Page 6 of The Chemistry Coach
Daisy didn’t know what drinking ‘everything’ meant, but from the taste on her lips and splotches on her now-sheer dress, she could identify at least one type of soda, ketchup, mustard, and little flakes of pepper.
Before she could tear the intern a new one, a few sharp knocks at the open conference room door announced the arrival of their afternoon appointment.Daisy did her best to wipe the disgusting concoction from her face, gathered every shredded piece of dignity she could, and greeted her new clients.
Her brain needed ten full seconds to process the situation.Daisy was sweating and covered in something disgusting, wearing a wet white sundress that could undoubtedly be seen through to her pink polka-dotted bra.And in the doorway to her conference room, watching her with concern, stood the man she had spent the last ten years fantasizing about.
Her life could not get any worse.Instinct urged her to run far, far away.But Connor Greene blocked the door out.
Connor Hale shoved Connor Greene through the door so he could squeeze by, and Connor Valentine brought up the rear.
“Oh shit, are we in the wrong room?”he asked, after one glimpse of Daisy.
As the three hockey players examined their surroundings, her brain came back online.She closed her gaping mouth and pasted on fake enthusiasm.
“Nope, this is the right place.You should sit wherever you’ll be the most comfortable.I’ll be right back.”
Daisy crossed her arms over her chest, put her head down, and rushed for the exit.
“Jason.Finish cleaning.Then you can go home,” she called behind her as she raced out the door.
“My name is Jack,” he corrected her.Daisy didn’t care.She had more important things to worry about.
Once certain she was out of view, she broke into a sprint.Her gym bag lived in her car and contained a change of clothes.
She grabbed the black duffel bag and made a quick stop in her office to change.Mirrors didn’t lie, but she wished they would.Using paper towels, she wrung as much of the disgusting soda-condiments mixture from her hair as she could.She wiped the sticky syrup from her face and eyebrows with a makeup wipe from her purse.
A complete meltdown was in her near future, but she had to get through the afternoon first.She could spiral later.
Her hair couldn’t be saved, so she swept it into a fluffy ponytail.Then she rummaged through her bag and pulled on a pair of leggings that violated her workplace dress code.It didn’t matter.Anything had to be better than a sheer dress.She ripped the soaked fabric over her head and reached for the shirt in her gym bag.When she unfolded it, her heart sank.
She dropped the shirt and dug through her gym bag, hoping to find an alternative, but came up empty.With no other options, she gritted her teeth and pulled on the Seattle Freeze long-sleeve t-shirt.Of course it had to be the one with Connor Greene’s last name on the back.Why wouldn’t it be?
Daisy wanted to curl into a ball and hide under her desk, but she needed this job.Her life was not one of luxury, where she worked as a hobby.She was living paycheck-to-paycheck.Maybe she would die of embarrassment.That would solve a lot of her problems.
It had taken five minutes to straighten herself out, but the guilt at keeping the Connors waiting ate at her.She hustled to the conference room, trying to keep her head held high.If she ignored the elephant in the room, maybe it would go away.
Chapter 4
Connor
Connortriedtomaintaina positive attitude as he took in his surroundings.The conference room was very… gray.The entire building felt sterile; maybe people existed here, but their existence was sad.He hated these cookie-cutter corporate office buildings.
He tugged at his collar.If this helped him play better, he would do it.
The soaked woman had told Jack to finish cleaning, but as soon as she had disappeared, the boy abandoned the task.They had found her wet, food caked on her dress, and instructing a disrespectful young man.She must be having a bad day.He gathered the half-full cups from the dirty table, dumping them into a sink across the room and tossing the empties in the overflowing trash bin.
Seeing him pitch in, Hazy and Lover got up to help.Hazy pulled the trash bag from the can and tied it closed, finding a new bag at the bottom of the bin and replacing it.He placed the full one by the door.
Lover found a bottle of cleaner and sprayed the tables, Connor following behind him with paper towels.Cleaning silently was the most in sync they had ever been.Connor rolled his eyes at the revelation.
“Oh, my God,” a feminine voice interrupted their work.“You do not have to do any of that.”
“It’s no problem,” Lover said, “we weren’t busy.”
An involuntary slow grin crept up Connor’s face.The woman before him had transformed.He let himself give her a once-over.Before, she had been dripping wet, her bra visible through the thin fabric of her dress, her hair matted to her face.
She had removed her smudged makeup and pulled her hair back, revealing high cheekbones smattered with freckles.A few dark curls had fallen free from her hair band and framed her face.Her ruined dress was gone, a Seattle Freeze shirt and leggings taking its place.He wouldn’t mind seeing the other side of those leggings and wished it wouldn’t be inappropriate to ask her to do a spin for him.
He wasn’t the only one to notice.“Hey!Are you a Freeze fan?”Hazy asked.
