17. Monopoly

Colton

I'm not mad that tonight's business dinner got canceled. I didn't want to go in the first place. As always. No matter how much I'm exposed to this culture of professional socializing, it doesn't get any less boring.

When I get home, the scent of French toast fills my nostrils, and I'm already salivating. Agnes has the night off, which can only mean one thing. Jane is cooking.

"Breakfast for dinner, huh?" I ask as I step into the kitchen.

"Colton!" she blurts, turning around and throwing a hand over her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember?" I say, cocking my head to the side.

"Didn't you have a business dinner? You scared me."

I chuckle, until I realize her face is pale, and her breaths are coming in ragged gasps. I guess I really scared her. "Sorry. The event got canceled." As I cross my arms, I can't fight a smile. "So, that's what you eat when Agnes has the night off and I'm not around?"

"Yep," she says, returning my smile before sprinkling powdered sugar atop a large plate of French toast. "I love breakfast for dinner."

"Me too," I say. "Can I join you?"

"Sure. I made plenty," she says with a nod. She settles down at the table, and then I have an idea.

"I'll be right back." I walk to the wine cellar and find a bottle of champagne that I know is sweet enough to pair with French toast.

Jane raises her eyebrows in surprise when I place it on the table.

"What?" I say. "Never heard of French toast and champagne? Wonderful pairing. Trust me," I say with a wink.

It's funny. I was in a bad mood all day, but coming home to French toast has lifted my spirits. I could get used to this.

She giggles, and I pour us each a drink. Once we clink our glasses, an awkward silence fills the room. We haven't really spent time alone together since our first date. I'm not often home, and when I am, we don't really hang out. I have my habits and don't want to crowd her space. Plus, I enjoy being alone more than anything else.

"So, did you have a good day?" she asks, taking a sip of champagne. "Mmm. It's so good. And you're right, it does go well with this."

"Told you," I say with a smile. She looks away. "And no, horrible day, actually. But it happens." I shrug. "What about you? How is the wedding planning going? As fun as you hoped it would be?"

She winces. "Agnes is a big help. So much so that she's practically doing all the work."

"Ah, yes. She's very dedicated. I'll tell her to let you be more involved."

"Thanks. Oh, I had lunch and went shopping with Marcie and Jules Rosemont. They're really nice."

"Oh, yeah? The Rosemonts are one of the few neighbors I actually like. Their parents have values very similar to mine, and they're good people." I fork my last piece of French toast.

"Well, I'll clean up and go back to my wing, let you wind down after your terrible day." Her smile is all I need to forget all about it.

Getting up, I say, "I'll help. And you don't have to go because of me."

She doesn't reply. With a shy smile, she takes both our plates and rinses them. Then, I put them in the dishwasher. She washes the pan and utensils she used to cook, and I wait for her to pass them to me so I can dry them. This is something I haven't done in a long time. And even when I did, it was always alone. Doing this with someone else is actually quite enjoyable.

"So," I say, slapping the towel over my shoulder. "What do you want to do now?"

Surprise flashes across her face. "What do you mean?"

"If you want, we can hang out. Watch a movie or something?" I liked this coming home to something—to someone. This eating together thing. This doing the dishes thing. More than I ever expected. Going upstairs to spend the evening alone after all that feels like a waste of a possibility, and a waste of good champagne. We've only had one drink each. "We can't let that bottle go to waste," I add.

She licks her lips. "You're right about that. That stuff is delicious. How about we play a game, then?"

I quirk an eyebrow. "What game?"

"Monopoly, of course! You have that incredible room and that huge collection. I'm dying to play."

A slow smile builds on my lips. "Fine. But I'm warning you, you will lose. I always win at Monopoly."

She shoots me a smirk. "Game on."

Jane studies the shelves long and hard before finally deciding on the NY version of the game.

Her eyebrow arches. "The shrink wrap is still on?"

That's because I haven't played it before. I have all major US city versions, but I never open them. "It's new," I say, not elaborating.

"I'm honored," she says with a goofy smile.

"Don't be. I'll still kick your ass."

She responds with a light chuckle, and it might be my new favorite sound. It's soft and gentle with a soothing melodic tone I can't get enough of.

We sit down at the square table and place our champagne glasses on a pair of coasters. After opening the game, I set it up. The tokens are different in this one. I always go for the top hat, but there isn't one, so I choose the taxi and Jane the apple.

"Ladies first," I say, leaning back.

"Wait." She frowns. "Don't we get money?"

"I always play without any startup capital or salary during the first trip around. I write down the loans we take from the bank, and we have to reimburse them before building on our lands." That's how I got started, after all.

Her eyes widen. "You're serious?"

"Of course. It's fun, you'll see. Otherwise, it's just too easy. But if you want, I can give you some starting money, and I'll start with zero. I'm sure I can still win," I say before taking a sip of my champagne.

"Ha. No way!" she says, rolling the dice. "You and I play by the same rules."

It's been a while since I've played Monopoly—way too long, in fact. When I entered the business world, I had to start playing cards, the game of choice in cigar rooms. I'm quite good at poker and blackjack, but there's a special place in my heart for Monopoly. It reminds me of the afternoons spent playing with my mom. She would set up the game, make me a cup of hot cocoa, and play with me for hours. A pang tugs at my heart, and I force my mind back in the game.

It"s so easy picking up the gimmicks of the game, even after all this time. I wish I could play more often. During the first few rounds, Jane is very focused on every play, even though she's feigning confidence. She has that careful look on her face that tells me she's overthinking. As if every move was life or death. It's quite endearing.

"Argh. I don't know," she says, twisting her mouth as she contemplates buying the most expensive space on the board. She has just enough to do it.

Don't do it, I silently plead. I almost say it out loud, but even if I pondered letting her win, I just can't cheat.

She studies the property card. "It'll easily pay for itself. I'm buying it."

I press my lips to contain a smile.

"What?" Her eyebrows draw together. "It's a good move, right?"

It's a rookie mistake. "Do as you wish," I say instead, crossing my arms over my chest.

She eyes me suspiciously. "You're just saying that because you want me to pass on it and buy it yourself."

"That's not true," I say, but she doesn't believe me and buys the property.

It's now my turn, and I land on the other dark-blue space on the board. The one that would complete her pair. I feel bad for what I'm about to do, but I can't go easy on her just because I want to see her smile when she beats me. I'm not that guy.

"Okay. I'm buying it," I say. She points an accusing finger at me.

"I knew it!"

I just chuckle as I pay the bank and acquire the property title. "Now, I'd like to propose a trade," I say, and she frowns. "I'll give you Central Park so you can have both dark-blue properties. But in exchange, I want your dark brown, Chinatown, and your light blue Washington Square Park."

She checks her property cards and peers at me. "It's not even worth it," she says, shaking her head.

"It is to me." I finish my drink. "Cost and worth are not the same. It might not be the same added cost, but with those two properties, two of my sets will be complete, and I'll be able to build on them."

"Hmm." She scrutinizes both property cards and the board again, thinking it over, and I can't help but notice how flawless her features are. She's wearing no makeup, yet she's perfection itself. A beautiful oval face, cheeks tinged with pink, and sparkling eyes. Even the deep frown she's currently sporting is incredibly appealing. "Okay, fine," she finally says. "I'll do it."

I flash a smile. "Great." We exchange titles, and my thumb brushes her hand, reminding me how soft it is and how perfectly it fit in mine during that photoshoot.

We lock eyes for a second. Then, her face breaks into a smile. "You're going to regret doing this deal with me, Colton Green."

I choke out a raw chuckle. While I'm confident about the property deal, she might just be onto something.

Two hours later, she's bankrupt—as anticipated—and we've since opened a second bottle of champagne. I knew that trade was the right move. I always win at Monopoly by investing in the lesser-valued properties. They're easier to stack and build on.

"I'll get my revenge," she says with a growl, pretending to be mad as she takes a drink.

I lean back against the comfortable leather chair. "Told you."

"It's not fair, though. I never play."

"Me neither. In fact, this is the first time I've ever played in this room, and I've been here five years."

She tilts her head in surprise. "Really? What a waste of a room."

I shrug. "I don't have the time these days, or anyone to play with." Not that I ever cared. But if I could play Monopoly with Jane every day, I would.

"So, is the goal to own all the editions?" she asks, her gaze trailing around the room.

"Yeah, I guess. Except for the cheater's edition," I tack on quickly, and a laugh bubbles out of her. "There's a lot of them, though. And more are released every year, so I'm not sure it's even possible."

"Yeah. It sounds like a lifetime chase. Why do you like the game so much?"

I take a drink of my champagne. "My dream was to become a real estate mogul and make it big," I say, a smile pulling at my lips. "It's true. But my technical skills got me into algorithm and app building. So, life decided otherwise. I still have the chance to invest in properties, so I guess I didn't completely fail."

She huffs out a laugh. "Yeah, definitely not." Pausing, she runs her finger along the rim of her glass. "Monopoly was the only game I played as a kid. I hated it when someone wanted to play board games because I didn't own any, and I was afraid to look dumb for not knowing the rules. But I played Monopoly once, and I quickly discovered everyone had it at home. So I always asked to play it."

My heart tightens. "Monopoly was the only game we had when I was younger. The box was half chewed by a dog, and tokens were missing, but I loved it."

"Really? I'd have thought you would have had loads of shiny new games."

"I wasn't a rich kid," I admit, leaning back. "Far from it."

"Didn't you use your inheritance from your mom to build your company?" she asks, her face twisting in puzzlement.

"I did. But it wasn't much. We weren't wealthy by any stretch."

A silence lingers between us. I can tell she wants to ask more questions, but I'm not ready to answer them. Yet I'm still very interested in cracking the Jane mystery. "There's a saying in the Monopoly world," I say. "The board you choose says a lot about you. So, why New York?" I cock my head to the side.

She giggles. "Whoa. I didn't know Monopoly was so psychological. But I guess the saying is right. New York is my dream. I want to do theatre someday, maybe even Broadway."

"Why not go to New York then? Why come to LA?"

She shifts in her seat, and I hate myself for making her uncomfortable. This evening has been anything but for me. It was the best night I've had in a long time.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to share if you don't want to."

She takes another sip of her bubbling drink. "No, it's fine." She clears her throat. "When I left Arizona, I had no plan. I was running away with pennies to my name, so I hopped on the first bus out of town and ended up here. Acting wasn't even on my mind at that point. I just wanted out. But then, I scored a part in a play, and that's when I knew it was the end goal."

I wish I could give her everything she wants. "You'll make it. I'm sure you will. Just look at how you managed that interview by the pool. And the backstory you invented for yourself in Oregon. You're clearly a natural at this."

"Thanks," she murmurs, her smile warming my heart. "I'm hopeful now. With the money I'll make from this job, I'll finally be able to move away and try my luck on the East Coast."

My heart sinks. Tonight felt so natural, I forgot that Jane is just another member of my staff here. Once again, it hits me how lonely I am in this world. Everyone around me is only here because I'm paying them to be.