Page 12 of Deal with Mr. Cruel

But how? He didn’t have time to date around and findthe one. If that idea even existed. He didn’t want to bother with dating apps or being set up by coworkers. Sure, there were women who were interested, like Braydon said. But they weren’t in it for the right reasons. He at least wanted someone who was somewhat genuine. Or at least knew about baseball and the business he was in.

Jonas spotted Mae across the gym with Nico, talking to one of his trainers. She was deep in conversation, gesturing to Nico and replaying game highlights on her phone. Jonas was always impressed with her knowledge of the game and her commitment to Nico’s career. Sure, maybe she was a little overprotective, but at least she genuinely cared.

Then it hit him. Mae. She would be perfect to start up a pretend relationship. They already knew each other, so it wouldn’t come off too surprising to the rest of the office. They could say they were keeping their relationship private until they were ready to come out. It was the perfect plan.

Mae was the solution, but also the problem. There would be no way she would agree to this arrangement. Not with their history. He had broken things off with her because of their positions at work, but now his father was out of the way. Jonas was free to do what he wanted. He wasn’t ready to settle down, but he sure could pretend he was. All he had to do was talk to Mae and convince her of his plan. It wasn’t going to be easy, but he was sure he could sway her.

Chapter 6

Mae

Mae took a sip of lemon water as she waited for Braydon to show up for their lunch meeting. She checked the time on her phone and sighed. He was fifteen minutes late. She didn’t know why she always showed up early, or even on time for that matter. Her boss was chronically late. It was a trait that was both annoying and endearing at the same time. He always had some excuse that he must have used his imagination to think up. Her favorite was when he said he ran into a famous older actress who wouldn’t let him go until he gave her his number. Mae smiled to herself at the thought.

The waiter approached the table. “Still waiting on one more, miss?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. He should be here any minute.”

“It’s not a problem. Is there anything I can get you while you wait?”

“You know what? I can just put our order in. I know his favorites.”

The waiter nodded and pulled out his pen and pad of paper.

“I will have the salmon salad with the lemon dressing. He will have the stuffed spinach and feta chicken.”

“Sounds great. I’ll have that out soon.”

“Thank you,” said Mae, handing him the menus.

As the waiter walked away, she saw Braydon enter through the revolving doors. He looked like his frazzled self when he was late. He approached the hostess stand. Mae held her hand up and gave a little wave. He spotted her and made his way over, took the seat across from her, and let out an exasperated sigh.

“You’ll never believe what happened,” he said theatrically.

“What was it this time? A zombie apocalypse?” asked Mae teasingly.

“Ha ha ha,” he said sarcastically. “No really. Traffic jam on Pine Street. A man had fallen into the sewer. A worker must have left the manhole cover off.”

“Oh, my gosh,” exclaimed Mae, although she wasn’t entirely sure if she believed him. She told herself she would check the news later.

“I know. I got here as fast as I could.”

“No worries. I ordered our food just a moment ago. I got your favorite stuffed chicken.”

“You know me too well. Thank you, Mae. Now, let’s talk about the new players on the scene,” Braydon said, pulling papers from his briefcase.

They went over stats and scores and college academics. Mae was always so impressed with Braydon’s eye for good players. He saw things she didn’t. She narrowed it down to intuition, as did everyone else. Braydon was known for his draft picks.

Their waiter brought the food and set it down carefully around the paperwork. They worked through lunch, taking bites and creating the ideal drafts for the team. Once confident in their choices, Braydon filed his paperwork back into his briefcase, and they finished the last bites of their meals.

“That was a productive and delicious meeting,” said Braydon, patting his stomach.

Mae nodded, wiping her mouth gently with her napkin.

“And look who walked in,” he said, nodding toward the entrance.

Mae turned and saw Jonas at the hostess stand with a tall man who looked very familiar, but she couldn’t place him. She hoped Jonas wouldn’t see them and would be seated at a table across the restaurant. She knew better, though, as Braydon shouted, “Jonas! Over here!”

Jonas looked up from talking to the hostess and gave a nod. Mae sank a little in her chair.