For Kicks

by Jenna Bayley-Burke

  He forced a smile, wondering how far Kellen would push this. “She has a boyfriend. What about one of the models from earlier?” Logan searched the room, but for the life of him he couldn’t find one.

  “She’s yours, I can tell.” Kellen snatched a champagne glass from a passing waiter and drained it. “I know you, Logan. We’ve never had secrets before. The stories I could tell her about you.”

  “Kel, let it go.” He clenched his hands into fists.

  “Maybe I’ll ask her myself.” His laugh was low, sinister and wicked. Kellen stepped out of reach, crossing the room quickly.

  If Logan had two good feet he might have stayed on him. But the vice president of brand marketing stepped in his path. Logan forced a smile and kept one eye on the door. He couldn’t make a scene, or he’d lose Breeze for good.

  “You could have told me.” Breeze closed her eyes, choking on the California heat.

  “Breezy, we’ve just been so busy working on the clinic. It hurts when you don’t come home, and we thought it would be easier this way.”

  “Not telling me my parents are going to have their own wing at the hospital dedicated to them makes it easier? I was panicked today when I called. I thought one of you must be sick.”

  “The dedication is on Friday. Will you come?”

  “Mama, I’ve been traveling for almost a month. I’m not sure how much time I can take.”

  “See, that’s why I didn’t tell you. I can’t stand how you’ve let a job define who you are. Do you even dream anymore, Breezy?”

  “Mama, I’ll be there.” She bit her lip and shook her head. She needed to go back. To face them all and see where the scattered pieces of their relationship had landed. “I have a layover in Medford tonight. Can you meet me for a cup of tea?”

  “You’re coming home? Oh, baby, are you sick?”

  ”No, just confused out of my mind. And trying to do the right thing.” She made her goodbyes and rang off.

  “Trouble with your phone?” a deep voice rumbled behind her.

  Breeze spun, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “No, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine.” Kellen Jackson stepped towards her. It was surreal, having someone she’d seen in magazines standing so close.

  “I am. I will be.” She nodded emphatically, shoving her phone into her purse. She had to be. She ran her fingers under her eyes to wipe away any mascara she might have smeared with her indulgent tears.

  “Was it your boyfriend?”

  “Boyfriend? No.” She shook her head.

  “Too bad.” He thumbed back to the party. “I told Logan how pretty I thought you were, and he told me not to bother making a play for you. Because you have a boyfriend.”

  “I see.” She didn’t have to force a smile. She could just picture Logan’s expression when he used that line.

  “Is it him?”

  Her face fell, her heart plummeting somewhere below her knees.

  “He didn’t say anything. But Logan and I go way back and I can smell fear on him.”

  “And what does he have to be afraid of?” She ran a hand through her hair, the clip she’d used to twist it into submission after her shower plunking to the ground. “Damn it.”

  She stooped to grab it, but he was there first. She took it from him, trying her best to reconfigure her curls without a mirror.

  “You missed one,” he said, stepping closer and pushing a wayward tendril behind her ear.

  He stayed there, his finger on her ear a bit longer than she was comfortable with. She flattened a hand against his chest to push him away. The door from the party pushed open, light and music alerting them to their company.

  “What the hell?” Logan yelled, pulling Kellen away by his shirt collar.

  Breeze watched as partygoers turned, watching the spectacle through the waning sliver of the open door. Until it closed with a thud. She closed her eyes against what they all must be thinking, assuming.

  “What is going on?” Logan stepped to her, so close she felt the anger emanating from him. “You’ve been avoiding me all night, and then I find you out here kissing him?”

  “Are you kidding me?” She stared up at the face of a stranger, his eyes wild and nostrils flared. This was not the Logan she knew, and not a side of him she cared to see.

  She stepped around him and walked to the door. The sneer on Kellen’s face made her wonder what this was really about, but she didn’t have time for curiosity. She needed to go do some re-con, try and think of an explanation. Maybe if she told them all Logan and Kellen were lovers she could save her career.

  Logan grabbed her arm as she reached for the door and whirled her around. She pulled at his fingers. “Let me go.”

  “Not until you tell me what you were thinking, letting him kiss you.”

  “He didn’t kiss me. Let go of my arm.” She shot the words at him, wanting to scream. She clenched her teeth so hard she thought her molars would crack.

  He dropped his grasp and she reached for the door again. He couldn’t let her get away, not yet. Not after what he’d seen. Her hair in disarray, her hands on him, their faces so close it looked like they had been kissing.

  He knew how far a little fame and glamour could go with a woman, had reaped the rewards himself when he’d played professionally. But Breeze? Did she really bend so easily?

  “Tell me what happened.”

  She pulled at the door and he pressed his hand against the top, keeping it shut. “Logan, I swear, if you don’t let me out of here now, I will never speak to you again.”

  “If you are making out with my best friend, then I don’t want to talk to you.”

  Her foot came down hard on his, making him pull his hand back and step away with a yelp. She opened the door and slipped inside the party before he could take a breath.

  “You’re in love with her.” Kellen sounded astonished and then began to laugh.

  Logan turned, completely at a loss for what to do next. Knocking Kellen around sounded real good.

  “Calm down, man. I didn’t touch her, I swear.” Kellen’s voice weakened, his eyes fixated on Logan’s fist frozen mere inches from his face. “If you’d told me, I wouldn’t have tried a thing. I don’t have a death wish.”

  Logan took a deep breath. “Did you kiss her?”

  “No. You wouldn’t tell me if you were with her, so I needed to find out for myself. You used to tell me everything. Now I only hear from you when it’s about business.”

  “I can’t tell anyone about her. And you can’t either. I mean it, Kel. She thinks she’ll get fired if her bosses find out.”

  “You can trust me, you know that. Since when do you let women get in the way of your friendships?”

  “Not women, her.”

  “Oh shit, you are in love with her. She’s into you too, right?”

  “I think so. But with the way I reacted when I saw you two just now, I may very well have ruined it.”

  “This isn’t exactly home.” Rachel Cohen clutched her cup of tea, grinning over the top at her daughter.

  “I know.” Breeze shook her head and looked around the airport coffee shop. “But I have a meeting tomorrow, so all I could work in was a stopover. Thanks for meeting me.”

  “You know if you need me, I’m always here.”

  “I’m still hurt about you and Dad not returning my calls.”

  “I’m sorry it hurt you. We were trying to spare ourselves. You’ve refused to come home for so many holidays and birthdays, we’ve stopped asking.”

  “I’ll be back for the dedication.” On the plane she’d decided it was time Mendelssohn’s started accommodating her for a change. She’d called and informed Glen she’d be taking all ten of her comp days. She could get her life in order. If she could figure out what she wanted.

  “Daddy will be so happy. Sky and River too. They’re both flying in. We miss you, Breeze.” He mother reached her hand across the table. “I worry about you working so hard. Giving up
so much.”

  “Me too. I needed to see you because I have some decisions to make, and I don’t know what to do.” Her voice shook and she took a deep breath. With her mother, she couldn’t maintain her professional persona. She saw right through it.

  “You want me to tell you what to do?”

  She nodded. “Mendelssohn’s wants me to head up new-store openings, but that means I’ll never be home. And there is a man who I want to be home for. But I’m not sure if he wants the same thing. I could take this other job and be closer to him. But then if things don’t work out I’ll wish I would have taken the offer from Mendelssohn’s.”

  “Run away, you mean?”

  “What?”

  “You’ll wish you would have run away again.”

  The silence stretched out between them. Breeze stared into her mother’s eyes, knowing she didn’t mean to be hurtful. She was the only person in the world who could speak the truth and Breeze would hear it.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Logan Chandler.” She couldn’t say it without smiling. Even though his jumping to conclusions at the party annoyed her to no end.

  “Bring Logan with you on Friday. Daddy, Sky and River can test him out for you.”

  Her lips quirked. “You’re not going to tell me what to do, are you?”

  “Do what makes you happy, Breezy.”

  “He wants kids.”

  Rachel’s brow furrowed. “You used to want a big family.”

  “I used to want a whole different life than the one I have. I’m not sure I can work and have a baby. And I don’t know who I am if I don’t work.”

  “I worked the whole time you were growing up.” Rachel sipped her tea.

  “But you hate how much Grandmother worked. And I have the same job.”

  “She used her job to compensate for her personal problems. To avoid having to face a failed relationship. She wasn’t a bad parent, just too distant for a small child. It’s all in where your priorities are.”

  “You think I could do it?”

  “I know you go after what you want. But you shouldn’t have a baby because it’s what you think he wants.”

  “I wouldn’t. And I’m thinking a few years down the road. He’s just the first person who’s made me think I could balance it all.”

  “Congratulations.” Kellen slid into the seat next to Logan on the corporate jet and handed him a magazine. “Smile or they’ll think you don’t want the job.”

  “Shut up.” He turned to the window, trying not to feel sorry for himself.

  “Seriously, knock it off. Your new boss was eyeing you as I came back from the bathroom.”

  Logan sat up and shoved the magazine in the seatback, reaching instead into his bag for a distraction.

  “Breeze will probably be waiting at the airport. After all the apologizing you’ve done, she’ll be milking it. Probably make you buy her a ring.”

  “Not her style.” He shook his head and opened the book on outdoor ponds he’d bought. “And I’ve been leaving messages on her cell phone. Which she could delete without even listening to.”

  “You said you were sorry, man. What more does she want?”

  “You don’t get it, Kel. I accused her of something she would never do. And I made a scene. I promised her I’d be discreet, that her career was safe.” If she lost her job over his behavior, he was sunk for sure.

  “I thought Nitrous wanted her to work for them. That’s what that woman, the one who nods her head constantly—” Kellen demonstrated, “—told me that was the plan.”

  Logan had to smile as Kellen’s head continued to bounce. “Stick to soccer. Your understanding of business leaves a lot to be desired.”

  “You’re a real downer.”

  “There’s more to life than having a good time.”

  “You did not just say that.” Kellen turned in his seat. “You, of all people. Mr. Live In The Moment. Seize the day. What has she done to you?”

  “Leave me alone.” He opened the book and flipped through the pages. What had she done to him indeed? Whatever it was, he needed more of it. “I need to think of a way out of this.”

  “By landscaping your yard? You’ve lost your touch. You need to take her out, impress her. You think arranging plants is going to blow her mind? Next thing you know you’ll be getting down on one knee and begging.”

  “If I thought that would work, I would.” He couldn’t think of a single thing to get himself out of this hole. The thought he might not get out made his chest constrict.

  “Seriously? You’d marry her? I mean, she’s hot, but marriage?”

  “You know what, I would marry her. But I’d settle for her speaking to me again.” She had to forgive him. If he told her now what he’d realized, she might think it a ploy to get her back.

  “Wow. No wonder you haven’t been as much fun lately. You’re turning into an old married guy. Next thing you know you’ll have a beer gut and be leaving corny outgoing messages on your answering machine.”

  He turned to Kellen and shook his head. “You don’t get it. Not that I blame you, because a month ago I didn’t get it myself. Breeze is fun to me. I get to see everything as fresh and exciting through her eyes. And she looks at me like I’m something special. Not because of soccer or work or out of pity about my folks. Just me.”

  “You should say that.” Kellen wore an expression Logan faintly remembered. The look he wore when he’d kept him awake after the crash, when he’d dragged him home after a drunken binge when his parents died. Kellen pulled a phone out of his pocket and handed it to Logan. “Say that and she’ll forgive you anything. Hell, I’ll marry you right now.”

  “Very funny. I already tried talking to her.” He laid the book open in his lap and wondered if she’d let her fish live in a pond. The tink-tink of Fred spitting rocks at the glass would annoy him, but he’d learn to tune it out if she wanted them in the house.

  “Did she say anything about the phone call you thought upset her?”

  Kellen opened his eyes from a half sleep. “Breeze? No, she said it was nothing.”

  He closed the book and crossed his arms over his chest. If it was bad, something to do with her family, she might need support. Or she might need space to deal with it on her own. He groaned, covering his face with his hands.

  Breeze knew something was wrong the minute Glen opened the door to the back office. Tension burst forth, invading every nook and cranny. And he wouldn’t even make eye contact with her.

  “What is it?”

  “Breeze, we’d like to have a word with you.” His brows pressed into a frown, creasing his forehead.

  We? “Of course.” The world began to spin and she felt herself propelled into the office on autopilot. Inside the room sat Nancy next to the telephone, the red light in the base indicating a conference call.

  “Michael and Judy, she’s here.” Nancy eyed Breeze as she sat down. Her store and district managers in the room, the regional vice president and vice president of stores on the phone. Whatever the reason for this ambush, it was big.

  Silence echoed through the room. The hum from the air-conditioning vents mingled with the buzz of the fluorescent lights. She cupped her hands on her lap to keep them from shaking and took a deep breath.

  “I’m not sure what’s going on.” She spoke slowly to keep her voice level. “Is something wrong with the Kicks promotion?”

  “Kicks sales are great, better than projected,” Michael replied. “Mendelssohn’s appreciates all you did to make the campaign a success.”

  Breeze breathed a sigh of relief and let her shoulders drop. Nancy must be jealous, hence her sour demeanor. Maybe things were going to go better than she’d hoped.

  “I wanted to make sure you understand our position, and discuss where we go from here. Judy thinks your performance warrants a promotion to the store-manager level. However, Nancy has some concerns I think we all need to discuss.”

  Breeze smiled over the fear of being f
ound out. She’d done it, become the youngest store manager in Mendelssohn’s history. Nancy could bring on her concerns. Breeze knew every argument against ageism by heart.

  “What kind of concerns?” she asked, meeting Nancy’s icy stare.

  “Regarding your behavior during the Kicks promotion.” Nancy’s tone was lilting and accusatory.

  “There are a few misunderstandings I hope you’ll be able to clear up,” Judy offered across the line.

  “How long have you known Logan Chandler?” Nancy narrowed her eyes.

  “Since the day of the best set.” Her stomach sank.

  “I have some questions about your expenses while you were away.” Nancy’s voice rang as she leaned back in her chair.

  “And?” Breeze prompted in the silence. If a hotel made some bogus charges on her card, she could clear that up with a phone call.

  “Breeze, what happened in Kentucky?”

  The air was quickly sucked from the room, the edges beginning to blur. Just what were they accusing her of? What did they know already?

  “I toured with the district manager who came up with the idea to focus the training on the footwear department managers. Seven stores. Two days.”

  “When I reviewed your expenses, I noticed you had no hotel charges for Kentucky.” Nancy tented her fingers, almost smiling. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that was the weekend you met with Logan Chandler. Do you think staying with him was appropriate, Breeze?”

  Panic coursed through her veins, yet she schooled her expression, quieted the adolescent voices chanting “Sleezy Breezy” in her head. These people might never respect her again, but she wasn’t the seventeen-year-old who ran from accusations.

  “Absolutely, it was completely appropriate. Nitrous policy actually.” The confident sound of her voice calmed her. “It was a suite with two bedrooms and a living area for us to meet in and discuss the status of the project. It made more sense than meeting in either of our hotel rooms, or renting a separate conference room.” She’d been suspicious of the argument from Logan, but it was the truth. Nancy rolled her eyes, obviously not buying the explanation.