40. Alice
40
Alice
I ’m used to doing a lot of my creative work alone. But our conference room is buzzing. The creative juices are contagious. Me, Theo, Mateo, Mason, and Will—we’re all working on a Billy project. He contacted the local hospital, and we’re heading up a fundraiser in the name of the Red Tails.
Talk about brilliant. Maybe I haven’t met Billy, but I know at this point that the man likes helping people. He’s passionate about it. But doing it in the name of our team? Even better. This team is going to show love for the community even before it’s up and running.
“What do you think?” I swivel my laptop Mason’s way, showing him my screen, combining the hospital logo with ours.
“I like it,” Mason says.
I wrinkle my nose, unsure about the red-tailed hawk over the three trees of the Lake Tesoro Hospital emblem. “But will Billy?”
Mason nods, and in my peripheral, I see Will’s head lift and turn our way.
“Oh yeah,” Mason says. “He’ll love it.”
“Bah.” Theo scoffs, though my computer doesn’t face him. “Maybe.” Gosh, that man is delightful—in absolutely no way whatsoever.
“Has he ever commented on your work?” I ask Mason. I can ignore Theo and his jabs without a thought these days.
“I got an email once.”
“Hey!” I point at him. “Me too! He emailed me about the merch packet I sent to him. It was really thoughtful.”
“What about you, Mateo? Any contact with Billy?”
Mateo smiles—a real, actual smile. “Nah.”
“Theo—you’ve met him. Right?”
Will looks up with my words. We’re all looking at Theo.
Theo sneers. “I have.” He stretches out his neck, looking at my computer screen and what I’ve created for half of a second. “And that is the wrong direction.”
Theo hasn’t proved himself very trustworthy. Even if he loved my idea, I’m not sure he’d say it. And I’m not convinced he met Billy.
“You know because you’ve met him—in person,” I say. It’s not the first time I’ve brought this up. Maybe I’m waiting for Theo to come up with an answer I can trust.
“What?” Theo murmurs. He looks right at Will, who’s staring at him, feigning innocence. “I have. You aren’t around all the time, you know. I needed to conference with him. You weren’t here to be his liaison .” He sniffs and flaps out his elbow into Mateo’s side. “You remember,” he says to his friend.
“Yeah.” Mateo nods.
I’m not convinced. Will gives me a side-eye, and I think we’re both holding back grins. Theo can lie all he wants. I’m not sure what it’s going to get him.
Turning back to his computer, Theo plunks on a few keys before groaning. “Why does Billy always make us do this kind of stuff?”
“Help people?” I say, giving Mason a look. It’s nice having my own friend in the office.
“Yeah,” Theo gripes.
Does he hear himself?
“We don’t even have a team yet.” He groans.
“But we will,” I say. “Our press conference is coming. This is just another way to announce ourselves to the community. Besides, how better to get their support than to show them support?”
“I agree,” Will says.
Theo scoffs—he’s on one today. Like a grumpy toddler who can’t eat his ice cream until he finishes his dinner. “You always agree with Billy.”
“A good idea is a good idea,” I say.
“Why are you surprised by this?” Mason says. He peers at Theo, a humorous expression on his face. “You know Billy. He always says, ‘When you lift others, you raise yourself’.”
My heart skips a beat. I know that saying. I’ve heard that.
I look at Will who nods his agreement with Mason.
“When you lift others…” I whisper, repeating the rest of the saying in my head. I know that. I’ve heard that before. Billy doesn’t say that. Will’s dad said that. And then, a hundred fuzzy lines, a thousand blurred pictures—they all come into view. All at once.
“Gaaah—” I gasp. I feel it as my eyes turn into saucers, as all the pieces of this blurry puzzle suddenly clear up. I swivel in my rollie chair, facing away from my coworkers. My heart pounds and my throat tightens. “Batman,” I whisper.
“What did she say?” Mateo whispers.
He isn’t asking me, but I still answer. “Batman.” The word is just audible. My head is racing. It’s reeling. Do I laugh? Do I cry? Will is Batman—no. I shake my head, though no one has heard my inaccurate thought.
Will is Billy .
“Princess,” Theo says. “Can you speak up?”
“I’m an idiot. I’m such an idiot. I should have known. I should have seen.” I gulp, bringing my gaze up to Will’s. Those fuzzy lines have finally come into focus, and they read in bright neon lights: DENIAL. Because that’s where I’ve been living. How did I not see it before?
Will’s eyes are on mine—he knows that I know.
“Whoa!” he barks—not at me, but at the entire room. “Alice. You look… pale. Water?” But he doesn’t give me a second to answer—not that I would have been able to anyway. “Let’s get you water.”
He rounds the table in two point five seconds. It’s impressive. But then, the man is Batman. He snatches hold of my hand, but I’m still in shock.
Does Will actually think my legs will move while in this state? I just learned he’s Batman. How can I possibly move?
Still, he tugs, and I go with him—rollie chair and all.
“Hey, boss,” Mason says, holding out one arm. I see him, I hear him. But I feel like one of Elsa’s victims: frozen.
Will doesn’t look back or bother answering either; he just pulls me out of the office, wheeling me out on this rollie chair.
“Can you stand?” he asks once we’re out of the conference room.
I answer with a droll, “Batman.”
“I’m not Batman, Alice. I—” He swallows. “Come on.”
But his words will not spur my legs into being useful. Nope. So, Will sets both hands on the back of my chair, ready to push me down the hall. Like the invalid that I am, my head falls to the side, and I see Mason, Theo, and Mateo—all with their noses to the glass, watching as Will rolls me down the hall.