Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Another barista?” Rob’s tone turns fatherly. “You know you can do better than a coffee maker.”
I chuckle as I assemble the other sandwich.
“What’s so funny?” he prods.
“I think this guy is a little more accomplished than a barista.”
There’s a silence on the other end. Among the reasons Rob and my parents didn’t like Derek, even though he was accomplished, made lots of money, and had an executive position at his company, was that he was also arrogant because of it. I’m sure Rob is having flashbacks of those feelings brought on by me dating someone successful.
“Don’t worry,” I assure him. “This guy is really nice. Nothing like Derek.”
“What does he do?”
I’d kill to be able to switch this to FaceTime and see Rob’s face right now. “He’s the head coach for the Pittsburgh Titans.”
Rob snorts. “And I’m the head cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys.”
I laugh because he thinks I’m joking. He has no clue I’m telling the truth, and I’m not sure I can make him believe me.
“I swear to you on all that is holy, I’m dating Cannon West.”
Another long pause as Rob considers what I just said. He knows I would never know the head coach’s name for any team, much less the Pittsburgh Titans. Rob is into all sports and I know he will know precisely who Cannon is.
“You’re seriously dating Cannon West?” he asks tentatively, sounding like he very much fell down the rabbit hole and is staring at a caterpillar smoking a bong on a mushroom.
How to answer that? We are having sex. We’re having meals together. I guess that’s dating. “Yes. He used to come into the coffee shop, which is how we met, and he ended up asking me out.”
“Before you got fired?” Rob asks.
I don’t dare tell him that Cannon is kind of the reason I got fired, so I do a smooth change of subject. “All you need to know is that he is a super nice guy, and I’m enjoying myself. But it is very, very casual. He is an incredibly busy person, and we’re not able to spend a lot of time together.”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Rob drawls. “I want you to be with someone who can give you all his time.”
My heart melts. I love that Rob only wants the best for me. “I’m good. I’m not chasing rainbows, nor do I have my head in the clouds. I’m grounded here.”
“Fine,” he relents. “But could this get serious?”
“I don’t know, and until I do, please don’t tell Mom and Dad. I don’t feel like having them all up in my business about this.”
Before my brother can respond, a call comes through and I frown at the unknown number on my screen starting with a 704 area code. And then my heart leaps as it says the city is Charlotte, North Carolina. I don’t know anyone or have any friends in Charlotte—the only connection is to that job I applied for a few days ago.
“I gotta take this call, Rob. Talk later.” I don’t give him a chance to say goodbye before disconnecting and reconnecting to the Charlotte call. “Hello?”
“Hi,” a young female voice says, all bright and cheery. “My name is Darcy Calder, and I’m calling from the Shelley Royce Agency.”
I set the knife down and squeeze my eyes shut, inhaling a long silent breath before letting it out. “Hi, Darcy.”
“Hi,” she chirps back. “Ms. Royce asked me to give you a call to see if we could set up a quick Zoom meeting at twelve thirty.”
My head spins. I’m supposed to be at the arena at noon for lunch with Cannon, but there is no way I’m going to miss this opportunity. “I can absolutely meet at that time.”
“Perfect. I’ll send you the link, and Ms. Royce will talk to you then.”
“Okay, thank you.”
After I disconnect the call, I battle with my emotions. I’m beyond giddy because Shelley Royce wants to interview me and wants to do it quickly. I just emailed in my résumé the day before yesterday. That has to bode well, right?
But I war with feelings of disappointment that I’m not going to see Cannon today. It was the only time he could fit me in before our trunk-or-treat date at the end of the week.
I know he’ll understand, but I can’t push away the tiny bit of fear that maybe he won’t.
There’s no sense in calling as he’ll be in the middle of a team practice right now, so I shoot him a text: I’m really sorry to do this, especially on such short notice, but I’m not going to be able to make our lunch date. I got a Zoom interview with that agency in Charlotte at 12:30.
I hit Send and I don’t expect an immediate reply, but I know he’ll respond when he gets a chance.