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I toss back the rest of the liquid in my glass.
Maybe it’s time to be a little reckless.
CHAPTER 5: LINCOLN
I keep busy in the days after the interview.
I’m always busy, but dwelling on what I said in the interview—or what I didn’t say—is enough to drive a man to a breakdown, so I bury myself in work, but not in Jess, for the record. She’s been working until nearly midnight every night on a huge case, anyway, but she’s hit me up a few times.
I haven’t responded.
I’m not ghosting her, exactly. She knows that’s our arrangement. We’ve gone weeks without talking to each other before when I’m in season, and that’s all this is.
Every time my phone notifies me of a new text, every time it starts to ring, my heart jumps into my throat as I wonder whether this is it…the call I’ve been waiting for.
And it’s no different just after the coach’s meeting at the Rams office on Tuesday morning nearly a full week after my interview when my phone starts to ring.
I’m sitting in my own private office going over my notes when I glance at the screen, my heart racing that it might be the job offer I’ve been waiting for.
Instead, I see it’s Jess calling.
Again.
I blow out a breath as I pick up the call. “Good morning.” I lean back in my chair.
“Hey, Coach,” she says—mostly because she knows I like it when she calls me that.
“Shouldn’t you be researching?” I tease.
She laughs. “I worked all weekend and my boss gave me today off. What are you up to?”
Nothing, really. And honestly, a few minutes with her would probably alleviate some of the nerves that keep pulling at me concerning the job interview.
But for some reason, I can’t bring myself to say that.
“I’m at the office. Just got out of a meeting and I have a lot to do today.”
“Heard from the Aces?” she asks.
“Not yet.”
“I’m pulling for you, Coach. I heard the partners want to open a second firm in Vegas. Maybe it’s fate.”
“Maybe,” I murmur, but the truth is when I move to Vegas, I’m leaving Jess behind. The thought of keeping our friendship alive when one of us moves away from California never even crossed my mind until she just said it.
Her words leave me feeling a little uncomfortable. Does she think this is more than I think it is?
If she does, that’s probably something I need to nip in the bud. While it’s true I haven’t really been seeing anybody besides her, it’s because I have neither the time nor the inclination to meet someone new.
There’s a solid reason I’m thirty-six and single.
I’ve tried the game. It wasn’t for me. It’s not for everybody.
There was only one girl I ever thought I loved. But when push came to shove, I ended up alone. And it was for the best. She and her entire family showed their true colors, and we were better off apart than we ever were together.
As I’m talking to Jess, another call comes through.
It’s a Vegas number.
