Chapter Three #2
His large, warm hand engulfed mine, and he held my gaze as he squeezed it.
Should I say something? Acknowledge to Caitlin that we knew each other?
But then I’d have to explain how I knew him, and did I want to explain everything now?
My eyes searched his, unsure of what to do.
But all I saw in Alex’s gaze was the same surprise that made it hard for me to draw a breath.
I jerked away my hand as soon as Alex released me, flexing my palm. “Why don’t you two have a seat,” I murmured, sinking onto my chair as if an anchor was tied around my waist.
For the first time I realized how small the table was.
The restaurant wasn’t large, and the tables were situated tightly together, which made it easier to hear above the upbeat music pulsing from the speakers.
But I didn’t realize how close that would make us until Alex’s knee nudged mine under the table.
Like I had been bit by a snake, I would have reared back if the wall hadn’t been directly behind me.
As it was, Caitlin laid a hand on my arm, her eyes wide.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Nodding, I pushed my chair back just a tad. “The chair pinched my toe.”
Without permission, my eyes slid to Alex, who glanced back at me with a ghost of a smile on those full lips of his. Mine flattened in turn.
I was saved from further embarrassing myself when the server appeared to ask for their drink orders.
“I’ll take a club soda and vodka, and he’ll have…” Caitlin glanced at Alex, who was staring at the bar and not the menu.
“A glass of El Dorado 15, please,” he said succinctly.
Unconsciously, I dropped my gaze to my half-finished mojito. It had El Dorado rum in it, too.
“That’s one of your favorite rums, right, Sofia?” Caitlin said, as if hearing my thoughts.
I nodded. “It’s really smooth.”
“I agree.” Alex cocked his head. “Is that what you have in your mojito?”
Finding my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, I instead raised my glass in acknowledgment.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Caitlin shift in her chair and I knew she was preparing her questions. But I was not about to spill my secrets in front of Alex.
“So how did you two meet?” I blurted out, looking first to Caitlin before slowly shifting my gaze to Alex. They looked so good together; Caitlin with her golden beauty and Alex with his handsome Latine features. I bit the inside of my cheek as a wave of envy swept over me.
My friend’s laugh was as charming as a wind chime. “The grocery store, of all places.”
“Really?” I asked.
Caitlin’s smile was bright as she looked at Alex.
“I had just returned from Europe, and my fridge was empty. So I ran to Trader Joe’s and bumped into Alex while I was comparing two bagged salads.
We started chatting and he asked to grab coffee.
” She chuckled again, her straight white teeth flashing. “Obviously I said yes.”
“Obviously,” I murmured, hastening to take a sip of my mojito to wash away the bitter taste in my mouth.
“When he mentioned he was moving to Phoenix, I told him I was going to be visiting my bestie there, and here we are.” Caitlin bumped her shoulder into Alex’s. “You just arrived a week ago, right?”
Alex nodded. “The team put me up in a short-term rental until I can find a place. All my stuff is crammed in storage.”
“Team?” The word instantly stood out to me, and I peered at him curiously.
“Yeah, I started a new job with the Phoenix Scorpions,” Alex murmured.
My eyes flew wide, but before I could say anything, Caitlin cut in with a laugh. “Alex, you make it sound like being the assistant vice president of marketing for a WNBA team is no big deal. I think it’s amazing.”
“It is amazing,” I breathed. Because Caitlin was right. Scoring an assistant VP of marketing gig for a large professional team wasn’t a job given to slouches. Any intention I had to create some distance bled away in the face of my curiosity. “Is this your first time working with the WNBA?”
“It is.” Alex accepted his tumbler of rum from the server with a nod of thanks and raised it to his lips for a sip.
He hummed in approval, and I couldn’t help but smile at that because I knew the first sip of El Dorado rum was like heaven on the tongue.
Staring at me over the rim of his glass, he said, “But I’ve worked for a basketball team before. ”
“You have?” My brow crinkled. “Which one?”
“The New York Cosmos.” Alex licked his lips and set his glass on the tabletop. “I oversaw all their social media and was actually offered a position with the Charlotte Yellowjackets, but by that point, I was already in discussions with the Scorpions.”
I knew surprise was written all over my face, but I didn’t seem to care. “So you worked for an NBA team and were approached by another NBA team, and you turned it down to work for the Phoenix Scorpions?”
His dimple accented his smile. “Women’s basketball is exciting and only gaining in popularity. I want a front-row seat for its rise to national darling.”
“Not a front-row seat, a driver’s seat,” I murmured. Leaning back in my chair, I simply stared at him. Not many marketing and media people I knew would choose women’s sports over the chance to work with a men’s professional sports team. “How long did you work for the Cosmos?”
“Seven years. I started as an assistant brand content manager and worked my way up.” Alex swished his rum around the glass, staring at the amber liquid, before he took another sip.
“Living in New York, being at the center of all the action, was fun but I wanted to try something different. Plus, I craved warm weather.”
“Well, you’ll definitely get that here.” I scowled. “We still have at least another month of triple-digit temps.”
Caitlin groaned but Alex chuckled. “Hey, at least it’s a dry heat. I’d rather take this than a humid East Coast summer.”
“I can’t argue with you there.” Caitlin unfurled her index finger from around her glass and pointed it at me.
“I told Alex that you have a background in marketing and media consulting, and could probably help him get connected with local companies and influencers who might be game to work with the Scorpions.”
I flinched at her mention of my connections within the Phoenix area marketing community, and Caitlin instantly noticed.
“What? Did something happen?” she said, reaching out to grab my hand.
Cono. This was not at all how I wanted to share the news of my layoff with my best friend, and especially not in front of Alex.
God, he was going to think I was such a loser.
I don’t know why it mattered what Alex thought of my unemployment, but I suddenly felt like a frog stretched open on a dissection table, vulnerable in ways I hadn’t been in a good long while.
Pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth, I weighed what to say. Finally, I opted for the truth. “I was laid off.”
“What?” Caitlin exclaimed, her blue eyes large with surprise. “But you were a rock star at Desert Media. Those clients I met in Nashville could not stop singing your praises.”
“Yeah, well.” I stabbed at the ice in my glass with the straw. “That was before the stunt Josh pulled.”
“What stunt?”
Somehow I wasn’t surprised that Alex voiced the question. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes.
“Is that the guy you told me about?” Caitlin’s lip curled. “The dickhead who was always trying to flirt with you even while he was tattling on you to your boss like a little bitch?”
“That’s him.” I clenched my teeth for a passing moment as the familiar rage I felt whenever I thought of Josh flooded my bloodstream. “Except this time, instead of tattling on me, he stole a client proposal I had been working on and pitched it during our staff meeting as if it was his work.”
Caitlin gasped, but when I chanced a glance at Alex, there was an assessing look on his face.
“He stole your idea and you were the one laid off?” he said quietly.
I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak.
Slowly, Alex propped his elbows on the table and leaned toward me. “That’s fucking unfair.”
“It was.” I tried to swallow, but it felt like shards of glass filled my throat. “I take a twisted sort of comfort in knowing I’m not the first woman to have her work stolen by a man, and sadly, I won’t be the last.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his tone gentle.
I’d been laid off almost two months prior, but Alex’s soft words, and the warm light in his gaze, suddenly made me want to cry. My anger had long since turned to numb acceptance, but Alex’s quiet acknowledgment of what I endured nudged at the grief—and embarrassment—I did my best to ignore.
“God, that sucks, Sofia.” Caitlin grabbed my hand again, her eyes slits of displeasure. “You worked so hard there, and I’m pissed that you were the one to lose your job instead of that worm.”
Unsure of what to say, I lifted my glass to my lips for a bracing sip.
“Do your parents know?” Caitlin asked.
I shook my head.
“Probably a good idea not to tell them just yet. They’d try to run over Josh with their car.” I swallowed back a chuckle, and Caitlin continued.
“So what have you been doing in the meantime? Job hunting, I’m guessing.”
“Yeah, I’ve had several interviews but nothing I’ve really wanted.
” My gaze went to Alex. He stared back at me, as if waiting to see if I would share about the Matildas.
And I should. It was the perfect opportunity.
Caitlin would be thrilled and have lots of practical advice for how to build my account and possibly even segue into brand sponsorships.
But did I want brand sponsorships? And who would want to sponsor content revolving around the historical theft of women scientists, entrepreneurs, and artists?
A small part of me—one I was loath to acknowledge—liked that I had something special just for myself. Well, something only Alex and I knew about. That thought shouldn’t have made my chest warm, but I’d be a liar if I denied it.