11. Maddy
11
MADDY
I will not fall asleep. I will not fall asleep.
My chant wasn’t helping. At all.
Noah had been right about the nonstop schedule of the trip. He’d lined up three consecutive meetings with FIBA Spain players right after we’d arrived. I’d been fine during the tour of their facilities and the first meeting, but now I was struggling to keep my eyes open in the warmth of the offices next to the court.
These were all current clients; it wasn’t like he was trying to woo them, so I didn’t feel too bad about not being at my best. But still, there were endorsement details I needed to take notes about, and obviously it wasn’t a good look to be out of it during the first day of a three-week trip.
Noah glanced at me, frowning, and I sat up straighter.
I could do this. I wasn’t going to let jet lag get the best of me. Especially not when there was a bet on the line.
My face burned at the memory of the drive home, and what had happened after. No, not what had happened . What I’d done .
Had it just been last night? Everything felt like it was wrapped in a gauzy haze since the flight, so maybe I’d stupidly kissed my boss weeks before and not just under twenty-four hours prior.
“Miss, are you okay?”
I jerked back to full consciousness and looked around the room in horror at the realization that my eyes had slipped closed. It was the player, an impossibly tall guy named Juancho with a buzz cut and beard, who’d laughingly asked the question.
“Yup! I’m great!” I said, mustering up a believably chipper voice. I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt.
“We arrived today,” Noah explained. He slid me a knowing look. “Still adjusting to the time difference.”
“Wait,” Juancho said. “You just got here and you’re already making this poor woman work? Did you at least stop to get her a blanco y negro on the way?”
“It’s okay, I’m fine,” I insisted.
“Noah,” Juancho chastised, drawing his name out playfully. “Is that any way to treat your employee? And such a beautiful one at that!” He turned on the charm as he grinned at me. “Maddy, let’s you and I leave right now so I can take care of you, yes? Once you have a nice coffee and some rest, I can show you all the sights of Barcelona.”
I giggled nervously, partly because Juancho was hot and had an incredibly sexy accent and partly because Noah was scowling. I hadn’t asked for this type of flirty attention, and I doubted he wanted me to embarrass his client by shutting it down, especially since it was just teasing and playful, nothing that crossed a line. Still, he looked downright pissed about what was happening.
If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn he looked… jealous.
But that was ridiculous. Why would he be jealous?
“We’re nearly done here,” Noah said quickly. “Just one more meeting. Maddy, you can feel free to get some fresh air if that helps.”
Noah sounded apologetic but still gruff, like he was trying to make up for the fact that we’d jumped right into our day without time to adjust.
“No, I’m fine, thank you. Please excuse the interruption. Juancho, you were saying something about the new sponsorship by Banco Pastor?”
It was enough to restart the conversation. Sleepiness vanished as I got a charge from the way Noah kept glancing at me. He didn’t seem to be doing it to gauge if I was working or not. It felt like he was taking me in, as if he was seeing me for the first time. I could sense the weight of his eyes on me, but I avoided meeting his gaze, knowing my cheeks would go red the second our eyes connected.
An hour that felt like an eternity later, Noah and I were out in the sunshine, heading for the café that Juancho had suggested.
“You going to make it?” Noah asked, sounding like he was only half kidding. “Or am I going to win our bet?”
“Oh, come on, I thought I did a great job faking it.”
“Was that before or after you jerked yourself awake?”
His face finally relaxed into a smile, and I felt the tension drain from my body. There was something about Noah that made me want to impress him, to show him I was up for whatever challenge he threw at me. Struggling with the time change made me feel weak. If Noah could power through, so could I.
We wound up under the shade of wide canvas umbrellas next to an ancient stone building. It wasn’t fancy, but the tables crowded with people chattering in Catalan made it clear that it was a favorite hangout. That, plus the prime street-watching location made it the perfect spot to recalibrate.
Noah ordered for us in flawless Catalan and I tried to keep from swooning. It was ridiculous to keep lying to myself about what he did to me. Yes, I was attracted to Noah, because how could I not be? He was handsome enough to make every woman watch him as he strode down the sidewalk. He was suave, self-assured, and also—surprisingly enough— kind . Billionaires were supposed to be ruthless, right? And sure, I knew the man could go hard when necessary. I’d seen the bosshole come out. I’d even been on the receiving end of it a few times. And there was no denying he was bluntly honest, rarely bothering to pad his words or beat around the bush. But I’d also seen glimpses of his empathy and compassion, the genuine care he felt for those he represented, and to me that was sexier than all the zeroes in his bank account.
“Earth to Maddy. You fading again?” Noah asked. “Coffee will be out in a few minutes.”
If only he knew what I was thinking.
I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “Fine, fine, I’ll say it. I lost the bet. I’m jet-lagged. Okay? Happy?”
He placed his elbows on the mosaic tabletop and leaned closer to me. “I’ll be happy when you’re back to the Maddy I’ve gotten to know. I’m not used to you being so…”
“Inefficient?” I offered. “Unproductive?”
“Quiet,” he laughed. “The silence is killing me.”
The waiter placed an array of cheese and bread on the table along with two perfect cups of coffee, and I felt myself start salivating.
“Let me plow through all of this food and I’ll be ready to talk your ear off about why Juancho shouldn’t say no to that sneaker endorsement deal.” I grabbed a crumbly chunk of cheese and nearly moaned when I took the first bite.
Noah’s phone rang and he snatched it off the table. “Shit. It’s Garrison. He never calls, it’s always texts.” He tapped his screen. “Hey Matthew, what’s going on?”
I checked the time on my phone and realized it was early back home. I watched Noah’s face shift from concern to shock as he listened and realized something must be really wrong.
“Oh no. How bad?” Noah asked, frowning.
He stared at the table and listened to Matthew as I tried to figure out what was going on. I pulled out my own phone and checked online to see if there had been any breaking news alerts for Matthew or his team, but nothing was showing up yet.
“Okay, okay, slow down. We need to think here. What did the doctor say?”
My stomach dropped. Doctor?
“Do they have any idea how long she’ll be in the ICU?”
It had to be about June. If she was in intensive care, it was really bad.
“Matthew, I’m so sorry I can’t be with you right now. And I understand that this is an emotional time, but please don’t rush into any snap decisions right now. Everything can change in an instant—” he stopped to listen and frowned. “No, that’s not what I meant. She could turn a corner and wake up tomorrow like nothing happened. Everything is up in the air right after a car accident, but your mom is strong, and I know she wouldn’t want?—”
His eyes softened.
“Matthew, she’s not going to die,”’ he said in a quiet voice. “I’m going to reach out to some of my people to make sure she gets the best care possible. You have my word. Let’s focus on that for now and put everything else to the side for the time being, okay? Matthew, I’m begging you, don’t do it.”
The pieces were starting to come together now. It seemed that Matthew’s mom had been in an accident. And if I was reading Noah’s response correctly, it sounded like Matthew wanted to drop out of NFL consideration so he could help her. It was a decision I understood. I’d lived a version of it. No one knew better than I did what it meant to give up career goals to be a caregiver. But I also knew the toll it could take. I could picture Matthew in the hospital, thinking he’d give anything to make sure June survived. The thing was, I’d met June. I didn’t think she’d want him giving up the career he’d worked so hard for. Not if there were other options on the table.
“Matthew, give me a sec,” Noah said. He covered his phone and shot me a look.
“What?” I mouthed at him.
“June was in a car accident and she’s in a coma. He’s not thinking straight. He wants to put everything on hold. As in, remove his name from consideration tomorrow. Do you think you could…” He held his phone out to me.
I swallowed hard. Could I? It felt like I didn’t have a choice. I nodded and took the phone from Noah.
“Matthew, hi—it’s Maddy. I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.”
I heard a shaky breath on the other end. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. She’s been in surgery for a long time. I haven’t been able to see her since I first got here and no one is telling me what’s going on, other than she’s not awake. I’m freaking the fuck out, Maddy.”
“Of course you are. I can’t imagine how scary that is for you. Is anyone with you?”
“No.”
Which was why he was willing to do something rash. No one was there to help him make sense of what was going on. There was a chance it wasn’t as bad as he assumed.
“I’m sorry, I wish Noah and I were there to help.” I took a deep breath because what I was about to say felt like a horrible mishmash of commerce and tragedy. “I understand why football would be the last thing you’d want to think about right now. Of course your family comes first. We support you in that one hundred percent. But now’s probably not the best time to be making any final decision about the future—for yourself or your family. Not when you still don’t have the full picture of what’s going on. So for now, all we’re asking is that you hit pause, okay? Don’t make any decisions in the heat of the moment. We both know how badly your mom wants this for you, right? Think about how mad she’d be to wake up tomorrow only to find that you dropped out. I’m betting you’d be in for quite a lecture.”
It got the smallest chuckle out of him. “You might be right.”
“Listen, I haven’t been through exactly what you’re dealing with, but I know what it’s like to be a caregiver for a loved one. My dad got sick, and I put my life and my career on hold to be with him. As much as he liked that I was around, he was always telling me I shouldn’t have given up on my dreams. It made him feel worse , you know? Like he was holding me back.”
“He said that?”
“All the time, Matthew. He felt guilty. Honestly, we fought about it a few times.”
Across the table, Noah watched me with something unreadable in his eyes.
“That must’ve been rough,” Matthew said. I could hear the hospital noise getting louder in the background.
“Listen, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be there for your mom. She needs you right now. But I really think you should see how the next forty-eight hours shake out before you come to any conclusions. Let’s see where we are tomorrow. And in the meantime Noah is going to get some experts to help out and make sure she has everything she needs. June is going to get great care, and she’ll be back to bossing you around before you know it, okay?”
I’d hoped to get a laugh out of him, but the line was silent.
“I’m so scared.” It was a whisper, and for a moment, Matthew sounded like a little boy.
“I know you are, but she’s going to pull through just fine. She’s in good hands. I’m going to give you back to Noah now.”
I handed the phone across the table and Noah mouthed “thank you” to me.
He and Matthew talked for the next few minutes. Noah did more listening than talking, but judging by his expression and the way he kept nodding, it seemed like this part of the conversation was going smoothly. Finally, he started wrapping it up. “Matthew, call me day or night, got that? I’ll let you know when I’ve connected with my people. Talk soon, take care, kid.”
Noah placed his phone on the table and closed his eyes. “Why do these things always happen when I’m away? I just want to be there for him so I can fix things.”
“I think it’s going to work out. He’s not going to do anything reckless.”
He finally focused on me. “Maddy, thank you for talking to him. You’re the reason he’s not pulling out. You did an amazing job.”
“I’m glad I could make him feel a little better. He’s alone and scared. I get that he wants to stop the world.”
“We need to get a read on what’s going on. I have to make a few calls. I know people on the board at the hospital. Not that we’re going to breach confidentiality stuff, but…”
Noah was already dialing.
I mentally rehashed the conversation as Noah started talking to someone. It was the second time I’d gotten mixed up in the Garrison dynamics… or was it the third? But no, it was different this time, because instead of butting in I’d been asked to help. Noah had trusted me enough to hand his phone to me to reason with Matthew. Despite the sick feeling over what the Garrisons were facing, I felt a little bit of pride that I’d been able to get through to Matthew.
“Maddy, seriously.” His dark eyes fixed on mine after he hung up. “Thank you for talking him down. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re amazing.”
Noah grabbed his cup and threw back the rest of his coffee. I was a mix of wired and exhausted, like I could run a marathon or sleep for two days straight.
He reached across the table and squeezed my hand, which added a third option to what I felt capable of.
Kissing my boss again.