Page 85 of The Game Changer
His phone dings with a text, and he hands me back the plaque to pull it out of his pocket.
“It’s Mom, she wants to know where I am.”
“Tell her you’re inside, and you think you found the banner.”
He thumbs out the text, then pockets the phone.
“She’s on her way.” We take up our positions in front of the elevator doors, Charlie with his hand now behind his back, once again holding the piece of metal.
The doors open with a ding, and Isla steps out. “Charlie? Where’s the—oh, Luca. What are you doing here? I thought your flight didn’t get in till noon. Wait, do you know where the banner is with the typo? I can’t believe that happened.” She tugs at her ponytail, and I can’t take her being so stressed out a second longer.
I step forward and take her hand in mine, squeezing. “Breathe, wonder woman. There is no banner with a typo. I’m sorry, but I had Gabe lie to you to get you here.”
She stares at me in confusion. “What?”
I look back at Charlie and give him a subtle nod. He brings his hand round to the front and holds up the name plate I gave him moments ago.
Her face falls as she reads it. “What is that, Luca?”
I take it from Charlie and hold it out to her. “I know I have a lot to explain. When you saw the paperwork on Gabe’s desk, you jumped to the right conclusion, but you didn’t know everything. So this is exactly what it looks like. A name plate for an office door that says Isla Forrester, Marketing Director.” I look up at her with a hopeful smile.
“It’s yours, Mom,” Charlie says excitedly. “Cool, right?”
But she’s shaking her head, her expression making her frustration clear and I know if I don’t explain everything, I’ll lose her. Suddenly, the elaborate plan Charlie and I came up with seems like a mistake. I should’ve just told her.
“Luca, why are you still forcing this on me? I won’t work for you and be in a relationship with you any longer.”
I take her hand and plead with her. “Please. Just come with me? Everything will make sense, I swear. I know what you want. And I want nothing more than to give it to you. Just please let me show you?”
She stares at me, indecision clear in her gaze.
“Mom, trust him. And me. We came up with this plan together and you’re gonna be happy, I swear.”
I owe that kid big time, because Charlie’s words are what finally have Isla relenting.
“Fine.”
Charlie goes ahead of us, already knowing exactly where to go. I can feel Isla resisting but she lets me leadher down the hall toward what she thinks is my office. But when we come to a stop outside the mostly closed door, I hear her gasp of surprise.
“This is the part you didn’t know about when you saw that paperwork on Gabe’s desk. See, you won’t be working for me any longer. There’s a new man in charge.” I knock on the door and push it open to show Dom seated behind my old desk, his damn collection of bobbleheads filling the shelves he had installed earlier in the week. He waves at us with a grin.
“Hey Isla, please forgive the idiot for not telling you about this. I need you. I don’t want my first job as general manager to be trying to find a new head of marketing.”
Isla is speechless, but I’m hoping the tears brimming in her eyes are tears of happiness. Pulling her into my side, I chance a kiss on the top of her head. “Can we show you one more thing?” I whisper, and I feel her nod, just barely.
“C’mon, Mom. This is the best part.” Charlie takes her other hand and tugs her a lot more strongly than I would have, back down the hall to where her old temporary office was. Thanks to Dom and his budget, it was furnished sparsely, his theory being we could reuse the furniture in other places once we found a permanent marketing director who could furnish the space the way they wanted.
This is what I had Gabe working around the clock to achieve.
Charlie points to the empty slot on the door, where her new name plate belongs. “Put it right there, Mom.”
Isla looks from the door to me. And the relief that crashes over me at the cautious smile playing at her lips is intense.
Turning to Charlie, she says, “Why don’t you do it? My hands are shaky right now.”
He takes it eagerly and slides the thin sheet of metal in place.
“Looks good, doesn’t it,” I say casually, squeezing her into my side even tighter. “Meant to be, if you ask me.”
