Page 12 of Hello Quarterback

“Tallie!” I scolded. So that’s why he’d come on so strong. He was trying to score points for his career... just like me.

“Sorry.” She raised her hands. “He would have been major help with the board. That’s what this is all about, after all,” she reminded me.

I needed to remind myself of the same thing. Even if there was a little niggling hope in my chest that this thing with Ford could be the start of something real.

He was handsome, yes, but he was also kind. And modest, unlike so many men of his stature. Most guys who reached his level of success were so full of themselves and never wanted to talk about anything outside of their favorite topic—number one. All the times I’d been around Ford, we’d had real conversations. Ones where he wasn’t dominating or staring at my chest.

“Was Ford on your list of options?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “He’s never dated before.” After a beat, she added, “Do you need anything before you go?”

I shook my head and pressed the button on my desk phone that would call Vanover. “Can you have the car ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

I lifted my finger from the button and looked to Tallie. “Wish me luck?”

She smiled. “As your publicist, good luck, and as a fellow female with functioning eyeballs, I can’t wait to hear all about it. Ford is acatch.”

I cracked a genuine smile, one I rarely showed to the men in this company. “Thanks, girl.”

“Any time.”

Tallie and I left my office, both of us stopping by Vanover’s desk. “You can go home, you know,” I told him, adjusting my purse to my other arm. It was always heavy, with a notebook for ideas, a tablet in case I had to work on the go, a book to learn something new, and of course little toiletries I might need throughout the day.

Van looked up at me from behind his computer. “Just a few things to prep for tomorrow. I’m sure Tallie will take enough rest for both of us,” he teased. “Perhaps on a bed of manila folders?”

She clutched her stack of folders to her chest. “Don’t you insult my office supplies.”

“You act like they’re your lovers,” Vanover replied, eyebrow arched.

She winked. “Jealous?”

“Okay, children,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m leaving. Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.”

Vanover smirked. “Bye, Mom.”

“I’m in charge, right?” Tallie said.

Laughing, I gave them a wave and went to the elevator. But when I got in and the big metal doors closed me into the space on my own, my heart started to pound.

Was I really about to go to Ford Madigan’shome?

According to the address displayed on Zeke’s navigation screen, I was.

I sat in the back seat and dialed my best friend’s number while Zeke drove me toward the outskirts of Dallas. Farrah and I had grown up next door to each other, and as only children, we were the sisters neither of us had.

She’d married my former boss, Gage Griffen, and now the two of them raised four children together in the most adorable home in Denton. The man had billions in the bank, but they both thought it was better to raise their kids in a more modest setting.

After a few rings, she picked up, and I could hear their baby chattering in the background. “Hey, girl, hey,” Farrah said.

I smiled at the familiar greeting and found it easier to settle back into the beige leather seats. “I miss you.”

“Same. I need to have Vanover pencil me into that busy schedule of yours. You know, in between all your dates with pop stars.”

Letting out a chuckle, I said, “You know, I have access to my calendar as well. Text me any time and I’ll set it up.”

“I will,” she said. “What’s up?”

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