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Chapter 18

Dinner had been dreadful. After coming to terms with her feelings only minutes before she headed back down, she found herself unable to even look in Draco's direction. She'd been so distracted by trying to avoid his gaze, the only seat left at the table was next to him. She inwardly groaned, twisting her bag nervously in her hands as he rose from his seat to pull out her chair. She gave a polite nod, still refusing to meet his gaze. Draco gave her an odd look, but pushed her chair in, then re-taking his seat.

Hermione thanked whoever was listening, when she realized Dillon was seated to her left. She quite enjoyed his company and was glad he appeared to be more mature then most members of the team.
"So, Miss Granger, how did you end up here?" Hermione swallowed the remaining food in her mouth, washing it down with a drink of wine before turning her full attention to Dillon.

"Please, call me Hermione. I feel so silly when you all address me so formally when it's just us." He gave a nod and a smile before she went on. "It's been quite the experience that's for sure. When they offered me the position, I was certainly confused. It's commonly known that I wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch. But apparently they'd seen the work I'd been doing, turning businesses around, making them profitable again and asked me to write up a plan for turning this franchise around. It took me most of the summer to do my research. I understood the premise of the game, having been to enough matches during my Hogwarts days, but I knew nothing of the professional teams or the current players. I mocked them up a new business plan; you know advertising, cost analyses, where they could stand to cut funding to use it in a more beneficial area. I also gave them a mock roster, taking into consideration which of you, the players, already had contracts, what your contracts were held for, who could they afford to buy out to replace with someone at a lower pay scale but just as much talent. It was a whirlwind after that. I presented my findings to Robert Timmions, the owner and he asked me on the spot when I could start. So here I am." Her story had gathered the attention of most of the players. It became blaringly obvious to her that no one had mentioned to them how the General Manager position had become hers. She tried to keep her cheeks from reddening once again and grabbed her wine, taking another sip.

"Well, Hermione," she set her glass back down turning once again to Dillon. "We are rather happy to have you onboard. I know it's still pretty early in the season, but we've got high hopes for this year thanks to you. So," he raised the glass in front of him, pushing his chair back and standing. "To Hermione and Coach O'Kelly! We're gonna win this season, I can feel it!" The remaining team members raised their glasses as well, excitedly clinking glasses together. Hermione clinked with Dillon then turned to her left, forgetting Draco was still seated next to her.

"To you, Granger." He tipped his glass to hers, eyes boring into hers. The look sent shivers up and down her spine and she could feel the goose bumps shimmy up her arms and legs. She tried to shake the feeling but she found herself unable to look away from him. After what felt like an eternity, she snapped out of her gaze realizing her glass was still clinked with Draco's. She pulled it back suddenly, sloshing the contents over the rim and onto her plate and lap.

"Oh bullocks!" Hermione quickly stood, trying to remove the liquid from her lap before it seeped through her dress. Both Dillon and Draco were quick with their napkins, trusting them in her direction. Muttering a thank you, she wiped at the spill, cursing under her breath for not bringing her wand down with her. She made quick excuses, thanked the team for inviting her to a lovely dinner and left the table, bound for her room.

Hermione was still wiping at her dress and cursing under her breath as she waited in the hotel lobby for the lift to come down. She jumped a little when she felt a large, warm hand on her shoulder. Hand held to her chest in surprise, she turned finding the warm eyes of Dillon.

"Oh! Did I forget something?" Her eyes searched his hands, looking for an item she may have left behind. He looked towards her nervously, raising his left hand to rub the back of his neck as he rocked from his heels to the balls of his feet.

"Err, no actually. I was just wondering, Hermione," she smiled as her first name rolled out of his mouth. "If you'd be interested in grabbing dinner, drinks, maybe coffee sometime." Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Michael had warned her this could happen when they'd filled out her new hire paperwork. At the time, she had brushed it off believing she could never be interested in any of the men she was overseeing but Dillon was a genuinely good person. He was polite, personable, respectful.

But as she looked up into his eyes, they weren't eyes she had hoped to see. His were too blue, too deep, too warm. The eyes she was currently interested in were so bright, so mysterious, so cold.

"I'm so sorry, Dillon, if I gave you the wrong impression during dinner just now. It just wouldn't be very professional for me to begin dating one of the players. I'm already receiving quite a bit of flak from the media. I'm not interested in fueling that fire." His face feel and it made her heart ache a little. Dillon awkwardly shuffled his feet, eyes focused on the tile floor under his feet.

"I understand Her- Miss Granger. Have a good evening." With that he turned, she assumed headed back to dinner. She tried to call out to him, to assure him that her answer had nothing to do with him as a person but he was gone before she could even finish saying his name.

She let out a heavy sigh, leaning against the cool tiled wall and pressing the button once more. She'd missed the first lift.