Tempting the Player by J. Lynn Page B

him. It seemed like she believed the worst about him when it came to everything else. “But your father did.”
    His head jerked up, and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t even go there.”
    Miss Gore was unfazed. “All I am saying is that it takes no leap of faith for people to make the jump to a certain conclusion. Your…family background plays into this.”
    Of course it did. Even from the fucking grave his father was screwing things up. Then again, it wasn’t really fair to blame everything on dear old Dad. Chad was a grown man and therefore responsible for his own actions. And honestly, he did have his dad to thank for one thing. By watching his father, he learned what not to do with women.
    Settle down.
    Shit just didn’t work out from that point on. And while he didn’t have his father’s drinking habits, he’d obviously developed his womanizing ones.
    “What is the ultimatum?” he asked, so over this conversation.
    “I’ve been given a month to clean you up or your contract is canceled and I’m fired.” She paused, brows knitting. “I have never been fired before.”
    “Shit.” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “I haven’t been with—”
    “The newspaper says different, Chad. It’s all about perception. And I honestly don’t think anything will fix this. The Club has practically given up. They want you, but they don’t want your bad press.”
    He sat back against the cushion and shook his head in disbelief. If he lost his baseball contract, he had no idea what he’d do. He had money to last him a while, but it wouldn’t be forever. And he loved the game. Without it, he’d just be going through the motions. And he really didn’t want to have to give up his family to go earn a paycheck in New York.
    “There is one thing that should work,” she said quietly.
    Considering he hadn’t being doing anything since the babysitter came onboard, or really even before then, he wasn’t sure what more he could do other than lock himself up in his house until the start of the season in March. “And what is that?”
    “You convince the team and the public that you have a girlfriend.” She held up her hand the moment his mouth opened. “The woman you were caught kissing? If we could get her to assume the role of your girlfriend, then I could spin this. The gossips will go crazy thinking you’ve settled down, but it’s the good kind of press. It will show the Club that you’ve changed your ways and will help repair your public image.”
    Chad stared at her. “You’re joking, right?”
    She clasped her hands in her lap. “Does it look like I’m joking? And that’s a rhetorical question, so please don’t answer. This woman will be the perfect one for it.”
    Bridget would be perfect for a lot of things. “And why is that?”
    “She’s not like the women you’re normally with. She’s average.”
    His brows slammed down. “She is not average.” Hell no. She was beyond that. Especially when he thought of her in Leather and Lace, her cheeks flushed prettily and having no idea she was a sheep among wolves.
    “In comparison to the women you typically date, she’s a lot of things. And most importantly, she’s unexpected. She’s the kind of woman you settle down with.”
    And that’s exactly why he needed to stay as far away from Bridget as possible.
    “No way. I’m not doing this.”
    “Then you lose your contract,” she said simply. “Is that what you want?”
    He gritted his teeth. “You know the answer to that.”
    “Then you shouldn’t have a problem with this plan.” Miss Gore rose. “I know this is an unconventional plan—”
    “Yeah, I’d definitely say it’s unconventional. It’s also insane. You’re asking me and a woman I barely know to pretend to be together?” He shook his head. “This isn’t going to work.”
    “It can.”
    He snorted. “You’d never get her to agree to it.”
    Miss Gore’s answering smile was that of a player who knew she was about