Page 25 of Cory Sloan is Swearing

“You smiled.”

Vi scoffed.

“And it looked really nice,” Cory added and ran onto the court.

Vi shook her head and couldn’t keep from smiling again.

“What’s the deal with you two?” Olivia asked, sitting down next to Vi.

She hadn’t realized Olivia was sitting behind them and had witnessed the entire thing. “There’s no deal.” Vi shrugged as she took her socks off and reached into her bag for her flip flops.

“I’ve never seen two people watch each other and try not to let the other person notice like the way you two do,” Olivia observed.

Vi sighed. “Really?” She winced and looked over at Olivia.

“Oh, yeah. It’s kind of entertaining.”

“Oh, God,” Vi groaned.

“Come on, out with it. I’m not only your teammate, I’m also your friend. We’ve been in enough classes together and you’ve played with Henry so many times he asks about you when we come to see Frankie.”

“He does?”

“Uh uh.” Olivia shook her head. “You’re not distracting me with my cute son.”

Vi laughed. “He is a cutie. And there’s nothing between me and Cory.”

“I would think you two have a lot in common. I mean, you’re both in the liquor business,” Olivia said.

“We are, but that’s where the similarities end,” Vi said.

“Oh no it isn’t. You’re both fantastic volleyball players and very competitive,” Olivia added.

“That’s just it. We’re competitors in our jobs and here on the court.”

“So? There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition,” Olivia said.

“That’s true, but I have to stay focused on my job. That’s not so friendly.”

Vi could feel Olivia studying her. “Hmm, I can’t imagine you and Cory not becoming friends.”

“What? Why?”

Olivia shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve known Cory a long time and she’s one of the nicest people I know. I think she likes you.”

Vi glanced at Olivia sideways. “Where are we—middle school?”

Olivia laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that, even though you kind of act like it sometimes.”

Vi looked at her and raised her brows.

“You seem to be trying awfully hard not to be Cory’s friend.”

Vi sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to be her friend. It’s complicated.”

“Mmm, that’s exactly how I tried to make things with Frankie when I first met her,” Olivia said. She stood up as the game was about to start and stepped down from the bleachers. “Would you look at us now, married with the cutest little kid.” Olivia winked and walked away.

Vi turned her attention to the volleyball game but couldn’t keep Olivia’s comments from roaming around her head. Could she and Cory be friends? After she took over as Vice President of Sales and turned her accounts over to other sales reps, she and Cory would no longer be adversaries. If Cory would just stick to selling retail they might already be friends, Vi thought with a sigh.

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