Chapter Two
Rob Thompson.
The man was something else. Doria had not been able to get him out of her mind since their brief encounter the night before. Now she was on her way to meet him at Maurice’s bar. She’d briefly researched the place. It was a bit of a quiet, more upscale bar/restaurant. It was the sort of place where you would not blink to pay twenty dollars for a shot of whiskey or fifty dollars for a steak. It was good quality steak, but it was no better than you would get at a family chain restaurant for a third of the price. Still the elegance of the place was interesting. She was excited to go there and check it out.
She knew that going to the bar last night had been risky. From what she’d read about Rob Thompson he was a bit of an enigma. He was perhaps the most naturally gifted baseball player of the past fifty years. It was like poetry to watch him on the field; the way he moved, the way he threw, hit, and ran. For a girl who loved the game of baseball he was the perfect man.
And it did not hurt that he was so easy on the eyes. He was six foot three, broad shouldered, toned muscles without too much bulk. He moved like a gazelle across the field. She loved to watch his tight butt as it propelled his legs across the field when he was running the bases or when he was running to make an insane diving catch.
She had been following Rob Thompson for quite some time. So, when her editor had given her the assignment to write about him and how he was leading the team to the playoffs and possibly the World Series, she was thrilled. He was her favorite player and he was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever laid eyes on.
But she knew who he was. That was where her attraction tended to waver. He was called “Baseball’s Bad Boy” for a reason. The only reason he got away with a lot of the things he did was because he was so good and so valuable. He put asses in the seats; he sold tickets, merchandising, etc. His face was everywhere these days. People loved to watch him on the field and they loved to watch the crazy things he did off the field.
He had been in four separate bar fights in the past three months that she knew of. He had also been in two fights on the field and ejected from games before, only to be brought back when the crowd started going insane and people started to leave the park. That had never been done before that she’d ever heard of.
And yet at the same time Rob was a very private guy. He shunned a lot of interviews and had walked out of televised interviews when he did not like the line of questioning or someone was trying to get him to open up and talk about something he did not want to.
And there was the time he had stood up and almost punched a reporter in the face on live television. If his manager had not rushed the stage and thrown himself in the middle to take the punch instead Rob would have been sued for millions.
And, there were his dealings with women. Being the most sought after sports hero in the world brought with it scores of women who wanted him. That was nothing new, except she had heard the rumors that he turned down a lot of women. His standards were very high. But he had been photographed with more women than she could count, so she wasn’t sure how high his standards were or what he was really looking for. Rob seemed to go from woman to woman, never showing any interest in settling down with anyone.
Doria tried to tell herself how much these things turned her off about Rob, but a part of her deep down inside felt intrigued. What was he looking for in a woman? What type of woman would finally be the one to tame him? Would anyone ever be able to do that? If she did, then that woman would be simultaneously worshipped and hated by every straight woman in the world. But to be the target of that level of envy…
Doria had spent most of the day preparing for the interview hoping that it would come off as easy and unrehearsed with her line of questioning. This was a big opportunity for her career to be given this article. Triple Play had become one of the biggest sports magazines out there, and not a day went by that she didn’t thank her lucky stars that the editor Pedro Gomez had given a young twenty-two-year-old college student the chance of a lifetime. She’d worked hard to get where she was and she was determined to not screw it up.
She arrived about five minutes early to the bar, grabbed a seat in a corner booth, and ordered herself a rum and coke (her favorite). She figured that she might even be running a little bit later than Rob, but when she got to the bar he was not there yet. No worries; it was still a few minutes before they were supposed to meet up.
One thing she’d learned with celebrities; they all thought the world revolved around their time schedules. They were always late, but you never wanted to try to be late too just so you would not be early, because the one time you did they would be way early and they would just walk out of the interview—or at the very least be in a whiny mood through the whole thing.
Rob finally arrived about fifteen minutes after their scheduled meeting time. She pretended to not be annoyed as he ordered a beer from the bar and sat down across from her at the booth. She did not expect an apology and she didn’t get one.
“Wow, you look amazing,” Rob said. Doria smiled but did not acknowledge the compliment, even though she had dressed to turn him on a bit. Well, partially to turn him on and partially because she had always enjoyed dressing sexily. She was a bigger woman who loved to flaunt her curves. It made skinny women feel uncomfortable, especially when their men started checking out her womanly curves and large chest. Yeah, some men realized their mistakes far too late.
She wanted to tell him how amazing he looked, but she forced herself to bite her tongue and fought the overwhelming urge to leer at his chiseled chest which was bulging beneath his tight black t-shirt. His tight biceps were also on full display as if they were ready to burst through the short sleeves any moment. He was wearing a pair of tight black jeans with boots, always a killer combination, especially when a man had a butt as tight as Rob did. She could feel herself getting warmer… wetter…
Calm down, girl. Don’t forget why you are really here.
“I’m glad to see you are running on leaded tonight,” Rob said.
Doria was confused. “What?”
“I assume you are drinking alcohol, am I right?” Rob added.
“Oh, yeah. Good guess; how did you know it wasn’t just soda?”
“I can smell--- um, I just assumed. I want this to be as laid back as possible.”
Doria smiled. “I can understand that. From what I’ve read about you that is how you like to do things, and you don’t do very many interviews like this.”
“You’re right.”
“How come? You picked the wrong business if you don’t want to be famous.”
“I enjoy being recognized for my achievements and for the game I love, but I hate it when that fame goes beyond that. People want to find out everything else about me that has nothing to do with the game of Baseball. I’m a baseball player; I’m not a socialite. I’m not famous for being a personality. I play ball.”
“So, you hate being recognized everywhere you go?”
“I enjoy being recognized by fans who love what I do, and I always go out of my way to be good to them. I do autographs and pictures all the time, as many as I can. But when someone wants to find out deep personal details about my personal life, I get annoyed.”
“I see,” Doria said. “So, I’m not sure what to ask you now.”
Rob smiled. Oh, that winning smile, those dimples, those dark eyes—it was enough to make any man melt. Doria took a deep breath and tried to look away.
“Aww, did I burst your bubble? Were you interested in finding out what makes me tick?”
“Yeah, a little bit. When people see a celebrity like you it often makes them appreciate what you do and who you are more if they feel like they can relate to you. Most people can’t relate to your skills on the ball field because they could never in their wildest dreams do that. They can admire it, but they will always feel that you are above them somehow, that you were blessed in ways they weren’t. It isn’t because people just want to attack you.”
“That hasn’t been my experience,” Rob said.
“I would never paint you in an unflattering light. I give you my word; if you don’t want something told then I won’t tell it. But I think you are wasting both our time here if you just want to stick to answering how many home runs you typically hit at batting practice or what is the best way to play with an injury.”
Rob looked at her, his eyes turning to stone. For a second she thought he might just up and walk away. He finished his beer and motioned for the waitress to come over. He quickly ordered another beer and a steak with fries.
When the waitress left he sat there for a few moments sipping his beer, looking at her. She did the same, not wanting to push any of his buttons and hoping that this interview was not over before it started and she ended up wasting a great opportunity. But she knew that a guy like Rob was not someone to try to corner. He had to be in control. He had to feel that no matter what, he was free to do what he wanted. No one could possess him or control him in any way.
Doria hated his arrogance. It was almost childish; the typical bad boy who had to remain the top dog in every encounter. But there was something different about Rob. He did not seem to be playing any of it up. With a lot of guys who acted the way he did if you really looked beneath the surface you could tell they were really scared and using this behavior as a defense mechanism. But with Rob, she could see it in his eyes—he just didn’t give a damn.
“Tell me about yourself,” Rob said.
Doria was a bit put off by this, but she tried to keep her cool. “Ok. What would you like to know?”
“Where did you grow up? Are you an only child? Are you close with your folks? Just whatever.”
“Ok. I grew up about thirty miles from here. I am an only child. And my parents both died when I was ten.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rob said. “My parents died when I was twelve in a car crash.”
“I’m sorry,” Doria said. “Mine died the same way.”
Rob’s eyebrows flashed with surprise. “Wow; what are the odds of that happening?”
“Yeah. I was raised by my aunt on my mom’s side.”
“I was raised by my aunt and uncle as well. Looks like we have more in common than I thought,” Rob said.
Doria felt the tension between them slowly calming down a bit. The fact that they were both orphans seemed to help break the ice and, after that, the conversation flowed nicely with Rob telling her things about himself growing up on the farm, how he started in baseball (his uncle had played minor league ball at one point and got him started), and how he ended up making it to the major leagues.
She felt bad not confiding more with him, but she hardly knew him and this was just an interview. There was more to tell him about what really happened to her parents… but some secrets were better off staying secrets. That was what she’d learned.
“What do you want to do after baseball?”
Rob thought for a moment. “To be honest I’ve spent my whole life so focused on baseball and being the best that I can be with that, I couldn’t tell you what I might end up doing next. I could go into traditional paths of broadcasting or management, but I’m the type of guy that needs to stay active. I don’t see myself sitting on a bench or behind a desk somewhere. I may play ball until I’m fifty.”
“Fifty? Wow, that’s rare,” Doria said.
“Yeah, I guess. But everything I do is pretty rare,” Rob said.
Doria smirked as she tried not to melt under the irresistible cocky charm he emitted. There was something so cute and ornery about Rob that she could not help but feel turned on by. He, at times, reminded her of someone who needed to be punished and maybe she would be the one to do it…
She smiled at the thought. There could be some wild times with that.
“Well, I’m bored with this place. Let’s go do something fun,” Rob said.
Doria was intrigued, but she didn’t really want to go anywhere. She was tired, and she didn’t really want to spend any more time with Rob than she had to. She probably could have whipped the information she had into a pretty good story, but it could always be better. If he was getting bored and restless then he was less likely to open up anymore. He would probably just say goodnight.
Besides, she didn’t want to continue the conflicted feelings she was having. She didn’t really trust herself right now to make the right decisions. That was the power a guy like Rob had; she loathed most of the things about him and the way he treated other people, but he had something else that was irresistibly attractive, and she could not keep from responding to it.
She knew that she had to continue on with the evening; her career might depend on it. She was just going to have to keep her wits about her and make sure she kept a level head.
“Like what?” She asked.
Rob just smiled.
***
Doria grabbed the bottle of water the bartender handed her and quickly drank several large gulps of it. She and Rob had been dancing for almost an hour and she was getting severely dehydrated. That guy never seemed to get tired of anything; he was like a well-oiled machine.
Rob had taken her to a club called Paridiso. She’d heard of it before, but it was a bit of a wealthy and celebrity kind of club where most of the normal people were not invited, unless you were on the arm of Rob Thompson. Doria hated to admit it to herself but she felt a bit like a princess when Rob led her right past the three hundred pound bouncer who seemed to be one of Rob’s best friends and right past all of the girls waiting to get inside the club. She could get used to this sort of thing.
“What? Are you drinking water?” Rob said sliding up to the bar beside her and shaking his head. “Now, you look like you are in better shape than that.”
“No, I’m just fine. Sometimes you just got to drink water,” she said.
“That’s understandable,” Rob said. “You got to keep the machine hydrated.”
Doria looked at Rob with a bit of a glare coming on her face; she could feel it. “Are you trying to say that a woman of my full figured stature can’t keep up?”
She thought Rob would apologize or at least act a bit surprised. He gave her a slight smirk as he chugged half his beer. “I think you can keep up anything you want to keep up.”
Doria almost choked on her water as she thought about parts of Rob she would love to keep up.
“You can’t take this guy anywhere can you?” a voice said.
Doria saw a large man standing behind Rob greeting him with a slap on the back. Rob glanced back slowly and slightly nodded with a grin when he saw who it was.
“Dan, what’s going on?” Rob said, still keeping his body half turned away and leaning against the bar. Rob was the kind of guy whose attention you had to fight for.
“Just another day out on the town with the crew. I didn’t know you were going to be here, man.”
“Neither did I,” Rob said.
“And who is this beautiful lady?” Dan asked.
Rob introduced Doria to Dan. She already knew who he was, but she pretended to be unimpressed. He was the man who Rob was putting out to pasture, it would seem. Everyone was talking about it, but no one would dare say it out in the open. Dan was a legend, a player who would no doubt wind up in the Hall of Fame, but he was not Rob. No one was. There were things Rob could do that were almost super human at times. Dan was an amazing player and gifted athlete, but he looked like a ten year old playing next to Rob.
“Oh, are you doing an article about our Golden Boy?” Dan asked.
Doria was picking up the jealousy rolling off Dan in waves. She could tell that he was angry at it all; it had to be rough to deal with and a lesser man than he would have lashed out in some way before now. But Doria could see the animosity that he was putting towards Rob.
Rob ignored it as he did everything that did not concern him. That was something about Rob that Doria despised; it in fact overshadowed all of his good, sexy qualities. The man was self-centered to the core and he did not seem to care about anything that tried to puncture his good vibes. He lived almost in his own world that way where other people did not seem to matter a great deal to him. Their feelings were irrelevant to his own.
Doria hated guys like that. Which is why she would never date someone like Rob. No matter how hot he made her, how his touch could probably make her weak in the knees and overflowing with wetness and desire; he was selfish to the extreme.
“I wasn’t planning to call the article that,” Doria joked. “I was thinking of something less flashy.”
Dan laughed. “Well, I hope you can get something out of him. We’ve played with this guy for a while now and most of us don’t know much more about him than his name.”
Doria smiled. “I hope to get a bit more than that,” she said.
Rob seemed to be getting annoyed. He finished his beer and slammed it down on the counter.
Doria and Dan shared a look. Dan was trying not to laugh too loud, but it was obvious he thought Rob’s behavior at times to be immature and foolish. So did she.
Rob’s arm suddenly jerked forward as a large man pushed past them. Doria could see the anger in Rob’s eyes.
He slapped the man on the shoulder.
“Hey, how about you watch where you are going?” Rob said.
The man stepped towards Rob and pushed him against the bar. The guy was big, burly, and probably outweighed Rob by thirty pounds of flab. But he was built like a gorilla and he might have been able to break Rob in half if he got a good enough grip.
Doria braced herself for the mayhem and violence she was about to witness. She hated fights. They were stupid and chaotic; someone always got hurt and they solved nothing. It was so barbaric. She had a good mind to just walk out of there now, but she had to make sure she had enough material to do a great piece for her story.
And a deep, dark part of her wanted to watch what happened. She did not know why. But something about this was primal and it was touching her in a deep place…
The bigger man threw a punch at Rob, who blocked it and delivered a hard straight punch to the man’s jaw putting him down on the ground instantly with a sickening smack.
Doria saw the rage in Rob’s eyes. His eyes were almost red with anger and his face was twisted, contorted into something she almost didn’t recognize.
Rob looked at her for a split second; their eyes met and then he was off moving through a shocked crowd of onlookers heading for the door. Dan was standing there clapping his hands and laughing his head off.
Doria rushed out the door to follow Rob. She wasn’t sure where he was going, but she felt that she should follow him. Maybe she could calm him down; he was enraged. And it might be great material for her story. When people were highly emotional sometimes they let things slip about themselves that proved to be very interesting.
She caught up to Rob outside as he was heading for his car. When she got close enough she could see that he was practically shaking with rage, gritting his teeth. His body was starting to hunch over as if he was… changing…
What was wrong with him?
“Rob, are you ok?” she asked.
Before she could blink Rob grabbed her and pulled her close to him. His mouth was on hers now, his lips planting hard against her own creating a tight seal. His mouth was warm, his lips slightly moist. She could feel every contour of his mouth as he moved against her.
His hands were around her lower back pulling her closer to him. Oh, the pleasure was like the universe opening up and beckoning out to her. It was not a physical sensation of just a kiss; there was so much more to it. She couldn’t begin to describe it, but her head was swimming as if partially underwater with waves lapping against the side of her face.
Suddenly Rob pulled back. His eyes were intense and focused, looking right into her own.
Doria gained her bearings and felt a wave of anger overtake her. Rob had used that moment of confusion and concern to take advantage of her? The bastard. “How dare you!”
She slapped him hard in the face. He didn’t even flinch. He kept staring at her.
“You aren’t human…” Rob said.