Page 34 of The Long Game

Tucker: Are you in town?

Lexi: No, I’m in Aspen with Lilly and Beau. Work/holiday. New acquisition. My parents went to Luca’s for Christmas. Are you?

Tucker: No, dad flew out here since I have a game this weekend.

Chapter Ten

Eight Months later…

Lexi

I can’t face the screen since I first settled on the channel.

I usually watch the sports network during the middle of the day in my office to give me a little break from current projects. It helps me to break concentration when I am hard at work with a new merger. Sometimes, a little distraction helps clear my head for that hour. Then I’m ready to attack the issues with a fresh thought.

I say I’m watching to see what they have to say about Luca, the QB for Indianapolis, but I’m lying to myself. I’m always hoping to catch any tidbit about Tucker Evans, their new RB. Traded to the team last year after Tucker’s injury…caused by me.

To my delight and horror, they are talking about Tucker and it’s all I can do to keep myself from looking back at the T.V. where they have a current team picture of him. I can’t help myself as I quickly glance back over my shoulder. God, he’s even more attractive than ever. Twenty-nine is definitely his prime panty-dropping age because he looks downright edible. Just likehe looked the last time I saw him, being lifted into the back of an ambulance.

Besides the texts and calls Tucker sent after getting out of the hospital that I ignored out of complete embarrassment and heartbreak, he finally gave up.

No more calls.

No more texts.

He's finally given up on us and I don't blame him.

And now he's going to live less than three hours away and play with my brother again.

Staring out the large floor to ceiling windows of my executive corner office, the rain has started up again, and I’m reminded of another reason I am grateful for so much glass. Rain always has this way of soothing me. Especially when I’m cuddled up in my house, with a hot cup of chai spice tea in my hand while the living room fireplace pops and fizzles.

The identical skyrise across the park has a new tenant in the office directly across from mine. Both offices have wall-to-wall glass and on the corners of the building. Even though our offices are practically fishbowls, I know nothing about him.

I suspect he is younger than forty. Seems tall based on where his desk height reaches his thigh and looks to be in good shape. I see him in workout gear frequently.

He must work out on his lunch at the bottom level where a gym went into a vacant space a couple of years ago. I’ve never seen him leave the building, but after lunch sometimes he works in his gym shorts for a few hours before changing. Is it creepy that I've studied his daily habits?

He’s either a workaholic or he’s working on some huge merger. He’s already here when I get to work, and I leave before he does. Since I’m putting in at least sixty hours a week, it’s obvious he’s putting in more.

He waves at me most mornings when he sees me coming in. And if I catch his eye before I leave, I wave goodbye before I go home. He moved into the building across the way a few months ago so I have yet to cross paths with him while leaving my building.

I’m not sure who initiated the first wave, but I never noticed the people working across the way until he moved in. So maybe it was him? Either way, I find myself looking forward to the brief human connection. There are so many days I’m locked up in my office working through paperwork that he might be one of the only souls I see, Besides the barista downstairs in the coffee shop, and the assistant who drops off lunch orders for those of us too swamped to think for ourselves.

I smile as he waves in greeting. I hope he doesn’t think I’ve been standing at the window trying to get his attention. I’m trying to ignore the shit talking going on behind me about my lifelong crush and the potential career ending accident that was definitely my fault.

I’ve never been able to stomach anyone talking trash about Luca or Tucker. It hits me hard when I hear them poking holes in Tucker’s work ethic.

"Evans needs to get his head in the game. He just doesn’t have the heart for the game anymore. Maybe it’s time for him to retire. He’s not playing like he did before his injury; it’s like his head is somewhere else. He had a good run. Seven years in the NFL is something to be proud of but if he wants to have a legacy left…it’s time to hang up the cleats."

I look away from the glass windows and turn the T.V. off. This was not the distraction I needed from work. All Tucker has ever wanted is football, and the reason he has an injury to hold him back is because of me.

One Week Later…

Almost a year ago, I accomplished a huge goal. I bought a brownstone a few blocks from my parents. It’s in a highly sought-after neighborhood, and I couldn’t have gotten this home without the help of Sabrina, Tucker’s older half-sister. She worked tirelessly to find a listing when there weren’t any to be found and negotiated an incredible sale for a home that was currently a rental. The owners were ready to retire, and she moved quickly to get a deal written up before it ever made it to the open market. She literally pulled a nonexistent listing out of thin air. She’s a freaking magician.

It’s not nearly as large, or as newly renovated as my parents’, but being in the industry that I’m in, I know that most things can be changed. As the saying goes, "Location, location, location".

My dad, who originally started out with a small construction business, spent many of his weekends over the last eight months helping me do a few small renovations. Eventually I will do an overhaul, but I am still building my portfolio for when the V.P. of Acquisitions position comes open. I don’t have any energy to spend on major construction projects. Dad’s little fixes will get me by for now.

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