Page 30 of Offside Attraction

Rhonda folded the blouse in thirds and packed it. She arranged the slacks, skirts, and tops like seven-layer dip on one side of her suitcase. Then she slid her favourite heels in a shoe protector bag and put them on the other side. After adding workout clothes, flip-flops for the sauna, and most of her toiletries, she was feeling quite accomplished. All she had left were chargers, her yoga mat, and snacks for the road.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand just as she turned and started walking toward the door. She strode back and picked it up. Rhonda’s stomach clenched at the name flashing on the screen. Derek Paulson, Regional Sales Manager.

Her boss wasn’t a terrible guy. He was annoying, with his bro marketer energy and inability to give bad news without a Mr. Clean smile, but he was mostly reasonable. Unfortunately, that meant he was probably analyzing the crap out of her lack of sales growth in Q3.

Rhonda swiped to answer the call, forcing her voice into a cheery lilt. “Hey, Derek! What’s up?”

“Hey, girl, hey!” Derek’s voice came through warm and smooth. Great. He’d been watching reels again. “Kidding. I thought that would be funny.”

“It was.”

“Ready for Edmonton?”

She dropped to the bed. “Of course. Everything’s lined up. Should be a productive few days.”

“Atta girl!” Derek gave an easy laugh. “I always say you’re one of the sharpest out there. You’ve got a way of making everyone feel like they’re the most important person in the room. Not everyone has that energy, you know?”

“Thanks, Derek. That means a lot,” she braced herself. After being forced to attend an HR seminar on leadership and team motivation, Derek had been converted to the sandwich method of giving feedback, which meant she was about to get a doozy.

“I mean it,” he continued. “Though, I wanted to check in on your strategy. Both in Edmonton and Calgary . . . ”

And there it was. “I’m working on Rocky Ridge and McKnight, if that’s what you’re referring to.”

“Oh, good. Great.” He laughed as if she were bringing it up out of the blue. “It seemed like you were more interested in the smaller clinics from what you’d submitted, so I wanted to see how I could support you in that.”

Rhonda chewed her lower lip. Support. That’s definitely what she felt from him. “I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get into a couple of big centres in the coming weeks.” She started to sweat. How was she going to text Jordan again after what happened? Not optional. She needed to get into Rocky Ridge, or she would have no chance of taking over as regional manager when Derek was promoted.

“Sure, I have all the confidence.”

Obviously, since he was making the call in the first place. “I’ll let you know how it goes. I appreciate you checking in.” Maybe she should have been more open with him. Told him that she was struggling to make any headway with the older, more entrenched medical professionals. But to do that, she would’ve needed to feel safe that admitting weakness wouldn’t come back to bite her. Since she wasn’t going to suddenly go blond or sprout male genitalia, she was much safer holding her tongue. There were plenty of men who suggested she use her mouth to her—and their—advantage, but that was a game she refused to play.

Or did she? That same pang of guilt hit her stomach. That wasn’t why she’d slept with Jordan. Whatever intense energy they had between them had started far before she knew he had connections at Rocky Ridge. Still. It didn’t look good on paper.

“I look forward to the update. You know, I was so impressed with . . . “

And there was the last slice of flattery to close the sandwich. Rhonda nodded and uh-huh’d until Derek finally said he needed to hop on another call. Then she resisted the urge to hurl the phone across the room. Instead, she channeled her frustration into slamming a pair of flats into the suitcase with unnecessary force.

Rhonda snapped the suitcase shut but didn’t zip it. She could toss in her last-minute things when she got back. She grabbed the veggie tray she'd picked up from Co-op and headed to the garage.

Her Accord sat waiting—the perfect blend of practicality and a hint of flash. She slid into the driver's seat and pressed the start button. The engine purred to life, and she pressed the garage door opener. She pulled on her puffy coat from the passenger seat. Even in summer, she kept it there just in case, but now the weather required it. She’d need to get her snow tires on when she returned home.

Rhonda pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the street. She hated being late for Sunday Supper, but she had to leave early enough the next day, she didn’t want to stress pack later that night when she got home. That was how she ended up forgetting phone chargers and flushable wipes.

The streets of Calgary blurred past her windows, and as she approached the Thompson's neighbourhood, Rhonda scanned the street for a parking spot. There was already a line of cars along the curb, but she spotted a gap a few houses down. It wasn’t perfect, but she could make it work with a five-point parallel park.

She made it happen, then turned off the engine and grabbed the veggie tray from the passenger seat. The air outside was cold and sharp, the kind of chill that seeped into her bones and made her shiver involuntarily. It was going to snow. Just in time for Halloween, as usual. The number of times she’d dressed up as a sexy angel or devil in her twenties and then had to ruin the effect with a toque and winter coat was maddening.

Rhonda's pulse quickened as she reached the Thompson’s front door. She was being irrational. Just because Darcy had seen her in the hall, it didn’t necessarily mean he knew Jordan was there. She could make up any number of stories about a friend who lived there, especially since she hadn’t left at an indefensible time of night. She had to figure out what story she was going to tell. She hadn’t successfully lied since she took a cat from a friend in high school and claimed she found it on the road.

The door swung open, and Rob Thompson greeted her with a wide smile. "Rhonda! Come on in, it's freezing out there!"

Warm air and the scent of roasting meat wafted over her as she stepped inside. Rhonda slipped off her boots and coat, then made her way to the kitchen to drop off the tray.

"Thank you so much for bringing something." Sharla Thompson’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

It was as if Rhonda had set down twenty pound weights she’d been carrying and slipped into cozy sweatpants. Socializing was so much easier than sitting in her own head. She smiled brightly. "Of course. It’s the least I could do."

She chatted with Sharla for a minute, then squeezed past Boyd, Steve, and André from the team, making her way to the living area. The space was a hive of activity, with people chatting and laughing, everyone holding plates of finger foods or drinks. She spotted Jenna standing with Country, Brett, and Curtis, and made a beeline for them.

---