14. Alice
14
Alice
W ill’s fingers brush over my upper arm as he leads me down the hall of our office building. “So,” he says. “It never occurred to you when Zoe offered you this job in soccer marketing to mention that you’re family friends with a professional soccer player?”
My face goes wonky—I feel it—scrunched and wrinkled. But I can’t stop it. “Honestly, it never occurred to me. I didn’t see Jet often. To me, he was just the chocolate chip pancake guy.”
“The chocolate chip pancake guy. Jet Jacobson.”
I shrug and nibble on my bottom lip. Why didn’t I mention Jet or think to ask him questions before I took this job? I really haven’t seen or talked to the man in years. And when we did see him, it was a once-a-year kind of thing. He was Mom’s friend, not mine.
Will sighs, but he’s grinning. “You’re full of surprises, Alice Taylor. We’re about to go into a coaching staff meeting. Jeffery Holden is my sports director. He’s good at what he does. Our first choice for our head coach is Jet Jacobson.”
“Cool,” I say with a swooping nod. I don’t know anything about this part of the organization. What does Will expect of me here?
“I want you to sit in, listen, learn—you’re good at that. If you have any thoughts, feel free to say something.”
“Okay,” I say as my heart rate picks up speed. But when I don’t follow Will into the room right away, he reaches back for me, slipping his fingers over the inside of my wrist and pulling me along.
The boardroom is full of energy, intensity, and testosterone. Zoe’s the only other woman in this meeting, and her brows lift, surprised to see me as much as I am to be here. I give my old friend a curt wave, and I think she struggles to keep a straight face as she waves back at me.
“This is Alice Taylor,” Will says. “She’s part of my marketing team. She’s here to listen and learn.”
The men don’t seem to care why I’m there. I don’t know anyone on this committee. And while Will is in a dress shirt and pants, the rest vary from athletic pants to tracksuits. I am very much overdressed in my skirt and ruffled blouse.
I sit and listen as Will begins the meeting. There are names on a whiteboard behind him—two male, one female. The only one I recognize is Jet’s name. All potential head coaches. Will, Zoe, Jeffery, and the committee discuss them all—in detail. I listen. I do learn. But I do not have anything to add. I can’t imagine why Will thought I would. I’m guessing Jet Jacobson’s abilities to make fantastically yummy chocolate chip pancakes isn’t a fact they’re taking into consideration.
After two hours, Will concludes the meeting, and the men leave—all but Jeffery. For the first time really, Jeffery eyes me and waits as if I might leave too. But I’m with Will. I’ll go when he tells me to.
“Jeff,” Will says, “you’re talking to Jacobson over Zoom today?”
“Yep. Six o’clock.”
“When you do, I want you to tell him that when I visit, I’ll be bringing Alice Taylor with me.” Will nods toward me. “She’s an old family friend of his, and I thought he might like mixing a little pleasure with business.”
“Huh.” Jeffery’s brows lift as his gaze drags back to me. “Will do.” The man has to be twenty years older than Will. But he speaks to him like very much an equal. He pats Will’s upper arm, nods once my way, and exits the room.
“Jet’s coming here for a meeting?”
Will shakes his head. “Nah. We’re going to him.”
“We—as in you and me?”
He nods. “Yep. Jacobson is sentimental. I think our meeting will go a whole lot better if he’s excited to see an old friend.”