Chapter 41
CHAPTER 41
SIMON
O n Tuesday morning, I headed into Fit Gal for a day of working as the team I was about to be assigned to. If I wanted my dad to back off Abigail and the Walkers, I’d really have to pull out the big guns to win this client. I didn’t know what I was walking into with this charity thing this week or who I would be walking into it with, but none of that even mattered.
The only thing I cared about was winning—and proving to my father that I could beat Abi without him going after them. Maybe after I got the Fit Gal account, I could open myself back up to exploring things with her.
At least by then, my dad wouldn’t actively be trying to take down her company and it sure would make things easier if I knew he wouldn’t be gunning for them. Ever since our meeting, his threat had been eating me up inside, gnawing at the edges of my being until I’d realized that once again, he’d put me in a position where the best thing for her would be some distance between us.
I felt my features tightening into a scowl as I marched into the Fit Gal HQ, the glass doors more like the mouth of a beast I was walking into today. A beast I had to tame if I wanted to keep Abi safe.
When I walked into our office, she was already there, hard at work and so immersed in her computer that she barely even looked up. She did flash me a quick smile over her shoulder, though. “Good morning, you. I hope you’re ready for this.”
“Always.” I gave her a tight smile and sat down, knowing I was being less than warm, but I was doing it for her own good.
That conversation with my father had really thrown me off, and I knew that if I got too close to her, my dad would inevitably cause her pain through me. I didn’t want that—not for either of us. Pushing her a little further away from me than she was right now was likely to sting, but it wouldn’t hurt her. Not yet. Not now.
Which was why I needed to get it done.
A few times throughout the course of the early morning, I considered just coming out and telling her the truth. But the guy threatening her was my dad and she’d believe there was something I could do to stop him. Simply put, there wasn’t.
Short of locking him up in their house and confiscating all technology, there was absolutely nothing that would stop him if he set his sights on Walker and Co. He didn’t have any humanity to appeal to.
Eventually, it was time for our meeting with Blake and Ashley, and I got up, striding to the conference room without even waiting for Abigail to join me.
“Good morning,” Ashley said with another flirtatious smile aimed right at me. “Welcome to your second teams week! This is so exciting. Is anyone else excited?”
“So excited,” Jeffrey said flatly while Karen simply nodded and Abi smiled.
Everyone was clearly on tenterhooks, but I didn’t care who I was paired with—as long as it wasn’t Abigail Walker.
“We’d like to reiterate how impressed we were with both teams’ performances last week,” Blake said. “Honestly, it’s anyone’s game right now. Florida was awesome and Simon and Abi certainly rocked the expo, but it’s a whole new week and we’re pumped to see what you come up with this time.”
“Without any further ado,” Ashley picked up where he’d left off. “We’d like to remind you that this week, you’ll each be planning and hosting a charity event, which you’ll have only forty-eight hours to pull together. It’s going to be a tight schedule, and while this is a challenge, it’s also a real event for a real charity with Fit Gal’s real name on it. Nothing is for show here, so we know you’re going to do your utmost best.”
A murmur of agreement went up around the table, then Blake turned to grab the now familiar football helmet from the counter behind him. He stuck his hand into it without any theatrics at all, drawing out the first slip of paper and glancing down at it.
“Right, so on Team 1 this week, we’ve got Karen and,” he stuck his hand back in and looked at me after reading the same on the slip he’d pulled, “Simon.”
Ashley pursed her lips but quickly recovered, giving Karen a polite smile before turning a much more genuine one on me. “As Team 1, you two have been assigned the Family Outreach Event. It’s focused on Fit Kids, which is all about getting kids to be active at an earlier age. It’s about fun, encouragement, and education.”
Karen mumbled under her breath, but since I was sitting close enough, I heard her very Karen-ish griping. “Great. I’m stuck with Captain Cocky on a task about kids. Even the princess would’ve been better.”
I sighed but didn’t bother responding. I wouldn’t waste my breath. Abi turned to Jeffrey with an excited smile. “We get to plan the ball. Go team!”
She lifted her hand for a fist bump, but he frowned at it before wrapping his palm around her fist and giving it an awkward shake instead. I nearly groaned out loud, but Abi’s excitement didn’t suffer under the weight of her socially challenged partner—with whom she would be hosting a ball .
“I’ve got tons of ideas for this,” she said happily, light brown hair swishing behind her back as she stood up once we’d been dismissed.
Jeffrey pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and frowned. “We’ll have to review the budget first. An event of this nature is an expensive endeavor. We can’t afford to get carried away.”
“Oh, but we can,” she responded playfully as she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room to start planning. As they passed me, she turned to meet my gaze. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
I gave her a soft smile. “Good luck, Abigail.”
The last thing I saw before the door swung shut behind them was Jeffrey shaking his head at her. “No, no. We can’t afford to get carried away. Budgets are?—”
I couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that vibrated through my chest. Abigail was going to drive a nerdy, analytical guy like Jeffrey nuts, but on the other hand, I was stuck with Karen . She and I would drive each other just as crazy.
Ashley stood up and made to come over to me, but Blake caught her arm and quickly led her out of the room. Karen turned her chair, her red-painted lips pushed into a thin line. “Well, let’s hear it then, superstar. What have you got for me?”
“Gee, Karen. I don’t know. I’m so cocky and I don’t know the first thing about children, but I do know we only have forty-eight hours to pull this off, so whatever your problem is with me, you’d better get over it fast. I plan on winning this thing.”
“And I’m not?” Her eyebrows swept up. “You and the princess stole the last win right out from underneath us. Jeffrey and I deserved it, but you went to Florida. If anyone is out to win, it’s me.”
“You and Jeffrey deserved it?” I scoffed, rocking back on my chair and folding my arms. “Abi and I had you and you know it.”
She shook her head so enthusiastically that her ponytail bounced. “You used your families’ connections and your masculine and feminine wiles to get that win.”
“Our what now?” I did my best to swallow my surprised laughter, but a bark of it escaped anyway and Karen narrowed her eyes at me.
“You think this is funny ?” Her voice got shrill on the last word. “ Wiles is a real thing, Captain Cocky. Look it up.”
“I don’t have to,” I countered. “It means deception or trickery, and Abi and I did neither of those things. We just made the better commercial.”
Her face turned all different shades of red as she sputtered for a response. “Excuse me? It was good, but it was not better.”
“Okay, well, we’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one.” I leaned forward and arched both eyebrows at her. “Would you like to scratch my eyes out now or later? Later would be more convenient seeing as how we’re now well into our first hour and we haven’t gotten anything done just yet.”
Karen blanched as she glanced at the clock on the wall. Then she opened the folder she’d had in front of her all along with a soft swish of paper and gave me a sharp look. “I’ve already got the bare bones planned. During your time in Florida, I took the liberty of getting ahead on both events, so all you need to do is sit back and follow my instructions.”
“No.”
“No?” She pointed at the folder. “Excuse me, but I don’t see you coming in here with any premade plans. I don’t hear any suggestions. Clearly, I’m taking the lead on this, so?—”
“No,” I repeated crisply, knowing I would’ve walked away from our verbal sparring match under any other circumstances than those I found myself in right now. I could not stand this woman and working with her was going to test my patience, but I didn’t have a choice. “We’re crunched on time as it is. Turning this into an argument will only waste more of that than we already have and we’ve only got two days to book, plan, and market this event.”
“Yes, well, I think Blake and Ashley wanted to push all four of us to the limit to see what we could make happen in a very short amount of time, which is why I’ve already made a plan. If you’d stop interrupting and saying no, maybe I’ll tell you what it is.”
I lifted my chin. “No. Just because I didn’t bring a cutesy little folder doesn’t mean I didn’t come in here with a plan. Of course I have a plan. I’m a winner, Karen. That’s what we do. We plan on winning and we know how we’re going to make it happen.”
She brought her hand up and fanned her fingers out as she planted it over her face. “God have mercy. He has a plan…”
“I do.”
“Does it involve strippers or drugs? Because if we need that kind of event planned, I’ll gladly defer to you. This, however, is supposed to be a wholesome, family event for children. What do you know about that?”
Well, admittedly, not much. “I was a child once, Karen. I’m sure I remember what they like.”
“Oh, you are?” She blinked her heavily mascaraed lashes at me and frowned. “Pray tell, Mr. Eternal Bachelor, what is it that children like?”
“Fun,” I said simply. “They like fun, Karen. You do remember what that is, right?”
She scoffed. “Scratching your eyes out doesn’t seem like such a bad idea right now. At least it’ll mean that you’ll have to go to the emergency room and I’ll get a couple hours of planning in by myself.”
“Go for it, honey.” I smirked at her. “I’ll just have a doctor come in here to fix me up and then I wouldn’t even have to use my masculine wiles to get you chucked out of the competition. Fit Gal won’t want to be associated with someone violent. Now, would you like to hear my plan or are you going to keep wasting time until I win the battle and tell you exactly how we’re going to win this war?”