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The designers shook their heads, and I shrugged.
Tamara and I met during my sophomore year at the University of Michigan. She’d been a senior and attended a showcase of technology. In only five minutes of talking, we’d discovered a mutual passion for the opportunities of good designs meshed with good tech. Once I’d graduated and she’d finished her MBA, we’d hatched AMDD to revolutionize the driver and passenger interfaces in cars.
“Clearly, the team is too good at their job.” I smiled at the group. Indecisiveness didn’t sit well with me, and the left side of my brain kicked the right for not putting an end to this.
“How about I take over this discussion, and we’ll get you a final decision?” Tamara’s expression told me I needed to say yes, but I raised an eyebrow at her instead. “You need to get out of here. Your driver’s been calling because he’s worried about the traffic to get you to the airport.”
I picked up the tablet that displayed my top choice. “It’ll be fine.”
Tamara took the tablet from my hands, like I was a child she was scolding. Only she could get away with that. “You’ve been looking forward to this for months. We can chat from the plane, but you need to go.”
She had the stern face perfected—part of what made us a great team. She knew that look would rein in my controlling nature.
“You’re right.” I sighed. I didn’t feel like I should leave though. I wanted to go to the All-Star Game, and the bachelor auction that was an unofficial part of the weekend’s activities, but this meeting… Too much depended on it.
“Let me talk with the team.” Tamara continued to make her point. “Maybe all this needs is a fresh perspective. I’m not as emerged in all of this as you all are.”
I held up my hands and smiled. “All right. It’s all yours. I’ll check in once we’re in flight.”
I went to my desk and shoved a tablet and laptop in my backpack. I refrained from saying anything as the team walked Tamara through what we’d discussed.
The All-Star Game trip had been on my calendar since it was announced it would be in Chicago. I couldn’t miss it being so close. Hockey had been my obsession since I was a kid. For the past few years, I’ve had season tickets for Arsenal games, and I convinced the board to sponsor the team too.
They didn’t quite understand why I insisted on the expense, but I’d been a fan for as long as I could remember. Having AMDD associated with the team filled me with pride in the same way a job well done did.
The All-Star Game also got a lot more interesting once Kyle Pressgrove—my vote for sexiest guy in the NHL—had been selected for the game and to compete in the skills competition. I’d followed Kyle since we were freshmen in high school and he played for the Warriors. That he’d ended up with the Arsenal seemed like a dream come true because I got to watch him play live so many times during the season. I hated that trade rumors swirled around about him.
The first time I saw Kyle on the ice was burned into my brain. Long, dark hair sticking out from under his helmet got me first, and then he took the helmet off after winning. The beaming smile had my heart skipping a beat or two. Even from a distance, he radiated happiness. I started paying attention to him at school too—subtly, since I was a geeky, gangly kid, and he was very much a star jock. His popular star status didn’t keep him from being nice to everybody though, and I liked that. I never had the nerve to even say hello to him, and in a school our size, anonymity was easy.
My parents never understood my fascination with the game. They always took me to task for going to games. As a teenager, it was because I should have been studying or working. Now, they considered it a waste of hard-earned money.
The fact that Kyle, still a ridiculously handsome hockey player, was part of a bachelor auction benefitting Hockey Allies made this weekend even more special. My logical side, represented by my Dad’s voice, repeated often that it was ridiculous to bid on Kyle.
I ignored that—at least as best as I could.
Why not spend time with my favorite player—and my long-time crush—and go to dinner? I’d never work up the nerve to approach him in Detroit. Sure, I could play the sponsor card to get time with him, but a charity auction was a much better excuse.
I had no idea what to expect at the auction other than they’d assembled quite a group of players to participate. The minimum bid on any of the athletes was a hundred dollars—low enough for most people to be able to afford to bid on their favorite. I would pay whatever it would take for the date with Kyle—that might be stalkerish, but I didn’t care.
The money went to a great cause, so I didn’t care about the cash. Admittedly, part of me just wanted to throw enough money down at the outset to win, but I didn’t want to make that much of a scene. I’d just gently keep nudging the bid up until I won.
“Okay, guys, I’m gone. I’ll ping you on chat as soon as I can.”
“How about you open chat and wait for us to ping you?” Tamera asked as I crossed the office to where my luggage sat by the door.
Tamara tried to make sure I occasionally left the office. She was a good balance for me, often reminding me that I insisted on a work/life balance for the staff and that I deserved that too.
The weekend was going to be awesome. I’d finally meet my favorite player and catch some good hockey. Mixed in with that, we’d finish sorting out the presentation.
As soon as I got in the car, I brought up the designs on my tablet. Just because I wasn’t going to talk to them for about an hour, didn’t mean I couldn’t pore over them and figure out the one to move forward with.
THREE
KYLE
IT HAD ONLY TAKEN G asking me to do the auction to say yes. We were always there for each other. Walking into the Windward Way Hotel ballroom, I hadn’t expected it to be so large or for the stage to be quite as imposing.
It had a freakin’ runway.
