Page 35 of Face Off

It was awful.

13

Holly

“Review these carefully. We only get one chance to catch mistakes.” Matt laid a proof copy of the fundraising calendar on my desk before continuing on to Taylor and Cam.

“What do we have to look for? We didn’t customize the dates or add any events,” Taylor asked.

“Just the pictures and names,” Matt answered.

I flipped open to the first month and grinned at Erik looking tense with the tiny dog in his arms. “I’m not sure he’ll like this picture.”

Taylor laughed. “It was the best one. George and I debated for almost twenty minutes between this one and a full-on scowl.”

“He won’t care,” Cam added. “Trust me. I’ve gone to him for approval on past projects, and he’s never vetoed anything.”

I continued on, checking that the name and person matched, then making sure the spelling was right. When I got to Mikey’s month, I paused.

He looked good. Really good. He had a fantastic smile, almost like he had a secret and was teasing you, making you want to beg to know what he did.

No. It was just a smile. Nice and normal.

It was stupid to even think of him as anything other than a friend. Not even that. He was a coworker. A colleague. An acquaintance.

It didn’t matter that he was sweet with kids and let Sadie sit on his shoulders while I made her a plate of food at the park. Or that he carried her to my car after she fell asleep on my lap after she ate.

He was a good guy. No one would deny that.

Sure, he was a bit of a player and didn’t seem to understand the concept of a committed relationship, at least according to the tabloids and sports magazines.

But he had another side. A softer version of him that I had a feeling very few got to see.

“He looks good, huh?” Taylor asked, sitting on the corner of my desk.

I quickly flipped to the next page. “Yeah, fine.” I looked over Reese’s photo and made sure his name was correct before moving on.

“So not all of them get the same level of scrutiny?” She was fighting a smile.

“I was making sure his last name was right. Dankowski is a hard one.”

She nodded. “Right. Of course. It has nothing to do with how great he looks?”

I shook my head. “Does he? I hadn’t noticed.” I flipped to the next page.

“I already checked. It’s perfect. No changes needed.” She held out her hand. “I’ll take it back to Matt unless you want to keep a copy?”

I closed it and held it up for her. “Thanks.”

She watched me and a silent standoff began. I wasn’t going to crack. I refused to admit to the attraction she was hinting at. The last time I mentioned Mikey to her, I was complaining about how rude and self-absorbed he was. Plus, I heard all the warnings about the Pride loud and clear. I wasn’t going to give any of them even a crumble of gossip.

She pulled it out of my hands, and I leaned back in my chair. I was cool. Unaffected. Perfectly fine to be missing that truly amazing picture of him.

“Next on our calendar is the actual fundraiser. What do we need to do for that?” I asked the group.

“Mostly finalizing templates for the posts. The whole week is packed with activities, and George might have his hands full, so at least one of us should also be around to take pictures,” Cam explained.

“Holly can do that,” Taylor offered immediately. “It will be good for her to be out and around the guys.”