18. Serena
SERENA
Trying to start off my day with a protein shake,
but they somehow keep turning into iced coffees instead.
—Serena’s Secret Thoughts
Well, that was another underwhelming candidate.
I place a red X in the top right-hand corner of the résumé sitting on my desk and groan.
That brings the total number of prospective replacements interviewed to twenty-three.
Twenty-three qualified men and women, and not a single one has felt like a fit for my replacement.
Twenty-three people I haven’t bothered introducing to Dad yet—because what’s the point?
If I find them underwhelming, he’s certainly not going to say let’s hire them.
There’s a knock at my door before Teagan walks through. The only tell that she’s had surgery recently is the ballet flats she’s wearing in place of her typically sky-high heels. “Hey. You got a minute?”
I close the folder with the last résumé and shove it away. “I do now. How are you feeling?”
The look she gives me could freeze a man in place.
Women tend to not scare as easily.
“The same as when you asked yesterday.”
“Sorry,” I offer and relax into my chair, crossing my legs. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask you what you thought of Kaleigh? She traveled with you last weekend. How’d she do?”
“She did great.” The thought brings a smile to my face.
“I think she’d be a great addition to the team.
She didn’t let the players intimidate her.
She stayed on top of everything that needed to be handled.
In my opinion, she’d be a good fit.” My lips purse, and I tilt my head, taunting Teags. “She might be a little . . .”
“A little what?” Teagan demands more than asks.
“A little fun for you,” I tease.
“Pot meet kettle much?” She grabs a bottle of water from the credenza against the wall and cracks the lid. “You haven’t exactly been the belle of the ball since you came home.”
“I’ve never been the belle of the ball, Teags.” Not really.
“One day, you’ll see yourself the way the rest of us see you.
” She sips her water and sits on the edge of my desk, her long legs crossed at her ankles and skirt inching toward her knees.
“You used to smile more than any person I knew. Even Aurora. And that’s saying something because my sister is eternally happy.
You used to ooze excitement and life. You left this town and did your own thing.
And when you came back, that spark was missing. ”
“Yeah well, I left it on a soccer field in Seattle, right along with my ACL,” I grumble, hating the hint of truth in her words. More than a hint, if I’m honest with myself.
“You were strong and determined and talented, and your energy was infectious. You ever going to go find that girl again? Because she was something to behold.”
“What the hell, Teagan? Am I that bad now?” I snap, sitting up. “Harsh much?”
“More like honest, since no one else has the balls to say it.” She caps her water, studying the bottle like she doesn’t want to make eye contact, and I brace for the next hit. “Olivia babies you, and Aurora and Saylor worship you.”
“That’s not true,” I argue but the look she gives me makes me think maybe it is.
How come family can do that in a way no one else can?
Be brutally honest in one breath and quietly gentle in the next?
“I’m not trying to be mean. Just honest, because they’re not.”
“I know you’re not,” I tell her, straightening my spine. “But that doesn’t make it easier to hear. It’s been a rough year, but I’m working on it. I’m working on me.”
“Good. Because I like the you you’re working on. She’s pretty fucking amazing.” She points at me as she stands awkwardly. “And if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I promise. “Wouldn’t want anyone knowing you have a soft side.”
“Not even Liv. That bitch will torture me worse than you, Saylor, and my sisters combined.” If anyone else called Liv a bitch, I’d like to think I’d throw down, which is kind of funny.
Bougie little rich girl can’t fight, right?
Ha. Wrong. Soccer makes you tougher than anyone thinks.
It doesn’t matter though. Teagan is family.
And we protect what’s ours. On the flip side, we also call out what’s ours. And Livvy is ours, bitchy days and all.
“So are you going to offer Kaleigh the job?”
Teagan shrugs her shoulder. “Maybe. Are you going to actually leave this job?”
“Maybe.” I smile and watch her walk away. “Teags . . .”
“Yeah?” She turns with a hand on the door.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.” She swings the door open and sucks in a breath as she barely manages to stop herself from walking straight into Hendrix. “Sinclair.” She nods his way, then throws me a questioning look before leaving.
And just like it does any time this man stands in front of me, my heart races and my fingers tingle. But the impending panic attack doesn’t come. “What are you doing here?”
His grin grows impossibly wide as he steps into my office. “Hello to you too, Serena.”
“Hello, Hendrix,” I murmur, flustered and more than a little annoyed . . . with myself and with him. “Now can I ask what you’re doing here?”
“I’ve given you a week—” he starts, and I shake my head.
“Five days,” I stop him. “You used to be better with math.”
He stalks my way, his long legs eating up the space in two steps. Navy-blue sweats hang off his hips, and a white tee stretches around miles of defined muscle across his chest. His dark brown hair hangs damp around his eyes, like I was his first stop after practice. Well, after a shower, hopefully.
“I used to be more patient. I didn’t understand how precious time was then. I get it now, and I’m tired of wasting it, princess.”
Oh . . .
“Do you need something?” My voice sounds foreign. Nervous and shallow.
“I need you to go out with me, Serena. Tonight.”
“What?” I squeak, not expecting those words. “Like on a date?”
His blue eyes gleam, and that hint of a dimple in his left cheek comes out to play. “Yeah, princess. Like on a date. We’ve wasted enough time. I don’t want to waste anymore.”
“I . . . I can’t,” I murmur, trying to catch my breath or maybe my sanity as it leaves me in a woosh.
“Why?” he pushes, coming closer, that gleam in his eyes growing impossibly brighter. “Do you have plans?”
I shake my head, suddenly wishing I had a much busier social life.
“Then give me one good reason you won’t go out with me.”
Holy shit, this man smells good. Like the ocean and sea spray mixed with something all him. Something so intrinsically Hendrix, I’ve never caught the same scent anywhere else.
“Do you have a reason?” He moves around my desk until I’m forced to look up at him as our knees touch. “Because I don’t think you do, Serena. I think you want to go out with me, but you’re scared to admit it. I think you want to say yes.”
Yes, to absolutely everything he just said.
Yes, I’m scared.
Yes, I want to go out with him.
Yes, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
“Where would we go where no one would see?” I breathe out, shocked at the words as they fall from my lips.
“Let them see, Serena. I’m fucking tired of hiding. It’s been ten years.” He plants his arms on either side of my chair and leans down. “I’m done pretending.”
“What does that mean, Hendrix?” Jesus, my head is spinning, and my heart is racing. I’m pretty sure the only thing overwhelming the panic my body is fighting is my need to tell him yes. I want all that too. But what good is any of it if I can’t trust him?
“It means I come to your house and pick you up. It means I take you to eat and you tell me about everything that’s happened in the past three years.
You let me know the woman you’ve become since the last time I held you.
” He brings his face to within inches from mine, his voice low and seductive, and so damn sexy. “The last time I tasted you.”
Holy hell . . .
“Then, you let me take you home. Walk you to your door. And maybe kiss you good night. It’s called a date, princess, and it’s something we never really got to do the first time.
” He wraps a lock of my hair around his finger and tugs.
“Hell, if you want, we can go to a movie, but I can’t promise to keep my hands to myself if you put me in a dark room next to you for two hours. So dinner is probably a safer bet.”
Oh God. Why does a movie sound so tempting?
“Dinner,” I whisper, licking my lips. “Start small, Sinclair, and don’t press your luck.”
And, wow, the triumphant smile that pulls at his lips is one I’m not sure I’ll ever forget.
“Does seven-thirty work for you?” I swear a blush pulls at his cheeks. “I want to put Bodhi to bed before I leave, and he goes down around seven.”
Right. His son. “Do you have a sitter?”
He nods. “Mom said she’d stay with him.”
Fear rockets through me. “Where does she think you’re going?”
“On a date with you.” Hendrix straightens and takes a step back, and I immediately miss his heat. “I told you I’m done hiding.”
“What if I’m not?” I push back without even thinking it through.
“We’re not kids anymore, Serena. Secrets and lies didn’t work back then, and they’re sure as hell not going to work now.” His hand skims my cheek, sending a chill dancing down my spine. “I was a kid the first time I asked you out. I’m not him anymore.”
“What if I liked him?” I ask, unsure why I’m even arguing.
“I’d say good, because you’re going to like the grown version of him even better. I’ll see you at seven-thirty.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer before he’s through my door, and I’m left sitting in my office alone.
What the actual fuck was that?
Istop by Dad’s assistant’s desk that afternoon, the information I’ve spent the week gathering tucked under my arm. “I put myself on his schedule earlier. Is he ready for me?”
“Of course, honey.” Nothing like working with people who have known you since you were in actual diapers. “Max,” she buzzes him. “Are you ready for Serena?”
“Always,” his voice booms.
“Go on in,” she tells me, not bothering to show me in like she would almost anyone else. Why would she when his office used to be one of my favorite places to hide when Saylor and I would play hide-and-go-seek at the offices?
This building has been a home away from home for me all my life.
But it’s time that changed.
“Hi, Daddy.” I step into his office and pull the door closed behind me, pushing down the guilt that’s eating at me. “How are you feeling?” I ask as I take the seat across from his imposing oak desk.
“Like I wish everyone would stop asking that,” he groans, clearly over any questions about his health.
He and Teagan should start a support group.
“What’s going on, Serena?” He nods toward the folders in my hands. “Have you found my replacement?”
“Your replacement?” I joke. “You’re irreplaceable, Dad.”
“Oh wow. You’re buttering me up. Now I know I’m in trouble.” He rests his elbows on his desk and stares at the folder. “So to be clear, is that your replacement’s file?”
“One of them is.” I lay the file in front of him and open it to the front page.
“Teagan’s résumé?” He picks up the top page and scans it quickly. “Why am I looking at this? Teagan doesn’t want your job.”
“Oh, Dad. You’re the smartest man I’ve ever known, but sometimes you don’t see things that are right in front of your face.
” I spread out the next few pages across his desk.
“She’s worked in every single department the Revolution has.
She knows the team. Knows how it runs from the ground up.
She also understands King Corp.’s values and where the Revolution falls in the grand scheme of the business.
She loves this team. She’s loyal and professional and decisive and smarter than I’ve ever been.
All the things you can’t fake or force in an employee. ”
“But she’s never expressed any interest in your position, Serena. I think you’re missing the mark with this one.” Why do men refuse to listen?
“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it. It’s more likely she wasn’t ready when you offered it to me. But I’m telling you, she wants it. And I’m also telling you she’d be great at it in a way I never would. Bonus points—she’s family.”
He pulls the next sheet over and skims it, then the two next to that, reading the reviews from each department head she’s worked for before finally looking back at me. “Do you think she can take over the team?”
I choke. Worrying this day would come last year when Dad was going through treatments was one thing.
Hearing him ask that . . . Knowing he’s thinking about it .
. . That’s a whole other level of hell. When the man who spent your whole life being invincible suddenly isn’t, it cracks a foundation that never quite heals.
“Eventually, yes,” I agree, straightening.
“I think she’s the best person to do it.
She’s got the business side, Dad. Uncle Jace loves this team, but he would rather hang by the lace of his skates than sit in an office all day.
Move Teagan into my position and train her.
Let it take years. It’s not like you’re stepping down now. ”
“I’ll think about it.” He piles the papers back in their folder and points to the one I’m still holding. “What’s in there?”
Here goes nothing . . .
I run a hand over the file, working up the nerve to look at my father.
He’s an amazing father and an incredibly savvy businessman, so why am I nervous?
Oh right. Because I’m about to ask him for five million dollars.
Or not . . .
“I think I figured out my next move.” How my voice isn’t shaking right now is something I may never understand. I suck air into my lungs like they’re on fire and reach for a bottle of water.
Dad sits back and crosses his arms. “I’m all ears.”
Of course he is. Now that I’m a nervous wreck, he’s going to hang on every word I say.
“I spoke with my former team owner earlier in the week,” I start, forcing myself to get it together.
“How is Ty?” I still remember joining Emerald City and Dad telling me that the owner was a good man because of course Max Kingston knows everyone.
“He’s good. But he’s looking to sell the team.” There. That was the first hurdle.
“And what?” I watch the way Dad moves, like this is a game of chess, and he’s protecting his queen. “Is he looking for King Corp. to buy the team?”
“King Corp. doesn’t know soccer,” I point out. “But I do.”
Dad’s head raises slowly, possibly intrigued. Definitely caught off guard. “Are you asking King Corp. to buy the team for you to run?”
“No.” I open the folder and slide it across his desk so he can look at the prospectus I’ve spent every waking minute of the past week putting together.
“I’m asking you to take this proposal to King Corp.
for me. I’d like to purchase 51 percent of the team and would like King Corp. to purchase 49 percent.”