Chapter 9 #2
Her twins are sitting on either side of her, playing with some Matchbox cars that Graham has brought to the table for them.
“Who dat?” the one with red hair like Lauren’s asks as she points to me.
“This is Jameson Flynn.”
“Flynn?” the other one asks, her eyes lighting up. “Tangled?”
Lauren’s chest shakes with silent laughter, so I just give the girls my best Flynn Rider smile and their eyes widen.
“No,” I tell them. “Not Flynn Rider.” I point at my chest. “Jameson.” The word is slow and intentional, and they look at each other, one saying “Ja-son” and the other saying “Jame-sen.”
“Almost,” I tell them.
“You going to tell me who’s who?” I ask Lauren.
She tells me the redhead is Ivy and the brunette is Iris, and then Jules says, “So before Jameson came back, you were saying that you were going to start looking for a job? What do you do for work?”
Lauren swallows, meets my eye, then looks over at Jules.
“Before I got married, I was in sports marketing. I used to work at Kaplan, with Jameson.” My sisters’ gazes fly to me, and I just shrug.
I guess I’ve never mentioned that we used to work together.
“Before . . . everything happened . . . I had just decided to go back to work. I’d gotten a part-time job in marketing with one of the farm teams for Colorado’s NHL team.
But I had to turn the job down when Josh died, because I was not in a position to be starting a new job or spending an hour and a half commuting to Salt Lake City and back, three times a week. ”
“So, do you want to get back into sports marketing again?” Audrey asks. “Like, could you go back to Kaplan?”
“I do. And I probably could,” Lauren says, then lifts her chin and glances at me. “But my uncle owns Kaplan and, I don’t know, I kind of want to branch out. Prove to myself that I can get back into this industry through my own merit, not through nepotism.”
God, I’d given her so much shit that first year she was at Kaplan, back when I thought she only got the job because she was Carson’s niece.
She proved me wrong quickly, consistently learning and growing and becoming extremely damn good at her job.
So good that I started making sure she worked with my athletes, helping them land endorsement deals that sometimes doubled or tripled their income.
“You should come work for me.” The words are out before I even have time to process what I’m about to say, and if the looks they’re giving me are any indication, everyone’s as surprised to hear me make this offer as I am. When no one says anything, I add, “I could use someone else in marketing.”
Lauren flushes, then looks away. When she looks back, she says, “That’s really nice of you to offer, but again, I’m not looking to get a job through nepotism.”
“I’m not offering you the opportunity because you’re a friend, I’m offering it because I know how good you are at what you do. I could use someone like you at my agency.”
“Thank you,” Lauren says, and her cheeks turn a shade of pink so deep they’re almost red. “But I really think it’s best if I look for a job on my own.” She gives a small smile as she glances at my sisters and shrugs. “A fresh start, of sorts.”
Jules and Audrey glance at each other, then at me, then at Lauren.
And then as we pass the food around the table, they’re peppering her with questions about where she’d want to work, and whether she’s looking for full-time or part-time.
But I’m only half listening, because I’m thinking about all the reasons Lauren doesn’t want to work for me.
And I’m more certain than ever that I want to show her I’m not the asshole she worked with five years ago.
When dinner’s over, I offer to walk Lauren back to her car, which she parked about five blocks away. She insists she’ll be fine.
“Walking around the city by yourself at night with your kids in a stroller is inviting danger,” I say. Boston is generally a safe city, but I don’t take chances with the people I care about. “Please let me make sure you get back to your car safely.”
“Fine,” she agrees, even though I can tell she doesn’t want to. “I didn’t realize that all the on-street parking in this part of the South End would be resident only,” she says, “which is why I ended up parked practically in the Back Bay.”
“We have parking on the side of our house. Next time . . .” I say, and she glances at me sideways in surprise. “Next time, one of us can move our car to the street and you can use one of our parking spots. I’m sorry Jules didn’t think to mention it.”
“She’s really sweet, by the way. So’s Audrey.
You did a great job with them, Jameson.” I can’t tell her tone in the way she says this.
She doesn’t sound shocked that I managed to raise two teenage girls when I was so young myself.
She also doesn’t sound like she’s being patronizing.
So I can only deduce that her statement is genuine.
“Thanks. The teen years were no joke, but we got through them okay.”
“I can tell how close you guys are.” She clears her throat. “I’m glad they have that with you.”
I glance over at her from where she walks next to me as I push the stroller, and her lips are turned down at the corners. “Why do you sound sad about it, then?”
“I’m not. I guess seeing you with your siblings is making me a bit homesick for mine, that’s all.”
I thought one of the reasons she wanted to move to Boston was to be closer to her own family. “Can you go home and see everyone?”
“Yeah.” She sighs. “But it’s an almost four-hour drive, which is really long with two toddlers, and I’m going home in a few weeks anyway for a family wedding, so I’m just going to wait and see everyone then.
Plus, I have a house to move into this weekend, and I’m sure that’ll keep me pretty busy for the next few weeks. ”
“And it sounds like you’re going to be looking for a job?”
“Jameson,” she says, grabbing my forearm as she stops walking.
It’s like electricity is running through my blood as she looks up at me.
“Thank you for that offer earlier. Really. I couldn’t say this in front of your sisters without them asking a lot of questions, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to work together. ”
I stare down at those bright blue eyes and I know that, given our history, she’s right. But I push anyway. “And why not?”
“Because all we ever did when we worked together was fight.”
I’m tempted to joke and say it’s not all we did, but I also don’t know if dredging up that night is a good idea right now.
“I think we’re both in different places now than we were then.”
She looks at the ground, then back up at me. “Maybe. But I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Just know that the offer is open, okay? If you don’t find what you’re looking for, maybe consider it.”
“Okay,” she says, and starts walking again. By the time we’re back at her car, both girls are asleep in the stroller. As she gets them buckled into their car seats, I load her stroller into the back of her SUV.
“How are you going to get them both inside, asleep?” I ask, trying to picture her carrying both of them while also unlocking and opening doors.
“I’ll manage,” she says, and the resignation in her voice has me ready to offer to ride with her to Paige’s and help her get her sleeping kids inside.
“Thanks for tonight, by the way. I needed a night out so badly I didn’t even think twice when Jules invited me, and I appreciate that you didn’t freak out when you obviously had no idea I was coming over. ”