3 Bianca #2
His eyes widened and his attention focused on her instead of the screen where he was supposed to be entering their answer.
“You’re engaged to a man you’ve never met?”
She had to lean over him and hit the iPad for them. No way were they going to be among the fastest on this question. Hopefully
The A-Team didn’t pull ahead of them. “You sound like my sisters.”
He studied her with an expression that fell somewhere between quizzical and amused. “Do you do everything fast? Or just trivia
and falling in love?”
“You’re making fun of me.” She slumped against her chair.
“No. I’m honestly impressed. It must be nice to know what you want as soon as you see it.”
To be fair, most of her life wasn’t like that. She felt like she’d spent the better part of her “adult” life floundering.
She always put air quotes around adult because even though she would turn twenty-six at the end of the summer, she didn’t feel like an adult. That seemed reserved
for someone... older, maybe? Definitely more together.
For example, after three years and four different majors, she’d hit the pause button on college until she could figure out the direction she wanted to go. Four years and five jobs later, she still wasn’t any closer to knowing.
Until she met Zander.
Suddenly she felt like she had a starting point. Move to Boise. Marry her soulmate. Start a new career that would build a
business they could do together. Maybe this was what she’d been waiting for.
“It is.” She breathed in a happy breath. “How about you? Is there a significant someone in your life?”
“Nope.” He answered the next trivia question on his own.
She propped her chin on her hand and studied him. “Have you ever been in love?” Was it a personal question? Maybe. But they
had once promised to be BFFs for life, so she probably had the right to ask it.
Sure, they were eight at the time, but still.
“Not the kind that ever led to a ring,” he answered.
“Maybe you need to try a dating app.”
He chuckled. “I’m good, thanks.”
Bianca shrugged. “You never know. It could change your life.”
Luke gave her a look like he didn’t believe her, but that was fine. Like he’d already admitted, he’d never been in love. Not
the kind that made the impossible seem possible, anyway. The kind that made her want to get married now because she didn’t
want to wait a single day longer than necessary to get started on the life she’d been waiting for.
He didn’t get it because he hadn’t been there. Just like Cora had never been there. And she didn’t know what Savannah’s problem
was, except that she could be judgy about a lot of things Bianca did. She had impossibly high standards. She always had.
But they would change their tune when they saw how great she and Zander were together. Seeing was believing, after all.
Plus, it wouldn’t hurt when she won her bet with Cora.
“And with that, the first round is over,” the emcee called from the stage.
“Let’s take a look at our leaderboard. Know-It-Ales snuck into third position right there at the end.
” A team of college-aged guys cheered from a four-top out on the deck.
“Second place is The A-Team.” The table next to them with an older man and a guy probably in his mid-thirties waved.
“And blowing everyone else away is Not Wrong. Come on up and claim your prize for round one, a free appetizer. Which you might need because we have four more rounds before we crown tonight’s trivia champ. ”
“We go up there?” Bianca asked, pointing at the stage.
“If you want your prize, you do.” Luke stood up and made his way through the tables to the front. Bianca followed him.
At the request of the emcee, they hopped onstage and took a bow. Bianca accepted the certificate for a free appetizer and
held it over her head like a trophy. The crowd cheered and her optimism shot up.
So what if her sisters didn’t think she knew what she was doing? Clearly she did.
“Should we cash it in now?” Bianca asked as they hopped off the stage.
“Sure. What do you want?”
“I honestly have no idea what’s on the menu. What do you suggest?”
“Do you like fried calamari?”
She nodded.
“Great. I’ll put in the order at the counter. It’ll come out faster that way.”
He headed with the certificate over to the counter while Bianca made her way to the table. Back on her stool, she did a little
people watching. Naturally, her attention went to the table next to them, where The A-Team was sitting. The two men seemed
to be in the middle of a serious discussion.
“You and I both know you’re making a mistake. Neither Brody nor Trina has what it takes to do the job. There’s no debate that
I’d make the better Senior Vice President of Operations,” the younger of the two men was saying.
He was undeniably handsome in a rugged sort of way. His dark wavy hair was fixed without being overly styled, and his bright
blue eyes sparkled with passion. Even though it appeared to be a serious conversation, he was relaxed. Comfortable. In charge.
But he also carried a hint of danger.
Bianca didn’t know how to explain it. Maybe it was his muscular build or his undeniable confidence. Or the scar he had on
his arm that looked a lot like a bullet wound. Whatever the reason, he looked like the kind of guy who had stories, but he
couldn’t tell them to you. The kind of guy you might want if you ever needed help getting out of a sticky situation. Basically,
he reminded her of a real-life Jack Ryan or James Bond.
He was intriguing. And more than that, his conversation was intriguing. So, while she probably should’ve minded her own business,
she leaned in to hear more.
“What Trina and Brody have is predictability. I know where their priorities lie.”
The older man shot 007 a pointed look. “They’re not going to disappear when we need them most.”
“That’s not fair, and you know it,” 007 argued. He leaned back against the stool. “Besides, I’ve changed.”
“Leopards can’t change their spots.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a leopard.”
The older man heaved out a sigh. “Look, do I think you’d make a better SVP than Brody or Trina?” The pained expression that
passed over his face was so obvious that it made Bianca want to pull her stool over to their table and demand they spill the
tea on poor Brody and Trina. But before she could embarrass all of them, the older man kept going. “But competence is not
the only factor at play here.”
“Their fashion sense is a concern, too, isn’t it?” 007 said, pulling a face.
Older man shot him a reprimanding look. “This is your sister and cousin we’re talking about.”
Oh, now this was getting good! Bianca glanced around to see if anyone else was following this drama, but everyone else seemed
to be happily engrossed in their own conversations.
“And there’s nobody I’d rather spend Thanksgiving with,” 007 was saying. “But they can’t run a company.”
“You know what they can do? Show up. I know if I schedule a meeting with them next week, they’ll be there. If I have a question at any point during any day, I don’t have to wonder what time zone they’re currently in.”
“And that’s the kind of person you want running your company? Someone who’s afraid to venture out of their office?”
“Someone who’s not afraid to stay,” the man said in a firm voice. “Of course I’d rather pick you, but you have nothing keeping
you here and a history of not sticking around. I can’t leave our family’s legacy to someone who could decide to cash out tomorrow
and move to Tahiti.”
“First of all, I’d never move to Tahiti,” 007 said. “New Zealand, maybe. But not Tahiti.”
The older man didn’t seem amused.
“And secondly, I’d have the company keeping me here.”
“Which you’ve left before.”
“That couldn’t be helped, and you know it.”
This was better than a movie! Bianca leaned in even farther.
The older man sighed like he’d lost all his fight. “Listen, this isn’t a personal attack. You had to do what you had to do.
I get that. But I have to do what is best for the company. And the family. You haven’t been able to commit to a dry cleaner.
Why would I think you’d be able to commit to this?”
“Because I said I would. And I keep my word.”
“I’m not saying your lifestyle is bad,” the man continued, as if he hadn’t heard 007’s comment. “If anyone can relate with
wanting freedom, it’s me. But you have nothing tying you here. You have no spouse, no kids. And while you always seem to have
a date, it’s never the same one. Have you ever had a long-term relationship?”
“Like I said, that’s not who I am anymore.”
“No one wants to believe that more than I do.”
“Then what’s it going to take?”
“The proof is in the pudding,” the older man said. “If you want to prove you’re a family man, be a family man. Settle down.
Buy a house with a two-car garage. Coach Little League on the weekends.”
At that, 007 crossed his arms and leaned back on his stool, looking obstinate. “The board meeting is next month, Uncle Anders. I can’t exactly conjure up a family by then.”
“No, that kind of life takes time. But it starts with a commitment. To a relationship.” The older man raised an eyebrow as
he tossed the challenge out there.
The challenge hung between them for a second, and Bianca could’ve sworn 007 was visibly trying to work out how they could
circle back to the Little League thing.
“So, a girlfriend,” he said eventually, his confidence returning. “You want me to get a girlfriend.”
“No. I want you to be in a relationship. A serious, committed relationship. One that’s built on trust and mutual respect.
One where neither of you is going to run when things get hard.” He gave the younger man a knowing look. “One where plans for
the future mean years, not next weekend.”
“And you think I can find that in a month?” There was a heavy note of this is ridiculous in his voice.
“If you’re lucky, you’ll find it once in your lifetime. But I’m announcing the position in a month. Where you are on that
journey is up to you.”
The wheels in Bianca’s mind started to spin.