Cassandra Carr - Storm Series Boxed Set

The Storm Series Boxed Set

Cassandra Carr

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

SHOULDVE KNOWN BETTER 2015 by Cassandra Carr previously released through another publisher

MOVING DAY 2015 by Cassandra Carr

UNDERNEATH IT ALL 2015 by Cassandra Carr

THE BIG MAN FALLS 2015 by Cassandra Carr

SCORIN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY 2015 by Cassandra Carr

Published by C-Squared Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or C-Squared Publishing.

Contact Information:

authorcassandracarr@gmail.com

Book Cover Design by Selestiele Designs

Image of Scott Nova COPYRIGHT Regal Rebel Photography

Trademark Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

NHL and Stanley Cup: National Hockey League

Cornell University: Cornell University Educational Corp.

GQ: Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.

AHL: American Hockey League

Honda Civic: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Ford: Ford Motor Company

Kodak: Eastman Kodak Company

Kyle and South Park : Comedy Partners Viacom International Inc

Tim Bits: T.H.D. Donut (Delaware), Inc.

University of Rochester: University of Rochester Education Corp

NHLPA: National Hockey League Players Association

Lexus: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha TA Toyota Motor Corp

November Rainand Welcome to the Jungle : Guns N Roses

iPod and iTunes: Apple Inc. Corp.

We are the Champions and Another One Bites the Dust: Queen

Enter Sandman: Metallica

Eye of the Tiger: Survivor

Tupperware: Dart Industries

Hustler: LFP IP, LLC

Shouldve Known Better

by

Cassandra Carr

S arah Jenkins scooted to the edge of the SUVs driver seat as she stared at the hulking home of the NHLs Buffalo Storm. The August sunshine was only partially to blame for the bead of sweat running down the side of her neck. After wiping her damp palms on her skirt, she slid out of the car and hit the alarm remote. Turning, she bounced off a hard object and stumbled backward from the force of the impact with an involuntary grunt.

The immoveable object was a man, and what a man he was. He had a body like granite, with chiseled features, and was casually attired in shorts and a T-shirt clinging for dear life to his arms and chest. The guy couldve been a sculpture.

Yum.

Are you all right?

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears due to the fight or flight reaction from their collision paired with the pure, inexplicable rush of lust he evoked. Im, um... Sarah cleared her throat.

Talk, you idiot.

Im fine.

Her cheeks flamed as she ducked her head. Was this what scientists meant when they said women were attracted to men they sensed had the strongest DNA? Between his killer body, light green eyes, and sexily tousled head of hair, he looked like hed just jumped out of a cologne ad in GQ. As far as she could see, his DNA was damn near perfect.

It was hard to miss the long, thorough once-over he was giving her, leaving her hot and feverisha reaction she couldnt attribute purely to the blazing heat or her frazzled nerves. Their gazes collided and he stared at her with a glimmer of male interest.

She wasnt sure why hed be interested in her. He was gorgeous, and she was, well, a nerd, for want of a better word.

Her attention was drawn to full lips that wouldve looked feminine on other men, but there was nothing feminine or soft about this man. Hard, sinewy muscles stretched over his arms, legs, and torso, but despite his size, he was leanly muscled rather than bulky. He reminded her of a panther readying to strike, and her breathing kicked up another notch.

Sarah shook her head to clear it. She had a new job to focus on right now and that was the only thing that was important. It had to be. She couldnt afford to screw this chance up.

After you. He stepped back and motioned for her to pass.

His voice had a hint of an accent. French-Canadian, perhaps? It rolled over her like a gentle breeze. What woman could resist an accent like that?

Thank you. And Im sorry about running into you.

Im not. He gave a one-sided, incredibly hot smile.

She needed to get into the building before she did something stupid like offer herself to him as a human buffet. The man turned and walked away and Sarah cursed her shaky legs as she headed into the arena, which also housed the Storms front office, where shed be meeting with Jon Duncan, the teams head coach, and Keith Calhoun, the general manager.

After spending years honing her skills in mathematical analysis as a postdoctoral fellow in Cornells Center for Applied Mathematics, or CAM for short, shed landed her dream job as a competitive analysis consultant for the Storm, a team shed followed for years. The position combined her loves of hockey and math to provide the absolute perfect fit for her.

The only problem? The NHL, not the team, had hired her to give the impression they were making an effort to help keep the Storm afloat while the organization searched for a new buyer. The previous ones had just been convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion.

Nibbling at her nails, she exited the elevator then glanced around for a moment to get her bearings before approaching the double set of glass doors etched with the Storm logo, a hurricane with the teams name being swept up in it. Now that she was here and thrust into Keiths and Jons faces whether they liked it or not, she had to prove her worth.

Karen, Keiths secretary, showed Sarah into his office. It was spacious and well-appointed with a big mahogany desk standing sentry in front of a wall of windows. A small conference table surrounded by six chairs sat to the side.

Standing and extending his hand, Keith said, You must be Sarah. Nice to meet you in person. This is Jon.

She shook his hand then turned her attention to Jon, who also stood. He nodded but didnt offer a smile. He was a stocky man with a barrel chest and intimidating as hell. Shed seen some of his press conferences and he didnt mince words. If she did her job well, hopefully shed never incur his wrath.

Keith motioned toward the leather-bound guest chair. Have a seat.

She did, sinking into the buttery leather. Oh man, its more comfortable than my bed. If she wasnt so nervous, shed definitely enjoy the luxurious piece of furniture more, but even with her stomach doing flip-flops, she still had to resist the urge to run her fingers along the arms of the chair. Forcing herself to sit up straight, she folded her hands in her lap.

Jon and Keith sat, and Jon twisted to face her. As you can imagine, even after our phone conversation, Im way past skeptical about what you can bring to the table. We already have a video analysis consultant to study our competition. However, he glanced at Keith, it doesnt appear we have a choice but to work together, so we might as well try not to get in each others way.