21. Will
21
Will
I unpack my suitcase, but my eyes keep connecting with the cherry-stained door on the wall in this hotel room. For some reason, the hotel gave Alice and me connecting rooms. She’s right through that door.
She’s here—in Denver—with me, when I know she has other work to do. She’s graciously giving me two and a half days. She’s here to help me win over Jet Jacobson. All while keeping up with her team’s work remotely.
I owe her.
If this works, I’ll owe her much more than a bed.
Which is why I have a plan.
I’ve seen enough of Alice’s skirts, jackets, and glittered tops to know the girl likes clothes. She had her logo—my favorite of all the logos, by the way—printed on apparel. Not only for Billy, but the entire team. Apparently, even for a local club team.
No wonder the girl couldn’t buy a bed with that first paycheck.
Some, like Theo, might say I don’t owe her—she was just doing her job. But can anyone deny that she went above and beyond? We’ve come a long way since the day she couldn’t tell me how many players were out on the field at one time. She’s making so much effort.
My heart thunders in my ears, and I’m pretty sure the only thing that’s going to clear that up is knocking on that adjoining door. So, I do. I pound once, then twice, and then?—
“Hey,” she says, a grin on her face. Her jeans are tight and bright orange. I’ve never seen such a thing. She’s wearing a yellow polka-dotted shirt and white tennis shoes. It’s an outfit that tells me I am doing the right thing. She’s going to enjoy this outing.
“Hey,” I say back. “Are you free?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Theo is currently attempting to make me feel like an idiot while teaching me what off-sides is through a team text. Mason has assured me that the knowledge will not affect my ability to create a team website. So—yeah. I think I can silence that conversation for a bit.”
“Theo?” I raise my brows. He’s been getting on my nerves a lot more lately than normal.
“Yeah. It’s fine. What’s up? How can I help?”
“Actually” —I lean against the frame between our two rooms—“Billy has a request for both of us.”
She rubs her hands together. “Ooo. I’m all ears.”
“He’s got a list of potential coaches. But he wants Jet. Badly. He wants this meeting to go perfectly.”
Alice nods. She knows this already.
“So, he wants his team”—I point from her to me—“to look sharp.”
Another nod. But the crease down her forehead tells me I haven’t been clear enough.
“We’re going shopping—on Billy’s dime. He wants us to look the part.”
That crease only deepens. “Are we buying Rapids T-shirts or something?”
“No.” I laugh. “Nothing like that. He just wants us to look nice for the meeting tomorrow night.”
“So, just shopping?” The right side of her mouth quirks up in a grin.
“Yeah. And,” I add on the spot—I have done hardly zero preparation for this next part, but it’s out of my mouth before I can stop it. “He wants you to attend a game. There’s a Rapids home game tonight. He got us tickets.”
“Shopping and a game?” She’s beaming now. “And once upon a time, you wondered if I’d like working for Billy.”
“So, you’re in?”
“Um… yes!” Her grin is bright and joyful.
“Great. I just have a couple things to do.” Like purchase tickets to a home game last minute. “Can you give me ten minutes?”
“That should be plenty of time to wrap up my very dull, condescending conversation with Theo.”
“I’d block him and ignore the whole thing if I were you.”
Alice giggles, her hand on the door that separates our rooms. “See you in ten!” she says before closing it up behind her.
“ W here are you taking me?” Alice says.
We walk toward the rental car—another BMW. Okay, I might have a problem. Alice pointed it out immediately.
I find myself at the passenger door, opening it for her as if this were a date.
It’s not.
It’s business. All business…
Yeah, it doesn’t sound right to me either.
“It’s called Luxe and Lattice. I just googled it. It’s supposed to be a high-end boutique.”
“Nice.” She grins and doesn’t seem to think twice about me standing here like her personal chauffeur. “Thanks,” she says before climbing into the car and waiting for me to jog around.
Man, this is really starting to feel like a date. Can’t a boss do something nice for his employee—in secret—without it feeling like a date?
“Should we grab some food?” Alice asks.
Okay—food is definitely on the verge of a date. This isn’t an early morning after Alice sleeps in my guest room kind of a thing. This is Denver. This is out. This is me opening her door and us eating across from one another. “Well… I mean, do we need to?”
“Seeing how I haven’t consumed more than the pretzels on the plane in the last five and a half hours—yeah, I think we need to, Will. Feed me.”
Okay. Maybe she has a point. It’s not eating that’s got me feeling date-ish. It’s the door opening. No problem. I’m making a mental note to never open her door again. Ever. Alice can get her own door from now on.
“Okay—food first, then?” I ask.
“Yes. As long as it’s fast food—with a dollar menu,” she says.
I tilt my head, my eyes falling to her polka-dotted top. “This is a work trip. Billy’s buying.” I swallow—at least, he is now—and then, I reach out and brush my thumb over the apple of her cheek. “I promise to feed you.”
I brush her cheek.
Is there any scenario where cheek brushing means business? No… no, there really isn’t. It’s for sure not business, but I’m not sure it’s even in the “just friends” category. What’s wrong with me?
I clear my throat. “Where to, then?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t been to Denver since I was a kid. Is there a deli nearby?”
“A deli? Like lunch meat? Aren’t you a vegetarian?”
“You remember that?” she asks.
“Vegetarian Veterinarian. You’re hard to forget, Alice.”
Pink washes over her cheeks. She swallows but keeps her head in her map app, looking for a restaurant. “They usually have a vegetarian option.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Alice types in directions to the deli nearest Luxe & Lattice, and I follow her map.
I order a sandwich that’s too wide to fit into my mouth with three different types of meat while Alice gets a veggie wrap filled with hummus, avocado, and other fresh greens.
We sit across from one another, and I tell my brain that this isn’t what it feels like—a pretty great first date. I’ve sat and talked and eaten with Alice a dozen times. This doesn’t mean anything, it’s just Alice.
But I’m not sure any sane human who’s ever met the girl has ever referred to her as “just Alice.”
And then I say, “So, what do you do for fun?” The most first date of all first date questions.
I grit my teeth and command time to rewind.
“For fun?” she says, and I don’t think she’s noticed my blunder. “I like helping Coco at the clinic. I showed you my Little Women book—for pressing flowers. Does that count?”
“Sure. Have you pressed anything lately?” I say, forgetting that I’m not supposed to ask a follow-up question.
“I have. On my drive to Tesoro, I stopped in some town—I don’t even know the name of it—I took a walk in a local park and stretched my legs. It had the prettiest magnolia trees. I picked one of those flowers. It’s currently smashed between the pages of chapter twenty-eight. The chapter where Jo March—one of the main characters—leaves home for New York.”
My eye twitches and I smile—I can’t help it. She makes it difficult to scowl. “You know, there are meadows around the lake with some pretty great wildflowers. You should press one of those.”
Alice smiles, her full lips pulling up and making her cheeks swell. “I will. What about you, Will Henley? What do you do for fun?”
I swallow. “Soccer is my fun. So, I work.”
Her brows cinch. “Nope. Try again.”
I open my mouth, but no words escape me. “Um?—”
“Are you serious? You work? That’s your fun?” She shakes her head. “You and Billy don’t ever just hang out and watch movies?”
I shake my head. Watching movies with my alter ego—fun.
“You don’t play pool? Or checkers? Or video games?”
Another head shake.
“Gamble?”
I sputter a laugh. “What do you think guys do, Alice?”
She huffs out a breath. “Clearly, guys play pool, drink beer, watch sporting events, and… play poker?”
“I watch sporting events.”
“See—I was right.”
“Somewhat,” I say, going in for another bite of my meat lovers on wheat.
“So, you don’t hang out with Billy much?”
Of all my employees, Alice is the one who asks the most questions about Billy. Why so many questions? “I mean, some.” It’s a weird question for me to answer. Do I hang out with myself? Why yes, yes, I do.
“He’s got to be lonely. You should take him out sometime.”
“Why are you always so worried about Billionaire Billy? Believe me, he’s fine. He can buy all the friends he wants,” I snicker, but Alice doesn’t laugh with me.
“That’s exactly why you should hang out with him. He trusts you. You don’t do what you do for his money.” Her shoulders slump. “You don’t, do you?”
“No,” I scoff, shaking my head. “But then, he does pay me. Maybe I do.”
“You don’t. You wouldn’t. You aren’t like that. He needs a friend, Will.” She’s not wrong there. “And I can’t imagine a better friend than you.”