“She volunteers at a place called Forever Grey. Maybe you can run into her.”
As the wheels turn in his head, Conner nods, forming a plan.
“I can do that. Do you know when she’s usually there?”
“She usually runs in the mornings, although sometimes it isn’t until after her shift at Get Baked.”
“That’s not exactly helpful.”
Seriously? Does he want me to hold his hand through this whole damn thing?
Frustrated, I run my hands through my hair before growling, “Fine. I’ll set up a time to run with her then bail at the last second. Sound good?”
He nods. “Perfect.”
Shoving away from the chair, I pull out my phone and leave Conner to his PB&J.
My gut tightens as I type out a text, but I ignore it.
Me: Hey. I’m sorry about today. Let me make it up to you.
Charlie: And how would you do that?
Me: I’ll bring Chinese tonight, then we can run it off tomorrow morning.
The little bubbles pop up, notifying me that she’s typing a response before they disappear for a solid minute. As my eyes stay glued to my phone, I almost run into Alex, one of Montague’s employees.
“Shi—” I correct myself. “Sorry, Alexandra.”
“No worries,” she replies with a kind smile. Alexandra has always been friendly yet professional. She’s also personable as hell, so it doesn’t surprise me when she asks, “So are you coming to the grand opening of the Jelani Arts Center?”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and it takes everything inside of me to slide it into my slacks instead of reading Charlie’s response. Clearing my throat, I reply, “I wouldn’t miss it. I’ve heard you’ve been working around the clock to make sure everything’s perfect.”
“It’s been a lot of work, but I think it’s going to be a real hit.”
“I’m sure it will. Tell me, did Dexter Truitt really learn to whittle from the guy the center is honoring?”
With a soft smile, Alex confirms the office gossip. “Yes. He was trying to impress my younger sister, and it worked like a charm.”
“Ah, so whittling is the way to a girl’s heart, huh? I’ll have to try it sometime.”
She grins. “Right? Maybe you and my husband can take a class at the arts center together. Just don’t ask Dex to teach you. He’s still competing with a pre-teen YouTube star and is failing miserably.”
A deep laugh escapes me as I consider the CEO of Montague Enterprises having a rivalry with someone on YouTube.
“Speaking of the infamous YouTube star,” Alex continues. “I need to put in a call to him right now. I’ll see you later, Levi. Oh, and I wanted to tell you”—she leans forward to whisper conspiratorially—“the bigwigs have definitely noticed all the hours you’ve been putting in. Keep up the good work. You’ve got this.”
Then she walks away, her heels clicking along the tile surface as I’m left reeling from her comment.
The bigwigs have noticed all the hours I’ve been putting in. The bigwigs have noticed me.
I might actually have a shot at this, after all.
My hand vibrates with another reminder notification. I scan the screen.
Charlie: Deal. Don’t forget the Beijing Beef.
Charlie: And egg rolls!