Chapter 21: Thad

Chapter 21

Thad

After the meeting with Damon and Merek, Kelley and Brady stay in the conference room to talk possible endorsement deals, charity events, and anything else they need to discuss while I get sent back to my cubicle.

When they’re done, it’s closer to lunchtime than this morning, so it won’t be suspicious if I tell everyone I’m going for lunch. Only thing is, Kelley leaves the conference room and doesn’t even look in my direction before heading for the elevators.

We did agree to lunch, didn’t we?

Do I get up and follow him?

No sooner does he disappear into the elevator than I get a text.

Meet me on the corner a block away?

I reply:

OMW

I stand and pull my suit jacket off the back of my chair, where it’s resting. I would’ve kept it on, considering I’m only in a plain black T-shirt, but it’s a pain in the ass to type when the suit is so tight. It’s a perfect fit for me while standing. It looks like a second skin. But when I have to sit or move, it doesn’t work so well in my favor.

“Heading to lunch,” I say as Brady gets back to his cubicle next to mine.

He’s got his head too far in his tablet to do anything but say, “Have fun.”

I get the impression I could have told him I was going to go sacrifice a virgin in the middle of Yankee Stadium and he would’ve said the same thing.

That weird, envious feeling mixed with dread courses through me again. Brady is so focused, so … everything I’m not as an agent, and I know Damon says I need to go at my pace and do this the way that fits me, but whenever I see the overachiever that is Brady at work, it makes me feel like I’m not doing enough.

It’s inspiring while also crippling.

I head into the elevator and down onto the street, where I find Kelley waiting outside one of the many cafes Midtown has to offer. “You want to go here?” I ask.

“We can go wherever you want,” Kelley says. “I was thinking this might be too close to the office, and someone else might see us. It’s also why I messaged you to come meet me instead of walking down with you.”

I’m about to ask if he’s embarrassed to be seen with me, but he catches on too quickly.

“I’m okay with here, but I wasn’t sure you’d be. If someone in the office saw us, you might get in trouble or?—”

“Here is fine,” I say. “Everyone at the firm knows Brady and I babysat you?—”

“I love that,” he deadpans.

“Sorry, babysit isn’t the right word.”

“Eh, it kind of is though.”

Kelley really is a lot more relaxed today than I’ve ever seen him, and I’m glad the time away did him good. Or maybe it was spring training that has put a calmness in him that I’m not used to seeing. Or it could be Jeremiah Castleberry’s doing, and that thought pisses me off.

“What I mean is, if anyone from the office sees us, the most they’ll suspect is that I’m trying to poach you from Brady, and you and I both know Damon would never allow that.”

Kelley laughs. “Especially after you tried to burn me to death. Can’t have my agent trying to kill me.”

“Wow.” I step back. “It’s already escalating from spilled coffee to outright attempted murder. I’m worried where the story will go next.”

“Well, if we are seen together, it might go from trying to kill me because you hate how I’m so much better at baseball than you to doing it in a jealous rage because you’re obsessed with me, and if you can’t have me, no one can.”

“Ah. Being dramatic is fun.” I hold my arm out for him to go in first. “After you.”

He takes a step but pauses at the door. “If people see us, they might think that we’re involved, and then you really could get in trouble.”

“But we’re not involved, and you have that boyfriend date person. You know, Jeremy.”

“Jeremiah?”

“Yes. That’s what I said.” Am I so petty that I will forever mispronounce his name? You bet your ass I am.

“We should talk about him,” Kelley says.

“Or, we could talk about a much more exciting topic. Like … colonoscopies. Going to the DMV. Take your pick.”

Kelley’s smile is bright as he turns on his heel and heads to the counter to order. I grab a deli sandwich and a coffee that I never got the chance to have earlier while he goes for the burger, fries, and a Coke.

We find a table in the back corner, which is actually perfect because there are no windows back here, so if someone from the office were to walk by, they wouldn’t be able to see us from the street.

Not that it would be a big deal if they did. I wasn’t lying when I said to Kelley that it wouldn’t be a problem if someone saw, but at the same time, any gossip is a pain in the ass. Of course, I could always say that I wanted to make it up to Kelley after destroying his shirt this morning.

“Are you allowed to eat all those trans fats the day before a game?” I ask.

“What can I say? I’m a rebel.”

I chuckle. “You seem like the rebellious type.”

“Don’t hate me for my diet, but I can pretty much eat whatever I want. Spring training, we did all that healthy, high-protein, muscle-building shit, but I find it next to impossible to eat the amount of calories I burn off while playing.”

“I can’t help but resent you for that.”

“What about you? You can’t tell me you don’t work out. Not when you look like …”

My lips twitch. “Like what?”

“Like you have balloons for arm muscles. Steroids are bad for you, you know.”

Now, I full-on belly laugh. “No steroid use here. Ever.”

“Ah. So high-protein diets work for you, then. Unlike me, where I just get too skinny.”

“Did you really ask me to lunch to talk about optimal diets for athletes? Want me to be your personal trainer and nutritionist? Because I gotta say, I’m not really qualified for that.”

“N-no.” Kelley’s brown eyes seem unsure as his focus darts around the small space. “I just …”

“Just …” I prompt.

“I’m not dating Jeremiah Castleberry,” he blurts.

It’s annoying how much my chest swells at hearing that, but I can’t help it. Even if it’s not my business.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Yeah, right. So, so sorry. “But why did you feel the need to tell me that?”

That carefree Kelley out on the street is gone and is replaced with the unsure, stuttering mess I shared that cabin with. It’s fascinating to me how quickly his whole demeanor can change.

“I thought … well, I mean, no, I didn’t think about you. I did, but I didn’t need to. ”

My forehead creases as I try to work out what he’s trying to say. “Are you even speaking English anymore?”

“Last time we spoke, we said we wouldn’t see each other, but you gave me the courage to try to see if I could date publicly without freaking out about the media, and so I did that, and Jeremiah was great, but …”

“But?” Come on, Kelley, you’re killing me here.

“He didn’t make me feel the way you did.”

A sense of satisfaction and smugness fills me to the brim. “So, what I’m hearing is I’ve broken you for all other men. Got it. I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”

“Of course that’s where you went with that.”

“Sorry,” I say, but I can’t stop smiling.

“You already said you’re not sorry.”

Oh. Right. “Can you blame me though?”

“I guess not. You certainly set my expectations high.”

Damn, if that isn’t the biggest compliment I’ve ever been given by someone.

Of course, I wish it was coming from someone I could actually pursue, but it is what it is.

“So, that’s why you invited me to lunch? To tell me how irresistible I am and how life-changing being with me those two times were?”

“Sort of. But, I also … I guess I held back from contacting you sooner because I thought you didn’t want to hear from me.”

We’re such idiots. “I thought you didn’t want to hear from me.”

“I did. I do. I want to keep in touch. Texts, maybe a cool beverage whenever you’re visiting your parents and can meet me somewhere on the border of Jersey and Pennsylvania.”

“What, no coffee?”

“No, I think you were right about that. I need to be careful around you.”

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about him but for an entirely different reason.