I smile back at her. “Hey, I’m looking for Brooke Perron. I was over in her office and she wasn’t there. Wanted to surprise her for lunch. Any idea where she is?”
The receptionist turns to her computer screen, taps a few keys on the keyboard, and swivels to look back at me. “It looks like she’s in conference room number three with Mr. Parr. They’re working on a merchandising proposal and needed the room to spread out.”
I rap my knuckles on the desk twice and grin at her. “Thanks so much.”
“Anytime,” she returns, and then points to a door. “Down that corridor, take it to the end, and turn left. You’ll run into the conference rooms.”
I follow her directions in search of my girl.
We flew in late last night from Houston and I texted Brooke when we landed. She didn’t respond until this morning, which verified what I had suspected: she was asleep. With a few more texts exchanged, we made loose plans to see each other after she got off work today. She of course had no clue I had planned on surprising her at lunch.
I walk past Christian Rutherford’s office. The door is open and he’s looking at something on his computer. His eyes come up and I wave a hand at him as I walk by, but he calls out, “Bishop…got a minute?”
I like Christian. He’s a hands-on general manager, but he’s not overbearing about it. He’s also incredibly approachable, acting more like a brother in arms than our boss.
When I walk into his office, he stands up from his desk. His suit jacket is thrown over the back of his chair and his dress shirt sleeves are rolled up to midforearm. He’s a former professional hockey player, turned coach, turned general manager. He knows almost everything there is to know about this sport and the league.
He extends his hand to me and I shake it. “Good to see you,” he says. “Hell of a tough game last night.”
I give a brooding nod. We were handed our first loss in Houston. “A lot of things we could’ve done better. We’ve got some work to do.”
Christian smiles at me. “I have the utmost faith in you and the rest of the team.”
“Appreciate it,” I return.
“Hey…Just wanted to ask how are things going with you and Brooke. I know that has to be a little tricky given that she’s the coach’s daughter.”
“It’s actually going very well,” I tell him, and it’s refreshing that I can say something that is truthful about Brooke’s and my relationship.
“Coach told me the other day that you two will be getting engaged soon. That’s exciting.”
Now we’re getting into tricky territory. Brooke and I have agreed to extend our charade a bit longer. We’ve also agreed to go ahead and do a fake engagement to get her dad settled down. But saying the words out loud, even with the best of intentions, makes me feel a little guilty. “Yeah…Soon.”
Very soon, actually, but I don’t tell Christian that. I had a lengthy conversation with my mom just this morning about this topic.
Christian stares at me a moment before saying, “Well, that’s great. I wish you the best of luck.”
I stick my hand out for him and we shake. “It was good seeing you, Christian. Thanks for the words of encouragement.”
“Any day,” he says, and turns back to his desk.
To the left at the end of the corridor, I can see the conference room dead ahead at the next intersecting hall. The wall is made of glass and my gaze immediately locks on Brooke. They stay pinned on her as I walk down the hall toward her.
I have to admit, beyond looking gorgeous, she looks to be in her element. She’s wearing a light gray skirt with a pale blue blouse. Her hair is pulled back into a fashionable twist and I’m actually surprised to see her wearing glasses. I didn’t know she needed them, but fuck, they look super hot on her. She looks like a sexy librarian.
Standing at an easel set up at the end of a long conference room table, Brooke is pointing to a graph and talking to Sebastian, who is leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. I can’t hear what’s being said as the door is closed.
I check out Sebastian for a moment. I’ve never met the man, but I know it’s him because I had looked up his bio on the team’s website when Brooke first told me that she might be working with him. He’s dressed in a suit, which is typical of all front office management, and he seems to be immersed in whatever Brooke is saying. They engage in a back-and-forth conversation for a moment and Brooke shakes her head before moving to the conference room table where there are all kinds of documents spread across it. She starts combing through until she finds what she’s looking for. Bending slightly at the waist, she places one palm flat on the table and with the other flips a few pages. When she finds what she needs, she taps her finger on it. Her neck cranes and she looks at Sebastian while still tapping the document, saying something to him. He in turn pushes off the wall and moves to stand beside her.