My hands are shaking now.
What if Colin's doing the same thing? What if this whole job is some elaborate setup to watch me fail?
My phone buzzes.
I lunge for it.
Colin:Sorry! Cart ran out of battery. Approval sent.
I stare at the screen, squeezing so hard the screen nearly cracks.
"Cart ran out of battery," I repeat slowly, my voice deadly calm. "The CART. Ran out.Of BATTERY!!!"
I exhale through my nose, clicking over to my email as my fingers fly across the keyboard. I start uploading everything before Colin changes his mind or decides the nineteenth hole needs his immediate attention.
I click send. There it is. The approval. Sent at 12:47 PM.
Forty-seven minutes past my deadline.
Then, a knock at the door makes me jump.
"Lunch break?"
I look up to find Darcy leaning against the doorframe, holding two Goldie's cups like she's just saved my life.
Her sleek hair is perfect as always, her expression somewhere between amused and concerned as she takes in my feral-admin-on-the-edge-of-a-breakdown energy.
"I brought you a honey latte," she says, stepping inside. "And possibly an intervention if you need it."
"Thank God." I grab the cup. "Let's get out of here before I do something I'll regret."
Ten minutes later, we're sitting in the empty stands overlooking the practice rink, coffee in hand, watching the guys run through drills.
Rose appears out of nowhere, plopping down beside me with a salad roll so enormous it looks like it could double as a weapon.
"Is that thing edible or are you planning to bludgeon someone with it?" Darcy asks, eyeing the monstrosity.
Rose takes a defiant bite. "Margot made it. It's got roasted vegetables, hummus, and something she called 'goddess dressing.'"
"Looks like it could feed a small village," I mutter.
"Or one very stressed Bears employee," Rose counters, chewing happily.
Down below, Declan skates past, executing a perfect snap shot that pings off the crossbar. My stomach does that annoying flutter thing it's been doing ever since he kissed me last night.
Oh yeah. That happened.
I've been so buried in work chaos and Colin's incompetence that I haven't had a single second to process that kiss.
Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe if I don't think about it, I can pretend it was just another impulsive decision in a long line of impulsive decisions.
Darcy notices. Of course she does.
"So," she says, sipping her cappuccino. "You gonna tell us why you were yelling at your laptop, or do we have to guess?"
I sigh, leaning back against the cold metal seat. "Colin Holden is a nightmare."
"We know," they chime simultaneously, giggling at each other.
