31. Alice
31
Alice
I ’m six weeks into falling for Will Henley. So, I’m used to texts from Will at all times of the day. And yet, I still get giddy when his name pops up on my phone. But today, I squeal—joyfully.
Will: Billy’s made his decision.
I know exactly what he’s talking about. Billy has been insanely slow about picking a team name. Will said he wanted to make sure it was right before he committed, before he announced it at the press conference.
Finally. He’s decided. Hallelujah .
I would run across the hall, pound on Will’s door, and kiss him—but he meets with every team, not just marketing, and his meetings start two hours before mine do. He isn’t home.
So, I settle for texting him back.
Me: TELL ME!
Will: You’ll have to wait for our meeting.
Okay… so I did tell Will that he isn’t allowed to give me any special treatment. Just because I’m his… girl —I don’t know what to call myself, we haven’t labeled us. Am I his partner? His sweetie? His kissing friend? Or just his plain old secret girlfriend? We’ve never said. Any way you want to say it, I told him to treat me like everyone else at work—I suppose that includes when I get to hear team news.
I trip over my new coffee table—I’m still not used to the thing sitting in the middle of the living room. I stumble my way into the bathroom, out of my clothes, and into the shower. I can hardly wait to get to the office.
I reach out to my bathroom counter and snag my phone. Sure, I’m wet and bathing, but I have to torment Will every chance I get.
Me: Fine… then I can’t tell you what I know!
Will: No fair. This is Billy’s call, not mine.
Me: Too bad.
I drop my cell back to my counter and immerse myself beneath the stream of hot water.
I feel like a schoolgirl teasing the boy I have a crush on. I laugh at the thought, and my insides fill with butterflies.
“ H ey there, princess,” Theo says. He sits directly across from me today. I’m not sure why. Normally, I make sure that we are as far apart as possible, but today he purposely moves to a different seat, meeting me eye to eye.
Sure, this room is crammed with more than just the marketing team at the moment; it’s possible every department Will works with has filed into this room. Still, why does Theo need to sit so close to me?
“Hey,” I say, not acknowledging his princess comment. He’s not going to bother me today.
“Wanna know the team’s name?” he says. His brows bounce, suggesting he’s already privy to that information. He certainly knows the topic of this meeting. Maybe he does know. But Will wouldn’t have told him while leaving me in the dark.
That glint in his eye says he knows though…
Did he talk to Billy? And if Theo’s dumb ol’ bushy brows are dancing in my face, does that mean Billy went with Rough Riders? It’s not a bad name. It could work. It’s catchy. The people we polled liked it. But they liked Red Tails just as much. In fact, popularity was close to fifty-fifty between the Red Tails and the Rough Riders. But Rough Riders doesn’t incorporate Tesoro like the Red Tails do.
I believe to my core that connecting this team to Tesoro is important to Billy.
I may want to groan—but I keep it inside. I refuse to let Theo see how much he gets to me.
“Okay,” Will says, standing at the head of the room. “I’m gonna make this quick. Some of you have heard that Billy’s ready to announce a name. This is a big step for us, but this is where the work increases. With a name comes a website design, social media pages, and more. We’ve got work to do, people. You can ask your questions. But you cannot argue with Billy’s final decisions. We’ve already been through that.” Will nods and peers about the room.
I’m so proud of him. He looks at me like he does anyone else. That look does not divulge that I’ve spent every single night for I’m not sure how many weeks on his couch, in his arms, eating his food, and kissing his face.
I’m not sure what my look says, but something tells me it’s not near as discreet—exactly what Billy asked us to be. At least no one is getting fired.
“We are now the franchise of the Reno-Tesoro Red Tails.” Will grins, allowing his eyes to fall on me.
“Eep!” I cover my mouth with both hands. Reno and Red Tails. I knew it—and yet, I wasn’t sure Billy would agree with me. I let Theo get to me.
Will lifts one of the stapled packets sitting on the table. “The paperwork in front of you has logo possibilities, including examples from our marketing team. Alice, I’ll need your graphic designer’s information. I’d like them to collaborate with our designers to finalize the logo.”
I nod and swallow, flipping through the packet in front of me.
“Look everything over. Next time we meet, you’ll tell me what’s working and what isn’t.”
Theo’s face tells me he did not , in fact, know a darn thing. See, lying just bites you in the butt. Still, he only flicks his chin my way. “Nice job, princess.”
“One other thing,” Will says, his throat bobbing with a swallow, and he looks slightly uncomfortable. “It’s July?—”
“Billy’s party,” Mateo says.
“Billy throws a party?” I ask.
Theo smirks like I’m asking an obvious question. “Every single year.”
“Yep, this year we’re in Tesoro. The city throws a friendship festival at the end of the month, complete with food trucks and fireworks.” Will shoves his hands into his pockets. “Billy’s throwing his party to go along with the town’s festivities.” A long breath falls from his lips and chest. “A costume party.”
“Of course it’s costume,” Mateo says.
“Always is,” Theo replies. “Will hates them, so Billy keeps throwing them.” He grunts out a laugh.
Will ignores them both like they haven’t even spoken. “It’ll be here, in the office building, in the hall downstairs. Eight o’clock, with fireworks over the lake at ten. That’s it.” Will claps his hands. “Marketing team, we’ll reconvene about socials in two days. Do your homework, people. Billy’s counting on you.”
“Will,” Zoe says. “Can I talk to you for a second?” She smiles at me. “In the hall?”
Will follows her out the glass door, and I watch as they talk privately outside our conference room. I force my gaze to drop and file the packet from Will into my bag.
“Yo, Alice.” Theo stands in front of me and runs a hand through the side of his blond hair.
“Yo?”
“How would you like to be my date to Billy’s kickback?” His brows lift like he’s offering me something irresistible.
Is he kidding? Are we experiencing the same relationship? He’s been sneering at me and calling me princess for weeks—more than weeks, we are into months now. I stare at him, unable to speak.
My face must read confusion because he offers an explanation for his idea. “We can bury the misunderstandings and move past all the angst.” His eyes slide over me—head to toe. “Could be fun,” he says with a grin that I swear is evil.
“All the angst?” My mouth drops a little. Theo Ringer is asking me out.
“I thought we weren’t allowed to date coworkers.” I clench my jaw. It feels so wrong to even say the words out loud—even with my and Will’s Billy-amendment. Besides, even if there wasn’t a dating rule, hard pass, Theo.
He shrugs. “Will won’t be there. He hates Billy’s parties. And if Billy’s there?—”
“We all believe he’s there,” Mateo says to me. He cups his mouth and whispers, “ Incognito .”
“He’ll be in disguise,” Theo says, leaning an inch or two my way.
For real—what is happening?
Theo’s brows are officially at a trampoline park—they bounce again, then again, as he stares at me. Does he believe that to be enticing? “That’s why he throws a costume party every year.”
“At least that’s what we think,” Mateo says.
“That’s what I know,” Theo says. “He can show up in disguise and not be recognized.” Theo studies me—no, he’s smoldering. At least, he’s attempting to smolder. “So, what do you think? Wanna go together?”
I’m still pondering Theo’s eyebrows as well as all they’ve said to worry about answering his question. They really believe that’s why he throws a costume party?
“I don’t think Billy does that. It sounds kind of childish,” I say.
Theo smirks and Mateo laughs behind him. “The man bought a circus. He is childish.”
“He was a kid then. You can’t call him childish for something he did when he was literally a child.”
“He’s still a kid if you ask me. He went from one game to another.” Theo looks at Mateo. “Who buys a soccer team?”
“Plenty of people,” I say. “Well, at least seventy. There are more than seventy teams in the U.S. alone. It’s a profitable market. He’s not some kid playing pretend.”
“He’s not,” says a voice from the doorway. Will.
Theo swallows down his smirk and jokes. “Of course not,” he says. “Princess and I were messing around per usual.”
My brow wrinkles. “Per usual?”
“Yeah. Billy’s got this,” Theo says. “He knows I believe in him.”
“I’m sure,” Will deadpans.
“Mateo, let’s go. We’ve got work to do.” Theo Ringer bolts for the door like a dog with his tail between his legs.
“Oh, Theo!” I call. He peers back and I smile. “No, thank you.”
Mason gives me a crooked grin. “Nice work, Alice.” And then he’s gone too.
I sigh and peer over at Will. Tall, dark, and wonderful Will. I swallow. “Are you ever tempted to tell Billy about those guys?”
“You think anyone else would be different?” Will says.
“Yes.” I shrug because I don’t know. “They’re two-faced. They say one thing and then another. It’s frustrating.”
Will walks closer. He faces me and sits on the edge of the thick wood of the conference room table. “Alice, there’s a reason Billy doesn’t show his face. When people find out who he is, they act differently. Heck, they find out that I’m his liaison, and they treat me differently. Nobody’s real when it comes to Billy.”
“I don’t believe that. Not for everyone.”
“Not for you,” he says with a smile. “You are yourself, no matter what.”
“Being anything else feels wrong,” I say.
“I know.” He scoops a stray hair from across my view and tucks it behind my ear. “That’s one of the many things I adore about you.”