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My dad’s saying something about the state-of-the-art equipment in here, but all I can do is watch the man on the ropes. He’s the only athlete working out in here—the only person in here, actually, except for one of the trainers in the corner doing something on a computer.
Our eyes meet, and he looks livid. He throws the ropes on the ground, offers me a glare, and turns away to walk toward some other machine, this one with a video screen in front of it.
“Have you met Asher?” my dad asks, and my ears perk up like a curious puppy.
I clear my throat, not sure what to say.
“Asher!” my dad calls over the music in here, and he turns back toward us with his brows raised. “This is my daughter,Desiree. I didn’t think anyone would be around today, so I’m just giving her the tour.”
“Hey,” he says to me, and I offer a quick wave before he turns back to his video game workout thing.
“These guys are so focused in here, and I love to see it,” my dad says to me. “That machine allows him to practice footwork in real time against an actual opponent. Technology is pretty incredible. Come on, let me show you the pools.”
I follow him to the pool room, which has a hydrotherapy pool, a plunge pool, and some underwater treadmills. Eventually we head up toward the offices as I try to come up with some excuse as to why I need to get back down to the strength and conditioning room.
I’m coming up empty.
We wander the hallways that are like a freaking maze of offices, and my dad introduces me to a bunch of the executives here at the Aces. Then we stop outside the doorway markedErin McMahon, Director of Charitable Contributions.
“Did Ellie Dalton put you up to this?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at my dad.
He laughs. “Maybe,” he says, drawing out the word playfully.
I roll my eyes.
“Okay, fine. It was both Luke and Ellie. We had dinner with the coaching staff, and Luke was there. We talked about how much we miss having you close by.” He tosses his arm around my shoulder and squeezes me in a little side hug, and I feel a little choked up at that.
I mean, really…is there anything keeping me in San Diego? Aside from my friends, which are important, of course, whyreallyam I so hesitant to move?
Change is scary. But so is complacency, and I think I’m getting to the point where I’m staying because I’m comfortable.
There’s nothing saying I can’t go back as often as I want. Hell, I could keep my apartment in San Diego so I don’t have to uproot Addy, and I could split my time between both towns.
But I can’t do that while I’m working for Angelica.
“Erin, do you have a minute?” my dad asks as he stops in the doorway. I’m still behind him out of view.
“Come on in,” Erin calls.
He steps in, and I walk in behind him.
“You must be Desiree,” she says as she stands and smiles broadly at me.
“That’s me,” I say with a smile back. “And you must be Erin. I’ve heard amazing things about your work here.”
“Doing my best, one charity event at a time.”
“How was the Fostering Fletch event?” my dad asks her, and my brows pinch together nervously.
“Incredible,” she says. “Brandon collected over a thousand articles of clothing plus enough supplies for the team to create five hundred hygiene kits. It was amazing.”
“Fletch?” I ask.
“Brandon Fletcher, our backup quarterback,” she clarifies. “His charity has really evolved over the last couple years, and he’s working hard to make a positive impact on the community.”
“That’s amazing,” I say, leaving out the fact that the reason it’s such a good thing is because his reputation in the media isn’t the best. He’s been a backup most of his career except right before Jack Dalton was traded to the Aces, and he also has quite the reputation as a ladies’ man, though I don’t know much about him at all aside from the headlines. “What other events do you have going on?”
“I’ve helped twelve of the current players on the team launch various foundations, and they each hold one big event a year and some smaller events. I try to make it to as many as I can, but with a fifty-three-man roster plus other community outreach eventsfor the Aces organization itself, I’m stretched pretty thin. I hear you’re potentially looking for work here in Vegas?” she asks, turning her full attention to me as she sits.
