Covering Kendall(41)

Two years ago the director retired, and she landed his job.

She knew other women doubted their career paths or took time off to get married and have babies. She wanted children and a husband, but she also wanted her career. She couldn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. She’d have to hire a very reliable nanny and marry someone who was willing to pitch in, but it could be done.

Three hours of mind-numbing discussion about the minutiae of running a professional football franchise later, Kendall was able to escape to her office. She’d been taking notes the entire meeting. There was research to be done and decisions to be made, but first of all, she needed some lunch. She stuffed her tablet into her handbag and glanced up as Sydney walked into her office.

“I’m going to grab a sandwich. Do you want me to get you one too?” Kendall said.

Sydney shut the office door behind her and leaned against it. She raised one eyebrow.

“You know why Drew McCoy was in San Jose, don’t you?”

“Want one of those Izze things? I know you really like the clementine. It sounds refreshing. Maybe I’ll get one for myself too.” Kendall heard her phone chirp. She grabbed it out of her pants pocket.

“Were you talking to him?” Sydney said. There was no doubt who Sydney meant. Damn it.

“I can’t officially talk to him. It’s considered tampering,” Kendall said.

Sydney let out a gasp. “You talked to him.”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal . . .”

Actually, it was a huge deal, up to and including the fact they’d had sex, but she wasn’t going to share that with her assistant. Kendall had tried to keep the friendly, engaging Sydney at arm’s length and be professional for the first few months or so they worked together. Her detachment had collapsed in a heap one afternoon when Kendall discovered her usually unflappable assistant in tears in the ladies’ room because the boyfriend she’d been dating since high school dumped her via text message.

Six months later, Kendall was the one falling apart in the ladies’ room during a workday. Sydney had cancelled all of her meetings, gotten her a fresh box of tissues, and bought her a two and a half pound bag of M&M’s.

“If it wasn’t a big deal, you would have told those guys about it.” Sydney crossed to Kendall’s desk, grabbed a clean sticky note and a pen, and said, “I’ll order lunch. What do you want?”

“Turkey on wheat.”

“And provolone, I know. I’ll get you an Izze. Anything else?”

“Do they have M&M’s?”

Sydney grinned at her. “I want the whole story when I come back.”



HALF AN HOUR later, Sydney returned to Kendall’s office with a couple of bakery bags and spread the booty over her desk. “Okay. Two sandwiches. Yours is marked. Here’s your drink, and here’s your M&M’s. I got some too.” She pulled one of the chairs that sat in front of Kendall’s desk to the edge and sat down. “So, start at the beginning.”

“Do we need to talk about the circle of trust?” Kendall joked. “This has to remain a secret.”

“Of course it does, because I’d like to keep working here. What happened?” Sydney pulled a veggie wrap out of butcher paper and uncapped her Izze. “Don’t leave anything out.”

Kendall would be leaving plenty out, but she wasn’t going to admit that. “Two nights before the Miners played the Sharks, I left my hotel room to go buy a book.”

“You read books on your e-reader.”

“Yes, I know. I needed to get out and stretch my legs.”

“In a rainstorm?”

“I didn’t know it was that bad before I went out there.”

“Kendall, I would have called the bookstore and asked them to send something over—”

“I know you would have. I just needed a walk.”

“Wasn’t that the same day Jack Phillips went absolutely ape shit over the fact that you changed the free agents marketing brochure?”

“Yes, it was.” Kendall shook her head. “There was a bookstore about a block and a half from the hotel. I needed to get out for a few minutes, and there was a presentation by the author of Carl Sagan’s latest biography.”

Sydney looked a bit confused.

“Very famous astrophysicist. My dad used to watch his show when I was younger. I knew Dad would love the book, so I sat down to hear what the guy had to say. He didn’t show up, but I grabbed a book anyway for my dad. Drew McCoy was the only other person in the audience.”

“Did you recognize him?”

“He had this big slouchy knit hat over his hair and he was dressed in casual clothes—”