Backing You Up

by Weston Parker

  “That’s the nature of the game.”

  Another play and another question. When she wasn’t asking me about this or that, she was slapping at my leg or arm with excitement or anger. She was absolutely into the game. I had never had so much fun watching someone watch a game. I noticed a few people around us getting a kick out of her reactions as well. She was definitely providing some comic relief.

  “Oh no!” she wailed when a player fell to the floor. She reached for my hand without looking, giving it a squeeze. “Is he okay?”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing too bad,” I assured her, trying not to react to her holding my hand. “The trainer is out there.”

  She was literally on the edge of her seat, watching with genuine concern as the player lay on the court writhing in pain. When he was helped to his feet, she jumped up and clapped for him. The people around us followed suit. Cora didn’t know shit about basketball, but she had somehow become someone the avid fans were following. It was amazing to watch. She had that thing about her that people wanted to follow.

  “I am on an emotional rollercoaster,” she said and dropped my hand. “I never realized how crazy these games could be.”

  “Do you even know who’s winning?” I asked her with a smile.

  She looked at the scoreboard. “The Rockets.”

  “You seem to be cheering for both teams.”

  She softly giggled. “I don’t mean to, but I just get caught up in the moment.”

  “You can do whatever you want,” I told her.

  “It isn’t like I own one of the teams or have anything riding on the outcome. It’s just fun to cheer.”

  “I agree.”

  “Are you cheering for one team?”

  “Ours,” I answered.

  “I’ll try and remember that,” she promised.

  Two seconds later, she was cheering for the other team. I didn’t mind, and thankfully, the people sitting around us seemed to realize she was an equal opportunity cheering squad. Watching her watch the game was very much like watching a child see something for the first time. The wide-eyed innocence in her eyes was too cute to try and squelch.

  I caught an older woman watching the two of us. She gave me a smile before turning back to the game. The sweet moment was interrupted by a punch to my shoulder. “Ow,” I muttered, rubbing the spot where Cora had hit me.

  “Did you see that?” she exclaimed. “He totally stole that ball. That is not nice.”

  “I didn’t see it,” I replied. When she moved, I flinched, prepared for a hit or a squeeze. “The next game we go to, I’m wearing football pads.”

  She turned to look at me with confusion. “What? Why?”

  “You are beating the hell out of me,” I said with a laugh. “You are a wild woman.”

  She winked. “I can be.”

  She may as well have reached between my legs and squeezed my dick. She was flirting with me. We couldn’t flirt. We especially couldn’t flirt in a public setting with cameras everywhere. Taking her to the game had seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was beginning to rethink that decision. It was dangerous to be around her and not just because she was a very handsy woman. I wanted her. God damn, I wanted her. All of her touches and squeezes had left me semi-erect.

  Just when I thought things were about as bad as they could get, I looked up on the jumbotron. The kiss cam was scanning the crowd. I prayed it didn’t stop on us.

  Fuck. There I was, looking like a total dumbass trying not to look at my giant face on the screen. Cora looked blissfully unaware of what was happening until the man sitting next to her pointed at the screen. The moment she saw our faces in the crowd, she grinned.

  Shit.

  Chapter 26

  Cora

  I turned to look at Rogan, who had a look of pure shock and horror on his face. I couldn’t resist. I leaned over and kissed him. His lips were stiff under mine for a brief second before he gave in and kissed me back.

  The crowd erupted around us. When I finally pulled away from him, I glanced up at the screen and confirmed what I suspected. My cheeks were bright red. It was a combination of excitement and embarrassment.

  I settled into my seat, turning to look at him. He had a smile on his face, but it wasn’t a natural smile. I got the feeling he wasn’t happy about me kissing him. Instead of addressing the spontaneous moment, I chose to enjoy the rest of the game. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun.

  “I am going to ask, but I think I already know the answer,” he started. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “I did! I honestly do not remember having that much fun in a very long time. I think I’m addicted. I might just have to buy season tickets. I want to go to another game!”

  He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Something was wrong. “Good. I’m glad you had a good time.”

  We got into the truck and I couldn’t stop myself from asking what was going on. I had my suspicions, but I wanted to hear him say it. “Rogan, are you upset with me?”

  He put on his seatbelt and put the key in the ignition but didn’t start the engine. “I’m not upset with you.”

  “But,” I prompted. “The kiss?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t hate it.”

  “But?” I said again, knowing there was a lot more that he wasn’t saying.

  “It was very public. Those tickets were given to me by a client. People know me and they know you. I’m just not sure it is a good idea to give the impression we have anything but a platonic, professional relationship. It muddies the waters a bit. People get leery about doing business with a couple, just in case there is a falling out. A fallout usually results in the company suffering.”

  “Oh,” I murmured, finally understanding his reluctance. “Do you think I totally screwed things up? Should I have the public relations team put out a statement?”

  “No,” he said. “There’s no need to make a thing out of nothing. If some blogger or bored journalist gets ahold of it and tries to make it into something, we’ll address it then. I don’t think anyone is going to see it for anything more than what it was.”

  “Which is what?”

  “A silly kiss between friends having a good time and playing it up for the camera.”

  I slowly nodded. I wasn’t sure I liked it being classified as silly, but it had been a spontaneous reaction and me hamming it up for the camera. “I got caught up in the moment,” I told him, feeling very guilty.

  “It was fun, and the crowd loved it.”

  “But you think it was a bad idea.”

  “I’m not saying that,” he clarified and started the engine. “I’m saying we have to be careful, especially right now. You taking over has already earned us a lot of speculation. Our customers and our investors and even our employees are all watching very close. They want to see what’s going to happen. I hate to say it, but your competitors are hoping you will fail. If the company begins to lose the trust of our customers, they are going to jump ship and head over to our competition.”

  I was nodding as he spoke. “You are right. I don’t want them thinking I’m some naïve young woman that is all about having fun.”

  “Cora, no one is telling you not to have fun. I just think when it comes to me and you, we have to be careful. There are going to be rumors whether we give them anything to talk about or not.”

  I chewed my lower lip. “You are worried about your reputation,” I said as it all started to make sense.

  “I’m not worried about my reputation.”

  He was lying. It hurt a little, but I understood it. “If people find out we hooked up or we start hanging out and it gets out, they are going to think you are using me to get ahead.”

  “I would never do that, and anyone that actually knows me would never think that,” he countered. “But yes, you are right in a way.”

  “Which way would that be?”

  “I worked my ass off to get to where I am. It
was hard work and I did it the right way. There are a few people in the company who think I kissed up to your dad. I’ve been called a bootlicker more than once. I never cared what anyone else said because I knew the truth. People are going to be looking especially hard at me because of where I came from. I don’t have a degree. I have nothing that makes me worthy of being promoted.”

  I realized what he was saying and felt bad I had put him in the position. “I guess this is a bit of a role reversal. Usually, it’s women who get accused of spreading their legs in an attempt to get ahead.”

  He looked over at me with a heated look that sent a shiver down my spine. “I wasn’t the one spreading my legs.”

  I gulped, fighting the urge to fan myself. “No, you weren’t. But you know what I mean.”

  “I do. And unfortunately, people have too much time on their hands and run their mouths about shit they don’t know anything about.”

  My excellent evening just went up in smoke. “I’m sorry. I should have thought before I acted.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Do you want to go home, or would you like to stop and get some ice cream?”

  “Ice cream?”

  “I have a craving for some Rocky Road. All that salty food at the game has left me needing something cold and creamy.”

  I smiled, happy to know he wasn’t so angry with me he was going to ditch me at home. “I would love some ice cream.”

  He pulled into a parlor that was filled with teens and young people. We each ordered two scoops in bowls before taking a table outside. The man loved his ice cream. He was eating it like one would expect an eager little boy to devour the sweet treat.

  “Rocky Road, huh?” I teased. “That’s very, uh, youthful.”

  He grinned. “I have tried just about every flavor of ice cream on the planet, but I always come back to the tried and true Rocky Road.”

  “I love all ice cream, but I’m partial to the fruity flavors.”

  “My mom used to take me out for ice cream every Sunday after church. It was our little secret.”

  “You went to church?” I asked with surprise.

  He laughed. “Does that surprise you?”

  “A little, yes.”

  “I’m not an angel and I’ve certainly committed plenty of sins, but I don’t think I’m a complete heathen. We stopped going when I was around ten or so. That’s when she got sick.”

  I nodded with understanding. I knew his past and didn’t want to bring up old hurts. “My dad had an old-fashioned ice-cream maker. It was the kind you had to churn. It was so good but so much work. I guess that’s why I like the fruity ice-cream flavors. We had a garden and the strawberries were prolific. We always made strawberry ice cream.”

  “That is a good memory to have.”

  “It really is. I wonder if that thing is still in the house somewhere. First world problem number twenty-two. The house is so big I can’t find anything.”

  He chuckled. “My house isn’t so big, and I often lose stuff in it.”

  “Tell me about your house,” I said. “Oakley told me you were renovating it.”

  “I am. I was. I’m finally almost done. It was pretty rundown, and I’ve been fixing it up.”

  “Are you going to sell it?”

  “I didn’t plan on it. Why?”

  I shrugged. “No reason. I was just wondering if you were one of those flippers.”

  “I’d lose money. It has taken me years to turn this house around. Flippers have pretty short timelines.”

  “Good point.”

  We talked a little more about his plans for the house and somehow ended up talking about fishing with Granger. “My dad always tried to get me to go fishing. He even stocked our lake with fish. I couldn’t do it.”

  “It’s a very relaxing activity. I don’t do it often, but I should. At least that’s what Granger tells me.”

  I burst into laughter. “From what I saw of Granger and what you have told me, I think he fishes enough for everyone.”

  “He does. Trust me. He does.”

  “I think I’d like to try it now,” I said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. If you go again, will you give me a call? I promise I won’t punch you or abuse you like I did tonight. I am sorry about that. I get so caught up and forget myself.”

  “It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “I’ll survive. I’ll be bruised and scarred, but I will survive. Next time, I’ll wear body armor.”

  “Will there be a next time?” I blurted out.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. I did have a good time. You made the game a lot more interesting.”

  “When do they play again?”

  He grimaced. “Basketball season is over.”

  I popped out my bottom lip and pouted. “Oh, bummer. What about baseball? Don’t they play in the summer?”

  He groaned, shaking his head. “I can’t do baseball.”

  “Why?”

  “Have you ever watched baseball?”

  “Nope.”

  “I think you are more of a football, hockey, basketball kind of girl. Something with a little more action.”

  “I agree. When does that start?”

  “Not for a couple of months,” he answered.

  “Bummer. I guess fishing it is.”

  He smirked but said nothing. We finished our ice cream and I knew I had dragged out the night as long as I could. It was time to go home—alone. When Rogan pulled to a stop in front of the house, I thought about giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and then remembered the kiss-cam fiasco.

  “Thank you for tonight,” I told him. “Truly, I have not had that much fun in a very long time. It was good to get out of the house and to laugh, like really laugh.”

  “I’m glad I could take you. I had a good time as well. Try and get some rest.”

  “I will. I’ll see you Monday.”

  I hopped out of his truck and walked to the door. Like the true gentleman he was, he waited for me to get inside before pulling away. I closed the door and leaned against it. I was falling for a man I couldn’t be with. He was everything a girl could want, but unfortunately, he was also my employee.

  I wasn’t going to give up my role and he wasn’t going to quit, which meant we couldn’t see one another. Like he said, it would complicate things. The two of us worked well together, and breaking up that working relationship would be a detriment to the company.

  It figured the one man I was actually interested in was not mine to have. Sometimes, life was so unfair. I felt like I deserved a little break. Then again, I was walking upstairs to my bedroom in my multi-million-dollar house. How much more of a break did I really deserve?

  I needed to be happy with what I had. There were other men. I just had to find them. I would squeeze in my manhunt between running my company and getting caught up on my dad’s affairs.

  “Get used to being single,” I muttered as I stripped off my clothes.

  Chapter 27

  Rogan

  I looked at the time in the corner of my screen and silently groaned. It was late. Everyone had left a while ago and I was still working. I was trying to put together a proposal for the new client while running numbers for the new engines.

  I had spent a good part of my day on the phone with various distributors, trying to make the breakroom at the yard something a person would find in a five-star hotel. Cora had given me a generous budget, but I wanted to make sure I got the best deal possible.

  I rubbed my eyes, blinking several times to clear my vision before looking at the spreadsheet on the screen. I needed to make it good. The guy was having a hard time getting his board to agree on switching to rail for his cross-country freight. I wanted to give him something lucrative to offer the board. I didn’t do the negotiation thing. I wanted it right the first time.

  “You’re the last one here,” Beau said as he walked into my office.

  “You’re here,” I pointed out.

  He chuckled. “I am, but I am on my wa
y out. What’s got you looking so bleary eyed?”

  I sighed. “It’s just been a very busy day.”

  He slowly nodded. “I understand but I bet it isn’t anything that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow has its own problems,” I said with a laugh. “My schedule is pretty full this week.”

  “You’re going to get old in a hurry if you keep working these long hours. And you’re going to end up blind if you keep staring at the screen.”

  “I’ll get glasses,” I replied. “I’m almost done.”

  “All right, I’ll let you get back to work. Try not to work too late. I would hate for you to burn yourself out. You’re a hard worker but no one expects you to carry the load alone.”

  “This is my job, and with everything the way it is right now, I can’t afford to make mistakes or let anything slip past.”

  “I have no doubt in my mind you will not let that happen. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight,” I called out, my eyes already back on the screen.

  I worked a little longer before I heard footsteps. I assumed it was the cleaning crew and kept on working. It was the smell that got me. My head popped up, looking for the source of the Chinese food smell.

  “Hi,” Cora said from the doorway.

  I looked at the two white plastic bags in her hand. “Hi,” I said, not sure what she was doing. “What’s up? I thought you left for the day.”

  “I didn’t leave for the day. I left, got some dinner, and now I’m back.”

  “Oh,” I said, afraid to assume the dinner was to be shared with me.

  “You need to eat, so I picked up Chinese. I hope you like Chinese.”

  “I do, but you didn’t need to do that.”

  “I did,” she insisted. “I’m the one who dumped all of this on you. I can buy you dinner.”

  She walked in and put the bags on the corner of my desk. “Can I eat with you?”

  How could I deny a beautiful woman like her? “Sure.”

  “What are you working on?”

  I blew out a breath. “At the moment, the proposal for John. I spoke with him earlier and he’s getting some pushback from his board. I guess they have some deals worked out with that trucking company. I need to make sure I put together something to tip them our way without giving away the farm.”