Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
I do. My heart pounds when I see it in my inbox.
We’ve been communicating on a dating app called Charm. For the first two weeks, you only exchange messages with people you’ve matched with. Any identifying information or attempts to speed up the process are blocked by the app’s software. After two weeks, if both people want to, you can exchange photos.
Mark and I hit two weeks today. When I open the message in my inbox, I find a photo of a good-looking guy with his head shaved bald. He has a nice smile— it fits him. He’s an engineer who loves the mountains and live jazz.
I don’t usually send personal messages during work time, but I don’t want him to think I saw his photo and didn’t like it, so I quickly type one back to him.
Jules: Love it! Great smile. Hope that afternoon meeting doesn’t last all afternoon again. My pic is incoming.
I choose a photo I took before my first day of work here. I’m wearing a one-piece charcoal jumpsuit with wide legs and a V-neck. My long hair was on point that day, freshly blown out.
After I hit send, I put my phone away and head down the stairs, my shoes still in hand to avoid tripping and falling to my death.
I can’t wait to get back to my desk and edit the video. Once again, I don’t even want to leave the building for lunch like my coworkers do. Instead, I’m going to order delivery to the office so I can keep working on new content.
Metrics are everything in social media, and Deb and I created some growth numbers that will earn me a very nice bonus if I can hit them. I’ve already picked out the Max Mara coat I’m going to spend part of it on.
CLOSER
CHAPTER THREE
Noel
I put my glasses on, pen in hand and notebook on the table as the footage from our last game starts up in the film room. It’s after four p.m. and the players and staffers have been gone for more than an hour, but I don’t have any reason to go home. There’s nothing waiting there for me but leftover chicken and rice.
I miss my kids. And my dog. My ex-wife, not so much. Our relationship shifted a couple years before I found out about her affair. She wanted a vacation home in Aspen and I said no. We already had a place in Malibu, which she spent a fortune having remodeled and redecorated.
She was used to getting everything she wanted, and she never got over my refusal to buy another vacation home. I was happy to give her the Malibu house in the divorce because I didn’t want it.
“Hey.” The door is cracked open, and Talia opens it farther, looking at me. “You need anything?”
“No, I’m okay. What are you still doing here?”
“I needed to finish inventory.” She waits for me to hit pause on the remote control. “You’re still planning to come tomorrow, right? Two p.m. at Templeton?”
“I’ll be there.”
The Templeton Center is our practice facility, and Talia arranged for me and ten players to meet up with some kids who have disabilities and teach them modified ice hockey.
“Have you eaten today?” she asks.
“I had lunch with Caroline.”
Her brows arch with interest. “Caroline? Was that business or pleasure?”
I flick a glare at her over the rim of my glasses. “Business.”
I’ve always had a policy of not dipping my nub in the company ink, and my relationship with our team doctor is strictly platonic, anyway. She shared with me that she’s gay and has a longtime girlfriend, but she prefers to keep her private life private, and I’d never share that, even with Talia.
“You should let me set up a profile for you on a dating app.”
I scoff. “No. I’ve told you, if I wanted to, I’d do it myself, and I don’t.”
“There are good women out there, Dad. You won’t know unless you try.”
I take my glasses off and rub my temples, my aggravation rising. “I don’t want to be in a relationship, Tally. I don’t have the time or the interest.”
“You should find a situationship. Keep it casual and have fun.”
I furrow my brow. “Whatever a situationship is, I don’t want that either. I like my life the way it is.”
“Your call, I guess. Want to go out for dinner with us tonight?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to be here a while.”
She gives me a pointed look. “Hockey will never keep you warm at night, Dad.”
“I’ve got plenty of blankets for that. Have a good evening.”
She sighs and closes the door. I resume my film watching, taking notes. I’m only a few minutes in when I remember I told Jules I’d stop by her office.
I might as well get it out of the way. I already sense that she and I are going to clash often. If I have to, I’ll talk to Deb and have her set Jules straight. I don’t give a fuck about social media videos. The players and the coaches have jobs to do. Not only do our livelihoods depend on it, but it’s how we make the organization money. And it takes a lot of money to run this team.