Chapter Nineteen

An hour later both Natalie and Darcy were fully stocked with Wake Up, USA ?emblazoned gear. There were enough shirts, jackets, sweaters, hats, mittens, and anything else you could dream of to keep them outfitted for months.

“They’re going to send all that stuff over for us, right?” Natalie asked. “I don’t own a suitcase big enough to hold it all.”

Darcy smiled. “Yeah. They’ll take care of all that stuff. We have to pack anything we might want that doesn’t have the logo all over it.”

Natalie pressed her lips together, fighting a giggle. “I was honestly surprised they didn’t have Wake Up, USA logo underwear for us.”

Darcy laughed. “I think they would have tattooed the logo on us if they could.”

Natalie made a face. “I don’t think it would go with the ones I already have.”

Darcy stopped and stared at Natalie, trying to imagine Natalie’s tattoos. She hadn’t had any when they met, something she knew from getting changed in the same locker room for a year. And all the times you saw her naked.

After they won the NCAAs, a bunch of players got matching ink, and she imagined Natalie was the type of person to have the Olympic rings somewhere on her body. She forced herself not to imagine where. She swallowed her curiosity along with a healthy dose of unwelcome interest in what Natalie had under her clothes.

Stop thinking about her naked.

Natalie cocked her head. The smirk on her face told Darcy that she knew exactly what was happening in Darcy’s head. Darcy hurried past her toward Raquel’s office.

She knocked on the open door before taking a seat in front of Raquel’s desk. Natalie joined her, her leg jiggling up and down like she thought it was game day, not a meeting.

Raquel leaned back, her chair bouncing slightly under her weight. “I know I told you both that we’d be shooting a few more segments before you left, but that’s off the table. We’re sending you to St. Moritz tomorrow morning. The producers and I think your time is better spent shooting as many of these segments as we can on-site, not in the training centers or whatever.”

Natalie leaned forward. “Why the rush? Don’t you all have to hash out what you’re going to pay us?”

Raquel sighed. “Yes, and if your agents would be quick about telling us what you want, that would be great. But it’s a long flight and we don’t want the two of you to be zombies when we film, so we’re sending you now so you can see the venues, figure out who you need to talk to for each segment, and get ready to make us all smile first thing in the morning.”

“What changed?”

Raquel looked at Darcy, her face unreadable.

“An hour ago you wanted us to stick around here for a few days and now we have to go tomorrow? What happened to make you change your mind?”

Raquel looked at Natalie and back to Darcy. “Chip asked me to make sure you were both over there when he arrives in a few days. Apparently, one of the producers showed him your segment. He liked it.” Raquel’s voice was even but her eyes flitted away from Darcy’s.

“Chip? The lead anchor?”

Darcy cut Natalie off. “Yes, that’s the guy.”

Natalie made a face. It must be nice to be brand-new and feel free to make faces about the longest-running anchor in morning TV. Darcy had learned to keep her feelings about Chip to herself. It wasn’t worth having anything she said filter back to him. He was mostly harmless. Mostly.

Natalie sighed. “You want me to get home to Boston, pack everything I need to go to Switzerland, and get on a plane tomorrow morning? I don’t know if you noticed but I’m not Superman.”

“Carpenter,” Darcy said, her tone a warning. She wanted this job badly enough that she would personally pack Natalie’s suitcases if it meant they got the job.

Raquel waved a hand. “You’re right. It’s an absurd request. How much time do you need?”

Natalie took a deep breath. “I’ve been in a hotel for three days. I have to get home, wash my clothes, and pack everything I need for, what, three weeks?”

“A month,” Raquel said.

“A month.” Natalie wiped her hands on her thighs. “This is nuts, you know that, right?”

Raquel held eye contact, unfazed by Natalie’s mini-meltdown. “What do you need?”

“Teleporter,” Natalie said under her breath. “Look, am I at least flying out of Boston? Because there’s no way I can get home and back to NYC by tomorrow.”

Raquel picked up her phone. “Jamal, make sure you schedule Natalie’s flight home and to Switzerland out of Logan, okay?” She dropped the receiver before he had a chance to respond. “Anything else?”

Darcy had never seen Natalie so flustered.

Yes, you have.

The last time she was this flustered was when Darcy’s lips were wrapped around her nipple. Darcy mentally shook herself. She didn’t want to think about that night, especially not in her boss’s office.

Natalie stood up. “I’m going to tell my agent to ask you for a ton of money.”

Raquel shrugged. “Fine by me. Now, if that’s all, you have a flight to catch back to Boston. If you need anything to make your trip to St. Moritz possible, you can call me or Jamal, and I’ll be following shortly to the satellite office. It is very important that you make it there as soon as possible. Otherwise, we might not get to shoot at some of the venues, okay?”

Natalie gave a salute. She was a massive pain in the ass, but Darcy had to admire her spunk. She was diving right into a wild situation and not falling apart. It was as good a quality as any in a partner. Maybe working together wouldn’t be a total disaster. Assuming they could keep their competitive nature to acceptable levels.

And so long as she could keep the memory of the feel of Nat’s nipples hardening in her mouth safely locked away.