The Perfect Putt: A Sweet Boss/Assistant Golf RomCom (More Than a Game Book 2)

11. Miles Day

“I hope to hear from you soon,” Sam, the owner of a new protein shake company, says to me.

I force a smile and shake his hand. “I’ll be in touch with my answer within the week,” I tell him. This is the second to last meeting of the day, and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is go home, fall onto my pillow, and sleep for twelve hours. Instead, I have to leave here and head to dinner with more executives who are trying to convince me to work with them. After that, there’s a forty-five minute drive home with Ellie by my side.

I look over at her as she slides her laptop into a pale blue messenger bag. She’s done great in all of these meetings. She’s taken diligent notes, and she made sure we kept to schedule by softly tapping my arm when it was time to wrap things up. The first time she touched me, I almost jumped in surprise. And every time after that, my heart skipped in my chest. I thought about asking her to have a different signal, but I didn’t want it to be obvious how she was affecting me.

I finish saying goodbye then walk out of the conference room with Ellie in step beside me.

“One more to go,” I say with a sigh. “You’re doing great by the way.”

She looks up at me, surprise written all over her features. “Thank you.”

“Why do you look so surprised?”

“I thought you’d make a joke about my years of college being worth it or something,” she says with a half smile. “I didn’t expect a genuine compliment.”

“I did say to always consider my words to be teasing.”

She shakes her head, looking as if she’s holding in a laugh. “That’s it, I’m quitting.”

“Wow, already? You haven’t even worked a full week yet.”

“Yeah, well, my boss is a jerk who can’t be genuine,” she says, a laugh escaping her.

“I can be genuine, I just choose not to be.”

She rolls her eyes at my words.

I reach for her arm, softly pulling her to a stop in the middle of the empty hallway. She meets my eyes, then glances down at where my fingers are wrapped around her wrist. I let it go.

“In all seriousness, you’ve done amazing work today. I’ve tried to schedule days like this on my own and I always end up running over in meetings, then I’m late to others because I forget to check the time. And that’s if I didn’t accidentally overbook myself.” I shake my head as I recall my past mistakes. “But you’ve made this entire day go smoothly.”

A soft smile graces her lips. “Thanks for saying that. I’m glad today has gone well for you.” She looks down at her phone in her hand. “But if we want to keep our streak of punctuality, we need to get changed and head to dinner.”

I glance at my watch. She’s right, we’ve only got fifteen minutes until dinner and we still need to get changed. I just have to throw on a blazer, but Ellie has to change her whole outfit. We book it to the car, and Ellie grabs what she needs before heading back inside to the lobby bathrooms.

After I shrug on my blazer, I lean against my car and check my phone for any notifications. I’ve kept it on Do Not Disturb most of the day. The group chat I have with my four friends seems to have had some activity while I was away.

Jason: Hey Shaw, what should I do if a woman hates me like Sutton hated you?

I raise my eyebrows at the first text then keep scrolling.

Shaw: Marry her? That’s what I’m doing.

I chuckle at his response.

Jason: I’m being serious.

Shaw: I don’t know, man. Sutton didn’t really hate me, at least that’s what she says.

Brock: Oh she hated you. She was also in love with you though.

Jason: How is that even a thing? You can’t hate someone and love them.

I shake my head at their back and forth.

Brock: People say there’s a fine line between love and hate.

Jason: Yeah but there’s still a line.

Shaw: What’s going on? Who hates you?

Jason: Our new social media manager. I feel like she’s out to get me. I know I have a rough past, but everyone who knows me knows I’ve changed.

Brock: Well, if she’s new that means she doesn’t know you yet. Just give her some time. She’ll come around.

Emmett: I agree with Brock.

There’s nothing else after that. If I had to guess, Jason abandoned the chat to go to practice. I think Brock’s advice is sound, so I don’t bother responding. I can always check on Jason another time. He’s not the type to care about what anyone thinks of him though, so I bet he’ll get over this fairly quickly.

I slide my phone into my pocket, look up, and freeze. Ellie is walking toward me surrounded by an aura of golden sun. She’s wearing a black dress that hits a little above her knees, her legs lengthened by the matching black heels on her feet. My mouth goes dry the closer she gets. Her hair is still up, and she’s traded her braided jewelry for a simple pearl necklace. She’s painted her lips a berry color, and her brown eyes are framed by gold shimmer that sparkles in the light each time she blinks.

“Can you pop the trunk?” she asks.

I stay staring for a moment, unable to comprehend her question while she looks like this.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, looking down at her outfit. “Is this not what you meant by cocktail attire? I knew I should have asked you to clarify.”

“No, I was just wondering if you’ll be able to walk in those heels all night,” I say the first thing that comes to mind–well, not the first thing. Because my first thought involved setting her on the hood of my car and kissing the berry lipstick off her mouth.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asks.

“They’re pretty tall.” I’m an idiot. And judging by the look on her face, she agrees with me.

“That’s the point, they make me look taller. Now are you going to open the trunk or are we going to be late to dinner?”

I press a button on my key fob and she throws her bag in the back then shuts it. I have an urge to open her door for her, but this isn’t a date. It’s a business meeting, one that I need to have my head right for. I shake off the odd feeling and slide into the driver’s seat. I decided to drive since she’s driven all day today, and I no longer need to take notes.

Being in an enclosed space doesn’t help. She must have refreshed her perfume when she changed because her sweet citrus scent fills the car. I swallow and try to banish the images my mind is conjuring. It doesn’t make sense for me to feel this intensely. Sure, she’s beautiful, but I’m not so weak as to fall prey to a pretty face. At least, I haven’t been in the past.

“Are you okay?” Ellie asks and I realize I’ve just been sitting here staring at the steering wheel for who knows how long. “I know it’s been a long day. I can drive if you need me to.” The sincere concern in her voice warms my chest. Though she could just be concerned for her safety. I would be too if I were her.

“I’m fine, just have a lot on my mind. This is an important dinner.” Not a lie, but not the truth either. I should be thinking more about this dinner than I am. It’s not every day that Nike wants to discuss working on a golf shoe together. I start my car and pull out of the parking lot, keeping my eyes on the road and not on the gorgeous, sassy redhead in the seat next to me. Unfortunately for me, there are a lot of traffic lights on the way to the restaurant. Which provides ample opportunity to glance over at Ellie. If I said I never gave in to the temptation to look at her, I’d be lying.

“That was amazing,” I say as Ellie and I near my car. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a shoe named after me.”

“It’s pretty crazy,” Ellie says. I can hear in her voice how tired she is.

She was quiet during dinner, taking notes on a small pastel lavender notepad. The two representatives from Nike didn’t pay her much attention after our initial introductions. With the way one of their eyes lingered on Ellie’s legs a touch too long, I was worried it would go differently. But it must have been in my head because they focused on me the rest of the night. We talked about the contract, different shoe designs, and the option to expand into other merchandise like clothing and golf towels.

“Fitz is going to freak out when I tell him.” I know she probably doesn’t care, but I can’t help wanting to share. This is a huge deal.

“He definitely will. He cares a lot about you.”

“What makes you say that?” I ask as I open the driver’s side door. It seems like out of the two of us, I have the most energy right now.

“It’s just a feeling I got from meeting him.” She shrugs before getting in the car. I slide in after her and immediately turn it on so I can blast the AC. I shed my blazer, feeling too warm after the walk in the humid evening air.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” she asks, barely making it through the sentence before yawning.

I chuckle. “I think it’s best if I drive.”

A sheepish sort of smile stretches across her lips. “Thanks.”

“After all you did today, this is nothing.”

“I just did my job.”

“I still appreciate it.”

I pull out of the restaurant parking lot and onto the main road. The city is alive even at this time of night, with people strolling down the sidewalk beneath the neon bar signs. Cape Alamanda is a hot vacation spot and tends to keep late hours because of that. The tourists will be partying well into the morning. When I first went pro a few years ago, I got invited to club and bar openings here all the time. I quickly realized that wasn’t my scene. While I love being around people, I’d much rather go down to Hammerhead Hank’s in Coastal Cove for a beer than get a headache from the pounding bass inside the places here.

“You must have had some terrible assistants if you think I did a lot today,” Ellie says, making me laugh.

“You have no idea how bad they were. But that doesn’t mean my bar is low. You’re doing great.”

Ellie simply hums in response. When I brake at a red light, I glance at her and catch her shivering.

“Are you cold? I can raise the temperature. I was just hot from walking outside.”

“No, I’m fine,” she says, then shivers again.

I shake my head. “At least take my jacket to cover up with.” I reach behind the seat and grab it for her. She murmurs a quiet thanks before pulling it up to her chin.

We fall into a comfortable silence as I drive down Beachside Avenue, Cape Alamanda’s most popular street. It’s been a little while since I’ve been here, so I take in the sights as I drive. When I finally pull onto the interstate, I turn my head to check on Ellie, only to find her asleep. The sight of her so peaceful beneath my jacket makes me smile. And then frown. Because why am I smiling?

She’s my assistant. I can give myself a break for wanting to kiss her earlier. Any guy in my situation would have felt the same. But I can’t have any kind of warm fuzzy feelings toward her. I’m not going to lose the first good assistant I’ve had in years because said assistant is attractive. I grip the steering wheel and stare down the road ahead of me.

I don’t so much as glance at Ellie until I pull off the exit that leads to Coastal Cove. That’s when my resolve fades. My jacket has slid off her left shoulder, exposing the strap of her dress and her smooth skin. Her head is against the window, and her feet are tucked up under her. She must have taken off her shoes at the beginning of the drive.

It wouldn’t be good for her to drive while she’s tired like this, even the short distance to her house from mine. I recall her saying during a drive between meetings that she lives in a cottage in the Sugar Shores neighborhood, so I head that way. Even though I shouldn’t. Once I’m in the neighborhood, I reach over to make another bad decision. I softly shake her shoulder, the warmth of her skin seeping into my palm.

“Hey, Red, what’s your house number?” I ask in a soft tone.

“Hm?” she lifts her head. “Why are we in my neighborhood?”

“I thought it would be best if you went straight home tonight. Which one of these is yours?”

“Twenty-seven,” she murmurs. “I could have driven myself home.”

I smile at her stubbornness. “I know, Red.”

She rubs her eyes, then groans. “I shouldn’t have touched my eyes. I forgot I was wearing makeup.”

I stifle a chuckle at her distress. “You have your keys, right?”

“They’re in my work bag.” She yawns. “Thank you for taking me home.”

“It’s not a big deal,” I say as I pull into her driveway.

I spot the signature Coastal Cove wind chime hanging from the awning over her front porch. Everyone who lives here gets a sea glass wind chime from Buried Treasures. It’s like a rite of passage. The owner Joel makes them from his beach findings. On a quiet day, or if you open your window at night, you can hear the gentle chimes mixing with the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Ellie unbuckles her seatbelt before reaching into the backseat for her work bag. I don’t bother telling her to get her duffle bag. I can bring it to her tomorrow. She gets out of the car and grabs her shoes off the floorboard.

“Thanks again,” she says with a sleepy smile. The sight steals my breath because she so rarely smiles in such a relaxed manner.

“Get some rest, Red. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I tell her, my voice sounding raspier than intended. She mumbles something that sounds like see you tomorrow, then closes the door and walks to her front porch. I wait until she’s safely inside to back out and leave. Then I drive home and hope that by tomorrow morning, whatever I’m feeling will have faded away.