Читать книгу Long Distance Lover - Donna Hill - Страница 10

Chapter 4

David sat at his desk in the office he shared with the assistant coach, poring over the brochure he’d received that morning in the mail from New York. The rehabilitation center at New York University Hospital was one of the best in the country. It was expensive, but worth it. If Kelly were to have any chance of a full recovery he would do whatever was necessary.

A knock on his door took his attention from the information in front of him. He looked up. “Come in.” He slid the brochure into his desk drawer.

“Hey, Coach,” Stephanie Daniels said, stepping inside. “Mind if I close the door?”

He looked at her with skepticism. The last thing he needed was a harassment suit.

“You can leave it cracked.”

She didn’t look pleased but did as he asked. She crossed the room a bit too seductively for David’s taste and sat down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk. She crossed her long, bare legs, the micro shorts not leaving much to the imagination. They hugged the apex of her sex defining clearly what she held between her toned thighs. David looked away.

“What can I do for you?”

Stephanie leaned forward revealing a hint of cleavage from her V-cut tank top.

“I was just wondering how Kelly is doing.”

“She’s doing great. She should be released at the end of the week.”

“Really?” She toyed with the heart-shaped locket around her neck. “Seems a little soon. She must not be too bad…” She let her statement hang in the air.

David leaned back in his chair. “Kelly will be just fine and back before you know it.”

Stephanie twisted her lips and forced a smile. “That’s good to hear. Everyone will be glad to have her back.”

Everyone but you. “I’m sure.”

She stood slowly. “Well, I guess I’d better be going. I have practice in an hour.”

“Good.”

She hesitated. “Uh, David, not that I’m saying Kelly won’t be back…but what if she isn’t?”

He knew what she was hedging at. She wanted Kelly’s spot on the team and by all rights it should be hers. But if he admitted that now, he’d have to accept the fact that Kelly may not return. And that he was unwilling to do.

“She will. End of story.”

She puffed out her chest. “See you on the track.”

“Yeah.”

He watched her saunter out. Stephanie Daniels had skill; there was no question about that. But she didn’t have star power. Kelly was the whole package, skill and charisma. David had worked with Kelly for the past six years, seeing a champion in her. He’d created her from nothing—turning a shy, insecure girl into a woman who understood the meaning of winning at all costs, who could charm the media and inspire a team. She was his. His career was riding on a championship and Kelly was the key. But if he was forced to deal a new deck of cards to ensure a championship, then he would. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.