Page 50 of The Player Next Door
“Fun,” Peggy repeated. “I can see that.”
“I know he’s got, um, a bit of a reputation.”
“To put it mildly.”
Clare chuckled. “Like I said, he’s a lot of fun.”
Peggy pushed herself up as the oven beeped. “That’ll be dinner,” she announced, and Kiki followed them close on their heels to the kitchen. Clare helped her pour the wine and pull out plates and napkins, and the subject of Logan was thankfully dropped.
“Your boss is still behaving, I hope?” Peggy asked delicately, halfway into her chicken and mushroom hot dish.
“Craig? Of course, he’s fine.”
Peggy gave her a shrewd look. “No canoeing down the Mississippi lately?”
Clare laughed, although there was more discomfort behind it than usual. “My job is just a bit different, you know? That’s what I like about it.” Peggy made a noise that said she didn’t agree, and Clare fell silent for a moment. “I do have a question for you, though. The other day, one of the guys on my team asked for my opinion on something. I’ve been trying to be more confident, so I said what I thought. But now I think it was the wrong call, because Craig seemed . . . I dunno, kind of weird about it.”
“Weird how?”
“He just seemed hurt, I think. Which I get, our ideas are really personal sometimes and things being shot down hurts, even if it’s by a nobody like me.”
“What made you decide to be more assertive?” Peggy asked. “I mean, why now?”
“Something that Logan said,” Clare shrugged. “And, well, it can be a little lonely at work, you know? Everyone else is really tightly bonded and I’m trying to fit in, but it’s not really working. And a lot of that is on me, but I thought if I said what I thought and didn’t try and soften it at all, it might get their attention. But I went too far and hurt his feelings.” That had been her big attempt at being more like herself at work, and it had backfired spectacularly.
Peggy frowned. “For one thing, I don’t like how concerned you are about hurting your boss’s feelings. But we’ll put a pin in that for now. When it comes to being more outspoken at work, I see where Logan is coming from, but he can—let’s say, he can suffer from an excess of confidence sometimes, and I’m not sure he’s the right person to give you advice there. Not that he’s wrong, but I don’t need to tell you that women are judged differently than men for the same behavior. It’s not fair, but it’s the water we swim in, so to speak. That being said, do you feel like you aren’t confident enough at work? You’re usually very self-assured.”
Clare shrugged. “Like I said, it’s different there. I’ve wanted to work at Quest for so long, and now I’m there and there’s a promotion available soon, and—I just can’t risk it, you know?”
“There’s being cautious because you’re choosing your words deliberately, and being cautious because you’re scared. The former is fine, but the latter—if it’s like that, I would be worried. As for your boss’s problem with your answer, I also know you, and I doubt you were cruel or even unkind when expressing your asked-for opinion on your boss’s work.”
“I wasn’t,” Clare agreed. She slipped Kiki a small piece of dinner roll and Peggy sent her a wry grin. “But I got a bad vibe.”
“Which brings me back to my first point. Your boss’s personal feelings shouldn’t matter, especially if it’s a work subject. I assume he doesn’t care as much aboutyourfeelings?”
Clare thought for a minute. “Not as much,” she agreed. “But that makes sense; he’s got a lot of us to manage. And like I said, my job is a little different. Being creative is hard.”
“If he’s good enough to be a manager, he should be good enough to withstand some minor criticism from a junior employee,” Peggy replied firmly. “You owe him nothing but courtesy, and if he can’t handle it, well, that’s on him.”
“I guess,” Clare said, but the pit in her stomach whenever she thought about work—and how work connected with Logan—remained. She forced a smile onto her face and changed the subject. It was obvious what Peggy would say if Clare brought up Craig’s assignment, but what was done was done. She would just have to move past it now, and make sure she didn’t fall for anything like that again. “But Logan has an excess of confidence, does he?”
Peggy grinned, eyes dancing. “It would be inappropriate for me to say much more, but yes, he is certainly sure of himself. It’s charming, but it’s not everything.” She paused. “But you’re happy with him? Sincerely?”
“Couldn’t be happier,” Clare said, with a certainty that surprised even herself.
Clare bounced on the balls of her feet, waiting. Logan had texted with a cryptic message abouthaving some fun, and asked her to meet him in the lobby. Per his instructions, she was in comfortable shoes—although to be honest, she didn’t really own any other kind.
Logan emerged from the stairwell in the same outfit he’d been wearing when he took her to the hospital: a pair of basketball shorts and sleeveless T-shirt that showed off an indecent amount of biceps and side torso muscles, which she hadn’t realized was a thing she could be attracted to before that very moment.
But in his hands was a basketball, and she immediately shrank back. “No. No. No no no no no, we arenotplaying basketball,” she declared.
He grinned a very unfair grin. “First you don’t want to go to Uptown, now you won’t play basketball,” he sighed. “I’m going to get a complex.”
“It’s not my fault you like shitty things,” Clare threw back, but even as she said it, she fell into step beside him. Logan held the door for her and she followed him outside. Twilight was fading and the streetlights flickered on. “Besides, what about me says I’d be good at sportsball?”
“Absolutely nothing. That’s why it’ll be fun. And if you’re going to be with me, you’re going to stop calling it sportsball and start calling it basketball.”
Her heart literally—literally—skipped a beat at the way his voice dipped at the end. She had the absurd urge to replyyes, sir, and only barely stopped herself. Instead, she nodded and followed him around the corner, still running the wordsif you’re going to be with meover and over in her brain. It made everything feel more real, and less like a very intense, vivid daydream.