Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Carter
“You what?” I say into my phone as I sit in the lobby of our hotel in downtown Vancouver. After leaving the stadium fifty minutes ago, Kelsey, Jaxon, and I agreed to meet here for dinner, since Jaxon insisted he change into something nicer before we left.
The Jaxon I knew twenty years ago didn’t ever care too much about that sort of thing, but I suppose between time and fame, he’s likely changed a lot from the sixteen-year-old I knew.
“I’m not going to be able to make it to dinner after all,” Jaxon repeats. I can hear him pacing on his end of the line, though no muffled voices like I would expect to hear if the rest of his staff is there.
“Okay,” I say.
“You and Kelsey should still go without me, though.”
“That’s all right, I’m sure we’ll just grab something from the hotel restaurant.” Though the idea of going out with Kelsey and taking in the city sparks something in me that I have to work very hard to snuff out.
“Andre will be heartbroken if you don’t go. He worked really hard to get that reservation.”
“I thought Annie handled all your meal scheduling.” And as the most no-nonsense middle-aged woman I’ve ever met, I highly doubt Annie would care if we didn’t take her reservation.
“Andre likes to help,” Jaxon replies.
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t worry about it. Just go, or Andre will be mad. Okay, have fun on your date!” The last sentence all runs together like he’s in a rush to get it out, and then the line goes dead.
“That little liar,” I say to myself, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on my khakis.
“Who’s a liar?” Kelsey asks, startling me with her nearness.
I give myself one full second to take her in—just one.
I’ve learned the hard way that it’s the only chance I have of pulling my eyes off her.
A bulky black jacket covers her all-black outfit.
It looks like one of those jumper things where the top is connected to the bottoms for unknown reasons.
It’s just tight enough to show off exactly how fit she is, her petite frame wrapped in long runner’s muscles.
With her thick, curly hair down for the first time since that morning we drove to Denver, she looks radiant.
Shit. I really thought the crush I had on her in high school was long gone. Turns out, it’s a lot easier to pretend you’ve moved on from a crush when you aren’t actively seeing and interacting with the woman.
Kelsey sticks her hands in her pockets, giving me a similar once-over. I dismiss the idea as quickly as it enters my head, knowing it’s not that similar. I highly doubt she thinks I look radiant. Or debonair. Maybe attractive—I’m aware I’m decent-looking.
Regardless, I’m glad I went with a dark blue button-down without the Mitchell Security logo on it.
“Jaxon canceled on us.”
“Oh.” She looks around and then down at her outfit. “Shoot. I was really looking forward to eating at Biologica.”
She doesn’t sound like she’s being sarcastic, but sometimes her delivery is so deadpan, it’s hard to tell.
“You…were?” I ask.
“Yeah. It’s one of the highest-rated restaurants in Vancouver.
I have a list of the top three places I want to eat in each of the cities we’re in, and it was on mine for here.
I know there will be stops on the tour where I won’t be able to make it to a single restaurant, let alone three, but I love traveling and eating, so…
” She trails off, and I have to force myself to glance around the hotel rather than stare at her face.
“That…sounds like you.” The understatement of the year for a display of the passion and intensity she has for things she cares about.
“Unlike my timing at the airport?”
I chuckle.
“Well, I’m glad you’re interested, because apparently Andre will be devastated if we end up canceling the reservation he worked so hard on.”
“Andre doesn’t…ahh. Now I see who the little liar is. Are we thinking this might be like the time Jaxon tried to set up Bryn with Ethan Harris?”
“I don’t think I know that story. I was thinking more about when he told both Shelby Richards and Pete Brown that he needed math help and then somehow never showed up at the diner—despite telling them both to order food.”
Kelsey chuckles. “It’s possible.”
“Still up for it anyway?” I ask, my heart threatening to drop down into my stomach. It’s a business dinner. That’s all. I don’t know why I’m so excited about the prospect of a meal.
She twirls one of her strands of hair around her finger as she considers the option, taking far longer than I would’ve liked.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
We decide to catch a rideshare, since a thirty-minute walk across Vancouver in the middle of January sounds anything but enjoyable.
It’s been dark for hours now, and it’s snowed enough in the last week that everything is wet and cold.
The black sedan pulls up in front of the hotel, and I grab the door first, holding it open for Kelsey.
She slides all the way across the gray leather backseat, making room for me by my door, rather than having me go around like I intended.
I lower myself into the seat, resisting the urge to hold the hand she has resting on her leg closest to me.
We ride in companionable silence to the restaurant; the man driving the car attempted to make conversation with us but quickly realized we wouldn’t be that kind of ride.
My mom would’ve happily answered every question he asked about where we were from and would likely have followed up with similar questions of her own.
I suppose it’s what makes her such a good waitress.
“How’s your mom?” Kelsey asks, making conversation.
I’ve talked to my mom every day since we left, making sure to call her each night around the time I would’ve shown up for dinner—trying to keep some semblance of consistency even when I’m not there.
I know it’ll get harder once I’m no longer in a similar time zone, but I have a reminder in my phone every day so I’ll at least be notified, regardless of if I can call her then or not.
“She’s doing okay,” I say, never sure how much detail someone really wants to know. It’s why I don’t go out in Wild Bluffs. People ask me about how she’s doing all the time, and what am I supposed to say? “Bill, the owner of the diner, and his wife are helping my mom out while I’m gone.”
I had a quick call with Bill yesterday to make sure there wasn’t anything going on behind the scenes my mom wasn’t telling me about or didn’t remember.
Despite telling me all was well, after some prying, Bill admitted my mom had a bad afternoon two days ago, getting confused about where her dad was—her dad who passed away three years after I was born.
A death my mom always blamed herself for, claiming the stress of finding out she was pregnant in high school led to him having his heart attack.
Kelsey chuckles. “I know who Bill is. I’m glad you have someone who can help out. Let me know if they need backup; I’m sure my mom would be happy to stop by and say hello.”
The vehicle pulls up in front of a white building with a wall of windows, large golden doors, and the word Biologica written in capital serif letters above the entrance.
The inside is just as swanky, the type of restaurant I’ve only been to once or twice in my life, and I’m suddenly grateful we’re here to discuss business so that I can put the meal on Trent’s business card.
If the purple orchids filling the space didn’t give away the price point, the full table settings with multiple wineglasses per spot sure would.
It’s a far cry from the Wild Bluffs Café.
“Did you know Trent was coming?” Kelsey asks as soon as the hostess leaves us sitting in our booth.
“No,” I say, telling her the truth. Trent had given me no warning he would be joining us, and after Kelsey and Jaxon left the meeting, I’d asked him if he was planning on just showing up at random locations for the tour.
He’d said “Yes.” Just yes. No additional details.
And when I’d pressed him on it, he’d told me he wanted me to be on my A game at all times, thinking he could show up at any moment.
As if his presence is what makes me want to do my job well.
Kelsey squints at me, the disbelief evident.
“You didn’t seem surprised by his appearance.”
“I ran into him right before the meeting.” I’d been headed into the equipment closet to get one of my guys a new shirt for tomorrow and had been truly surprised to find him there.
Disbelief is written across her face. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here when we were both waiting?”
“I didn’t think you’d care.”
“And once he interjected himself into the meeting, wasted everyone’s time, and made it sound like I work for him? Then did you think I’d care?” she asks.
“Honestly? No. I’ve learned to stop giving a shit what Trent says. I figured you had too.”
“I don’t like it when men treat me as if I’m beneath them.”
“Just men?” I ask.
“Women are far less likely to try. Plus, I work in a very male-dominated industry, so I have to go out of my way to make men respect me. I start at a disadvantage because of my gender. Men look at me and see a petite woman with long blonde hair and automatically assume I’m not as good at my job as the meathead next to me.
” She holds up her hand before I can reply.
“Look, I understand that my size is a disadvantage if it comes to being a human shield, but that is such a small part of the security industry. Even if you’re providing personal security for someone, if you’re doing your job right, you shouldn’t have to step in front of the person to block them from anything but a long-range camera.
You should’ve already done the work to make sure the area is clear before they ever enter it. ”
Kelsey, on an average day, is a sight to behold. She’s power and fury and intelligence wrapped into a breath-stealing package. Kelsey, when she’s passionate about something, is fire and brilliance—a force I can’t look away from.