Page 3 of Hard to Lose

“Christ Almighty,” he mutters before clearing his throat to try and gain control again.

“Lunchtime sex dates, says the pregnant one,” Brexton replies, as Dekker rubs her hand over her abdomen where she’s just starting to show.

I snort. It’s all I can do, because what the hell do I know or care about this kind of shit—love and babies? I have way too much to accomplish to allow either of those two things to cross my mind. In the future? Perhaps. My mind isn’t made up on that yet.

But for now? My plate is too full, my goals too varied, and my future too wide open in front of me to be distracted with the things my three sisters are now all experiencing.

Am I happy for them? Of course.

Is it for me? That remains to be seen.

“Ladies, can we get back on task?” our father asks drolly, fighting a smile. “Your sex lives are the last thing this old man wants to know anything about.”

“This is one of those times I’m more than happy that I get to Zoom in,” our sister Lennox says via the monitor and speaker on the wall in front of us. Her smile is sharp and her eyes are full of humor as she looks at the four of us from her home in England.

Dekker raises a middle finger to her in response, and we all laugh.

“Six-month progress reports. Can we finish the last one so we can get on with our work? I know we’re all rather busy,” he redirects and gets varied responses of yes from the four of us.

All eyes turn back to me.

“So I’ve checked off everything on my list. I have a fifteen percent increase in client growth. I’ve upped my pursuit of endorsement deals and am more than pleased with the return. A quarter of my clients are getting first-time deals, which is huge. I’ve added depth to my roster by adding one of just about every sport we represent and—”

“And I’m so perfect that I make my sisters sick,” Lennox says in a singsong voice to mock me that has Dekker and Brexton bursting out in laughter.

I stick my tongue out to the camera so she can see it. “I know you all wish you could be as perfect as me.” My grin is pure cheese and I do it for the sole purpose of annoying them.

“No thanks.” Lennox makes a show of rolling her eyes and pushing away from her desk as if she’s not having any of it.

“Please tell us there’s something you didn’t accomplish. Please? That way we can all feel a little better.”

I fight my grin. When you’re a little sister who is the last to get to do everything, you take a lot of pride in doing something they didn’t—like smashing all of the goals the team set for you.

“I thought the point of goals was to hit them,” I say in my primmest voice. “I’m not going to apologize that I didn’t hit them because I got sidetracked by a man.”

There’s a rumble of disagreement despite the smiles on their faces.

“Maybe that’s exactly what you need,” Lennox says. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that having a work-life balance is important.”

“Okay, Oprah,” I mutter.

“No, she’s right,” Dekker chimes.

“She is,” Brexton adds.

“I think we need to add a goal to your list,” Dekker says.

“Maybe she needs a cause to fight for,” Lennox chimes in. “Something to put her Type-A personality behind because then she knows shit gets done.”

There’s something about Lennox’s words that strike me. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I need to find something—a cause. Is that what I’m missing? Knowing I’m making a difference somehow?

“Or instead of a cause, we could always get her a man,” Dekker says.

“And that’s where this conversation can end,” I mutter.

“No, seriously. How long has it been since you last dated?” she persists.

All eyes wait for an answer as I give a panicked glance to my dad, who’s no help to me when he holds his hands up in surrender. His accompanying chuckle is just as bad.