Page 6 of The Sweet Spot

“I-I did, but …”

“I don’t even know what sort of food requirements he has. This takes research,” Wolseley protested.

“I’m sure you can easily figure it out. Anything you come up with in your sleep is better than what Ryan eats on a daily basis.”

Tangi waved her hands in front of both her friends. “Stop. Jill, cut it out. You should have asked Wolseley about this before we came down here. You’ve not only put her on the spot, but you’ve put Ryan on the spot, too. It’s not cool.”

Ryan seemed to have finally absorbed what had been said and proposed. “This idea does sound like a good one, but can I think about it? I don’t even know what this all means.”

“You don’t need to think about it. I need to think about it since this is the first I’ve heard of a job that isn’t really a job,” Wolseley said, shooting Jill a glare.

The two women started arguing, and that was when Tangigrabbed their arms and escorted them back upstairs. We all watched them go, and then Ryan looked around, no doubt trying to make sense of what was going on.

“What the fuck was that?” he said to no one in particular.

Benoit spoke first. “I think Jeremy’s girlfriend was trying to tell you to lose some weight.”

Ryan shot daggers at Benoit with his eyes. “Yeah, I got that part. But that came out of nowhere. Jeremy, come on! She cornered me.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Hey, I had no idea she was going to do that. Do you think I can control her?”

“Does everyone think I need to lose weight?” Ryan asked, staring around the room.

So many weak-kneed wimps looked down at their feet or outside at Ethan, who was grilling away, having no clue what had just happened. Where were the balls on these guys? More importantly, how could Ryan be so oblivious to his current situation?

“Yeah, you need to lose weight,” I said. “Is that coming as a surprise to you?” I said it matter-of-factly and as kindly as possible, but by the gasps emanating throughout the room, my delivery was probably taken harsher than I’d intended. One of the guys even laughed in shock. Yup, I’d have to work on my delivery a little more.

Ryan scrunched up his face. “Fuck you, Warde.”

I definitely should have softened that. “Look, I didn’t mean it as an insult. It happens. I’ll speak for myself. I’m slowing down. I can’t recover as quickly as I used to. So you’ve put on a few pounds. You’re an amazing athlete, and I know you can take it off. Would it hurt to have a chef making you all the right foods?”

Right. Better. Ryan seemed to think about that, so maybehe wouldn’t want to punch me. The guy had almost seventy pounds and three inches on me. His fist would hurt.

“I guess not,” he said begrudgingly.

“But I’m confused,” Jeremy said. “Since when did Wolseley need a side gig?”

As if she’d been listening, Jill yelled down from the top of the stairs. “I’ll tell you about it later, Jeremy.”

“So fucking weird,” he said, wandering to the beer fridge and handing out another round.

A few minutes later, Ethan wandered in with a heaping pile of various proteins on a huge platter. Next, he brought in some baked potatoes, and we all dove in. Jeremy filled him in on all he’d missed while poor Ryan was careful to pace himself. I ate quickly and checked my watch. I had to leave soon to catch my flight. I thanked Ethan for the hospitality, apologized to Ryan again—who seemed to not hold a grudge—and then headed upstairs. Wolseley was alone at the kitchen table, staring out the window, and I thought to slink off, but was I the slinking-off type?

“Hey, you okay?”

She turned to face me and smiled sadly. “I will be. Eventually.”

“Something go down?” I asked, sitting across from her at the table. Normally, I would have sneaked away, but she looked so down that I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Besides, I could spare a few minutes.

“Lots. My career, and now Jill, has utterly humiliated me. I’m sure that’s why Tangi insisted that Jill help her put Maddy to bed. I think Jill is getting a lecture.”

“The guys didn’t even talk about it, so don’t worry about the humiliation. But what happened to your career?”

She groaned. “A disgruntled employee screwed me over in more ways than one. I want to crawl away and die right now.”

She obviously didn’t want to say more, and I wasn’t going to press. “You could leave. Why hang around?”

Her big brown eyes were looking at me now.

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