Resisting The Bad Boy

Chapter Nine

Lilian’s POV

I’m late, I was supposed to be in a meeting with Coach Warner and Maverick Diagilo ten minutes ago! I burst through the front doors of the training facility and gasp as the air conditioning hits me full blast in the face.

Striding up the corridor, I mentally run over everything I need to discuss with my client and what I want to say about my marketing plan for him.

Up ahead I spot a tall guy leaning toward the drinks machine, just about to feed some notes into the bill slot.

I’m about to ignore him when he turns slightly and my world tilts off kilter.

‘You have got to be kidding me’ I growl to myself, but the stilling of the hand inches from the machine tells me that I actually spoke out loud.

I see the players shoulders tense slightly before he slowly turns toward me, the familiar blue eyes of Daxton Williams staring back at me.

His gaze traces over my body, fire licking up my veins at his obvious perusal of my figure. Dammit, I should not like how he looks at me, he’s a player, an all American male who knows what he wants and knows how to get it. I don’t have anything to do with players, I want a nice guy who is happy for me to control my own life.

‘Lil’ he drawls out when he finally returns his gaze to me, that smirk I remember from college playing around his lips, the one I wanted to smack and kiss in equal measures.

‘It’s Lilian’ I retort acidly, as my anger at my own stupid body’s reaction to him makes my blood boil, as does the heat in his eyes as he licks his lips unconsciously.

‘What are you doing here Lilian?’ he asks, my name rolling off his tongue like a caress, my thighs pressing together instinctively.

Giving him my most loathe filled look I snap back, ‘I’m here to see a client.’ I can’t bite down on my lip quick enough to stop the ‘What are you doing here?’ from slipping out afterwards. Dammit! I don’t care why he’s here, I’m just annoyed that he is!

Daxton’s eyebrows raise in surprised amusement, ‘I play for the San Francisco Warriors, didn’t Kota tell you?’

I blink in shock before schooling my features as best I can ‘No’ I growl, ‘no she didn’t.’

I glance up, willing my temper to calm down ‘she didn’t mention a damn word, something we will be discussing later’ I mutter to myself, and damn will we be discussing it.

Straightening up, I sneer at him, ‘well if you’ll excuse me, I am late for an appointment.’ Without a second look, I brush past him, walking with purpose just so the man behind me doesn’t realise just how much I’m affected by seeing him again after all this time.

‘Lilian?’ Daxton calls out behind me and I turn around to glare at him. The asshole smirks back at me, ‘you’re looking good’ he murmurs before grabbing his bag and swinging it over his shoulder, heading for the entrance, his drink forgotten.

Forcing my gaze forward again, I stomp down the hallway until I reach the door that advertises the locker room. Taking a calming breath, I close my eyes for a second before lifting my chin and knocking loudly on the door.

I wait a few seconds before the door swings open and a huge older man fills the space.

‘Miss Sanchez?’ he growls questioningly.

Nodding I smile as I hold out my hand for him to shake, ‘Coach Warner?’ I query in reply.

The Coach nods curtly before stepping back and allowing me into the large room that smells of testosterone and sweat. Letting the door swing closed behind me, the brooding man leads the way to his office where a fresh faced man sits hunched forward in one of the visitor chairs.

‘Diagilo’ the Coach barks, making the poor guy jump, his head whipping up before he scrambles to his feet. ‘This is your PR woman, Miss Sanchez, you do what she says when she says, got it?’

Maverick nods quickly before tentatively holding out a hand to me. Extending my own, I slide my palm against his skin, feeling the callouses from years of handling a basketball.

‘Ma-am’ he mumbles, his eyes falling to the ground between us again.

I smile at his shyness, sliding into the seat next to him as he retakes his own, the Coach grunting before leaving us alone. ‘Call me Lilian, Mr Diagilo’ I say crisply, giving him a warm smile as he peeks up at me uncertainly. ‘I am here to help you get your name out into the world Mr Diagilo, so I think we can do away with the Ma-am.’

The ball player nods slowly, ‘Maverick’ he mumbles back, ‘or Mav, some people call me Mav.’

I beam widely, ‘well then, Mav’ I reply, ‘how about we get to know each other a little bit and then you can look over a few of the ideas I’ve had for some social media interactions.’

‘OK Ma . . um Lilian’ the man next to me agrees.

I reach out and pat his arm gently, ‘Mav’ I say quietly, waiting for him to meet my gaze, ‘you can relax. I’m here to work for you, everything I suggest will be solely to help your career and get you as much advertising and endorsements as you are capable of.’

Maverick sighs deeply, finally holding my gaze, ‘I’m a bit nervous’ he admits gruffly, ‘I come from a small town down south. Our idea of getting our name out there is if Mr Branner lets you put up a poster in his shop window to advertise a barn dance.’

I laugh lightly as he smiles sheepishly at me, ‘well I intend to get your face associated with as many brands as possible’ I reply sternly. ‘From what I’ve been told, you are a pretty good ball player and people are expecting great things from you. What we want is for every kid in the seats to be wearing your jersey and holding up signs with your name on it, what we don’t want is for greedy corporate executives to try and short change you if you work with them.’ I hold his gaze solemnly, ‘I’m here to make sure that what we want is what happens. I’ll be with you every step of the way, helping you get the best returns for your services.’

Maverick gives me a skeptical look, ‘I spend my game time on the bench Ma . . um Lilian’ he mumbles, ‘I’m not sure I’m what you have been led to believe I am.’

I shake my head, tightening my fingers that are still resting on his forearm, ‘everyone has to pay their dues Mav’ I remind him. ‘It doesn’t matter how talented you are, you still have to make way for the older players to begin with. One day you are going to get your shot and businesses are going to be falling all over themselves to recruit you. They will want their watches, Aftershave and shower gels to be associated with the man who became the next greatest player of all time.’

The young player blushes at my words but a small smile tilts up his lips as he shrugs. ‘OK’ he agrees softly ‘tell me what I need to do.’

Grinning, I pull out a portfolio from my briefcase, spreading out the pages on the Coach’s desk and walk him through the first phase of building Maverick Diagilo an online presence.

‘So I want pictures Mav’ I order, though I soften my words with a smile, ‘I want you having fun with the guys at one of their homes. Get in the pool and play water polo, eat a hotdog at a baseball game, go for a run in the park, but get someone to photograph you doing it.’

Maverick nods, ‘what about my games?’ he asks worriedly, ‘I don’t really have any friends here yet, not someone I could ask to come and take photos of me play.’

I frown, contemplating the issue, fans will definitely want some candid shots of Maverick that are different from the official photos taken by sports magazines, especially as he will spend most of his time on the bench.

The ball player glances over at me, worrying his lip as I raise and eyebrow waiting. ‘Would you . . .’ he clears his throat nervously, ‘would you come to a few games maybe? Or a few practices? Take some photos for me? Is that too much to ask?’ He drags his fingers through his hair frustratedly, ‘I don’t really know how this all works’ he sighs.

I nibble on my own lip uncertainly, Maverick plays on the same team as Daxton, if I come and do his photos then I’m going to run into the man and my body is struggling to understand just why Daxton Williams is more dangerous than an active volcano.

‘Don’t worry about it’ Maverick suddenly cuts into my thoughts, ‘it was stupid of me to ask, of course, that’s outside your job, I’ll figure something out, just forget I said anything.’

I shake my head before meeting his gaze, forcing a grin to try to let him know that he hasn't overstepped with me. ‘I'd be honoured,' I reply quickly, 'I’ll come and take some photos of you at your games and practices. I’m here to make sure you get as much positive exposure as we can muster, that includes dedicating time to making sure that your social media is filled with desirable content.’

Mav’s face morphs into a full on grin as he jumps up, leaning over and hugging me tightly before freezing and slowly letting me go again.

Scratching the back of his neck, his face heats as he avoids my gaze again, ‘uhh, sorry’ he mumbles, ‘that was really inappropriate, I’m really sorry.’

Standing up, I pat his shoulder in a friendly manner, ‘don’t sweat it Mav’ I giggle, ‘trust me, I’m not going to take any offense about a hug that I receive from a new friend.’

The ball player’s shoulders start to relax again as he peers down at me through his lashes, ‘we’re friends?’ he asks, almost disbelieving.

I nod, ‘I hope so’ I reply, ‘we may have only just met, but I think we’ve got a long relationship in front of us Mav, so I’d really like to count you as a friend.’

Maverick nods quickly, his smile back in place, ‘yeah, I’d like that’ he rumbles, ‘uhh, to be your friend I mean’ he adds.

Smiling widely I gather up my paperwork before holding out my hand to the young player again, watching as his huge hand encompasses my own completely. ‘It’s going to be fun working together Mav’ I say sincerely, ‘and I can’t wait to start getting your social media up and running, we’re going to make you a huge star.’

Leaving the young man behind, I step out of the building and head toward the company car that Evolution is allowing me to use for the time being. Unlocking the door as I approach, I pull open the door and slide behind the wheel, stashing my briefcase in the passenger foot well before hooking up my phone to the Bluetooth and pressing Dakota’s name.

The phone rings a couple of times before her voice fills the car, ‘hello? Lilian?’

I growl under my breath before biting out, ‘you set me up, and you have twenty seconds to start explaining yourself!’