Cam was about to skate onto the ice for the morning skate when Max pulled him aside, a grave expression on his face.
“It wasn’t me, man. I swear.”
“What wasn’t you?” Cam asked.
“The photo you told me not to share. I swear I didn’t show a soul. I deleted it from my phone right after you sent it.”
The bottom dropped out of Cam’s stomach. “Shit. You saw the photo somewhere else?”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it went viral,” Max said. “People are wondering who she is. A lot of them think she’s your secret girlfriend.”
“What the fuck.” Cam’s mind raced as bile rose in his throat. “This is a nightmare. Someone on that camera crew must have shared it.”
Cam would have to go to the front office and give them hell about this. There was no way this was an honest mistake. Everyone present that day knew he was adamant about that photo not being shared.
“Dude, this is my fault,” Max said. “I pushed you into taking the picture.”
“But I’m the one who went ahead and did it. Shit. Shit, shit. What do you think I should do? You’re the social media darling. Give me some advice.”
“A lot of the damage is already done. The picture is out there and there’s no taking it back.”
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear.”
“All is not lost, though. What you need is a diversion. A newer, more juicy story, something to distract them.”
“Good idea. Any suggestions?”
“Sure. Take a naked picture of Ian that shows his ass and post it.”
“I meant suggestions I can actually follow through on.”
Max looked thoughtful for a moment then snapped his fingers. “Where’s Nordy?”
“Over there.” Cam pointed toward the far side of the rink. Paul Nordbeck was completing some warm-up circuits of the ice.
Max skated toward him and Cam had no choice but to follow.
“Hey, Nordy,” Max said, as they fell in with him as he made a counterclockwise trip around the ice. “What’s going on with those pig jerseys?”
Cam mentally realized what Max was thinking. If the pig jerseys were as bad as Paul had said they were, they would be the perfect distraction away from Dakota’s picture.
Nordbeck grimaced. “They’re going forward with them. I did everything I could.”
“Do you have any idea when?” Cam asked.
Nordbeck glanced at him. “Why this sudden interest?”
Cam explained his situation.
“Dude, you shouldn’t take pictures of people without their permission, especially if it’s a dirty picture. That’s fucking Rule One.”
“Hey, I had permission and it wasn’t that dirty,” Cam said lamely. He felt like such a dick. He knew better. Even when you thought there was no chance of a picture getting out, somehow it happened. He really hoped she wouldn’t find out, but if she did, he had some major groveling to do. Major. Groveling.
His commitment to grovel was severely tested when Dakota arrived at his house later that day, unexpectedly.
“Hi,” she said, putting the key he had given her a while ago away in her purse.
He frowned, immediately noticing the dull look in her eye. Something was wrong.
“Hey, what’s going on? You look upset.”
“I got fired.”
Shit on a fucking English muffin.
“What happened?” he asked, fearing he knew the answer. Still, she didn’t appear angry.
They went into the kitchen where she sat at the breakfast counter.
“You want a beer?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather have some hot chocolate. Zinny and I drink that together when we have bad days and now that’s what I’m used to.”
“Okay. I’ll go to Starbucks. It’ll take me fifteen minutes, tops.” He went for his keys, which now hung on a rack near the door to the garage as per the Everything Has Its Place, or EHIP mandate.
“Oh, don’t bother. You have milk?”
“I think so. You should smell it though.”
She went to the pantry and came back out with a candy bar, then sniffed the milk he held out to her. “It’s fine.”
He watched her put the milk in a pot and dump the chocolate bar into it. He’d had no idea you could make hot chocolate like that. In his family, they used the packets.
“The trick is to heat it slowly and stir constantly.”
“You learn something new every day.”
Her smile was dim as she lifted one shoulder.
“So what happened?”
“Somehow the school district found out I was moonlighting as an Eye Candy Maid and they fired me over it. I think the principal was sympathetic, but the district wouldn’t listen to her.”
Her voice got wobbly there at the end, and he felt his gut clench.
“I…I’ve never been fired before. Never. God, it was so humiliating.”
Fuck. This was his fault.
“It was because of that picture, wasn’t it? The one I pressured you to let me take.”
She nodded. “That’s what the principal said. A parent emailed her a copy of the photo.”
“Jesus, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not all your fault. I was the one who gave you permission. If I’d said no, you wouldn’t have done it.”
Her absolution didn’t make him feel any better.
“So, anyway,” she said, giving herself a little shake as if she’d been dozing off, it’s probably better this way. I think I’m going to be much happier being your housekeeper than I ever was being the school custodian. That is, if the job is still up for grabs.”
“I can’t believe you even have to ask that,” he said.
“I want to work out some flexible hours so that I can pick her up from school and bring her back with me so she could do her homework while I finish up.”
“Whatever you need, that’s fine. She’s a terrific kid.”
He breathed a huge sigh of relief at which she smiled. “Thank you. Then I’m officially accepting the position.”
She poured the hot chocolate and they clinked their mugs together and sipped.
“Fuck,” he said, after tasting it, “that is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.”
Looking a little more like herself, she smiled. “It is pretty good. I think it’s because that candy bar had caramel in it.”
After taking another amazing sip, he licked his lips. “I’m going out on a limb here, but please say you’re okay with cooking for me. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but if we can figure out some healthier meals, I’d be grateful.”
“Funny you should mention that,” she said. “I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but I have an associate’s degree in nutrition.”
“No shit.”
“Shit,” she said, laughing. “I’m actually really dying to do some research on what athletes need to eat to increase their energy levels so that they can perform to their potential.”
“Consider me your guinea pig then.”
Her eyes were sparkling with interest. It excited him. It wasn’t just an emotional excitement from having worked out a viable plan together. It was physical. His body hummed with a low level of arousal. He told himself it wasn’t cool to lust after his employee and he tried to figure out if he was trying so hard to hire her because of the attraction, but in the end he didn’t give a fuck. He just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible and right now, this seemed the easiest way to accomplish that goal.