Page 55 of The Perfect Deal
I sat next to my sister because it was convenient. Liberty was a couple of rows ahead of me, sitting next to Sophia. I could see a bit of her hair sticking up every now and then. I wanted to be sitting next to her, holding her hand, and asking her what her favorite part of the trip was. Instead, I was listening to my sister flip through pages of a magazine, wondering if she was actually annoyed this time or if her aggressive nature was simply showing through. Hannah didn’t really know how to do anything partway.
Landon, who was sitting next to Poppy in the row across from me, leaned over as we neared Tennessee airspace and asked, “Are you sure you don’t need a ride back home?” We had all carpooled to the airport a few days ago, so it would make sense that most of the people in our party would be getting home the same way that they arrived, but I shook my head.
“Nah, I’ll just take an Uber. I’ve gotta get to the office to finish up some stuff for the second session of camp. It’ll just be easier that way.”
He nodded but looked confused, and I couldn’t blame him. It did sound a little strange that I wouldn’t go home from the airport where we’d all parked and get my own car to go to work, but I had something else in mind. My eyes went to Liberty, and I had to hide the smile that threatened to creep across my face. We’d concocted a little plan the night before, and though it wouldn’t seem like a big deal to most people, any sneaking around we could do to be able to see one another without Landon knowing gave me a thrill.
It didn’t take any time at all for my car to arrive once we landed. I told everyone goodbye, ignoring Ethan and his friend who were still hanging out, trying to talk to some disinterested girls. Others had already piled into their cars to drive home. I saw Liberty in the distance and smiled at her, wishing I could wave, but I’d see her soon enough. Landon had basically given me the green light to go ahead and date her, but would he feel that way if he knew we’d already hooked up a couple of times? I had no doubt he would not.
Traffic was light, so I arrived at my office pretty quickly. It was far more quiet than usual. No one else was working, or if they were, they were knee-deep in plans for the upcoming session. It was strange to walk inside and not hear the thumping of basketballs or the shrill trill of a whistle being blown by a coach, but it also meant fewer distractions. While I’d managed to get a lot done before our trip, I still had a list of items to go over just to make sure everything was ready to go for session two.
Sitting down at my desk, I pulled out a pad of paper and jotted down some notes, making sure not to leave off anything I needed to accomplish before I left the office. With the second session set to begin, there was little room for error. I needed all of my i’s dotted and my t’s crossed.
The first thing I did was send out an email to the team with the information for the registration packets, making sure everyone knew what they were required to do to make sure the kids had everything they needed. They’d need to include their name tags and itineraries. Then, I made some phone calls to vendors to make sure everything was lined up. Though we had a great group of kids, we used the same equipment over and over again, so it was bound to wear out. I needed to make sure we had everything replaced that had needed to be thrown out after this session last year. We also had little shops for the kids to buy candy, snacks, and souvenirs, so I gave those vendors a ring as well to make sure they didn’t need anything.
Everything was falling into place, which put a smile on my face. This session of camp was always my favorite. While the first session focused on athletics, increasing skill level, sportsmanship, and all of the techniques students needed to improve in sports, the second one was more about community building. Instead of exclusively playing sports, we’d be focused on fishing, camping, and other water events. I’d ordered a couple of new canoes for this year, and I was super excited to see the kids out there on the lake, paddling away.
With all of the last-minute tasks nearly completed, I relaxed slightly and checked the time. My smile widened as it wouldn’t be too much longer before a familiar face popped through my door. I couldn’t wait to see her again regardless of the fact that we’d just been on an airplane together for a couple of hours. Every time I looked at Liberty, my heart drummed in my chest. I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful woman, inside or out.
A knock on my door had me catching my breath. She was a little early, but that was cool. I was almost done with everything I’d set out to do anyway. I just needed one vendor to call me back and for a couple of team members to let me know they’d completed their assignments.
“Come on in,” I called in a cheerful voice, but when the door opened, it wasn’t Liberty standing there. Confusion washed over me as a different smiling face bobbed into my office. “Karrie?”
“Hey, Josh!” she said with a cheerful disposition as she approached my desk. “How was your little beach trip?” She sat down in a chair across from me, crossing her legs. The dress she was wearing, as usual, didn’t quite fit the office. The skirt was too short, the top too low cut, and her shoes looked painful. But then, that was Karrie. Never quite fitting in.
“Um, it was good,” I said, ignoring the belittling way she’d phrased it. “How are you?”
“I’m great,” she said with a nod as she crossed her legs the other way and wrapped her hands around her knee. “Never better.”
“Good, good. You know you didn’t have to come in today, right?” I asked, trying to clarify what the hell she was even doing in the office, let alonemyoffice.
“Yes, yes, I know, but I heard you were coming in to finish a few things, and I just wanted to check with you on an important matter I’ve been hoping to speak to you about for a while.” She smiled at me, batting her eyelashes, so I stared back at her in confusion. What the heck was she talking about?
“What important matter?” I asked her.
Karrie cleared her throat. “Well, as you know, I’ve been working here for a while now. I absolutely love it. Everyone who works here is great. Especially you.” Her grin widened, and those eyelashes started going to town.
Did she have something in her eye?
“Thanks, Karrie. You’ve come a long way since you first started here.” I couldn’t tell her that she was still far from a competent employee, not right before we went to camp anyway. I tried to hide my resentment that my father had forced me to hire her. Karrie simply wasn’t an athlete or a coach and would’ve been better suited to another type of job—like as a receptionist in an insurance office or data entry for telehealth, nothing that had to do with sports. At all.
She took my comment as a compliment. “Thank you so much. So, I was thinking, as soon as session two is over, would it be possible for you and I to go out to dinner together? I’d really like to talk about the future.”
My eyebrows arched as I contemplated what she was asking. Was Karrie finally ready to get serious about making a difference here? Did she want to learn the ins and outs of running a sports complex? Maybe she’d finally start learning some of the lingo so she’d stop shouting, “Touchover!” every time someone scored in flag football.
“Yeah, Karrie, I think that would be great,” I said with a nod. “I’d really love that.”
She actually clapped her hands a few times in excitement. “Oh, great. I was hoping you’d say that. Thank you so much, Josh. I think this is the start of something beautiful.” With another flutter of eyelashes, she hopped up out of her seat and headed for the door, leaving me confused.
But then, Karrie was often confusing. I just couldn’t figure out how her being adequate at her job would be beautiful. I supposed it couldn’t be any worse than what I was getting now.
I’d just stopped shaking my head and returned my attention to the work in front of me when another tap on the door caught my attention. This time, it was Liberty peeking her head in the already slightly open barrier. “Hey,” she said.
Immediately, I got out of my seat and rushed toward her, wrapping my arms around her. I kissed her cheek, fighting the urge to do more, and then realized she had a bag of Subway sandwiches in her hand. “Now, I really want to kiss you,” I told her as my stomach growled.
Laughing, Liberty plopped the bag on my desk and pulled herself away from me. We still had to be careful, even with Landon’s new views on life.
“I just ran into Karrie in the hallway,” she told me as she opened the bag and pulled out a twelve-inch meatball sub, handing it over to me. I didn’t need to read the scribbled writing on the side of the wrapper to know that was exactly what it was. The smell was enough for me.