Sheryl Lister - Still Loving You

“How many of you eat vegetables at least three times a day? No one? How about twice?” Lauren glanced around the room. Only two of the ten men in the room raised their hands. “Once?” Another three hands went up. She had her work cut out for her.

“I’m a defensive lineman and need these pounds. I can’t tackle anybody if I’m all skinny and half-starved,” a young man she hadn’t met with called out.

“What’s your name?”

“Brent Carroll.”

“Well, Brent, you won’t be able to tackle anyone if you’re winded after five minutes or you can’t move around fluidly and catch your opponent because your body is weighed down by all the useless high-fat calories you’ve consumed.”

Low murmuring and deep chuckles sounded in the room.

“The goal here is to still meet your caloric needs, but with foods that will truly make you a beast on the field.” A deafening roar went up, and she laughed. “Okay, so I guess that means you’re ready to—” Lauren froze at the sight of Malcolm standing in the door. She promptly lost her train of thought. She turned to gather herself and, when she looked up, he was gone. Silently cursing herself for letting him rattle her, she turned her attention back to the waiting group and continued with her presentation. She heard a few grumbles and then gradually saw some nods. “Nigel and I have come up with some menus that incorporate more whole grains, vegetables and fresh fruits earlier in the day, along with the proteins to fuel your workouts. I’m going to add pre-and postworkout snacks, as well. For dinner, the emphasis will be on proteins and vegetables and lighter on the carbs, since you won’t need them while you sleep. Any questions?” She acknowledged a blond-haired young man who looked to be barely out of high school.

“At first, I thought you were going to be putting us on a diet, but you’re not, huh?”

Lauren smiled. “Well, not in the way you’re thinking. No. The team and your fans are counting on you to get the job done on the field. I’m going to make sure you get it done off the field. And even when you’re done playing football, you’ll still be healthy.” She took a few more questions, passed out the materials and scheduled each of those she hadn’t seen for appointments. She had included sample meal plans and suggested shopping guidelines in the pamphlet, as well as her contact information should they have questions.

She had two clients to see after the session, including Omar Drummond, Malcolm’s brother-in-law. Lauren found the gorgeous receiver far more pleasant than she expected, knowing how much Morgan disliked Lauren. Afterward, she spent the remainder of the day consulting with Nigel. She mentioned her earlier session with the rookies, to which he responded, “Hallelujah! Finally, someone who gets it.”

At five thirty, she locked her desk and files, packed up her tote and slung it, along with her purse, on her shoulder and headed out to her car.

“Lauren, you have a minute?”

Lauren groaned inwardly and turned. “Sure, Mr. Green.”

The general manager quickened his steps to reach her. “This will only take a moment. I know you’re anxious to get out of here.” He smiled. “I just wanted to hear how the rookie nutrition session went this morning.”

“It went pretty well, actually.” She shared what she’d told them, as well as their initial reluctance and the measure of acceptance. “I don’t expect them to fall perfectly in line, but if I can change their eating habits now, they’ll be better off in the long run. And so will the team.”

“I agree. We did the right thing bringing you on board. Thanks, Lauren. I won’t hold you. Enjoy your evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. The award ceremony I mentioned last week. You’ll be there, right?”

Great. “Oh, yes. I remember. I’ll be there.” Lauren couldn’t very well tell her employer she couldn’t attend because she wanted to avoid their star running back. “Have a nice evening.” She continued out to the parking lot, tossed her bag onto the back seat of the car and slid in on the driver’s side. She leaned against the headrest. Why hadn’t she told him she’d be busy? “It can’t be that bad,” she rationalized. There would be a room full of people and, if her path crossed with Malcolm’s, it would only be long enough for a polite nod. She started the engine. “I can do this. No problem.”

When she got home, she called Valencia, hoping her friend could offer some advice about how Lauren should handle any further contact with Malcolm outside work. Part of her felt their relationship should be strictly business, but the parts of her that had responded to his kiss wanted a repeat performance. Valencia’s cell went straight to voice mail, so Lauren would have to deal with her own emotions.

Her bravado held up all night and into the next morning. By Saturday afternoon, all of Lauren’s boasting had been reduced to a mass of butterflies dancing in her belly. While she searched for a suitable dress in her closet, she wished she had begged off yesterday when she had the chance. Surely Mr. Green would have understood if she’d told him she couldn’t make it. After all, she was still getting situated in her new place. She picked one dress after another but put them back. Finally, she settled on an off-the-shoulder black sheath dress that skimmed her curves, stopped just above the knee and had a modest side slit. Setting it aside, she went to shower.

Lauren dried off, wrapped the towel around her and hurried out of the bathroom to catch her ringing phone. “Hey, Valencia,” she said, walking back to the bathroom.

“Hey. Sorry I missed your call last night. My cousin asked me to go to the movies with her at the last minute.”

She activated the speakerphone and placed the cell on the bathroom counter. “No problem.” She smoothed lotion on her arms and legs.

“What did you want? Is it about Malcolm?”

“Yeah. I never got around to telling you about what happened when he finally came in for his appointment. Well, he asked me why I took this job when I could’ve gone anywhere else.”

“Seriously? Sounds like he’s still angry.”

Lauren recalled the confrontation. “Something like that. We kind of argued a little, but then...”

“But then what? Please tell me he didn’t put his hands on you.”

“No! Malcolm isn’t that kind of man. He would never do anything remotely close to hitting a woman, no matter how angry he got.” A memory of a girl in college who’d been upset by him shunning her unwanted attention surfaced in Lauren’s mind. The crazy girl had gone so far as to shove Malcolm and throw water in his face. Malcolm had calmly told her, once again, that he wasn’t interested and walked away. If anyone deserved his wrath, that girl had. Yet he’d done nothing. “He kissed me.” Valencia was silent for so long, Lauren said, “Lyn, you still there?”

“Um...yeah. Okay, that was not what I expected you to say.”

“I didn’t expect it, either.”

“And, so... I mean...what happened after that? Did you throw him out of your office?”

“Worse. I kissed him back.” She slipped into her underwear, picked up the phone and went back to the bedroom.

Valencia burst out laughing.

“Not funny.” Lauren placed the phone on her nightstand, picked up the dress and stepped into it.

“Oh yes, girl, it is. How was it? As good as you remember?”

“Better,” she admitted grudgingly. “But he told me as he left that the kiss didn’t change anything. He still doesn’t want me there.”

Lyn snorted. “I hope you told him that’s too bad.”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell him anything, because he walked out. Now tonight the GM is expecting me to attend an awards ceremony for Malcolm and his siblings. They’re getting some humanitarian award for work with the homeless. I really don’t want to go, but I’ve only been on the job two weeks.”