“We’ll deal with them when we have to. How’s everyone’s food?” Ben asked.
“Passable,” Neil answered as he scraped up the last bits of his meal, way before the rest of us were even close to finishing.
“Amazing,” Hailey sighed and gazed down at her mushroom flatbread. “I think I’m coming here every night. I mean, it’s all healthy, right?”
That’s what I told myself when I cheated and got takeout, but the cheese sauce and pasta were just as devious as the stuff from Olive Garden.
“Close enough,” I agreed.
Neil refilled Hailey’s glass without even asking, and her nod and quick sip suggested a level of comfort that didn’t compute with the way they acted. Maybe that was just how it was with long-term colleagues?
“How long have you two worked together?” I asked Hailey.
She and Neil squinted at each other. “Uh... this is like month three?”
He nodded. “Yup. She’s a newbie and I’m showing her the ins and outs.”
“I’m new withThe Score,” Hailey corrected him quickly. “I’ve been in production since I graduated. I started as an intern on theTodayshow, then they hired me full time. Live morning TV is a different animal. I’m happy I got out.”
“If all goes according to plan we’ll be doing some live feeds from Milan,” Ben said. “It’ll be my first time going live and asking the questions instead of answering them.”
Neil turned to him. “Hold on, did they finally make you an official offer?”
“Not yet, but it’s coming,” Ben said with the same bravado he used to have when he talked about winning medals.
I had to wonder what the producers were waiting for, and what their contingency plan was if they decided that Ben wasn’t a fit.Andwhat he had to do to prove to them that he was the right person for the job.
Not that it was my concern. All I wanted was for him to remember our rules and keep our time on camera light and fluffy. People who watched my segment needed to come away from it thinking that my life was a mix of passion for my sport, hard work, and plenty of sunshine.
It actually was, now. As long as we focused on the present and future, the profile would turn out fine.
“Hiiii, you guys.” A pretty ponytailed brunette waved both her hands at us, standing a few feet away from our table like there was a force field around it. “Sorry to interrupt...”
“Not at all,” Ben replied with a huge smile. “Hi there!”
This time I could almost feel the shift in him. From regular person trying to finish his dinner to celebrity.
“Um, my friends and I were hoping that you might take a picture with us.” She glanced around the table and her eyes rested on me for a beat longer, like she was processing whether Ben and I were together. “Would that be okay?”
Neil and Hailey were already moving out of the way before Ben could answer.
“Of course, happy to,” Ben said as he slid out of his chair.
The whoop that went up from the table when Ben walked over was loud enough to get the whole restaurant staring at them.
I watched as Ben did his thing. A few regular photos of him with his arms draped around the women, saying stuff that had to be compliments based on the way they giggled in response. One of them filled a glass of wine and handed it to him so they could all toast, but he put it down before anyone could take a photo.
“Hey Ben, help me make my ex jealous,” a woman in a sparkly sweater cackled.
“Okay, let’s do this,” he laughed.
She jumped out of her chair and Ben waited as she hitched her skirt down her thighs.
“Hug me,” she commanded as she swung herself against him like she was Tarzan and he was the vine.
She wound up in his arms, probably too drunk to realize that everyone could still see her butt cheeks despite her skirt wrestling. Ben seemed to sense it immediately so he angled her privates away from the camera and the rest of the restaurant.
I watched him dividing his attention as the other women pawed at him. I’d had my share of uncomfortable fan interactions over the years, particularly when I was younger and didn’t feel like I was allowed to assert myself. Even now, when a kindly looking grandpa insisted on hugging me, I had a hard time maintaining my boundaries. Part of it was the innate desire to please everyone all the time, and the other was the weight of being a public figure who couldn’t afford to piss off a fan.
