him walk off and wondered how I’d gotten so lucky.
And I worried that the other boot would drop and my luck would run out.
Twenty-Six
NOLAN
Acting interim CEO.
Didn’t feel good.
Didn’t feel right.
On Monday we’d waited a full four hours after sending out a company-wide memo about my change in title before PR sent out the press release. It hadn’t gotten much notice from the mainstream media.
The announcement hadn’t changed anything for me.
I still worked from my same office.
My uncles had handled the phone calls, reassuring investors everything was running smoothly.
Monte had called a board meeting.
Part of me had silently wondered if that should’ve been my responsibility.
The fact that Monte ran the board of directors should’ve put me at ease, but it just drove home the point the acting CEO title was an honorarium and nothing more.
All my Lund cousins who were shareholders were in attendance. No one congratulated me; I hadn’t expected it because I didn’t deserve it.
Britt, the floating admin who worked with me, my father’s secretary and Sam, handled rescheduling appointments and filled me in on little things that were vital to running a company.
Problem was, I already knew most of what she’d deemed necessary.
This was more busywork. I wasn’t finding answers to what I really wanted to know.
I had Sam call Kayla, head of IT, into my office.
She popped in within five minutes since we were on the same floor. “How may I help you, sir?”
“I’m getting access denied on a bunch of files.”
Kayla came around my desk and stood over my shoulder. “Can you show me which files?”
“Sure.” I relogged in to the cloud and clicked through security screens until I reached the executive file section. “See?” I put in the password, which changed every day, and the access denied message appeared.
“No wonder. Those files can only be accessed on the executive floor.”
“Since when?”
“It’s an additional security system failsafe installed about six months ago. Do you have problems logging in when you’re on the CEO’s floor?”
“Not that I can remember. But I guess that makes sense.” I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “Were you taking bets in IT how long I’d stay on this floor after I learned about lack of access to the executive files down here?”
Her lips twitched. “No. But if I may be honest, I advised against that system change.”
“Why?”
“It’s a pain in the ass for us too. Unless LI is suddenly dealing with government contracts that require another layer of security, it’s redundant.”
“Who made the change?”
“Your father.”
I slumped back in my chair and Kayla returned to her seat in front of my desk. “So let’s say I haul my laptop up to his office. What are the chances of me gaining access to any of those files?”
“Zero. Before you ask, I can’t get you access in terms of resetting passwords. It’d have to be a system change and that . . . would be a bit of an undertaking.”
“But you could do it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“To countermand his initial order, I’d need to sign off on a confidential work order,” I muttered.
“Yes, you would,” Kayla said. “But as you are acting interim CEO, other signatures from the executive branch aren’t necessary. Once we have the work order, we can jump right on it.”
“What’s the time frame for this?”
Kayla tapped her finger on her lips as she thought about it. “A week if you want me and two others. Three days if I put a team of ten on it.”
“I’m for the smaller team.” I hit the intercom button on my desk phone. “Sam. Can you rustle up a confidential work order?”
“I’ll bring it right in, boss.”
I felt Kayla studying me. “Something else on your mind?”
“If I say we all hope your dad makes a speedy recovery . . . will you take that as your employees would prefer him to you in the big chair?”
“I honestly don’t know how to deal with most of this. It’s been a blur.”
“I can’t imagine.”
Two knocks sounded on the door and Sam entered. He handed me a piece of paper. “There are about five different confidentiality work orders. Please read through this one and make sure it’s comprised of the language you require before signing it.”
I might have grunted my response as I scanned the document. Then I saw the differentiation I needed. “This form doesn’t go to operational until after you’ve signed off and your team has completed the order, Kayla.”
“That works for me.”
“Great.” This way no one would be aware of the change until after it’d been implemented, so the work order couldn’t be challenged or outright denied. I signed, dated and handed it over to her. She had to have it within her possession if anyone questioned what she was doing. “Please bring it back once the work is done and we’ll file it from here.”
“Will do, sir. Have a great day.”
Sam and I watched Kayla leave. After she’d closed the door, I filled him in on the access issues I was having.
“So that means we’ll be moving upstairs?” he asked.
“No. Soon enough I’ll be able to get into those files here. I doubt anything in them is pressing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to kno
w.”
“Understood. But speaking of pressing . . . the Grant Foundation Gala is Saturday night.”
My eyebrows rose. “This Saturday?”
“Yes, sir. Are you taking Gabi?”
We hadn’t spent time together because she’d called extra hockey practices in the evenings due to the tournament happening . . . this Friday and Saturday. “No. Her 14U team is in the city rec tournament. Which means I can’t be there to support her either.”
“What about asking—”
“Don’t even suggest I show up with another woman on my arm, Sam,” I growled at him. “Gabriella and I are officially a couple—and I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules in the couples’ handbook.”
He rolled his eyes. “Calm down. I was going to suggest you ask your mother. It’ll be win-win for you, her and LI.”
I stood and clapped him on the shoulder. “Excellent thinking. I’m headed to the hospital now. I’ll ask her after we meet with the doctors.”
“What time will you be back?”
“It’ll be a couple of hours at least. Call Q and apologize for the late notice, but I’ll swing by for my final fitting.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
* * *
Archer Lund was in a foul mood.
And he took it out on everyone.
Except his wife.
Lucky for him because by the time the doctors left, Jax and I were both seething.
After bidding Dad a curt good-bye, Jax and I stopped down the hallway from his room.
“What the fuck was that?” Jax asked me.
“I’d say Dad is scared, but he’s got that glint in his eyes that suggests he’s just pissed off.”
“At who? Us?”
“At anyone who’s keeping him in the hospital. At himself for landing in the hospital in the first place.”
“I get that. But Jesus, Nolan. Chewing the doctor’s ass because the need for bypass was undetected? When the man absolutely refuses to go in for regular checkups?” Jax shook his head. “I seriously wanted to take the ‘subpar’ sock Dad was bitching about and shove it in his mouth. Who bitches about socks, anyway?”