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The Otters were headed for a road trip tomorrow and Charlie should've been thinking about the packing he needed to do for the five-day trip, but he had other things on his mind.
First was the team his family was trying to snatch away from him. Charlie got a call a week ago from some lawyer that his cousins had hired to let him know they were contesting his uncle's will. So Charlie hired Bill Wilkins, the attorney who handled the will, to help him out.
So far, it was just a bunch of back and forth that he didn't need to be a part of, but just the idea that it was going on was pissing him off. What the hell were his cousins thinking? Sure, Bianca and Robert were greedy and had been really pissed off that their father gave his beloved hockey team to his nephew and not them, but this was getting ridiculous.
He owned the team and he was running the team. He was the one who actually cared about the team. And yes, they were pissed off that he got the team, but Charlie also suspected they were pissed off that he got a billion dollars to run the team. It was a billion dollars that they thought belonged to them and would find a way to get it back no matter what.
At least that's what Charlie thought and it was why he hadn't spent pretty much any of it. He was still driving the same truck, still living in the same apartment in the same neighborhood, because all that extra cash could be taken away. Oops, they made a mistake with the will or his cousins found a loophole or something.
But until then, he was going to keep his head down and run the team. Let them come for him.
There was also the other matter with Maggie. He tried to tell himself that it was a business decision, but Charlie didn't want to admit there was more to it than that.
There was something about Maggie that he found intriguing. The way she kept pushing to win the contract for her family's company despite the whole cake incident that involved him. She definitely seemed pissed but she rolled with it at the presentation. The whole thing with the "Do you think I'm hot?" was totally Charlie's fault.
Why did he keep accidentally acting like a jackass every time he was around her?
But she still wanted the contract for the arena's hockey games and he was still willing to make it work despite her glares and fiery retorts. Because when she wasn't hating him, she was an amazing woman, and he also kind of liked when she hated him too. The color of her eyes when she glared at him, the way she stood her ground against him, the teasing him even though he was a billionaire and the owner of a hockey team.
Well, at least for now.
Maggie didn't seem to care about any of that, and it was rare to find someone like that now that he had all this extra baggage stuffed with dollar bills and hockey skates.
So instead of packing or talking to his lawyer, both of which he should've been doing, he was walking to Icing to talk about baked goods.
Noah texted Charlie to let him know he would be handing the contract over to Maggie this morning at the bakery since she would be there dropping off some pie pans or something. Charlie wasn't really sure about the details and he didn't care.
Can I meet you there? he texted Noah.
Sure, but you don't have to be there, Noah replied
I think I owe it to Maggie after I smashed her cake
Noah sent back one of those laughing emojis with the tears. Very true, boss
Charlie still wasn't used to people calling him boss. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to it, and it may not even matter if his cousins got their way.
Chicago was having some colder weather hanging on after the winter, but it wasn't too bad and Charlie was used to it after working all those years on construction sites regardless of rain, snow, or lots of sun. He could always adapt.
But he was having trouble adapting to opening the door to Icing and seeing Maggie there. She was on the other side of the counter talking to Cora about something and only made a quick glance at him as he walked in. But there was a smile that teased her lip that made him realize she had seen him.
Cora, however, gave him a bit more attention. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you here this morning."
"I wasn't expecting to be here, but Noah said he was handing a contract over for some catering services and thought I should make sure the hockey team was well represented."
Maggie was holding back a bigger smile, he could tell, but he wasn't about to call her out on it. She would have those moments when Charlie could tell she was holding her emotions in even though they were right on the surface and there was something appealing about that.
The way she kept her anger in check when he smashed her cake, the way she kept her cool and stayed professional when he told her that her bakery got the contract.
He wondered what it would be like to just push her a little further past the point where she couldn't hold an emotion in, where she would just let go, and it turned him on in a way that he probably shouldn't. But he had to wonder how it would feel to be in her presence when whatever she was feeling broke free.
But right now wouldn't be that time. He could tell from her tight smile that she was in control - for now.
Cora, however, had a huge smile on her face as she told Charlie to head to the back of the bakery and wait for them there. And yes, he noticed that controlled smile that Maggie kept on her face as he walked back.
The bakery's kitchen had a huge stainless steel island in the middle with an oven on one side and a large sink in the back piled up with dirty trays and other items. He wasn't too surprised. Even though things were calmer now, he knew that Icing probably had a morning rush with plenty of items flying off the shelf. In fact, he hoped he could pick up a few on the way out.
Noah was sitting at the island with his girlfriend Georgia, but an outsider probably wouldn't have assumed they were together based on the way they were staring at each other.
