Rebound (Boomerang #2)(32)
I can see she’s sorry she brought it up, so I try to let her off the hook. “Yes, I’ve tried the site. I think I have a handle on it.”
At lunch, Adam and I never resolved the issue of the dates themselves. It wouldn’t bother me to do them; it would be business, just like Adam bringing Mia along today. But talking about it now seems wrong, like it will erase the magic of my time in the water with Adam.
My father puts down his drink, and his gaze sweeps between Adam and me. He gives me a subtle wink and offers, “How many of these dates do your employees do, Adam?”
“Generally three. Though most employees go on to do more. We have a good product, as you know. Great algorithms mean great matches.”
“But just for fun, eh? For people on the rebound.” He doesn’t have to say, “Like Alison.” The words hang in the air, unspoken. “Or do you make real love matches too?”
Adam nods. “Of course. The site is for people who want to connect without a lot of expectations or drama. But we’re happy when it brings people together in a real way, too.”
His choice of words strike me. In a real way. Which means the way he is, the parade of girls through his life, that’s not real? Were we real that night in the Murano?
“What do you say, Ali?” my father asks. “Need to get back on the horse, right? And it’s research.”
“It’s not my first order of business, Dad,” I tell him.
“C’mon, it will be good for you,” he insists. “And if you’re too busy, why don’t you just consider today date number two? Mia and I can give you some more alone time.”
Adam and I exchange embarrassed looks. I wish I could sink through the bottom of the boat and swim to shore. He’s pushing me at Adam, and I don’t like it. It tells me he doesn’t think I can do the job on my own. And it tells Adam . . . what? That I’m pathetic and need help finding a date?
Images wind through my mind: Adam treading water in the ocean next to me, water pooling on his skin. Ethan in the doorway, tulips drooping toward the floor. My father, hurrying out of the bedroom in Colorado, his shirt unbuttoned, after I’d dropped a bag full of groceries on the floor.
Suddenly, all of it feels like such treacherous terrain, like it’s unsafe to love or trust in any direction. Like it’s unsafe to love or trust me. I have to focus on the work. Only on the work.
“That’s a great idea,” I say, lightly. “So, that’s two down and just one date to go. Adam and I will make a plan Monday.”
“Atta girl,” my father says, approvingly.
I know he thinks I intend to plan something else with Adam, and I’ll let him think so. But I know I need to run as far away from that as I can. Far away from any possibility of being hurt or hurting someone else, of wrecking what my father is trying so hard to build. Far away from Adam’s secrets and my own, back to some safe space, like our world under the water. Only this time, I need to swim out on my own.
Chapter 18
Adam
Alison’s already sitting at the small conference table in my office when I arrive on Monday.
“Morning,” she says, pushing to her feet. She’s in a cranberry red skirt, a black silk shirt and cat’s-eye reading glasses that remind me of Halloween. “We’re meeting with Brooks Wright at ten, correct?”
Her tone is so crisp and businesslike that I stop inside the door. Something changed after our dive yesterday. I felt it as our boat trip ended, and I feel it now, in the cool look she gives me. Something got into her head—about me. I want to know what it is.
I want to know why she was suddenly so chipper about going on her last Boomerang date. I want to know what happened between her and Ethan. But I’m not supposed to be thinking about a girl. I’m supposed to be securing the Quick funds.
I take a seat at my desk and fire up my laptop.
“That’s correct,” I say, following her cue. “He’s the producer I told you about—my buddy from Princeton who’s been at Lionsgate for a few years. I asked him to get some materials together to give you an idea of what we’re planning on doing with our first feature. He’s bringing some storyboards and a few test audition tapes. A couple of other things.”
Brooks was my housemate up until September after Grey moved in. My place has four bedrooms, but my brother manages to occupy three. For two years before Grey, Brooks and I lived together and spent a huge amount of our time dreaming and planning out our production company. We’re totally in step. As soon as we can start writing checks, we’re going to kick massive amounts of filmmaking ass.
Today is about showing that to Ali. I know she has a vision. I see it in small ways, like how she dresses, how she doesn’t rush when she’s considering new ideas, but I wanted this meeting so it would give her concrete information that she can take back to her father. Graham’s got the keys to the safe. I need that safe unlocked.
Ali checks her watch. “That’s in fifteen minutes. Do you need me for anything before then? I thought I’d work in Philippe’s cube for a bit. Give you a chance to settle in for the week.”
I don’t need anything from her—nothing I can have, anyway. But I feel like I’m being dismissed even though she’s the one leaving my office, and I don’t like it.