Breakout (A Dallas Demons Hockey Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was going to be organized, down to the smallest detail, and making copies for everyone on his truck to have so they could see where he was going. I watched as he went over the list of advertising elements he had to cram into the show, making sure he had the current logo for all the sponsors, and I laughed when he cussed at some of the dumb features sold into the game by advertising.
    So while he has been running in and out, I’ve been steadily perfecting the thirty-seven-second video that is going to be the introduction to his Dallas Demons producing career.
    And now I’m finally ready to let him see it.
    I swivel in my chair. Niko is chewing on the end of his pen as he studies the computer screen in front of him.
    “Niko?”
    “Hmmm?” he says, not even lifting his eyes from the screen.
    “I’m finished. Do you want to see it?”
    “Wow, it only took you four hours to edit thirty-seven seconds? We’ve got to improve your speed, Lexi.”
    I narrow my eyes at him, and he flashes me a huge grin before laughing.
    And despite my best efforts, despite the fact that I know he’s never going to be the guy I date, my heartbeat accelerates in response.
    “Everyone thinks editing takes five seconds.” I sigh. “People have no idea how much time it takes to layer in all the video, add the lighting and shadows. Not to mention color correcting and rendering.”
    Niko pushes his wheeled chair across the floor space so he’s next to me. “And finding the perfect music in one of our licensed music libraries.”
    “Exactly,” I say. “But if you see anything you want tweaked, let me know. We have two hours before you said the shift guys come in to work on basketball and football, right?”
    “Right.” Niko nods.
    “But I know you’ll love the music. I used a vibe similar to ‘Cold Coffee.’”
    Niko furrows his brow, and I smile mischievously.
    “I never thought I’d ever say this in my producing career, but I think something akin to 5 Seconds of Summer would be better,” he quips.
    We laugh, and oh, how I love the sparkle in his gorgeous blue eyes when he’s amused by something I’ve said.
    “Don’t worry. I picked something tense, since this is a rematch of the finals last year,” I say.
    Niko nods in agreement. “Good. That series against Baltimore was a war.” Then he clears his throat. “So let’s see it.”
    I take a nervous breath. This is it. If he hates it, I’ll never have another chance to edit for Total Access Total Sports.
    And worse, I would have let him down.
    I couldn’t bear it if I did, I think, studying his profile. I want so badly to knock this out of the park for him.
    “Okay.” I start the video.
    His eyes are focused on the screen, watching quick shots of Harrison Flynn taking a huge hit in last year’s series, of the Demons holding the cup in a hard-fought championship win, of the Baltimore Blades appearing dejected. Then I have a brief shot of Nate and Matt joining the team, of the Blades looking determined, and then a close out to a rematch logo.
    The open still needs to have a voiceover done by the play-by-play announcer of the team, but it’s powerful. The music is intense, which is meant to set the vibe for the telecast. I used shading and light to add to the drama, too.
    Niko stares at the screen, his arms folded across his chest as he leans back in his chair.
    “Hmmm.”
    My stomach drops out. Hmmm? Just hmmm ? Oh, shit, did I totally misunderstand what he wanted? Is the vibe too serious? Did he hate the clips I pulled?
    “Hmmm?” I ask. “What does that mean?”
    Niko wrinkles his nose, and when I see that, I feel panic setting in.
    “Well,” Niko says, “it’s not bad.”
    I freeze. “Not bad?”
    Okay. This is my first professional sports edit. I suppose that’s a compliment, right?
    But my perfectionist self is crushed by “not bad.”
    “And by not bad,” Niko says, shifting his full attention to me, “I mean freaking awesome .”
    Ahhhh!
    “This is