“Of course. I could never miss the opportunity to dress up and spend time with the stuffiest members of Boston society. Do you have a dress yet?”
I pulled up the image of my dress and passed my phone to Colby.
“Love!”
The awkwardness slipped away, and I got to appreciate how close Hawk and his sister were. It’s how it used to be with me and my sisters before things got strained with Kelsey.
“Colby is starting her new role tomorrow with the Minutemen,” Hawk said.
Colby nodded, and I looked at her to explain. When she didn’t, I prodded. “What role?”
“Social media. J thought that it would be a good fit for me, and it would double as a way to keep me out of trouble.”
I noted that Colby never referred to her brother with the nickname we’d all grown to associate with him.
“No, Cole. I offered the position because you seemed bored. And you’re better at social media than anyone in the business.”
I loved watching sibling dynamics; my sisters and I had always fallen into traditional girl sibling roles. We fought like hell, but each of us would be the first to throw punches if fighting were necessary. I saw something in Colby that reminded me of myself. She wanted to succeed and had the opportunity to do so, but she was scared to fail.
I had assumed that it was easy growing up in their family. But her fear was a stark reminder that failure wasn’t exactly accepted in all families. My parents would always be there to pick me back up, in a way, her trust fund offered that protection. But the heart and ego couldn’t always handle the fall.
“Well, I’m sure everyone in the office will respect my qualifications. There won’t be a single accusation of nepotism,” Colby said, sarcasm lacing through her words.
I laughed. “Yeah, and I’m sure after I show up as Hawk’s date to the ball,Iwon’t have a single accusation that I fucked the boss to get ahead.”
Colby burst out laughing when she noticed Hawk’s shocked expression. “Wait, J, don’t tell me you didn’t think there would be comments?”
“Umm,” he stuttered. “We aren’t fucking.”
“That’s such a man thing,” Colby said, rolling her eyes at me. “It doesn’t matter if you’re fucking; everyone will think you are.”
I caught a glimmer of emotion and couldn’t completely read him.
“Thanks for disregarding the pressure on me, sis.” With that, Hawk turned his back to us and busied himself cleaning up the remnants of our dinner. A common theme was that when Hawk was out of his element, he found a distraction, some busywork to disengage.
Gah. This was a lot. I loved my job, and I really liked Hawk. I wanted to let things unfold with him, but not at the expense of my career. No one would challenge his right to his role at the head of the organization. It was not only a birthright, but he’d been groomed into the position his entire life.
Me? I benefited from a connection to the team, as much as I had tried to keep my connection to Sam quiet, it hadn’t exactly been a well-kept secret. Oh, and myextensiveexperience at a lowly ice rink, I couldn’t forget that. The most complicated thing I had managed before this job was the rink schedule and the irate calls from the teams given shitty ice time.
Colby continued to rant about the differences between the sexes, and Hawk caught my eye. His expression pleaded with me to help him change the subject.
“Oh, I planned to go to the North End for lunch. Want to come with me?” I asked Colby.
“Ooh, a long, boozy lunch?”
Hawk glared at his sister. “If you return from lunch with alcohol on your breath, I’m leaving it up to HR to deal with.The fuck, Colby, are you really that far from reality that you’d drink at lunch?”
“See? He has no faith in me and can’t handle a joke.”
Epic fail, Kendra. I tried to make friends, and instead initiated a battle between the two siblings.
“Anyone want to play cribbage?” I asked.
Both heads snapped in my direction, staring at me in total silence. Until they both broke out in hysterics. I waited patiently for them to stop laughing at my expense.
Hawk gasped for breath. “Sorry, Kenny. Sometimes we bicker like kids. We forget how uncomfortable it makes the people around us.”
“Yeah, we’re fine, see?” Colby gave her brother an over-the-top hug, going the extra mile to prove they forgive and forget. And while they kissed and made up, I could still see that Colby’s words impacted Hawk.
