Page 20 of Playmaker

There were those white fences, the kind they used for horse farms, around the greenest grass I’d ever seen. It would cost a fortune to keep grass that verdant, and probably leave a carbon footprint the size of Bigfoot, but there was no denying it was beautiful.

Sheltered in a shallow hollow, the clubhouse nestled like it had grown there. A long, low building, with colorful flowers and mature trees. There were big windows, all glistening in the early morning sunlight.

Cooper turned his luxury vehicle down the drive of paving stones. We passed parked vehicles, all expensive—I might have seen a Rolls Royce emblem.Holy shit.

We pulled up at a valet stand, because of course we did. A young man opened my door and I stood up, grateful I wasn’t getting out of one of those low-slung sports cars where I’d have to climb upward and risk flashing the poor kid.

“Nice to see you back, Mr. Cooper.”

“Nice to see you too, Brad. Just let me get the clubs from the trunk.”

“Are any of your teammates coming today, sir?”

“No, it’s just me and Callie. Callie Smith, this is Brad, my favorite valet here at Briarwood.”

The kid blushed. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Smith.”

If we were anywhere else, I’d tell him to call me Callie, but was that a faux pas here? He’d called CooperMr. Cooper. Was Cooper the man’s last name? I should know that.

I waited, awkward and out of place. This club set off my nerves more than any place I’d been in years. I didn’t normally worry about fitting in—I’d never fit in, so I mostly tried to stay in the background, not draw attention, and watch everyone else. Then I did whatever they did. Made sure I was so good at what people needed from me that they overlooked my…me-ness.

But this wasn’t the office, where I could make value for myself with hard work. This place was all about appearances and connections. The stuff I failed at. I absolutely did not know the rules at this place. Reading a dress code on the website didn’t even touch the things I needed to know to fit in around here.

Cooper hefted two bags of clubs out of the trunk. Should I help? Did women around here strive to be equal, or was this a polite gesture I should accept? There was so much I could mess up.

Brad slid into the car and pulled away. I stepped in front of Cooper, blocking his path. “I need you to be brutally honest with me.”

One eyebrow shot up.Nice trick.

“I don’t want to embarrass you. Or myself. And I will, so you have to tell me when I do the wrong thing.”

Now the eyebrows were both pulled down, frowning. “Callie, you’re not going to embarrass me.”

I huffed a breath. “Yes, I will. I’d have made us both look bad in what I was wearing before. I just…I don’t know what I don’t know.”

He was still frowning. Shouldn’t he look less attractive that way?

“Like, if I walk on the wrong grass will I be kicked out?” I smiled at him, trying to reassure him. It was weird to see the man without that cocky attitude.

“Callie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to?—”

I held up my hand. “No, I’d rather you told the truth. I don’t want to make mistakes, and I will if you try to sugarcoat things. Other people will judge me, I know that. Please help me avoid that.” I hadn’t liked it, the way he’d overridden me about the clothes, but I got it now.

He rubbed his hand over his face. “What you were wearing would have made you uncomfortable here, because people would have stared and talked. Me? I’m expected to be a little ‘unconventional’ but I’ll be on my best behavior today so that it doesn’t reflect on you.”

That made me blink, and something inside me warmed. There was no way this guy would reflect poorly on me, but he was putting me at ease. And something in the way he said that… Had someone told him he had been an embarrassment?

“For the most part, just follow my lead, and I’ll let you know if you’re doing anything that’s a problem.”

“Thank you. I’m not here to get my ego stroked. I’m here to learn.”

He cocked his head, still looking at me, and I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Maybe the women he was with normally were upset if he criticized them? They probably already knew this stuff. Not me. If something went wrong today with Hockey Stud and me, I might not get back here before our corporate event in September. And in that case, I needed to understand everything I could about this place.

“Okay, let’s go.” He started walking toward a smaller extension on the side of the building.

I scurried after him. “Should I carry one of those bags?” One set of clubs looked spotless, new, and my skin itched at the thought they might have been sent over for him like the clothes. But I kept my mouth shut. I’d learned early that I couldn’t afford pride. Why had I been so upset back at the condo? Actually, maybe I didn’t want to know.

We went into the pro shop. It was full of clothes, clubs, and other things that presumably helped with golfing, but I had no clue what they were. Everything was clean, tidy, and smelled of new and rich. More expensive materials and packing? An accumulated miasma of expensive colognes and perfumes? I didn’t know, just that it was a rich smell.

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