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“You really ought to be interviewing this extraordinary young woman,” he said. “She put it all together.”
But Kimani didn’t want the limelight. “All I’m going to say is that Gordon inspired me to want to do this.”
And before the reporter could say anything, Kimani trotted off. She went to check on the basketballs. Two of them seemed kind of flat, so she pulled out a pump.
“You playing?”
She bobbled the p
ump and nearly dropped it. Jesus, would she ever get to a point where Ben’s appearance didn’t totally discombobulated her?
“Maybe later,” she answered. Her spirits were high, and she didn’t want to be angry at anyone at the moment, especially Ben.
He picked up one of the balls and dribbled it. Finding it had a lackluster bounce, he took the pump. She watched him as he filled the ball with more air. He didn’t seem angry with her.
“How about a little one-on-one?” he asked.
She remembered the last time they had played ball together. She had ended up on top of him, and there wasn’t much ball playing after that. Actually, they never got back to playing ball at all.
“I’ve got to make sure the event runs smoothly.”
“What’s the purpose of this event?”
“Provide Gordon some good PR and raise some money to fix up these courts.”
Ben looked over to the reporter still talking to his uncle. “I’d say your first goal has been accomplished. How much have you raised so far?”
“With the matching grant that your uncle secured, we’ll probably be close to a thousand.”
“You’ll want more than a thousand.”
“This is a grassroots community event. Most of these folks don’t have a ton of spare cash lying around, even for the worthiest causes.”
“These courts need more than a little repair work.”
She raised her chin. “Have you had a chance to donate yet?”
“I’ll play you for it.”
Oh no. He had that look. Like he was going to have her for supper.
“What do you mean?”
“You win, I make out a check for five thousand dollars. I win, I get you.”
Her throat went dry. “What?”
“I didn’t get the full week I paid for. You owe me three days.”
Her legs grew weak, but she threw back her shoulders. Even if she was scared on the inside, she wasn’t going to show it. “Take that up with Jake. Your deal was with him, not me.”
“Too chicken to take me on?”
Her jaw dropped, but she returned his challenge. “You’re not going to make a donation out of the goodness of your heart—at an event your own uncle is hosting?”
He grinned. “Why do that when I can play you for it?”
She shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”
