On the Ropes

by Dania Voss

  “Hey Rocco, why don’t you go find the lovely Miss Hannah and she if she has any mints in that magic bag of hers? I don’t want us smelling like a distillery during the ceremony.” Jake waggled his eyebrows at Rocco and he frowned back at him, shaking his head.

  “She said she was coming back after she checked on the flowers and whatever else. I don’t need to look for her,” Rocco replied, looking flustered.

  Heath laughed and joined in on the teasing. “Damn, Roc, you’ve got it that bad? A little event planner’s got you all rattled?”

  “Fuck you, Heath, I’m not rattled. And you’re one to talk. What you gonna do when Leah gets here in a little while, huh?”

  It was Heath’s turn to look flustered and rattled. Luke knew that Leah, Jake’s younger sister, had always had a crush on Heath. It had been cute when she was a little girl, vying for Heath’s attention. Heath, for his part, had just treated Leah like his own little sister. With a ten-year age difference between them, what else could he do? Jake had been good natured about the whole thing. Getting digs in when he could, which pissed Heath off. As if he expected Jake to protect him from his baby sister. Luke found the whole thing rather funny.

  But Leah wasn’t a little girl anymore. Far from it. She was twenty-five now and that ten-year age difference between her and Heath wasn’t an issue anymore. No, Leah Tyler had grown into a gorgeous chestnut-haired, deep brown-eyed, curves-in-all-the-right-places siren.

  Not only was Leah a beautiful woman, but she was smart too, graduating from Northwestern University with honors and a degree in Finance. She was a Financial Analyst for the Cobras but didn’t report to Heath directly. Heath had recently been promoted to Finance Director and Leah reported to one of Heath’s direct reports. The Cobras’ finance department wasn’t large so Leah and Heath saw each other every day.

  Luke suspected Heath wanted Leah, but he’d fended her off so far. How Heath kept his hands off her while being tempted every day, Luke had no idea. If Luke saw Abbey every day at work, they would have been reprimanded or fired for fucking in the supply closet, or the copy room, or anywhere else they could find.

  Luke believed part of the reason that Heath didn’t make a move on Leah was loyalty to his friendship with Jake. You just didn’t fuck your buddy’s little sister. Period. End of story. Luke didn’t think that Jake would actually mind if Heath and Leah got together. Heath was a good man, and he’d never intentionally hurt Leah.

  To Luke’s amusement, Heath played dumb. “Leah who?”

  Jake just laughed and winked at Luke. “Leah Remini. You know, from King of Queens and now Kevin Can Wait.”

  Heath’s eyes grew wide. “Was Luke able to get her to attend?” Was Heath kidding?

  Rocco, Jake, and Luke laughed. Jake threw his hands up. “No, idiot. I meant my sister Leah. Like you didn’t know who I meant. Leah Remini, right.” Jake sighed and shook his head. Obviously Heath was going to fight this thing with Leah until the bitter end.

  “What about your sister? What are saying? That I’ve got a thing for her or something?”

  Rocco grunted and chimed in. “Or something.”

  Heath looked panicked. “Well, I don’t. She’s your kid sister, Jake. I’d never do that to you. She’s like a sister to me and is my employee.” Heath looked to Luke for support.

  Luke wasn’t having any of it. “You’re not fooling anyone with this denial shit, Heath. Man up for fuck’s sake. Marine.”

  Rocco stepped up to Luke, a scowl on his face, eyes narrowed. “Got a problem with the Marines, civilian?”

  Luke had no issue with the Marines or any service branch. In fact, it had been Luke’s idea for the Chicago Cobras to partner with the Veterans Ticket Foundation and donate three hundred fifty free game tickets to veterans and active duty military and their families for every home game. Once a year, the Cobras hosted a Military Appreciation Night, providing twenty-five hundred free tickets and performed a special ceremony honoring the men and women in uniform. Luke’s own father had been in the Army.

  Jake stepped in, pushing Rocco back. “Relax, man. No one’s insulting the Marines, all right?”

  Rocco and Heath nodded. Luke blew out a breath, relieved.

  Jake turned to Heath, a serious expression on his face. “Look, I know Leah’s my kid sister and you’ve always treated like she was yours too, but she’s never been shy about her feelings toward you.”

  “No, that’s not true.” Heath shook his head. “She had a little crush when she was younger, that’s it.”

  “Heath, come on. Get real. Little girl crush time is over. She’s a grown woman. Do I really need to tell you what you already know?” Jake looked to Luke and Rocco. “What we all know?”

  Heath rolled his eyes, in full denial mode. “And what is it that we all know, Jake? Enlighten me, please.”

  “Stop playing dumb. We all know Leah’s in love with you. Has been for a long time.” Jake turned and went to the mirrored door and checked his appearance. He brushed some lint from his shoulders, adjusted his white bow tie, and turned back around to face Heath.

  Heath shook his head. “No, she’s not. Even if she was, I wouldn’t never act on it or encourage her. I would never do that to you. Friends don’t touch their friend’s sisters. We all know that. I can’t believe you think I’d do something like that to you.”

  Jake walked back over to Heath and looked over to Luke. Luke nodded slightly to Jake.

  “What if I said I didn’t mind if you did do something about it?”

  Heath’s mouth fell open. Before he could answer Jake, there was a knock at the main office door. “Boys, it’s Darren and Hannah. Can we come in?”

  Chapter Four

  Abbey and Leah watched their mothers fuss over Cassie as they waited for the wedding ceremony to begin. They were all tucked away in a conference room left of Grace of God’s main entrance. Angel and Vanessa calmly listened as Abbey’s mother made suggestions for Cassie’s hair and makeup. Cassie looked perfect and Abbey was impressed at how Cassie kept her cool despite all the fussing around her.

  Madison and Roxanna were seated at the conference room table, chatting and busy on their cell phones. Madison looked over at Cassie and nudged Roxanna with her elbow. They both stood up, gesturing to their chairs. “Moms, how about we do a quick touch up on your makeup before the ceremony starts?”

  “Good idea, Mad. You ladies have been so teary-eyed, with good reason of course. But let’s make sure you two look perfect before you’re escorted down the aisle.” Roxanna winked at Abbey and Leah with a smile on her face. Nice save.

  Jake’s and Abbey’s moms stopped fussing. “You’ll both make sure Cassie’s ready, right?” Abbey’s mother asked Angel and Vanessa before she and Jake’s mother took Madison’s and Roxanna’s seats at the table for their touch up.

  “Don’t worry, Mom, we’ve got everything under control.” Cassie mouthed a thank you to Madison and Roxanna.

  Leah snickered next to her while she typed on her cell phone. Abbey’s own cell phone chimed and vibrated with a text message as it lay on the table. Her heart skipped a beat, thinking it might be Luke. The guys were in an office somewhere on the other side of the church getting ready themselves. She knew she shouldn’t care if the text was from Luke or not, but she couldn’t help it. Luke had been her first love. Today would be the first time she saw him face-to-face in ten years. It wasn’t all that surprising she was a little nervous to see him again.

  Tom Murphy: Hey how are things going? Ready to walk down the aisle with Luke?

  Abbey chided herself for being disappointed it wasn’t Luke who texted her, but instead, one of her co-workers, the Support Desk Manager at OSG. Abbey had confided in him and a few others at the office about Cassie’s wedding and her nervousness about seeing Luke again after ten years.

  The women she told were excited for her, going on about how Abbey should strut her stuff and consider hooking up with Luke for old time’s sake. What happened at a wedding stayed a
t the wedding and all that.

  The men couldn’t have cared less about how Abbey felt and only wanted details about “Strike ’em Out” Stryker’s workout regimen, eating plan, etcetera. They wanted to know if Abbey could score them tickets to Cobras games, team gear, and so on.

  Being the masochist Abbey was when it came to Luke, she knew a lot details about Luke’s professional life, in part from her own research and from what Cassie and Jake shared with her. Cassie worked for the Cobras as a Manager for Season Ticket Services. She’d been with the Cobras for seven years. Jake joined the organization a year ago as a corporate attorney.

  But Tom Murphy hadn’t cared about Luke’s personal information, tickets, or gear. No. Tom had offered to be Abbey’s date to the wedding, her plus one. Why? To make Luke jealous.

  Leah peeked over Abbey’s shoulder to look at her phone. “Oh, who’s Tom Murphy?” she whispered. Abbey looked up to find her mother and Jake’s mom still busy with Madison and Roxanna.

  Abbey whispered back, “No one.”

  Abbey: Ha, ha. Ceremony starts soon.

  Tom Murphy: You sure you don’t need me to be your date tonight? Make Luke squirm a little?

  Leah giggled beside Abbey. “What an awesome idea. Make Luke jealous. Good plan. So who’s this Tom guy?”

  “Shush. Tom’s just someone I work with.”

  Abbey had worked with him, up until Wednesday afternoon. She wouldn’t dare mention she’d been laid off now. She had enough to deal with as it was.

  Tom Murphy was thirty-one years old and OSG’s resident IT bad boy. He had thick, wavy, light-brown hair kept a little too long, was six-feet-two of solid muscle, had tattoos running down both arms, and rode a Harley. Abbey saw the appeal Tom presented, but the guy was an enormous man-whore. No two ways about it. So much so that OSG’s HR department had to step in, demanding he not “date” anyone from their IT department because his playboy antics resulted in three very upset female employees leaving the company after discovering he was seeing them all at the same time.

  Tom’s manager had gone to great lengths to ensure he wasn’t fired because even though he had no couth when it came to women personally, he had an amazing technical mind and was an exemplary employee otherwise. He ran their Support Desk like a well-oiled machine.

  Abbey: What? No hot date tonight?

  Tom Murphy: Nah, left my day wide open for you. J

  What was wrong with him? Although Abbey had no romantic feelings for Tom, why would he risk his job even pretending to be her date? She had been careful to never encourage him personally. She’d always kept her interactions with Tom professional but friendly.

  They worked rather closely as the Support Desk employees were power users of the software system Abbey managed. She and Tom had redesigned processes that improved efficiencies and significantly reduced call resolution times. A few weeks before being laid off, they had worked with their retail store support vendor to integrate OSG’s help ticketing systems, allowing both companies to create and pass ticket information back and forth between both systems. It was a huge accomplishment and a significant process improvement.

  At least it’s something I can add to my résumé.

  “Tell him you accept, Abbey,” Leah whispered, acting much too nosey.

  “No. I don’t want to play those kinds of games, especially at Cassie’s wedding.”

  “Fine, be a spoiled sport.” Leah went back to her phone and left her alone.

  Abbey: I hope that’s not true. Thanks, but I’ll be fine.

  Tom Murphy: You sure? I look amazing in my suit.

  Abbey: Positive, I’m good.

  Tom Murphy: Yes, you are. But I’ll check back later, just in case.

  Abbey: You don’t have to, I’ll be fine.

  Tom Murphy: Yes, you’re very fine but I’ll check with you later anyway.

  Abbey: Whatever. Bye.

  Tom Murphy: There’s always the after wedding brunch tomorrow at the Fairchild Hotel. I LOVE brunch!

  Abbey: Just stop, don’t worry. See you Monday at the office.

  Tom Murphy: We’ll see…

  Come on, Tom, give it a rest. It’s never gonna happen between us.

  She hoped Tom would get the hint when she texted she’d see him on Monday at the office. No one probably knew she had been laid off, other than her asshole manager and his two minions, since everyone knew she was taking Thursday and Friday as vacation days to prepare for the wedding. At least she was being paid for all her unused vacation time in addition to her severance.

  The extra money would help as she embarked on her job search next week. With her severance and vacation pay, Abbey was in decent shape financially. She wouldn’t need to dip into her savings for quite a while. And she always had the option of taking contract or consulting positions if she had to and continue to look for something permanent that offered paid vacation time, health benefits, and paid holidays. Her education and experience would warrant a decent hourly contract rate. It would be all right.

  Leah leaned over and whispered in Abbey’s ear. “So, no Tom, then?”

  She nudged Leah away, smiling at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “No Tom, and let it go.”

  Just then, Patty Hailey breezed into the room wearing an elegant blonde up ’do and a powder-blue power suit. She turned to Abbey’s and Jake’s mothers. “All right, moms. You two are up. Ready to be escorted down the aisle?”

  “Oh! Is it time already?” Abbey’s mother stood up. Her eye’s glistened with unshed tears. Same for Jake’s mother.

  “Don’t ruin your makeup again, just look up and blink,” Abbey told them. They both did and went to Cassie one last time before leaving.

  Cassie, her mother, and Jake’s mother all held hands for a moment. “Welcome to the family, Cassie.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Welcome to ours.” All three women laughed.

  Jake’s mother turned to Abbey’s. “I’ll meet you at the entrance doors.”

  Angel, Vanessa, Madison, and Roxanna collected their supplies. “We’ll take our seats too. Good luck, Cassie,” Angel said for the stylists as they left conference room.

  Patty Hailey put a hand on Abbey’s mother and Cassie’s shoulder. “I’ll give you both a minute. I looked in on the men. Great choice going traditional with black tails. They all look very handsome. I’ll send your father in once the mothers are seated.” Patty left the room and closed the door.

  Abbey’s heart raced at the thought of seeing Luke all decked out in his tuxedo. She needed to get a grip and fast.

  Get over it, Abbey. It’s just Luke, no big deal.

  Leah leaned over. “I can’t wait to see Heath in his tux. And then maybe later, out of it.”

  Abbey giggled and nudged Leah. Poor Heath. He didn’t stand a chance. She knew eventually Heath and Leah would get together. Leah wouldn’t allow for any other option. Abbey hoped it worked out for the two of them. Everyone knew Leah had been in love with the man her entire life. It would be a real shame if they didn’t end up together.

  Abbey’s mother held on to both of Cassie’s hands. “This is it, my little girl is finally getting married. I had my doubts Jake was serious about you, you know.”

  Abbey felt Leah stiffen beside her and Abbey took a hold of her hand. She spoke up before Cassie or Leah could. Jake didn’t deserve to be shit on, especially on his wedding day. “Mom, Jake just wanted to be sure he was able to take care of Cassie and their future family. He wanted to finish law school, pass the bar, and establish his career first. That’s a good thing.”

  Her mother turned to her and Leah, a sympathetic look in her blue eyes. “I know and I wasn’t trying to insult your brother, Leah. I just meant a seven-year engagement is unusual.”

  Cassie squeezed her mother’s hand tight. “I know it is. But I never doubted Jake. He’s a little old fashioned in that regard. He knows I want to keep working after we start a family and he’s fine with that. He just wanted to put himself in the position to comfortably support us i
f I wanted to stay home. That’s all. It took him a little while, but I can’t fault him for it. The minute he accepted his position with the Cobras, we set our wedding date, remember?”

  Abbey’s mother nodded. “Of course, and you’re right. You’re only twenty-nine, and there’s plenty of time to start of family. But don’t wait seven years, all right?”

  Abbey and Leah laughed and Cassie glared at them. “No worries, Mom. We definitely won’t wait seven years.”

  Abbey’s mother air-kissed Cassie’s cheek. “I’d better get out there. I’ll see you all in a few minutes. I love you, Cassie.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  Before leaving, Abbey’s mother turned to her and Leah. “I love you too, Abbey, very much. And you too, Leah, welcome to our family.”

  Abbey turned to Leah and saw her get misty eyed. “Look up and blink!”

  “I’m okay, don’t worry. And thank you, Mrs. Jayne.”

  “Leah, we’re family now. Please call me Monica.”

  “Thank you, Monica.”

  Abbey and Leah went to Cassie after Abbey’s mother left the room. “Oh my God, I thought you two would spill the beans when Mom went on and on about starting a family and not waiting seven years.”

  “You know they’re all eager for grandchildren now since you and Jake have been engaged for so long,” Leah commented.

  “Yes, I know. They’ll only need to wait about seven months.” Cassie held their hands tight. “Thank you both for all your help planning this day and standing up with me. Oh no!”

  Cassie looked up and blinked her tears away.

  Abbey and Leah laughed and did the same. “Okay, there’s no time for a touch up, let’s keep it together, ladies,” Abbey joked.

  Leah squeezed Abbey’s and Cassie’s hands, a serious expression on her lovely face. “All kidding aside, though. I’m really glad we’re going to be sisters.”

  Cassie air-kissed Leah’s cheek, careful not to get too close and ruin their makeup. “We are too.”