Can't Make This Up

by C. Morgan

  “Not you, dear. You’re different.”

  “Did you tell her how you felt?” she asked.

  “Mom, it isn’t that easy.”

  “How do you feel?” my dad asked. “What did I miss?”

  “He likes her and wants to date her, but he won’t tell her. Ryan told me Trinity likes Ryker and I know he likes her. One of them needs to make a move.”

  This was one of the seven circles of hell. My parents were trying to give me relationship advice, and I was actually listening to it.

  “It’s tricky,” I explained. “If I mess up this proposal—”

  “Proposal?!” they both shrieked.

  I couldn’t believe I’d just said that word. “Dammit, no. Not a proposal. I meant I need to see if she is willing to work together and date me.”

  “You really like this girl?” my dad said with shock.

  “Yes, I do.”

  My mom clapped her hands. “I think it’s about time. You need to settle down. If you can work with this girl, I think that says something. You get along well enough.”

  “I get along with a lot of people, Mom. That doesn’t mean I need to date them.”

  “Does she make you happy?”

  I nodded. “She does.”

  “Well, son,” my dad said and slapped me on the back. “Sounds like you are on your way to being married.”

  “Woah, you’re getting a little carried away. I just want to see where it goes. As you guys know, this is a first for me.”

  “You had that girlfriend back in high school,” my dad said.

  I gave him a dry look. “I took her to prom, Dad. That was it. She told everyone we were dating. It was one date.”

  “I think you need to bring her by for a real dinner,” he said. “I’d like to meet her.”

  “You have met her,” I reminded him.

  He waved a hand. “Not like that. If I remember right, she was a bit of a tyrant during that wedding. She scared me a little.”

  I laughed at the thought of my father, a successful multi-billionaire, afraid of little Trinity. “She’s very serious about her job. It’s why I want to keep her as my assistant. I can’t let this relationship thing go bad and lose her help.”

  “Don’t screw up and you’ll be fine,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll tell you a few secrets to keeping your assistant and your girlfriend happy.”

  “Oh, this ought to be good,” Mom said with a snort. Her back was toward us but I would have bet money she was smiling.

  “You always kiss her in the morning,” he started. “At work, you don’t embarrass her in front of the other employees. If you want to steal a kiss, you do it in private. After work, you go home and leave work at work. Don’t talk shop. Treat her like a girlfriend. Give her nice presents and take her to dinner. Never treat her like your assistant when you are home.”

  I nodded. I was listening to all of it. It was good stuff. My parents had a happy marriage. Clearly, my dad knew what he was doing. “I can do that.”

  “The key is to always treat her with respect,” Mom added. “Never treat her like she is your employee.”

  “I don’t. I mean, I do, but I wouldn’t.”

  “Just remember you have to be a little extra cautious,” she said. “There are going to be times when the work thing does get stressful. It’s the nature of the beast. You need to be extra careful, and if I were you, I’d buy a flower shop. You’re going to need it. You need to shower her with flowers. Especially when you have those rough days that are bound to happen. I can’t think of a fight that wasn’t made better with some flowers.”

  “Good to know,” I said with a laugh. I looked to my dad. “Did you buy lots of flowers?”

  “Not enough. I did buy a lot of chocolate and jewelry.”

  “So basically you’re saying I need to buy her love?” I teased.

  “Watch yourself, young man,” my mom warned. “Nobody has been bought. Your father was a gentleman. When he was a jerk, he admitted it and apologized. That’s the key. Always apologize.”

  I was feeling better. This was the conversation I needed. “Thanks, guys.”

  Chapter 29

  Trinity

  I was ready for anything. Almost anything. I felt refreshed after a leisurely weekend. I knew it was going to be a busy day. I was in a great mood and hoped everyone I worked with was in good spirits as well. To kick off the week on the best foot possible, I was meeting Naya for coffee first thing this morning.

  I walked into the bustling coffee shop and found her sitting at a table with a glow on her face. “Good morning,” I said in a sing-song voice.

  She smiled when she looked up. “Good morning. You look refreshed.”

  “I feel refreshed. You look sun-kissed.”

  She touched her face and laughed. “I’m sun-kissed with a combination of a sand facial. The wind was blowing terribly, and walking on the beach was anything but romantic. I am certain I still have sand in my teeth.”

  “Oh, that sucks. Did you guys have to stay in most of the weekend?”

  “Yes, which isn’t a bad thing,” she said with a laugh. “We were going to stay a few more days but the weather wasn’t going to get any better. We called it and came home.”

  “I’m sorry your extended honeymoon didn’t go well.”

  “It went very well, minus the sand scrub.”

  I laughed. “Good.”

  “Why are you in such a good mood?”

  I shrugged. “No reason in particular. I’m looking forward to a charged week and then getting started with this season. I’m anxious to see what it’s all about. Weirdly, I’m not nervous at all. Everyone at work keeps telling me I should be dreading it, but I’m not.”

  “I think they’re more worried about you burning out,” she said.

  “Nope. Not me.”

  “Is this mood the result of the conversation we had the other night?” she asked.

  “No. I mean, it’s nice to know he has some of the same feelings, but I don’t know if that means I’m ready to act on it.”

  “I hope you guys can work something out. I want you both to be happy.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said. “I do, but I’m not hanging my happiness on him or anyone else.”

  We talked for a little longer before I ordered coffees for Alysha, Nick, and Ryker. When I got to work, I found Nick in the breakroom with his head down. I quietly stepped out and almost ran into Alysha.

  “Shh,” she whispered.

  “Is he sick?”

  “Teething. The baby is teething.”

  “Oh,” I said with understanding. “I brought you coffee.”

  “Thank you. You’re amazing.”

  “I got one for Nick too.”

  “Coffee?” Nick mumbled.

  “I got you a coffee from one of my favorite shops,” I said.

  I walked into the breakroom. He raised his head and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. He looked rough. He looked like he’d been up for a week. “Thanks,” he said and took the coffee.

  “How are you doing?” I asked him.

  “I’m alive. This has been worse than the first week she was home. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for a tooth to pop through. Why God? I don’t understand why this has to be a thing.” He looked pitiful.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Thanks. It was a little better last night. My wife says we are through the worst of it. Don’t ask me how she knows, but I believe her. Wishful thinking and all that.” He sipped the coffee and inhaled deeply. “This is good.”

  “I think you guys need a break,” I told him. “Do you have any family that can watch her for a few hours?”

  He rubbed his face. “No. Not yet.”

  “I would totally offer to babysit if my schedule wasn’t so busy,” I told him. “I love babies.”

  I felt a presence behind me and glanced over my shoulder. Ryker was standing there.

  He gave me a strange look. “Good morning,” he
said.

  “Good morning. I brought you a coffee.”

  “Thank you. What’s going on in here?”

  “Nick’s baby is teething and he isn’t sleeping,” I recapped.

  “And you’re going to babysit?” he questioned.

  “No, I said I would offer if we weren’t going to be on the road the next few months.”

  He nodded, still looking at me in a way that made me feel like he was looking into my very thoughts. “Babies, huh?”

  “I love babies,” I replied.

  He nodded and walked into his office. I turned my attention back to Nick, who was still sipping the coffee. “I hope it gets better,” I told him.

  “Thank you. I’m sure it will. Thank you for the coffee. It’s hitting the spot.”

  “You are welcome.”

  I took my stuff into my office before grabbing the tablet and heading across the hall to go over the schedule. “Are you ready for me?” I said as I stood in the door.

  Ryker looked at me. “Yes, come in.”

  I sat down and waited for him to get situated. I watched him, studying the little nuances that made him uniquely him.

  His dark hair was perfectly styled without a hair out of place. He was wearing one of the polos he usually wore. It was crisp and clean and just tight enough to show off his toned chest but not so tight it was obvious.

  He looked up and caught me staring at him. I didn’t look away. I dared him to say something about my ogling. “Ready?” he asked.

  “I am. I’m ready for anything.”

  I didn’t know why I said that. I told myself no flirting and here I was fawning over him. I looked away and pulled up the schedule on the tablet.

  “Do you have pets?” he asked.

  My eyes met his. “What? Pets?”

  “Yes. Cat, dog, fish? Pets. Do you have them?”

  I slowly shook my head. “No.”

  “Good.”

  “Why are you asking me about pets?”

  “I should have asked it earlier. We are going to be coming and going a lot. Having a pet at home would be rude and unfair to the pet.”

  I laughed. “I would never want to be rude to a dog.”

  “What about plants?”

  “I’m not rude to plants either,” I said.

  “No, do you have them? They too don’t do well if they are ignored.”

  I slowly shook my head. “No pets. No plants. Wait, I do have a cactus. I think it will survive without me.”

  “Good.”

  “What about you?” I asked. “Do you have pets or plants?”

  I didn’t think he did, but I liked the banter. “I have plants but I also have a plant guy.”

  “What is a plant guy?”

  He laughed. “A guy that comes in once a week and takes care of my plants.”

  “Is that a gardener?”

  “No. I have one of those too.”

  I smirked. “The pitfalls of being wealthy.”

  “Someone’s gotta do it,” he teased.

  “Okay, the schedule. We leave Wednesday, correct?”

  He nodded. “I have the flight scheduled for that afternoon. We’ll be on call and at the practice field in New Orleans.”

  “Just like before?”

  “Yes. It could be a lot of standing around and doing nothing. Wear sensible shoes.”

  I had already made that decision. “Got it.”

  We narrowed down the schedule before moving on to the immediate needs.

  “I have it on my list to pick up your dry cleaning and the new uniforms,” I said. I made notes as he added a few more things to my list. I was glad I had the coffee. I was going to need every drop. “Anything else?”

  He seemed to think for a second before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  I left the office to get started on the tasks. I got a call while I was out. Alysha wanted to get lunch. Initially, I was going to decline. Then I figured it would likely be the last time I got to hang out with her for a while.

  I walked into the sushi restaurant and quickly found Alysha. I took my seat and exhaled. “Whew!”

  “Long day?”

  “And we are only halfway through,” I exclaimed.

  “If anyone can handle this, it’s you.”

  “Thanks. How’s it going at the office?”

  She laughed. “Nick fell asleep in his chair. Instead of waking him up, Ryker took his clients for an hour, which means we were running late on all of the clients.”

  “I’m glad he got some rest.”

  “Yes, me too, but it would have been nice to have been able to schedule his naptime.”

  “You’ll have to start penciling that into his schedule,” I teased.

  We enjoyed our lunch before heading back to the clinic. Things were much slower, and once again, Nick was in his office taking a power nap. I went into my own office and made some calls.

  Despite running all over the place for the day, I still had some nervous energy. I was really excited for the coming weeks. I just hoped we didn’t get stuck standing around staring at motivational posters and framed photos of important people in the football world.

  I fielded emails and made calls without breaking a sweat. I felt like I had found my stride. This job was really my thing. I was good at it and I knew I was making a difference in his world.

  I didn’t necessarily need or want his praise, but I did like the satisfaction that came with knowing I did a job well. It was my own personal satisfaction that really gave me the most glory.

  There was a knock on my door just as I finished with another task. “Do you have a minute?” Ryker asked.

  “You pay for all my minutes,” I said with a laugh.

  He chuckled and stepped into the office. He closed the door behind him, which told me whatever he had to say was not for public consumption.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Fine. Did I forget something?”

  “I doubt that. You never forget anything. If I haven’t said it recently, thank you for doing such a good job. It has really made my life easier. I know everyone else appreciates it, too.”

  “I like to help.”

  This was the job I wanted, and I was going to fight to keep it. Ryker and I had our moments early on, but the weirdness we had earlier seemed to be gone. We were in a good place and I hoped it stayed there.

  Our personal feelings could not get in the way. We worked well together and that was what I wanted to focus on.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

  It felt like a trick question. I wasn’t sure where he was going with it. “I, um, am I supposed to do something?”

  “Have dinner with me.”

  I stared at him with my ears ringing. This could not be happening. We were in a good place. Why would he want to ruin this?

  We had to be together this week, and I didn’t want it to be weird. I didn’t want us to tiptoe around each other. Why would he go and ruin something so good?

  “Tonight?” I asked in an attempt to stall.

  “Yes. Tonight.”

  I had to say no. This was only going to set us back to square one. We were in such an easy place. “Sure,” I heard my traitorous mouth say.

  “Great,” he said with a bright smile. “I’ll pick you up at six?”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  As soon as he left my office, I buried my face in my hands. This was bad, bad, bad.

  What the hell was I doing?

  Chapter 30

  Ryker

  I knew I’d ambushed her. I should have asked her to lunch. Dinner was probably too much. But I had to do it. This was the next step in my plan to seduce her. Not seduce her in a technical sense but woo her.

  I wanted her to look at me and see a man she could date. Everyone in my life was telling me to go for it. I had certainly spent enough time dwelling on the matter.

  I had to bite the bullet and take a chance. No guts, no glory. Ryan had painted
a picture of happiness that could only be achieved with the right woman by my side. He made me believe Trinity could be that woman. I saw him and Naya and I wanted that same kind of comfort. I wanted to know what it was like to be secure in the knowledge that there would always be someone beside you in life.

  I had to ask before I talked myself out of it. Now that the date was set, I couldn’t back out. There were not going to be any more excuses. I was in it to win it. If she shot me down, I would not pressure her. I would accept her rejection with as much dignity as I could muster and move on with my life with her as my assistant.

  When I got to her building to pick her up for our date, she was standing outside. I was seriously beginning to think she didn’t live in the building at all. I got the feeling she didn’t want me to know where she lived. I had her employee paperwork. It wasn’t hard to find out.

  “Hi,” she said as she got into the front seat.

  “Hi. You know, I feel like I’m picking up a buddy when you’re waiting outside all the time. Is there a reason you don’t want me to know which apartment is yours?”

  “No particular reason. It’s just easier and more efficient for me to wait out here.”

  “But when I’m picking a woman up for a date, I think the usual custom is for the guy to knock on the door.”

  “True, but is there anything usual about this?” she countered.

  “Maybe not,” I said with a laugh.

  I drove to the seafood restaurant where I had pulled some strings to get a last-minute reservation. We were seated at a nice, semi-private table.

  “This is a nice place,” she commented.

  “It is. I suppose I should have asked if you liked seafood. I hope you’re not allergic to anything.”

  “I’m not allergic and I love crab.”

  “Good,” I said with a nod.

  She sipped from her water glass. There was an immediate influx of tension at the table. This was my moment. Did I have the balls to take it?

  “Are you ready for the trip?” she asked. She was making safe small talk.

  “I am. You?”

  “Yep. I had a little online shopping spree. My stuff should be here before we leave.”

  “A shopping spree?” I asked.