Chapter Twenty-Nine Jordan
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jordan
My office door flung open without so much as a knock or even a hint that someone was about to barge in. My jaw clenched as I waited for the face to appear in the doorway, and once it did, I growled, “So help me God, if you don’t start knocking, Gavin . . .”
“What are you going to do, brother?” He chuckled. “I love nothing more than to rile you up, and I know how much the lack of knocking gets on your nerves.” He shut the door behind him, a smile covering his entire fucking face, and he took a seat in front of my desk. “Tell me . . . what’s good?”
I forced myself to calm down and checked the time on my monitor. “It’s been a fucking day. But Maya should be arriving at my condo in the next twenty minutes, and that’s the only thing that’s getting me through.”
“And you’re here and not home. Why?”
I squeezed the back of my skull, where a headache was erupting. “I’ve got a little bit more work to wrap up before I leave.”
“When are you going to ask her to move in with you?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“She’s basically already living with me.”
“But she’s still paying rent at her apartment, yes? So if a fight happens between you two, she has somewhere to go that isn’t, say, your man cave upstairs?”
I nodded.
“You know that’s not the same as her moving in.” He paused. “Are you afraid of rushing it, or are you afraid she’ll say no?”
“Things between us have been in fast-forward since we started hooking up. I want her to live with me. Shit, I want her to marry me. But we’re good right now, Gavin. Really fucking good. There’s no reason to mess with that.”
“I hear you.” He bent his arms and locked his hands behind his head, elbows pointed out in either direction, and relaxed into the chair. “And Ben’s in love with her. So there’s that.”
“I fucking love seeing them together.” Every time she smiled over that boy, when she hugged him, when she leaned down and spoke to him eye to eye, I couldn’t stop picturing her doing the same with our child. “She’s going to be one hell of a mom.”
“She is, for sure.” He crossed his legs, his foot bouncing in the air, another smile eventually coming over his face.
“I just want to point out that it’s wild seeing you like this after all these years of being single and anti-relationship.
I know you were just waiting for the right woman—and Jordan, you found her. ”
I closed my eyes while taking in the deepest breath. “I did.”
“I’m happy for you, my man.”
I hissed out the air I’d inhaled. “I appreciate it. But you know what will make me happy? This Clover transition to be over.”
“It’s kicking your ass, isn’t it?”
“The details, the decisions, the bullshit that keeps piling up—I’m over it.
” I pounded my fists on top of a mound of folders that held over two hundred pages of nonsense regarding the team’s new uniforms, words that could have been summarized into a paragraph.
“I was still in the NHL when Dad bought the other teams. I was too deep in a hockey bubble to know what really went down and what changes were implemented when the buyouts went through, so I don’t know if what I’m dealing with is normal or not, but this is some heavy shit. ”
“I’m sure it’s the same level of ridiculousness.”
“You’re probably right.” I picked up the two hundred pages and dropped them into my trash can, thinking of the email I was going to spit off to the design staff that would warn them to never send me two hundred pages of anything ever again.
“I have a lot of ideas for this team. Things I want to do that have never been done in the NBA.”
“Then do it. You know Dad’s all about taking risks, and he has endless faith in you. Start the trendsetting so every other team in the league sees what the Clovers are capable of and what we have to offer, and the waitlist for season tickets will soar.”
“I—” The ringing of my cell cut me off. I looked at the screen and held it up for Gavin to see before I swiped my finger across and switched to speakerphone. “Hi, Grandma.”
“Jordan, my dearest, how are things?”
I smiled at my brother. “I’m sitting at my desk in the office and Gavin is here with me, so you called at a good time.”
“Hi, Grandma. How’s the dancing going?” Gavin asked.
“You know I’ve been giving this new knee a good run for its money. In fact, the other night, I put it to the ultimate test.”
“If you’re talking about your date with the girls, I heard all about it.” I laughed and leaned back in my chair. “Did you have a good time with Maya and Emily?”
“The best, darling. We had the loveliest dinner, and then I brought those two gals to the game, as you know. A night filled with laughter and wonderful memories. I’m surprised they want to hang out with a weathered bird like me.”
“According to Maya, it was one of the best nights she’s had in a long time. Her and Emily are already talking about your next outing, which they’re planning and insisting on paying for.”
“Who knew I still had that spunk.” She let out a small laugh. “I heard that you and Gavin were watching the game from the owner’s suite.”
There were no fucking secrets in this family. At least we communicated, but no one knew how to keep their mouth shut, and I knew it wasn’t Maya or Emily or Gavin who had told her.
Which left only one other person.
“We were,” I admitted.
“And you never came down to kiss your grandmother?”
Right there was the reason why Gavin and I hadn’t wanted her to know we’d attended the game.
“We wanted to give you time with the ladies, Grandma. We didn’t want to crash your party. And we didn’t want to take any of the attention away from you. It was your evening, not ours.”
Gavin silently held up his hand like he was holding a glass and tipped it toward his mouth, which caused both of us to quietly laugh. The other reason why we hadn’t gone down to see her was because my brother and I had been far too liquored up to face her.
We’d needed a guy’s night.
And we’d hit it hard.
“I understand that, but I want to spend time with my boys too. That means you and Gavin need to make your way over for some milk and cookies. I just made peanut butter kisses. I know how much you love those.”
I patted my stomach, even though sugar was the last thing my joints needed. “They’re my favorite, Grandma.”
“They’re not my favorite,” Gavin countered.
“Don’t you worry, my pumpkin. I’ll make you some chocolate chip ones that I know you’ll love. They’ll be ready tomorrow afternoon at four. I’ll see you then.”
“I—”
“No excuses. I’d like you to bring Ben as well, and I’ll make my little one some cupcakes. Toodles.”
The line went dead, and I set my phone on my desk.
“That woman,” Gavin groaned.
“Did you hear how she just sold us? And gave us no choice? What if we had dinner plans? What if we had a business meeting?” I shook my head.
“It doesn’t matter what was planned or what wasn’t planned—when Grandma calls, we’re there. She allows for no exceptions.” He leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on his legs.
“We should have used her to negotiate the Clover deal,” I told him. “She’s a million times better than the both of us put together.”
He laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
Another alert came across my phone, this time a notification that someone was in my elevator. I picked up my cell and tapped into the security feed. The cameras showed Maya leaning against the wall inside, on her phone, with what looked like a bag of groceries on her arm.
Me: I see you.
Maya: Lol. Don’t look too hard. What I’m making for dinner is a surprise.
Me: I’ll be there in thirty.
Maya: I can’t wait. xo
When I glanced up from my phone, Gavin was smiling at me. “Dude, now, that’s a look of love if I’ve ever seen one.”
I nodded toward him. “When is it your turn?”
He sat up to run his hand over the top of his head. “For love? Shit, I don’t know.” He got up from his chair. “Right now, things need to be all about Ben.”
“He’s seven.”
“And?”
“And Ben wants you happy.”
He turned his body, looking at me from across his shoulder. “I am happy.”
“You’d be happier if you had someone like Maya in your life.”
“Jesus,” he moaned. “So you’re the master of love now? Throwing it down everyone’s throats? After going thirty-three years without it?” He walked over to the door. “You know one way to get me to stop barging in without knocking? Keep bringing up love, and I’ll avoid your office altogether.”
I smiled. “You don’t think I know that?”
“Asshole.”
“See you tomorrow for milk and cookies.”
As he flipped me off and shut my door, my phone chimed for a third time. I lifted it into my hands and read the screen.
Maya: Jordan. Oh My God. (Yes, all caps needed.) The Flowers.
(More caps needed.) They’re everywhere I look—did you buy an entire flower store?
!? And they’re gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like them in my life or this many or this kind of flower explosion before.
I can’t stop looking at them. And smelling them. And touching them.
Maya: I love them. And I love you.
Jordan: Since I couldn’t be there when you got to my place, I wanted to give you a reason to smile. I’m happy you love them.
Maya: You’re the reason I smile every day. You didn’t have to do This. (More caps needed.)
Jordan: This is just the beginning, Maya. If you’re with me—and you better not be going anywhere—you’re just going to have to get used to things like this.
Maya: How does one get used to things like this? Because this isn’t normal, Jordan. This is . . . well, this is bananas, and you know that.
Jordan: I think we both know I have an endless supply of bananas in me.
Maya: Snort.
Maya: Also: You have me forever.
Maya: See you soon.
While Maya stood at the stovetop, mixing whatever was cooking in the pan, I wrapped my hands around her stomach, pressed my front against her back, and dipped my face into her neck. “Mmm. Hi.”
Her hands went on top of mine, her body relaxing as I held her. “I thought I heard you come in.”