Two

Madelyn’s POV

There's no way.

It couldn't be him.

And yet those dark blue eyes, that smirk, and that stupidly perfect face were impossible to mistake.

"I don't think she's interested."

He was speaking to my date, yet his eyes never left mine and for a moment, all I could do was stare

Seven Years

it's been seven years since I saw him but somehow he looked exactly the same and completely different at once. For starters he clearly isn't a boy anymore. The man standing in front of me was taller,with a gym body, a slight stubble, the suit only made him look more intimidating.

"Madelyn?" My attention snapped back to his face.

He stepped closer, and the familiar scent of his cologne hit me. I knew that cologne considering that I bought it 7 years ago alongside… My eyes dropped to his wrist and I saw the watch ..I got that for our one year anniversary.

For some reason, seeing it still there after all this time affected me more than it should have.

"Are you alright?"

He was closer now, close enough that I could see the concern etched across his face as his eyes scanned my body

"He didn't hit you, right?”

‘Earth to Madelyn.’ the voice in my head called out and I stepped back so quickly it felt like he just burned me

"Don't ever touch me again, Damon."

The words came out smaller than I'd intended, leaving me almost breathless.

"That's not a very nice way to say thank you, now is it?" he countered pointing towards my date,who was currently passed out in the corner and not a single person had gone to help him … they were all too busy watching us

I straightened, tightening my grip on my bag before clearing my throat.

"I don't have anything to thank you for, Damon. I could've handled that situation myself." I lifted my chin. "I didn't ask for your help….”

"You look beautiful." He said cutting me off and I raised a brow at him, not only because of what he said but because of the way he was looking at me. The same way Dylan looked at me sometimes.

Heat crept up my neck.

I would've come up with a comeback, but with that look in his eyes, he wasn't going to hear anything I said anyway,

I turned on my heel and walked away as fast as my legs could carry me out of the restaurant, and the minute the wind hit my face, I sucked in a deep breath.

Fuck, today was supposed to be a good day, not whatever was happening right now. For some weird reason, laughter bubbled out of me as my vision turned blurry, and I pressed a hand to my chest as if that would somehow stop whatever was going on in there.

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered, dabbing at my eyes.

There was no way I was crying just because I saw his stupid face.

Damon fucking Torrence.

I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged in another breath.

This has to be some cruel joke because what would he be doing in Los Angeles when the basketball season was about to start? Last I heard, he'd been recruited by a basketball club in another country.

He’s probably just visiting friends, and I've moved on from Damon.

I'm not that girl anymore.

"Davina ."

I turned around to see Damon heading toward me. Part of me wanted to keep walking, but why should I be the one running away?

"Sorry that took a minute," he said, tilting his head toward the restaurant.

He clearly meant the passed-out man inside, but I didn't care about either of them…

I scoffed in response and tried to turn my back on him, but he grabbed my hand before I could get away. I hated how fast my heart started beating, hated that instead of pulling free immediately, I found myself staring at where his skin met mine while I swallowed around the lump in my throat and waited for him to let go.

It took far too long.

"I'm sorry about that... I was hoping I could get a minute of..."

"You don't deserve a minute of my time," I said, cutting him off.

"How about you give me three seconds then?"

"Whatever fucked-up thing you have to say, I don't want to hear it, so crawl back into whatever hole you came from and remain there."

He nodded.

"I deserve that, but I'm going to say it anyway. I only have three seconds “ he sucked in a deep breath “Davina , I messed up and I want you back."

For a second, all the insults and comebacks I'd been holding onto vanished, and I just stood there staring into those stupid blue eyes while my brain struggled to catch up with what he'd just said.

He opened his mouth to continue.

"Is everything alright?"

I turned and saw Dylan heading toward us, and relief washed through me so quickly I almost laughed couldn’t be more grateful for my brother’s need to be overly punctual.

The question was directed at Damon as they finally stood toe to toe.

Damon didn't answer him. He just tilted his head and fixed his gaze on Dylan.

"Dylan, please take me home."

Dylan didn't need to be told twice. He led me to his car with a hand on the small of my back, and as I slid into the passenger seat, my eyes found Damon one last time. He seemed more interested in whatever was on his phone than the fact that I was leaving, and that was fine by me because the last thing I wanted was another conversation with him.

~~~~~

I sucked in a deep breath, staring at myself in the mirror.

"I can do this."

It was my official first day, and I had to address the head of every unit. It didn't help that most of them were men and disliked me before I'd even started, but that didn't matter because for the next three months I was the boss, and whether they liked it or not, they were going to have to get used to it.

I smoothed down my dress, gave myself one last nod, and headed for the hall where everyone should already be gathered.

The moment I pushed open the door, I was met with the buzzing of conversations and not a single one stopped.

The head of the legal department looked right at me before turning back to the person beside him and continuing his discussion like I wasn't standing here.

I kept my head high and walked over to my seat, but they were still talking.I glanced at the head coach's chair. It was still empty.

"Is the head coach still unavailable?" I asked and I quickly realised I was talking to myself

So much for being nice.

I clicked my tongue and slammed my hand against the table.

That got everyone's attention.

"Hi." I flashed them my best fake smile. "You all already know I'm Davina McCall, and I'm going to be your acting president for the next three months. I'm hoping for your..."

The door opened, cutting me off. The familiar scent hit me first, and my stomach dropped before I could stop it.

The man walked in wearing grey sweatpants, a black shirt stretched across his chest, and a cap turned backward.

No.

No, no, no.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to say hi to the team first."

Then his attention landed on me.

And is the universe trying to punish me?

His lips curved into a smile like he genuinely couldn't help himself, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was still one of the most beautiful smiles I'd ever seen.

"Mr. Torrence, it's nice to have you here," the head of finance greeted.

I didn't miss the way they were smiling at him, of course he is Man without taking his eyes off me, he held out a hand.

"I'm Damon Torrence, and I'm the new head coach. It's nice to see you again, Madelyn and I'm looking forward to working with you.”