Player's Challenge Read Free Page A

suggestion hid an ulterior motive—like getting into her knickers. Once upon a time, he’d used every trick in the book to get her out of them.
    Her libido percolating like a tea kettle, Gemma shoved the ballpoint pen between her lips and went to town chewing the tip. Adding Devin Spencer to her client list was going to be a challenge. Not just professionally, but personally as well.
    “Your place is fine.”
    “How about sushi?”
    Confused, Gemma paused mid-chew. “Sushi?”
    “I’ll order in for us. If memory serves me, I haven’t met an agent who can conclude business in under an hour.”
    If his memory served him so well, why hadn’t he acknowledged their previous association? No bloody ‘how the hell you have been’ or even a hint of recognition in his voice. Of course, Gemma overlooked the fact that this reunion was a two-way street.
    “Sushi sounds great,” she replied so tightly, her jaw hurt. He could order whatever he wanted. She wouldn’t allow herself to eat any of it. She planned to rush through their meeting so fast her car engine wouldn’t get the opportunity to cool.
    “Do you have my address?”
    Gemma eyed the leather portfolio sitting on her coffee table. Ever since it had arrived in the mail from the company’s headquarters in Rome, she’d scoured every single detail. “It’s in your file.”
    “Good. I’ll give Marty a heads up and I’ll see you at six. Don’t be late. Just so you know…I hate to be kept waiting.”
    ***
    On the way over, Gemma drove well below the speed limit. She stopped at every orange light from central London to Croydon. And once on the elevator, she hit all the call buttons, causing the lift to stop on every floor.
    Despite her bravado, Gemma gathered her bearings. Devin Spencer didn’t mince words with any one, not even his bosses. Last season, a very public row with Croydon F.C.’s general manger, Leighton Royce, had played out in the press. Many believed it was the reason he remained a free agent.
    And that’s where she came in. With no offers on the table, Devin was facing a penalty kick of epic proportions. The season was starting in less than two months, and if she didn’t get Devin to straighten up his act, they’d all suffer the consequences. The star goalie would be locked into a crappy contract undeserving of his talent and Top Flight would take a blow to its budding reputation.
    To Gemma’s ultra-competitive boss, this was unacceptable. So, she was tasked with a more hands on approach. With a little bit of tough love, and a possible miracle, she had to make Devin all shiny and new, so they could serve him up to the wolves.
    Despite going over Devin’s file multiple times, she wasn’t any closer to figuring out the root of his short fuse. From what she remembered of him, Devin didn’t have any skeletons in the closet. He’d been a nice kid with a rather boring upbringing. The oldest of four, he’d come from a middle-class family. His father owned a mechanic’s shop, and his mum had been a hairdresser.
    Discovered in a local park playing football, he’d been handpicked to train in Birmingham’s youth academy. Seven years later, he signed his first professional contract with Croydon’s development program and sounded the death knell to their odd relationship.
    Far too soon, the elevator reached the top floor. Gemma alighted and stepped into a private foyer, her pink-soled Mary Jane stilettos echoing on the marble floors. If not for the strategically-placed recessed lighting, a kidney-shaped settee, and a side table topped by a vase of fresh hydrangeas, the space would’ve been quite frigid.
    Unable to help herself, Gemma made a quick, last-minute perusal of her appearance in a floor-to-ceiling mirror across from the elevator. Her clients had a team kit and so did she. Top Flight’s agents were required to dress at the height of fashion. “If our clients see us looking a hot mess,” Yvonne had pointed out while outlining her