“I didn’t mean to pull that picture up, specifically,” I say. “I was just investigating who’s going to be at our mutual friend Peyton’s wedding in April. And, guess what? I’m literally the only single one there. Every other person attending is married, has a fiancé, or boyfriend.”
“Pssh. You can’t be the only single one there. There’s always like, one single guy at these things.”
I shake my head. “I have thoroughly gone through the invitation list. Trust me. Every guest name is up on their ‘tie the knot’ website. I’m the only single one.”
Rhonda twists her face up and nods. “Seriously?”
“This is going to literally be torture. Peyton is one of our best friends, so I can’t not go. It’s basically going to be a five-day college friends’ reunion centered around a wedding. Ever since Mark and I broke up, it feels a little like we’ve been telling our friends to pick a side or something. It’s ridiculous. But it’s what’s happening and it’s my reality.”
“Why don’t you just bring a date? You know, someone you’re not serious with, but could have some fun with, too?”
I frown. “Have you ever been to a destination wedding?”
“No. Why?” The look on Rhonda’s face almost gives me the giggles.
“So, it’s basically five days in a very limited square footage of real estate with this person. All of the events are within the walls of this all-you-can-eat-and-drink-resort. How am I going to find someone this quickly whom I could stand being with nonstop, or who could stand being with me, for five days?”
She shrugs, and her face curves upward in a wry grin. “I’ll go with you. When is it?”
I tell her the date in late April. At least I know we’d have fun, I mean, I don’t have to bring a guy, although I’d rather. I would love to make Mark jealous, or at least see what he missed out on. Though based on posts on Facebook I’m not sure that will happen. Okay, time to be real, it’s really so I can just save face. Let’s be honest, this trip is going to hurt.
“Ohh, sorry. My mom’s birthday is that weekend. It’s a big one and she’d kill me if I missed it. There’s got to be someone you could take as a date, though. I mean, you don’t have anyone?”
I shake my head. “While I was dating Mark, I didn’t keep in touch with the guys I’d dated before. I didn’t want to — I thought Mark and I were it. Though I did follow them on social media and it appears they’re no longer single either.” My anxiety is ramping up now…damn, I didn’t want to talk about this at the office.
“There’s got to be someone you can take with you as a date.”
Just then, we hear a reverberating noise rumble on the other side of our cube. It’s a low male voice and I can’t quite make out what he’s saying.
A few seconds later, Jocko Brewer strides around to my cubicle. Jocko is tall, brown-eyed, and handsome with thick brown hair. He’s also somehow in a good mood even this early in the morning. Ugh. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got some action before work, hence his glowing smile.
He’s the top Midwest sales rep at the company, EdTechX. We help keep K-12 schools up to date when it comes to the technology equipment and resources they need in the classroom. Anything from Wi-Fi routers to desktop computers to anti-virus software updates — that’s all us.
As the top rep, Jocko’s got this constant, cocky smirk that never leaves his face, and there’s not one person in the office who hasn’t heard his story about the time when he made it to the final four in the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and almost beat Steph Curry. Would have won if it weren’t for a ‘bad’ call by the referees.
“Morning, ladies,” he says with a giant smile. He leans back on my desk like he owns it. “How is my favorite educational strategist doing today?”
His favorite educational strategist would be me. Although I never know if he’s joking about me being his favorite.
“Never been better,” I say, offering a tight smile and trying to focus on the conversation with him instead of my single-life worries.
“I didn’t know you were here already or I would have picked you up something for breakfast, a honey bun or something hot and caffeinated,” Rhonda says, blushing. She always does this when Jocko comes around. I actually think it’s embarrassing more than cute, he’s too worried about himself to notice her or anyone else’s interest.
“Oh, that’s alright. I stopped drinking coffee this fall. I thought you knew that.” His response is kind but clueless to the vibe she’s sending.
“Why did you stop drinking coffee?” I question.
He clenches his jaw, and the smile leaves his face for a brief moment. “Customers were telling me I was too intense, coffee was the trigger.”
“Oh.” I could see that. He can be overpowering in a lot of ways.
Jocko squints. “Do you think I’m too intense, Allie?”
I try to fake like I don’t have a stomach full of nerves when he looks at me like he is right now. The truth is, I’ve never met anyone else who makes me so nervous just by the pure lifeforce he exudes. I’ve never seen him go anything less than one-hundred miles per hour. His eyes are so lively and vibrant as he stares at me; it’s quite intoxicating.
Jocko slaps his knee and laughs deeply. “I’m just jonesing you! I did switch to tea a while back, though. Anyway, Mackey ISD called me this morning, and that deal is closed! Add another two million to my pipeline, Rhonda.” He winks at her, then brings his gaze back to me. “I wanted to thank you for your help, Allie. You nailed that presentation with their technology director, and that’s what sealed the deal. So, when can I buy you a drink to celebrate? I owe you. Oh, you’re invited, too, Rhonda.”
“Well, thanks,” she says. “You’re in luck, we’re planning a team happy hour for tonight.”
Jocko nods, “Sounds perfect. It’s so damn cold here in February. God, I’d do just about anything to get out of this weather. But I guess a few Jack and Cokes at the bar will have to do.”
“A happy hour tonight sounds amazing,” I say. Jocko really is a good-looking guy. I saw him without a shirt once, at a mutual friend’s summer rooftop pool party. Let’s just say those are abs that a girl doesn’t forget. Now, every time I see him, I can’t help but imagine them under his suit.
Of course, Mark had a nice physique, too, but even with all of the workouts he did, he never had that six-pack guys get…not that it mattered to me. Most guys don’t ever get that gym-rat build unless they’re…well, gym rats, and I’d rather they spent more time with me than they do at the gym.
“Alright, well, I need to get back to work,” Rhonda announces. She backs away, and makes a gesture pointing between me and Jocko, and then gives a maybe? shrug as she heads back to her desk.
Is she out of her mind?
“What just happened there?” Jocko asks, standing up straighter.
Shoot. Literally nothing makes it past this man.
Well, except for Rhonda’s flirtation’s apparently.
I purse my lips. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
He looks between Rhonda and me, waving his pointer finger between us. “You two just did a little womanly nonverbal communication thing. I saw that.”
Called out and royally busted.
“Maybe you’re seeing things,” I lie, because no — five days with Jocko would not work. No.
“Alright,” he says, after a long pause. “I need to get back to work, too. But I’ve got my eye on you two.” He points at his eyes, and then at me and Rhonda’s cubicles, like Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents.
As soon as he’s gone, a message from Rhonda pops up on the company chat:
Rhonda: Jocko. He’s the perfect date for the destination wedding.
Allie: In what universe?
Rhonda: Well, you want to make Mark jealous, right? Jocko’s hot, he’s sexy, and he’d fit right in with a crew of athletes like the ones that Peyton rolls with since Jocko played Division I basketball in college. His brother Everet
t even plays professional football, for goodness sake.
Allie: Uh, no, I’m not trying to make Mark jealous. This is the year of better angels of my nature. I’m not stooping to Mark’s level. I’m rising above the wreckage.
Rhonda: Oh, okay. My bad…well, either way, you would be guaranteed a fun time. Plus, I hear he’s quite a devil in bed. If you two decide to, you know…
Allie: Oh my gosh! No! We’re coworkers, on the same team! That is not a good idea. As the boss’s assistant, aren’t you supposed to not encourage interoffice romance? Isn’t that an H.R. nightmare just waiting to happen?
Rhonda: I’m just trying to look out for my girl. You’ve been so unhappy this past winter. (You still haven’t had a rebound, btw. Yes, I’ve noticed.). And seriously, Becky in marketing said that about Jocko, so you know it’s true. She can’t keep her mouth shut. Plus, you’d be in Cancún and you know what they say about what happens in Cancún…
Allie: I’m not looking for a silly rebound. Just because I got burned once doesn’t mean I’m going to drop my standards. And that’s Vegas…what happens in V-E-G-A-S!
Rhonda: Really? I thought it was Cancún, too. And drop your standards? This is Jocko we’re talking about. He’s like the singlest of the single guys who has ever singled. Do you know why? Because he’s a millionaire with options. That’s right. MILLIONS! I see his paychecks since I’m the boss’s assistant. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, he’d be fun to hang with. He’s hot. Plus, he’s an avowed bachelor so you wouldn’t have to worry about him getting needy or weird. You two have always gotten along so well. He’d also be fun to look at on the beach in Cancún…
Allie: Fun to look at?
Rhonda: Oh, come on, don’t pretend like you haven’t stalked his beach volleyball pics. from last year. You expert Facebook stalker you.
Allie: Okay, fine. Even if I did want to bring him, why would he say yes? To be a part of five days of lost productivity surrounded by strangers and little ole me? That man is a machine. I don’t think he’s ever taken a vacation of more than two days in all the time I’ve been working here.
Rhonda: He’d go with ‘little ole you’ because he likes you.
When I read those words, I won’t lie — my heart does the tiniest of tumbles. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s definitely a little something. Even noticing the sensation makes me feel silly, like I’m in sixth grade again and I just found out a cute boy might have a crush on me.
Although I’m flattered, if true, part of me is skeptical that Rhonda is right.
Allie: He likes me like a little sister. And because I help him close deals.
Rhonda: You sure about that?
I take a deep breath, and click off the chat box as the emails of the day start to come in from the Instructional Technologists and IT Directors whom I work with from across the country.
The truth is, I’m not sure what to make of Jocko and my connection. I’ve been at EdTechX for almost three years, and Jocko and I have always gotten along so naturally. Working with him directly has always been sort of special, if I’m being honest with myself.
We’ve shared many a drunken coworker conversation at our team happy hours and events, and I’ve even traveled with him to wine and dine clients and we have a blast. But there always seems to be a very clear line between us when it comes to coworker friends and nothing more. And having been with Mark until recently, I’ve not really even thought about anything more between the two of us.
I flip back to Facebook for one moment, and look at the picture of all of our friends, together with their partners. Hell, even Peyton freaking O’Rourke, whom we all thought would be single until his thirties, is settling down.
I refuse to be the one single girl at the wedding, and for five straight days. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
One thing I am sure of, though, is that this proposal might just require some liquid courage.
Black Ice: A Standalone Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 23