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“Maybe you’re just afraid I’ll beat you back to the gym,” Luke said.
What?had barely left her mouth when Luke flashed her a cheeky smile and darted down the sidewalk.
“Luke!” she shouted over the thumping tread of their feet as they both sped up. Luke laughed boyishly as he pulled ahead, the sound so light and carefree she thought she might be able to float away on it. He’d had the advantage of surprise, and his legs were longer, but Lydia was impressed that she remained right on his heels as they rounded the block and came within sprinting distance of the gym.
They both put on a blast of speed at the end, but Luke’s hand touched the gym door first and his fists lifted in victory.
Lydia dropped her hands to her hips, sucking in air. “I didn’t know sprints were on the training plan for today.”
“They weren’t. But you stopped worrying about your dream for a minute there, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, ’cause I didn’t have enough oxygen getting to my brain,” she muttered, but he was right. Shehadstopped thinking about the proposal. In fact, the only thing she could think about right now was the way Luke’s smile was lit up by the flash of sun that peeked between the buildings.
“Either way it worked.” He checked his watch. “Plus, that’s your best three-mile time so far.”
“Are you looking for a pat on the back?” she quipped as he pulled the gym door open for her.
“Just the acknowledgment that I’m the best trainer ever.”
“You’re gonna have to work harder for that one!” she called over her shoulder as she gathered her things and headed off to the showers.
When she arrived at work an hour later, it was still early, and Lydia passed Kirsten’s empty desk, hurrying down the dimmed hallway to her office. She kept the lights off and adjusted the blinds at her narrow window, wanting to maintain the illusion of early-morning tranquility she’d found after the run. The moment she sat down, she unpacked her laptop and opened her proposal file. There were about a dozen things on her to-do list today for her actual job, but she could spare an hour for her personal project. Lydia made some adjustments to her current design and hit Print. She always preferred editing on a hard copy during these early design stages.
She headed down the hall to the supply room, where she could hear the copy machine revving as it started spitting out papers. Lydia turned into the room, grabbing the still-warm designs. She examined them, smiling at her progress. Luke had been right. There really was no truth to her dream. Her proposal was in good shape. The new double gymnasium she’d envisioned now included a viewing area and an indoor track with plenty of space for the kids to spread out. Luke’s comment about feeding the kids had sparked ideas for a larger industrial kitchen that could double as a classroom, with areas for learning and food prep. She knew the tiny dining hall was also currently used as the performing arts space, so Lydia had dreamed up a small auditorium with spotlights and a giant stage.
On the roof, she’d left space for the garden she envisioned, but her thoughts had halted on the outdoor yard this morning. Do they get rid of it and expand the building? It was a possibility, but that would mean there was no safe outdoor area for the kids to enjoy. Maybe she should think about adding some sort of retractable covering to save the space from the elements and provide shade?
“Morning, running buddy.”
“Oh, Jack!” Lydia yelped, clutching her chest, her nails digging into her skin like she might be able to push past her ribs and squeeze her racing heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”
He chuckled softly. “Figured that by how high you jumped. Gotta be careful in those heels,” he said, and they both looked down at her shoes. “Don’t want to break an ankle before the race.”
“These are wedges, not heels,” Lydia said, popping her foot up to show them off. As far as footwear went, they were comfortable enough for her to make the trek from the train to the office.
“You should try something like this,” he teased, twisting his foot for her to see his black leather loafer. “Highly fashionable. Practical. I could probably even run the marathon in these if I had to.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that,” Lydia laughed. “I’ll just be glad if I manage to finish the race in my running shoes.”
“Speaking of the race,” he said, putting his hand on her arm. “I’ve got something for you.” He twirled her around, and she followed him to his office, wondering if her heart was still racing from the earlier scare or because Jack had just touched her.
His office was bigger than hers, but with the same view. His desk was also far more cluttered. He had thick stacks of memos tacked to the wall and photos of previous outreach days in frames. His computer was on, and the coffee in his mug was half gone. It looked like he’d gotten here even earlier than she had. Jack reached for something in one of his desk drawers, then turned around with a beaming smile and presented her with an empty metal water bottle. Lydia twisted the bottle to read the thick lettering on the side. Under the logo for Poletti’s was her own name etched in black.
“I had them made,” Jack said. “What do you think? I thought we could use some matching training merch. Get everyone a little excited. I know it’s still months away but—”
“This is great,” she assured him. “Really. Thank you. Did you get the whole office personalized bottles?”
“No. Just us,” Jack said, reaching to close the drawer. “Since we’re the only ones who signed up to run in the end. Everyone else just gets one with a Poletti’s logo. I got a deal, so we’ll end up with extras. Figured we could hand them out to new employees or summer interns if I kept them plain.”
Something in that explanation left Lydia feeling strange. Not for the first time, she wondered if there was something brewing here or if she was just reading too much into a nice gesture. She ran her fingers over the raised edge of her name. Why had he cared enough to single her out like this?
“How’s your training going so far?” Jack asked.
She cleared her throat, sharing a conspiratorial smile with him. “I’ve called in some professional help.”
“You got yourself a running coach? That’s smart. I’ve read that it can help keep you on track.” The phone on his desk started buzzing, and Lydia heard the murmur of their colleagues arriving. So much for her uninterrupted hour of focused work on her proposal. “I’ll have to get those office training sessions set up so we can do some training together.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Lydia lied. The last thing she wanted Jack to see was her running anywhere. At least until marathon day.
