Page 23 of Base Block

“They’re fun,” I answered. “Callum wasn’t thrilled with them at first, but now he doesn’t mind as much. I’m surprised that you’ve seen them.”

“I’m really into the Woodsmen,” she confessed.

That wouldn’t have set her apart from anyone else I’d met around here. Even the nutso guy who had just interviewed me had the football schedule taped to his wall, and he had briefly halted our conversation to check his phone to see if there was any news about the final roster.

No, there was nothing except rumors and guesses. But it was supposed to be released tomorrow and today was the final day for Callum to impress the coaches...he would do it. I knew he would.

“I love your content,” she said. “It’s so cute and I really like the stuff you wear. Do you make a lot of your clothes?”

“Do they look homemade?” Shoot.

“No, I mean that you don’t wear anything I’ve seen before, so it’s special,” she explained, and that was really nice. “Are you into fashion?”

“Yes,” I heard myself admit. I had just been telling the interviewer that the only thing I wanted to do in life was stock shelves, but I actually did care about clothes. Of course, they weren’t as important to me as they had been to Sage. A few times, she had experienced what she called a wardrobe crisis and had refused to leave the hotel room, which risked Damian getting really mad at all of us. I fell somewhere in the middle of her and Callum, who didn’t care what he had on as long as he was covered enough not to get arrested for indecent exposure. But I did enjoy dressing in cute stuff and I had fun sewing.

“Your boyfriend told me that you’re looking for a job,” she said next.

“Did he?”

“He wanted to know if there was anything in my department,” Victoria explained. “There isn’t, unfortunately. I did ask around about openings but it doesn’t seem like anything’s coming up.”

That was fine, because I was sure they required a college degree. I had mine from high school, but just barely.

“Do you want to meet for drinks?”

When I paused before I answered her, it was only because I had to question why. Why would this woman, who had a career and a kid, want to connect with me? What could I have done for her?

But then I realized that I was thinking about it in the wrong way. The question really was, what could she have done for Callum? Could someone in the Woodsmen accounting and payroll department be able to influence anything with the team? I doubted it—I had dealt with enough small fry in Hollywood who had inflated ideas about their influence (like the delivery guy who moonlighted as an acting coach, and had told Sage that he could get her a meeting with the biggest talent agent in town). But it couldn’t have hurt to check it out and determine if Victoria might know someone on the coaching staff, for example.

Also, I was a little lonely. Callum was gone all the time, which was good because it meant he was still working to become a Woodsmen. But it also meant that I was alone since I had no family, no friends…

My hesitation took less than a second and I was quickly saying, “Sure, that sounds good. Where should we meet?”

She said that if I could come to the stadium, she could drive us from there. “Then I can take you over to the practice facility so you can get a ride home.”

He must have told her about us sharing a car. “Sure,” I said again. I stood to check the bus map and figure out how to get myself to Woodsmen Stadium, and I told her that I was on my way. I left a voice message for Callum so he would know to wait for me after his practices and meetings were over, and I patted my hair. I was still using his grandma’s rollers and I honestly loved this bounce.

The bus stopped near the long driveway that led to the stadium and I walked over to the security booth there. A guard in an orange uniform came out. “Guest of Victoria Mellow?” he called. When he heard that I was, he gave me a ride in a golf cart and I didn’t have to hike the rest of the way. He seemed to be a nice guy but he blushed every time I talked to him, so I didn’t get a lot of information. And if I knew anything from LA, it was that people in positions like his were usually aware of more than you could have guessed. The man who did patrols in Damian’s neighborhood knew before the rest of us that Millie was sleeping with Matheus, the bodyguard. He didn’t tell, either, not until our New Year’s Eve party. He had shown up there due to a noise complaint from one of our neighbors, but stayed to smoke a bowl and do a few shots. After that, he’d shared all kinds of information about members of our household and about other people on our street. Millie had him fired on January second.

The guys in the booth here at the stadium must have called Victoria, because she was already at her car and he drove me right over. “Thank you,” I told him, and he blushed again before waving goodbye.

“He gets tongue-tied around you WAGs,” she said as he puttered back toward the road.

Was that me, now? Callum and I were still playing that role for the public. We weren’t making sex tapes and leaking them, but our fake relationship was clear from what I wrote about him and how we acted in the videos, like posing with our arms around each other and me kissing his cheek. I checked everything for accuracy and it did look very real.

“Where do you want to go for drinks?” I asked and as I got into her car, she told me about Roy’s Tavern.

“It’s big meet-up spot for the Woodsmen because the former QB’s wife owns it. How much do you know about the past players?”

“Is that important?” I wondered.

It was. Very. “People will expect you to be up on the current Woodsmen for sure, but you should study the older guys, too. I know you’re trying to make a good impression with the fans,” she explained. “They’ll be disappointed if you’re not aware of the lore.”

“Ok, thanks,” I said. “Is there anything else I should study? People I should meet?” Millie had always talked about connections in Hollywood, how they were everything. Favors and nepotism controlled the town.

Victoria told me about other WAGs, the ones who were supposed to be the nicest, and she had a list of stadium employees whose names I needed to learn. “If you’re friends with Lyle, the head of security?” Her eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows. “Then you’re gold. The man knows everyone and everything.” She also told me about two Woodsmen media figures, Herb and Buzz. They did the radio calls for the games and for local TV broadcasts, but they also had a weekly podcast that everyone in this area listened to and practically memorized.

“Herb was talking about your guy,” she told me, smiling.