With that, he walks out the door.
Firstsweetheart, and nowprincess.
I got under his skin.
The thought makes me smile.
“Well, that went…” Janel’s words fade. “I don’t know how that went, actually. Can I even trust you two to be alone together?”
I gape at her. “It wasyour ideato back his brilliant condition,” I defend, dumbfounded. “I would have been fine organizing everything and staying in the background.”
Amusement takes over her face as she leans back in her chair. “If I didn’t back him, do you think he would have agreed? Men like Mr. Moskins—Moskins—prefer things to go their way as much as possible.”
She’s probably right. If she’d pushed back on that, he could have told us to fuck off. “Fine, you have me there. And we won’t be alone anyway. There are always at least ten other people at the soup kitchen every weekend.”
That seems to relieve whatever internal tension is building in her shoulders. “All right. I trust you with this, Winter. It’s him I’m a little iffy with. He likes to get a reaction. And you…”
I feed into it. “I can hold my own.”
She stands, smiling at me. “I know you can. I’m just afraid you’ll eat him alive before we can officially get paid.”
I snort. “Now I see your real concern.”
Janel brushes my arm. “You’ll be okay going there, right? I know those organizations are very close to your heart.”
That’s why I chose them. “They need a face like his to get more media attention. It’s a win-win. He’ll be seen as the golden boy, and donations will flood in from hockey fans.”
My motives are selfish too, but I don’t feel bad about them one bit.
She hums. “Okay.”
That’s all she says, and I wonder what the twinkle in her eye means when we walk out of the conference room.
*
It’s five minutesto eleven when I check my watch for the fourthtime since pulling up to Our Open Table, Fairbank’s largest soup kitchen that serves over twenty thousand meals a year to those in need.
A message from my sister pops up on my watch’s screen, making me smile and pull my phone out.
Kourt:Good luck today, and give Vinnie a big hug for me
Me:Will do!
Bubbles appear at the bottom of the screen, but I yelp when knuckles rap against the window and startle me. I drop my phone between the seat and center console, cursing as I peek through the crack where it’s laying on the dirty carpet. Is that a Cheerio? I haven’t had cereal in at least three months.
Man, I really need to vacuum this car.
I’m broken from the thought when I see Moskins staring at me from outside the car door. He’s expressionless as I turn the ignition off and step out, offering him a sheepish smile.
“I dropped my phone,” I tell him, gesturing toward my seat. “Give me a second, and we’ll head in.”
Before he says a word, I’m crawling back inside and trying to reach the awkward place it slipped. I cuss as I get my hand jammed before victoriously pulling it out.
“Got it!” I tell him, waving it in the air as I turn around.
Moskins isn’t looking at my phone.
He’s looking where my ass was.
