14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Grady
I sipped my coffee and admired Maggie across the conference table. She was a magnet. Wanting her was wrong. So, so wrong. It would be better if she was repellent to me, but every glance she cast my way only drew me closer. For so long, I’d hated her, convinced myself it was true. Whether it was the passage of time or being around her again, our close quarters were making me second-guess the hatred I’d clung to.
Had my feelings for her ever been hatred or something much more complicated? The corners of her lips tipped up in a partial smile, and I wondered what Emily had said to amuse her.
I wish I was the one making her smile .
The thought hit me square in the chest. Whatever shift was happening was occurring at an alarming rate. But I was coming around to the fact that maybe, just maybe, I’d been lying to myself all along.
Kelvin, Emily, Tyler, and Lila were already there. We were waiting for Trent. I could tell by the tension across Maggie’s shoulders she was anticipating a fight. If I let myself get wound up before Trent appeared, I’d say things to divide us more.
Lila flicked through her phone and stopped on something. “Okay, I know Trent isn’t here yet, which is a shame.” She grinned at Maggie, and Maggie rolled her eyes. “But I have the list of people I’ve roped into getting naked.”
Tyler sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He’d lost weight compared to the last time I saw him. Lila’s fitness regime was working. I took another sip of my coffee and eyed Kelvin.
“You on that list, buddy?”
“I am,” Kelvin confirmed. “Lila agreed to let me wear my snake briefs.”
I held up a hand. “I really don’t need the details.” I swirled the coffee in my cup and then couldn’t help myself. “Snake briefs?”
Kelvin chuckled. “A gift from an ex. He thought it was funny. My current boyfriend isn’t as keen.”
“Grady,” Lila said.
Lila and Maggie were on the other side of the table, expectant expressions on their faces. A hint of mischief lit Maggie’s brown eyes.
“What can I do for you ladies?”
Maggie smirked, and Lila raised her eyebrows. “Maggie tells me you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make this a success.”
I squirmed in my chair. Sounded like a challenge, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to back down. Most of the time, losing wasn’t an option. “You bet. What do you need?”
“Someone to teach the men with two left feet how to move sexy on stage.” Lila swayed her hips. “She thought you’d be the best person.”
My throat closed, and I nearly choked on my coffee. “What?”
Lila rotated her phone toward a clip of me dancing on Center Stage , which made heat rise to my cheeks. One of many examples of why I was glad I could write songs for other people. Some of the shit the show had made me do was still fucking embarrassing.
“I didn’t come up with that myself.”
“But you learned it, right? Got any friends who could pop down and choreograph a strip show?” Lila pressed.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and grimaced. “Leave it with me.”
Kelvin’s elbow dug into my side as Emily, Maggie, and Lila conferred over some master plan in the middle of the table. Tyler was absorbed in his phone, a frown creasing his brow.
“You know people?” Kelvin whispered.
“I know lots of people. Someone willing to come here to choreograph a strip show for free? Probably not. Not exactly a resume builder.”
“I’ve taken hip-hop lessons, if you get desperate. I might be able to teach people a thing or two.”
Before I could respond, the door to the conference room squeaked open, and I tensed.
“Sorry, I’m late, Mags. I went to your office first.”
Trent hadn’t spotted me yet, and I braced myself while his gaze traveled around the room. Our eyes locked, and then his focus flipped to Maggie.
“Are you kidding me?” Trent glared at Maggie. “Can we talk in the hall?”
Maggie weaved around everyone, and as she passed me, I rose.
“I’ll handle this,” Maggie whispered.
“Not fucking likely,” I muttered to her back as I trailed her out the door. I wasn’t leaving her to bear the brunt of Trent’s anger when I’d talked her into letting me help with the event.
“Are you fucking with me?” Trent glared at Maggie, ignoring me. “I asked for one thing.”
“Probably two,” I said. “Help from her and to cut me out. Math was never your strong suit. But that’s two things.”
“Grady, don’t be a dick,” Maggie warned.
Was I being a dick? Trent and I had spoken to each other that way for as long as I could remember. Saying anything else would have felt false. “Truth hurts.” But the lies were so much worse.
“Fuck you. You can’t come back to town, make no effort—again—and expect me to shrug my shoulders and move on.”
“I’m offering my help.”
“We don’t want it.”
“Maggie does.”
“Actually—” Maggie held up a hand.
“Yeah, right. Maggie came to you? Asked you to help? Bullshit. You caught wind of this and thought it would be a good way to score some points for the election. Everything is always about you. Grady first.” Trent threw up his hands. “I don’t know why you want to be mayor. Makes zero sense. At least Maggie gives a shit about other people.”
I straightened under Trent’s verbal assault. Six years and I’d never considered staying away was creating this firestorm in him. Was Trent wrong? Probably not. I wasn’t even sure why I wanted to be mayor anymore. But I was terrible at backing down from a challenge. It wasn’t surprising Trent thought I was a shitty person; I already believed it about myself.
“Trent.” Her hand was on his forearm. “He’s trying. Would you rather he didn’t?”
Seeing the physical contact, the closeness between her and Trent, made my chest ache. Jealous. I was jealous. So fucking jealous that it felt like it might eat a hole right through me. But I wasn’t sure if it was him or her. Both. Probably both. I rolled my shoulders to ease the tension. When I looked up, Trent was staring, and I met his gaze, defiant.
“I’m trying to be better,” I said. “I want to be better.”
Trent eyed Maggie. “It’s up to you. You think we need him? Fine. I don’t give a shit.”
Her gaze sought mine. “To have the best chance at raising a lot of money, we need him.”
Warmth flooded me at her words and the way her brown eyes scanned my face. She said she’d help me reconnect with Trent, and she was already doing more than I would have expected given the way I’d treated her.
“I’m going to talk to everyone else,” Trent said, brushing past Maggie into the conference room.
“Thank you,” I said before Maggie disappeared behind Trent.
“Don’t let him down, okay?” Her hand rested on the door.
I scratched the back of my head and resisted the urge to touch her, to reestablish the connection which had crackled between us at her house the other night. Addictive . I’d felt it with a few women, in other places, other times but never with the intensity I did with Maggie. Nothing had ever felt the same as it did with Maggie.
The relationship she had with Trent was confounding. They were so close, even now. One way or another, she had lied to me back then, might even be lying now. That realization kept sticking like slime coating all our interactions. I wanted the truth, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever get it.
Regardless, if I was trying to get my brother back, I couldn’t make the same mistakes. Taunting her the other night had been a mistake. Whatever was resurrecting between us couldn’t take hold. Brothers first.
“I’ll find a choreographer. Some people owe me favors. Maybe I can get some guest appearances.” I’d been saving those favors for a rainy day. The situation between Trent and me qualified as a downpour.
Her gaze slid away, and she slipped into the conference room. I followed her and was surprised to see Lila and Trent chuckling over something on her phone.
“We’ve got a venue,” Emily said as soon as we were settled in our chairs.
“Where?” Maggie picked up her phone and then set it back down.
“Stanley Theater in Utica. The capacity is almost three thousand, which we think is enough.” Emily looked between all of us. “October eighteenth. It’s a Friday.”
“Seven weeks,” Maggie said. “What do you think, Grady? Lila?”
“I can plan anything in seven weeks.” Lila grinned.
“The Stanley is pretty fancy for stripping.” Though, it might be easier for me to convince some people to help with a venue like that. I’d been worried it would be outside. October in New York State was a weather gamble.
“We’ll be classy strippers,” Trent said.
“I gotta go, Maggie.” Tyler gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “Another order of campaign signs arrived at the house. I’ll deliver those over the next couple of days. Where’s the list?”
When Maggie’s gaze shifted to mine and then away, I felt a twinge of unease. Did I still want to be in competition with her? Hating her had been easier. A lot more straightforward. This new middle ground was confusing. How did I exist in this space with her?
“It’s on my desk,” Maggie said.
“Okay. Good work everyone.” Tyler backed out the door. “Lila, I’m taking tomorrow off from the gym. No need to pick me up.”
“No, no, no. Tyler! There are seven weeks until showtime. Now is not the time to slack off.” Lila circled the table and followed him into the hall.
“I’ll email everyone with their to-do lists. We’ll meet in a couple weeks.” Maggie rose from her chair and then looked at me. “Once you’ve got some people lined up, we should probably touch base, okay?”
I nodded and shoved my hands into my pockets. Her phrasing sent my thoughts spiraling out of control. There were all kinds of places I’d like to touch, bases I’d like to round. Maybe if I gave into one of the women trying to coax me into bed, I wouldn’t feel this tension with Maggie.
Lila popped her head into the conference room door as everyone was filing out. “Grady, choreography. I need that as soon as you can get it. Some of these guys are going to need a lot of practice. Their auditions weren’t great.”
“Auditions?” I frowned, my mind somewhere else.
“Don’t worry. I won’t make you strip for me. You’re a shoo-in.” She gave an exaggerated wink before leaving with her arm tucked into the crook of Emily’s.
When Trent walked past, he muttered, “Don’t fuck this up.”
Exiting on my brother’s heels, I looked back at Maggie, who was gathering her papers. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”