Maggie’s stomach felt like a washing machine of anxiety. Taylor and Zach had arrived in San Francisco for Taylor’s interview and Spencer had arranged for them all to have dinner together.
In an effort to calm her nerves, she’d already done a little yoga—the first yoga she’d done in probably a year. She’d spritzed a little lavender essential oil into the air. She’d told herself over and over that her worry that Zach and Taylor would hate her was unfounded and silly. She also reminded herself that Spencer had told them nothing but good things about her. But none of that helped.
First impressions were critical. She knew that from teaching. On the first day of school she aimed to come across as friendly and excited, but in control. She covered the rules of the classroom and the consequences for not following them almost immediately. And she dealt with rule-breakers immediately. There were always kids who tested the waters, even on the first day. But she couldn’t treat this first meeting of Taylor and Zach like that. She laughed a little at the very thought.
Hello. I’m Miss Hudson and I’m very glad to meet you. Let’s get the rules straight right away so we all know where we stand.
Yeah, that would go over really well. She’d be crowned Queen of Jerk Land.
“They’re going to love you,” Spencer promised Maggie. “Just be yourself.”
Maggie wrung her hands, unconvinced.
At least she looked good tonight. She’d pulled out the cute little white jumper she’d bought on that shopping trip with Jade and when she put cowboy boots on her feet, she mentally thumbed her nose at Shay, that woman from the watch party who’d insinuated that wearing cowboy boots was a fashion felony.
They stood in the vestibule of a Japanese restaurant near the hotel. It was the kind of place that featured teppan dining, where the chef came to each table and cooked on a flat top grill right in front of the diners, who sat facing the chef in a wide U. There were a lot of culinary theatrics involving knife tricks and sometimes fire, which Spencer hoped would entertain Zach.
“There they are,” Spencer announced pointing.
Running up to Spencer, Zach asked, “Can we go ice skating?”
“Not tonight, buddy. But it’s on the agenda for tomorrow.”
“I’m so happy to meet you,” Taylor said to Maggie. She moved forward for a hug, which Maggie gave a little hesitantly.
Taylor was tall with gorgeous flowing blond hair. Her blue eyes were perfectly made up and she had the kind of full lips Maggie would kill for. Her jeans fit her very well and the tight T-shirt she wore revealed her boobs were bigger than Maggie’s. Not that that mattered. Much.
“Spencer’s told me so much about you,” Taylor said. Her teeth were perfect too.
“And vice versa,” Maggie said. “Hi, Zach. I’m Maggie.” She held her hand out to him and he looked at it for a moment and then shook it.
“Is everyone hungry?” Spencer asked, a grin on his face. “Our table’s ready. Have you been to a place like this before, guys? If not, you’re in for a treat.”
When Spencer pulled out a chair, both Maggie and Taylor moved to take the seat. Maggie faltered, embarrassed and not sure why, but Spencer saved the day by saying, “Zach, buddy, be a gentleman pull the chair out for your mom. There you go. Some women get prickly about stuff like that, but I do it anyway. It’s good manners.”
Maggie smiled up at Spencer who winked at her.
They made small talk until the waiter took their order. When Zach got fidgety, instead of handing him her phone, Taylor pulled a book out of her large purse and handed it to her son. Maggie was impressed.
“So, tomorrow’s the big day,” Maggie said.
Taylor winced. “Yes. I’m so nervous. Justin—the guy who’s interviewing me told me to come with ideas to increase the team’s female fan base. So I thought I’d float what I have past you guys.”
Maggie said, “Shoot.”
Taylor rested her fingers on the edge of the table. “Okay. I shopped their online store and saw little that looked appealing or feminine. I think they should add some bling to the collection, and go beyond just the regular sportswear, which is T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets. What about a nice infinity scarf with the logo on it? Or Pandora-type charms? Pretty phone cases and wallets. Nail polish with colors like Crossbar Crimson or Dragon’s Gold. Because what I’m aiming for is merchandise that allows a woman to show support of her team but in an understated, elegant way.”
“Yes,” Maggie said. “I’ve shopped for a Dragon infinity scarf before, but to be honest, they’re all ugly, as if the person who designed it thought slapping the logo on red fabric was good enough. There’s one scarf out there for sale that is so busy I get a headache looking at it.”
“What’s your other idea?” Spencer asked.
“I think they need to add a female to their broadcasting team. And I’d like to see them develop a special effect on Snapchat that inserts a player’s face into the photo so it looks as if he’s kissing the cheek of the person in the picture. But those are just my warm up ideas. What I really want to do is kind of crazy.”
Maggie leaned forward, intensely curious.
“I’d like to spend some real time and effort on a Ladies Night every month. You know that song by Kool and the Gang? That would be the signature song. In fact, we’d curate all the music that night to be gender appropriate. ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun.’ ‘Run the World.’ ‘Respect.’ Make the Dragon Arena extremely female friendly once a month, especially on Valentine’s Day. I want all of San Francisco’s single women to think of going to a Dragons game on February fourteenth.”
“That doesn’t sound so crazy,” Maggie said. “That sounds like a ton of fun.”
“No, you haven’t heard the crazy part yet.”
Taylor leaned forward and told them and Spencer immediately recoiled, shaking his head and Maggie had to suppress a squeal of excitement.
“The players will never go for it,” Spencer said.
“That may be true, but Justin told me to think out of the box.”
“Well, I’m no marketing expert,” Spencer said, “but everything you’ve said, except for that last idea, sounds terrific.”
“Agreed,” said Maggie. “It’s about time they treated women like we matter to them and aren’t second class citizens just by virtue of our gender.”
“Thank you,” Taylor said, fanning herself. “I’m suddenly a lot less nervous about the interview now.”
The miso soup and salads arrived. Zach wanted to know what the green stuff was and when Spencer told him in was seaweed, he refused to eat it but liked the salad.
“So, what do you think of San Francisco? Have you been here before?” Maggie asked, stirring her soup.
“No, we haven’t.”
“San Francisco has so many great sights to see,” Spencer said.
“I just want to go ice skating,” Zach said.
Spencer turned to Zach. “Dude, don’t call it ice skating. Just call it skating.”
“Why?”
“Because. It’s…not manly.”
Maggie laughed softly.
“Already with the manly lessons,” Taylor remarked wryly.
“You can’t start too early,” Spencer said.
Laughing, Taylor rolled her eyes then turned to Maggie. “I’m hoping I can count on you to keep an eye on them tomorrow,” she said. “I absolutely believe Spencer means well, but he’s admitted he doesn’t have much experience with kids, and you’re a teacher…”
Maggie chuckled at Spencer’s mock expression of outrage.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep them out of trouble.”
“We’re not going to get into any trouble,” Spencer said. “We’re just going to go skating, grab some lunch and get tattoos. Just your average, ordinary—”
Both women gasped.
“I want a truck tattoo,” Zach declared.
“Spencer’s not being serious,” Taylor said to him with a fierce frown. “You’re not getting tattoos.”