Filed to story: Outplayed Story (Brooklyn & Ethan) Book PDF Free
On the TV, a voice said, ‘Blaze.’ His body automatically responded to hearing his other name. He turned too fast and his arm jostled Brook’s elbow. She gave a yelp as hot coffee slopped over her hand.
‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry,’ Ethan said. ‘Are you okay? Did you get burned?’
She gave him a brief glare and shifted the coffee to her other hand. She shook the liquid off and flexed her hand. ‘Ow.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Ethan said again. Well, he’d got her attention all right. Way to go, Ethan. On the other side of the sofa, the guys were giving him pitying looks. Pete passed him a napkin, which he offered to Brook. ‘Here. Can I get you a fresh coffee or something?’
‘No. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.’
‘I’m Ethan, by the way.’
‘I know.’
‘You do?’ How did she know who he was? Was this a good thing? His imagination raced. Did she remember him as that idiot in the cycle helmet? Heat rose in his face.
‘You gave a talk about online event strategies last month.’
Oh. Right. ‘You went to that?’ Of course she went to that. She’d practically just said so. Ethan opened his mouth to say something less stupid, but she cut him off.
‘Look. I’d better get going.’ She nodded to the other guys. ‘Thanks for explaining the … er … thing. I’ll see you guys around.’
She hurried away, still flicking her hand as though to cool it down. If she walked any faster, she’d be jogging.
Ethan turned round to the guys. ‘Ugh. That’s not how I wanted to introduce myself.’
Pete shook his head. ‘I think you blew it there, boss.’
Ethan sighed. ‘So, what’s happened with this tournament then?’ With all the excitement, he’d missed finding out who they’d paired him with. He would have to look it up online when he got back upstairs. What a mess. He should have just watched the reveal on his phone like he’d intended. He walked round the sofa and dropped down next to Pete.
On the screen, the next pairing was announced. Pete wrote it down in his notebook. ‘We’re doing a sweepstake,’ he said, distractedly. ‘You in?’
‘Sure. Why not? Let me know when you’ve got the full list.’ He looked towards the lift. Brook had disappeared from view. ‘I don’t suppose any of you know what that girl’s company is called, do you? I feel I should go and apologise properly.’
Pete gave him a pitying look. ‘Seriously?’
‘What have I got to lose?’
Pete shook his head. ‘Her name’s Brook. Her company is called Shanthi Bags and she has one of the offices on floor two.’
‘Shanthi Bags,’ Ethan repeated. ‘I’ll go find her office and apologise.’
Pete sighed. ‘Just don’t come off all stalkery, okay?’
‘Of course not. I will be the epitome of a polite, normal person.’
Pete patted him on the shoulder. ‘Good luck with that.’
Brook went upstairs to where the public area of The Nest ended and the business-specific section of the building began. Kim looked up from behind the reception desk. ‘Morning, Brook, what have you got today?’
Kim always asked that question. In response, Brook put her handbag on the counter. ‘You’ve seen this one before. It’s the cream-and-orange bucket bag. Like the Juicy Couture one, but older.’
Normally, she would have stopped to chat. Kim was a handbag enthusiast and had even pledged to Brook’s crowdfunding campaign to finance the first batch of Shanthi Bags. ‘Sorry, I can’t stop today, Kim. I have a ton of stuff to do and I’m late already.’
Kim waved her in the direction of the main door, as though giving her permission to move on.
‘I’ll see you later.’ Brook buzzed herself into the office floor and practically ran to her little room.
Once inside, she shut the door, put what was left of her coffee on the table, and let out a long, shaky breath. The excitement that she’d been carefully tamping down for the last fifteen minutes bubbled up and popped into a huge grin. She was going to play with Blaze. ‘Yes!’ She punched the air. ‘Yes, yes!’
Her phone rang. It was Niro, who shrieked, ‘Oh my god!’
Brook gave a little squeal and danced on the spot. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Did you get to see it happen?’
Brook stopped dancing. ‘Sort of. I saw the announcement, but I was with people, so I had to pretend that I didn’t know anything about it. And then this guy hit my elbow and I spilled my coffee on my hand.’
‘Is it okay? You can’t play with a burned hand.’
Brook prodded the back of her hand. It was a little sore, but didn’t hurt as much as she’d expect a burn to. ‘I think I’ll be okay.’
‘What a git, spilling your coffee!’
Brook thought of Ethan. ‘Not really,’ she said. ‘I think he’s a bit clumsy. I saw him give a talk a while ago, and he was so nervous. Someone had to ask him to speak up a couple of times. Once he got going, he was good though. I think he’s just shy.’
‘Oh, I remember you talking about that. You thought he was interesting …’
Brook laughed. ‘His talk was interesting. Not him.’
‘Pity. Otherwise you totally should have got him to buy you another coffee … and one thing could have led to another.’
‘Nope.’ Brook shrugged off her coat and plugged in her laptop. She really had to stop watching romcoms with Niro. ‘I have stuff to do.’
‘Me too,’ said Niro. ‘But I’m taking this as an early lunch break. How’s your crowdfunding going?’