Chapter 14
Liv is goingto kill me.
I get up extra early Monday morning so I can wait for her at Fog Foam. I know she doesn’t go every day, but Monday’s a sure thing. And I really need to chat with her away from our co-workers.
I probably should have just responded to her texts or called her last night, but after having such a good time together on Saturday, I wasn’t ready for her to hate me yet.
Now I’m out of time. I have to tell her what I did.
It’s9:00 a.m. and I’m waiting for Daanesh at Marina Green. Our pickup rugby game starts in an hour. This is why my Saturday plans were game night with Gabby and Kadesha, staying in and going to bed early. Playing hungover is not going to be pretty.
“Hey Daan. Thanks man,” I say as he walks up and hands me a cup of coffee.
“Morning.” His tone is much too cheery. He definitely wasn’t out drinking all night. “Sorry I missed game night. You look like shit.”
I grimace and hold my coffee up toward him. “To Mai Tai’s.”
“Mai Tai’s, huh? That’s different.”
“Actually, I went out with Liv. Tonga Room.”
“With Liv?” he asks, looking back at me with confusion. For a second, I have to remind myself that I did in fact tell him we were dating just two days ago. Not sure why he sounds so surprised I’d be out with her.
“Yeah. She had some charity event at the Fairmont. I met up with her after.”
“With people from work?”
“No? Just us, and some random guys from LA I guess.”
“Actually,” he says, his brows pulled together. I’m honestly struggling to decipher what kind of look he’s giving me. “Stacey emailed me the final list for Mexico yesterday. Olivia’s not on it. Did you forget to book her flights?”
Shit. Century Club is next week, the annual trip where our exec team and board take the top performers from each department on a tropical getaway. And we all get plus ones. No one turns down that trip willingly. It’s not only a free vacation, but a chance to party with the leadership.
How the fuck do I tell Daanesh she’s not coming? If people at work are supposed to believe we’re dating, why wouldn”t she come with me? Would she come with me? The thought of spending a weekend with Olivia in Mexico…
“Shit, look at your face. You forgot, didn’t you?” Daanesh shoves me against the chest. “You finally get a girlfriend, and you forget all about her? Is there something I’m missing here?” His tone is playful. He thinks I’m an idiot. In reality, I just don’t know what the hell to say. The line, “oh, she’s allergic to Mexico,” hovers on my lips. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yep. You’re right, I’m an idiot,” is all I can say.
“It’s cool, I got you. If you book something now and expense it, I’ll make sure it gets approved.”
“Right now? Like you want me to book her flights on my phone right now?”
I must sound like the idiot he thinks I am, because he’s looking at me like I belong in a straitjacket.
“Is that a problem? Do you not want to bring her?” I pin him with a look. “Shit, you do know her birthday, don’t you? Do you need me to look it up in the company directory so you can book it without calling her?”
I pull out my phone and navigate to the travel app. Sadly, that is not the problem. I’ve known her birthday ever since Gabby and Kadesha decided to do a star chart for me during the “dark days.” Apparently, Liv being a Libra was all they needed to know to explain why we’d never work.
“You good?” Daanesh asks just as I show him the booking confirmation. “Why do you look so nervous? This team sucks.”
“You try playing hungover.” I shove him and start jogging toward the field.
“Hey, Scottie,”Liv greets me. The words are drawn out and I can tell she’s confused to see me.
“Morning,” I say, handing her the coffee I just bought. I track her eyes going to the barista who actually winks back at us. Interesting. “Sorry I didn’t get back to you?—”
“It’s okay. It’s my fault,” she says, sitting down on the chair next to me. Her fault? “I made it weird, right? You’ve been so nice and helpful, and I swear I know that this is all pretend. I promise I wasn’t trying to make something more of it.”
She starts chugging her coffee, pointing her eyes anywhere but me.
“Liv, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was trying to apologize. I did something stupid yesterday and I was afraid to tell you about it.”
“So, you’re not annoyed about taking care of me on Saturday?”
“Annoyed? I thought we had fun.”
“I might have had a little too much fun,” she murmurs. “I swear I never drink that much.”
“If carrying you down a hill is the worst thing I have to deal with, I’ll be happy to go out with you every Saturday night.”
She stops grinning and our eyes meet. I need to stop being so honest with her. Sometimes I forget I’m the only one with real feelings here.
“So what was the stupid thing you did? It can’t be worse than passing out in an Uber.”
She really has way too much faith in me.
“You had fun on Saturday, right?” I ask.
“Right.” She stretches the word like taffy. And now she looks suspicious, like I’m trying to get her to admit some hidden secret.
“Well, what do you think about hanging out like that again, but for three days in Mexico next week?”
“Scottie.”
“Sparkles.”
“Ugh, don’t do that! What are you talking about?”
“Next week is Century Club. You know, the top performers’ trip? I’m going to Punta Mita and, well, Daanesh thought I fucked up and forgot to book you as my plus one. He did me a favor by letting me get your flights after the deadline. I’m sorry, Liv. I didn’t know what to say.”
She looks pensive, her brows scrunched together while she works all this out in her head.
“You’re telling me you just booked a flight for me to go to Mexico next week? Our pretend relationship that was supposed to be over by now is going international?”
“Maybe?” I cringe, waiting for her to scream at me.
But she doesn’t scream or yell or look angry at all. She actually looks sad.
“I’ve always wanted to go on that trip,” she says, barely audible.
And then I think, “Why haven’t you come before? Ian could’ve brought you.”
“He said it wouldn’t be right to bring me as his date when I didn’t earn the trip.”
Liv looks down at her coffee again and starts to fidget, while I think back to Ian’s behavior on those trips. He might have gotten away with feeding her a bullshit line, but I know what he and Vaughn get up to. He probably just wanted an excuse to play single in Mexico.
“What a dipshit,” I reply. “You can’t even qualify to go until you’re a sales executive. It’s not like anyone else in your position would be there.” I knew Ian was a dick, but what kind of asshole does that to his own girlfriend? “You deserve to go just as much as anyone, probably more so.”
“Still, I shouldn’t go. Just say I got sick or something.” Her voice, her entire demeanor is deflated. It’s the opposite of how she was Saturday night. “I don’t want to piss anyone off by being there when I didn’t qualify. That’s how the rules work.”
“Fuck the rules, Liv.” She bites her cheek, trying to hide the grin. I think she likes the idea of being a little reckless. “Screw anyone who thinks you shouldn’t be there. Come to Mexico with me.”