Fighting For You (The Connor Family 5)

Hailey’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe Pippa was right.”

“Oh, you’ve already talked to her.”

“Yep. I thought she was just being overly optimistic, as usual. But holy shit, Brooke, huh? Hmm... well, I don’t know what advice to give you. But I’m sure Landon and Will have plenty to share. You can ask them for tips, at the very least.”

“How about I do my own thing?”

Hailey flashed me an apologetic smile. “Your chances of failure increase?”

I wasn’t going to allow anyone’s lack of confidence to deter me. Which was why on Monday morning, I went to the club earlier than usual. My plan was simple: arrive before anyone else, sneak into Brooke’s office, place the stress ball on her desk and hang the painting on the wall behind it.

She’d shown them to me yesterday online, which was why I woke up earlier today and stopped at Target to buy them.

We’d had a laid-back afternoon yesterday, and I hadn’t touched on the topic of us. Despite what I’d told her, I didn’t want her to feel pressured. I was prepared to wait... for a while.

I placed my toolbox on the floor and worked on hanging the painting. It took me all of fifteen minutes. After putting the stress ball right in front of her keyboard, I rushed to bring the toolbox to my car.

Then, instead of heading to the gym or the locker room, I went back to the upper floor. While waiting for management to arrive, I made myself a coffee. No one would question my presence here, since everyone was welcome to the kitchen and we all often had lunch together here. But I wasn’t just lingering for the coffee. I had a specific purpose. I’d never been a fan of the Lords office remake, which went from separate offices to an open-plan office space for each department. They were separated by glass partitions.

Now, however, I could appreciate the benefits. From where I stood, I had a direct view to Brooke’s desk. I just wanted to see her reaction, that was all. Did I risk her getting mad at me? Probably. Even though I’d been careful. Everyone else would probably assume Brooke herself had brought the stress ball and hung the painting.

Two girls from the PR department arrived first. Finally, at eight thirty, the elevator doors opened and my Brooke strutted out. She was flustered and a little out of sorts. Had she overslept?

She whizzed past the kitchen without seeing me and stilled when she reached her desk. For a few seconds, she had no reaction at all. But then she lifted the ball with both hands, and turned, noticing the painting. Even though I was far away, and I could only see her profile, there was no missing her reaction.

That smile right there? Yeah, it had been worth getting up at five o’clock.

Chapter Thirteen

Brooke

I was still staring at the painting with a grin. It was my favorite from the website—a depiction of a rainforest. When on earth had Jace done this? Had he come here yesterday? Or this morning?

Sitting at my desk, I shot Jace a message to thank him, positioning the stress ball so I could look at it all day. Did I have time for daydreaming? No, I did not. Was I going to do it anyway? Yes, I would.

I still needed to sort out some details for the New York trip... specifically, make sure the boys would be in the VIP area of the bar. I might have gotten ahead of myself when I’d told the team this was a done deal, but I was insistent.

The bar’s general manager was an old friend of mine from college, and I knew I’d wear him down eventually.

My phone beeped with a message while I was talking on it, and oh, how I had to fight the impulse to end the conversation early just so I could read it.

But I behaved, focusing on my task until Ryan threw in the towel. “Persistent woman.”

“Thanks.”

I was feeling very smug as I ended the conversation, immediately reading Jace’s text.

Jace: Loved seeing you smile this morning.

Brooke: You were here?

Jace: Yeah. Was having a coffee :-)

Brooke: Ready for the game tonight?

Jace: Stakes are high, but we’re working hard.

I took that to mean that he was nervous, and while the boys were watching tapes later that afternoon, I headed downstairs and slipped a note in Jace’s locker wishing him good luck. It was perhaps a silly thing to do, but I wanted to lighten up his day as he’d done with mine.