Right. Rebecca might believe she was off guys, but it sure sounded like she liked this guy. “So what is it about him you don’t like?” Robin asked, grinning.
“I really don’t have the time to list everything, but here’s one thing . . . I mean, he hasn’t come right out and said it, but it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t think I should be working on this campaign. Like I’m not good enough or something. And when I said I’d do this party with the Silver Panthers, he said there was no way, they wouldn’t let me in, I couldn’t pull it off, blah blah blah. And then I said, in so many words, just hide and watch, asshole.”
Robin grinned proudly. “You actually said that?”
“No, of course not! But I bet him I could do it. And the loser has to do whatever the winner wants, and now, well . . . I have to do this even if it kills me.”
Aha. It was all becoming crystal clear. Robin whirled around and winked at Jake, who was staring at her with concern. “You know what your problem is, Rebecca?” Robin asked with great authority, and without waiting to see if Rebecca knew or not, she blurted, “You need to get laid.”
“Oh my God.”
“You need to get laaaaaid,” Robin repeated slowly and articulately.
“Robin!” Rebecca shouted at the very same moment Jake shouted, “Robin!”
“You do,” she said, shrugging helplessly at Jake. “It’s been way too long—what, four years?—that’s why this guy is bothering you so much.”
“Well thanks for broadcasting that to all of Houston! And this is not about that. This is about proving that I can do something. It just so happens that Matt is so full of himself that he thinks he is the only one who ever has any good ideas, and God forbid anyone else should suggest anything—”
“Is he cute?” Robin interrupted.
Rebecca groaned. “Movie star gorgeous.”
“You definitely need to get laid, sister,” Robin cheerfully concluded.
Jake moved so quickly she could hardly react before he jerked the phone from her hand. “Rebecca? Hey, how are you doing?” he asked, and motioned for Robin to go away, which she refused to do, and crowded in next to him so she could hear, too.
“Hi, Jake. I’m doing okay—I just have this little problem and I’m not getting a whole lot of help from my big sister, but what else is new?”
“Hey!” Robin protested.
“What is it you need?” Jake asked, frowning darkly at Robin. “Maybe I can help.”
Robin stuck her tongue out at him and walked away.
Jake turned his back to her and said, “No, I’ve never heard of them . . . Uh-huh . . . Oh . . . okay, I see. Listen, call El. Your grandpa knows everyone in this state, I think. I bet he can hook you up . . . No problem. Hey, how’s Grayson?” Whatever she said made him sigh and shake his head. “Poor kid. But we’re still gonna meet up at the ranch in a few weeks, right? I’ll take him fishing, how’s that? . . . Okay . . . Talk to you soon.”
Jake clicked off, lowered his head, and frowned at Robin.
“What’s wrong with Grayson?” she asked.
“Oh . . . his dad keeps bowing out of visitation, and the poor kid is missing him.”
“Once an asshole, always an asshole,” Robin said with disgust.
“As for you,” Jake said, pointing at her with the cordless phone before tossing it onto the table, “that is no way to talk to your sister.”
“Why? It’s exactly her problem and she knows it.”
“At the moment, it’s your problem,” he said, and started walking toward her.
Robin laughed, fell back onto the couch with a bounce. “Bring it on, big guy,” she said, and laughed again when Jake jumped on top of her.
Grandpa! Why the hell hadn’t she thought of that?
Rebecca pressed a hand to her cheek. She really needed to chill out. This was no big deal; a minor setback, nothing more. She had the Elk’s lodge lined up, the use of their charity bingo equipment, and she had even finagled the refreshments for a pittance. All she needed was a list of conference attendees to send invitations to and she’d be home free. That wasn’t an impossible task; it was just a matter of finding the right person.
Unqualified Applicant Rule 9: The glass is always half full.
Rebecca picked up the phone and called her grandparents.
“Hel-LO—oh!” Lil Stanton trilled loudly when she picked up.
“Hi, Grandma. It’s Rebecca.”
“Becky!” Grandma cried. “Ooh, how’s my adorable precious little boo-boo of a great-grandson?”
“He’s great. He’s taking a nap right now.”
“You mean I don’t get to talk to him?” Grandma was clearly disappointed.
“Sorry, Grandma. Next time, okay?”
“Oh honey, are you looking for your mother, too? Aaron called here this afternoon. You know how he is, one minute he’s so sweet, then the next minute he’s about as ornery as—”