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“I don’t know.” I shrugged. I was past being angry about it. “Drug deals, family arrangements, whatever. Doesn’t matter now. The bottom line is that sports is a man’s world. All the Title IX funding in the world isn’t going to change that any time soon. And this company exists in that world. So I took the only position I could get here, knowing if I could find a way to prove myself, then I could get the position I want. And deserve.”
“The guy they hired doesn’t have to prove himself,” Hale said through gritted teeth.
“Not in the same way. But he does now. If he doesn’t know what he’s doing, they’ll figure it out. Despite my annoyance about the hiring,” I explained, “I still think this is one of the most interesting companies in the country, and the applications for the tech are insane. They have the potential to change the way people play.”
He nodded, his eyes never leaving mine.
I was surprised at the way I felt, talking to this man. With his eyes fixed on my face, it was easy to open up to him, to talk to him about my career, what I wanted. I felt as if there was something connecting us, or surrounding us—a shell separating us from the rest of the world as we sat here in the coffeehouse, inches away from each other. It was strange, but it was nice, too.
He turned back to my screen, pulling up my drawings again. “Mind?” he asked, taking the mouse. I shook my head.
For the next hour, I sat back and watched as Hale modified hundreds of tiny parts of my work, moved small pieces around and redesigned the crude attachment mechanism I’d come up with to keep the device coupled with the moving arm. “It’s not one hundred percent,” he told me, swinging the screen back to me so I could see what he’d done more closely. “But the guys upstairs will know how to get it there now. If you sell it first.”
I stared at what he’d designed. It was worlds above what I’d begun, which made sense if he was once a developer. “Wow,” I said, and turned my gaze back to him. “Thank you, that’s amazing. I could never have gotten it there myself. Now they might really believe this is possible.”
“It is,” he said. “And it’s a really good idea.”
I glanced at the clock hanging over the coffee counter. It was after ten. Sam sat behind the counter, reading a novel. Surprise made me close the laptop and start shuffling my papers into my messenger bag. “It’s late,” I said, feeling like I was resurfacing after being underwater for hours. “The coffeehouse usually closes at eight-thirty. I have no idea why Sam didn’t kick us out!” I pulled my things together and stood as Hale got to his feet. “Sam,” I said, “I’m so sorry. You could have told me the time, I’m sure you have other things to do.”
Sam stood and smiled, his blond hair flopping into his eyes as he looked quickly at Hale and then back at me. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “Looked like you were getting stuff done.”
I grinned at him, feeling closer to my goals than I had in a long time, thanks to Hale’s help. “I was.” Hale bumped against my shoulder with his own. “We were,” I corrected. “Thanks.”
As I got to the door of the coffeehouse, Hale held it open for me, and I walked by him, struck by a quick impression of the guy’s sheer physicality. He was tall and broad, muscles flexing beneath the dark blue Henley shirt he wore as he held the door open with one arm. It was as if my body acknowledged that he could shelter me, that this man was capable and strong on some primal protective level. I shook off the strange sensation and willed myself not to think too much about it as we walked through the lobby of the executive tower and pushed out into the cool night air.
Without a word, Hale fell in step next to me and we walked toward the three-level parking garage at the opposite side of the pavilion.
“So if you don’t work here now, what exactly do you do? Besides swim in whiskey?”
He grinned down at me but didn’t say anything immediately. “I guess I’m figuring that out,” he finally said.
I nodded. The campus was empty and quiet, our path lit by the streetlights erected along each side of the walkway. “But why do you keep coming back here?”
A chuckle escaped his throat, a sound that was almost sad. I glanced over at him and wondered what it was he wasn’t willing to say.
“Well, if I make this sale,” I told him, feeling optimistic, “I could probably help you get another job here. You’re clearly talented. I’m sure they were sorry to see you leave.”
Hale’s face broke into a smile and he laughed again—a real laugh this time. “Thanks,” he said.
We arrived at my car, sitting in the front row on the first level. I’d gotten in early enough to snag a good spot. The only other car we could see was a Mercedes, parked in the abandoned CEO spot in the executive spaces. For a brief moment I wondered who had the balls to park there, or if maybe what Trey had said earlier might be true. Was there a new CEO around somewhere?
“This is me,” I said, waving at my car as I unlocked it and pushed the messenger bag into the passenger seat. “Thanks again for your help.”
Hale looked down at me for a moment, the dark eyes holding mine and something heady in the air between us. I felt a familiar tension building in me, and I could tell Hale felt it, too. It had been a long time, but the air held a pulse of familiar anticipation, the kind that precedes a kiss. My body tensed. But Hale took a step back, his eyes dropping my gaze. “You’re welcome. Good luck, Holland.”
I stood there one beat longer, acutely aware of something passing between us, the connection broken when Hale had stepped away. It was for the best, I thought, as I walked around and climbed in. I didn’t need any further complications. My life was complicated enough. I backed out and pulled around, Hale watching from behind me as I went.
The LA freeway enveloped me as I drove home, the lights of the city streaming around me. I was afraid to be optimistic, but I let myself consider the positive things happening in my life. My presentation was miles better than it had been before I’d met Hale, and there was a real chance I could finally get the job I deserved. I told myself the giddy happiness that danced within me was related to the progress I was making at work. It had nothing to do with Hale.
