25. Alice
25
Alice
C utting the pants off of a good-looking man who smells like laundry day and gives sweet old ladies gifts means nothing. Sure we stayed up late talking and laughing but that doesn’t mean anything either.
Billy doesn’t have any rules about cutting pants. About gift giving. About attending games together. We’re allowed to be friends. That’s what we are—Will and I are friends. I watched my friend give an elderly woman one hundred dollars last night. I joked and laughed and talked with my friend until I couldn’t see straight last night. I sadly cut the epic lime-green plastic pants off of my friend last night. Yeah… that was interesting.
But that’s it.
I know the rules. Will certainly knows the rules.
Friends aren’t against the rules.
I am certainly not applying an extra layer of mascara and pink lip gloss for my friend. No—that’s for the business meeting we have with Jet today. That’s all.
It’s almost noon, and while I haven’t seen Will once today—we were up late—we’ll have to leave soon.
I stand next to our joint door and wait for Will to knock. Or I could knock. I lift my fist. Or I could just wait. I drop my fist.
Or—
Tap-tap.
“Will,” I breathe out and open the door separating us.
“Hey,” he says, perfectly normal.
He’s not having an internal struggle about attraction that he shouldn’t be feeling. So, why should I?
“Ready to go?” he asks.
I nod. “Yep.”
“Did you sleep well?” He holds the exit open for me, waiting for me to pass through.
“I didn’t not sleep well.”
Will’s brow lifts, and he gives me a side eye before pressing the down elevator button. “And that means…”
“I missed my bed.”
“You’ve grown attached,” he says with the smallest of snickers.
“I have.”
He grins, and I think about the evening we spent together. “I get that,” he says.
“How’d you sleep?” I ask, because I’m pretty sure friends are allowed to ask other friends about sleep. It’s a safe topic. Will did it. So can I.
“Other than someone keeping me up half the night talking”—his side bumps mine—“pretty well.”
A tittering laugh escapes my lips.
“It was fun,” he says. “I like it when you talk.”
My nerves settle with his words.
“Hey, you talked just as much as I did.” But thinking about it, I’m not sure he did. Will tells me stories—when I ask for them. But only when I ask. And sometimes they aren’t even his stories. Whereas I seem to happily volunteer my entire life story to Will Henley.
“Are you sure?” he asks. So, he knows he doesn’t. Hmm…
“Maybe not. But you didn’t kick me out either.”
“Why would I do that? I was enjoying myself.”
His words send a shot of thrills through all of my nerve endings— friendly thrills. I follow Will out to our rental, my fingers twitching. My mind whirls back to the few minutes he held my hand in his yesterday.
It’s a friendly thought— maybe .
We drive through downtown Denver, and I watch out the window, enjoying the sunshine. Spring and early summer might be my favorite time of year.
When Will pulls into a parking space, I peer over at him. He looks back, and I remember the first time I saw him—at Amanda’s wedding, out in the crowd. Will is a very attractive man—thick wavy hair, gray-blue eyes, forearms that could make any girl blush, and legs for days. I might be an expert in Will Henley’s legs after last night. He is six foot four, and I’m pretty sure all six are legs.
Every day, I see Will a little more clearly. There’s so much more to Will than a handsome face. And I see it. His goodness, his kindness, his selflessness. Every day Will becomes even more attractive.
It’s a dangerous thought.
But a true one.
“Is there anything you want me to do at this meeting?” I ask. He brought me here because of my relationship with Jet, but I’m not sure how that’s going to help us.
“Nope.” He shakes his head, a silly grin on his face. “Just be you.”
“I want to help,” I say.
“You will, I’ve no doubt.” Will opens his driver’s side door and steps out into the sunshine.
We came early, and just as Will wanted, we beat Jet to the restaurant. We sit and wait only a few minutes before Jet Jacobson walks into the building. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I remember the man.
The last time he came to visit us, I was a junior in high school. He brought his wife Ebony and their two kids. Nox was in middle school at the time, and Melina was in elementary. They were closer to my siblings’ ages than mine. Still, I remember taking their family to our local street fair. I remember how Coco and Ebony sounded like college girls laughing and talking, and how Dad stumbled over and loved entertaining the Jet Jacobson.
He looks the same—mostly. There may be a few new grays sprinkled throughout his hair and a few new wrinkles around his eyes. But that’s Jet.
I must look the same to him, too, because he scans the room, stops at our table, and his flat mouth lifts into a wide, joyful grin when he spots me. I wave and smile as Jet walks toward us.
“Mr. Jacobson—” Will says, his hand out to shake Jet’s.
But Jet’s eyes are on me. “Alice Taylor.” He grins, then leans in to give me a hug. “I called your mom to make sure I wasn’t being scammed. You’re working for a soccer team? Why didn’t you call me for a job? I would have given it to you in a second.”
He would have? The thought never occurred to me.
I laugh—it’s a nervous titter. “I honestly didn’t know I’d ever want to work for a soccer team until now.”
“As I recall,” Jet says—he still hasn’t noticed Will yet, “you fell asleep during one of my games.”
I cringe. “I did. So rude of me.”
“Nah.” Jet waves off my apology. “I think you were six.”
“She watched a full game yesterday,” Will says, calling attention to himself.
“Yes! We watched you coach.”
“I’m the assistant. You watched me assist in coaching.” He winks at the joke.
“Well, it was fun. I liked it,” I tell him, happy to report that I’ve grown up a little.
“I’m glad.” Jet nods.
Will clears his throat beside me. “Mr. Jacobson—it’s so good to meet you in person.”
“Oh, Jet! This is Will. He’s the person you’re actually here to meet with.”
Will holds out a hand and Jet takes it, looking at Will for the first time since he arrived.
“Yeah,” Jet says. “We spoke on the phone.”
“We did,” Will says. “I’m excited to tell you what we’ve got going on in Tesoro.”
We sit back down, the three of us forming a triangle at this round table. Jet turns back to me. “How are your parents, Alice?”
This isn’t going to work if we never talk about Billy’s team, about all the work Will and I have done. Billy wants Jet. Will is certain he’s right.
“They’re good,” I say, not wanting to be rude. “I miss them, but they’re doing great. My brother’s still home to keep them busy. And I’m loving Tesoro. We’ve been working hard there—on the new team. Will has so much to tell you.”
“You know,” Jet says, “Nox is thinking about some form of marketing. He’s only changed his major three times. Can I have him call you?”
“Yeah,” I say, darting a glance at Will. “Nox is Jet’s son. He’s in college, then?”
“Yep, and Melina graduates this May,” Jet says, pride in his eyes. “She’s headed to Berkley in the fall.”
“Wow. That’s great, Jet. You should be proud.” I swallow. “Will has a whole packet for you from Billy?—”
“Right. Billy Baxter. Billionaire at thirty.”
“At sixteen, actually,” I say. “He inherited?—”
Will nudges his knee with mine beneath the table, and I clamp my mouth shut.
“Billy didn’t want to meet me himself?” Jet asks, this time looking at Will.
Will’s forehead furrows. “Oh, well sir, Billy doesn’t?—”
“Will is Billy’s right-hand man,” I say, interrupting. My need to defend is overwhelming. “He handles everything on Billy’s behalf.”
Jet doesn’t look impressed by the fact though. I don’t know why Billy is the way he is, but I know Will works hard. I know his intentions are good. I know this team means the world to him—not just to Billy.
“Jet, I promise you Will is an upstanding guy. And a fan—” I look at him, confirming this. Will nods, and I just keep talking. “He believes—I do, too—that you would make a huge difference in the conception of this team. Will has tons of information for you. He’s in charge here, and he wants you.”
Will swallows. “I do think you’d be a huge asset to our organization, Mr. Jacobson.”
“It’s Jet,” Jet says, finally softening toward Will.
“We’d love to fly you and your family to Tesoro to check out what we’re doing there.”
Jet breathes out a sigh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The waiter comes by, and we order food. We eat while Will talks and talks—his eggs Benedict hardly touched. He presents everything he’s brought for Jet, and while I can see Jet’s impressed, he’s also clearly not on board.
Will finishes, and I entwine my fingers together beneath the table.
“I know your youngest is graduating,” Will says. “If this is something you feel would work for you and your family, we wouldn’t need you to move for another year. But we are prepared to offer you a contract today.”
“Today?” Jet dabs a napkin to the corner of his lips and laughs.
My brain ticks as I listen. I pull up my phone and type, heart pounding.
“Of course, if you need time to?—”
“How far is Berkley from Denver?” I ask, interrupting Will.
Jet blinks his gaze over to me. He puffs out his cheeks and rolls his neck to the side. “Eighteen hours by car. Two and a half by plane.”
I chuckle. “And all that time at the airport, two hours before, the waiting.” I hold up my phone, Google Maps in place on my screen. “It’s three hours from Tesoro. By car.” I have no idea where Nox is going to school. But I can see clear as day that Jet doesn’t love his daughter being so far away.
Jet smirks. “Well, that’s one selling point.”
“Among many others,” I tell him. “Let Will fly you and Ebony out. You’ll see. I’d love to see you again. And if you want to meet Billy, Will can make it happen.”