When We’re Ready

Chapter TenI’ll Cook for You-Richard

My day had started at seven in the morning.

By eight, I had already been through two calls.

By nine, I was in a meeting.

By ten, I was still in a meeting.

By eleven, I was being reminded that I had another meeting at noon.

I looked at my assistant.

“Cancel it.”

She blinked.

“Which one?”

“The noon meeting.”

“Mr. Avery, that’s with the—”

“I know who it’s with.”

He paused.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and walked away.

I leaned back in my chair.

For the first time that morning, I looked at my phone.

There was one name I was looking for.

Rowan.

I hadn’t heard from him since the last call.

Well…

Not exactly.

He had called several times while I was in meetings.

I had declined the calls because I couldn’t pick up.

Then he had sent messages.

What is this?

I knew exactly what he meant.

The bracelet.

And the flowers.

I had expected him to ask.

Actually, I had expected a lot more than that.

Rowan was easy to read.

He tried not to be.

But he was.

Especially when he was nervous.

And lately, I had noticed that he became slightly different around me.

More talkative.

More expressive.

Sometimes even a little sassy.

It was amusing.

Not because I wanted to make him uncomfortable.

Quite the opposite.

I liked seeing that side of him.

The quiet young man I’d met in that building had slowly started showing more of himself.

And I found myself wanting to see more.

I picked up my phone.

I looked at his name again.

Then I put it down.

I had work.

Work had always been easy for me.

It had rules.

Numbers.

Contracts.

Deadlines.

Decisions.

People could be complicated.

Business rarely was.

That was why I had always preferred it.

But lately…

There was one person who seemed to make everything slightly less straightforward.

Rowan Baker.

I didn’t understand why I kept thinking about him.

I didn’t understand why I had noticed when he looked upset.

I didn’t understand why I had wanted to make his day better.

And I especially didn’t understand why buying him something had felt so natural.

The bracelet hadn’t been planned for weeks.

It had happened quickly.

I’d asked my assistant to find something elegant.

Something that wasn’t too loud.

Something he could wear without it being obvious that I’d spent a ridiculous amount of money.

She had shown me several options.

I chose the tennis bracelet.

Seven thousand eight hundred dollars.

It wasn’t an amount that bothered me.

Money had never been the point.

I simply wanted to give him something beautiful.

The flowers had been an afterthought.

Or at least that’s what I told myself.

I remembered seeing the arrangement and thinking that Rowan would probably like them.

So I ordered them too.

Simple.

Nothing complicated.

A gift.

That was all.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

⸻

My assistant returned about twenty minutes later.

“Mr. Avery?”

“Yes?”

“The noon meeting has been moved to tomorrow.”

“Good.”

He placed a folder on my desk.

“And Mr. Khalil’s team wants confirmation about Thursday.”

“Send it.”

He nodded.

Then she hesitated.

“Anything else?”

I looked at him.

“No.”

he left.

I opened the folder.

Read the first page.

Then the second.

Then I realized I hadn’t absorbed a single word.

I closed it.

My mind had wandered again.

To Rowan.

I picked up my phone.

I typed:

Did you like the bracelet?

I stared at the message.

Deleted it.

Too direct.

I typed again.

Hope you like the gift.

Deleted that too.

I put the phone down.

This was ridiculous.

I was Richard Avery.

I didn’t sit around wondering what someone thought about a bracelet.

I certainly didn’t spend this much time thinking about whether a twenty-two-year-old basketball player liked a gift I’d given him.

I opened my laptop.

Five minutes later, I was thinking about him again.

I sighed.

“Unbelievable.”

⸻

That evening, I finally called him.

He answered quickly.

“Hi.”

His voice sounded different.

Not nervous.

Not exactly.

More guarded.

I went straight to the point.

“Are you upset?”

There was silence.

“No.”

The answer came with attitude.

I almost smiled.

Almost.

“Well, I’m glad you’re not upset.”

Another silence.

I knew he was.

But I didn’t push.

Rowan wasn’t someone I wanted to corner.

If he wanted to tell me, he would.

So I changed the subject.

“Did you like the bracelet?”

Another pause.

Then, softer,

“Yeah.”

I waited.

“I like it.”

“I’m glad.”

I meant it.

I wanted him to like it.

Then he asked me how busy I was.

I answered honestly.

Very busy.

I had several companies.

International partners.

Investors.

Meetings across different time zones.

There were days when I barely had time to eat.

That was my life.

I had built it that way.

Then he said,

“Wow.”

I smiled faintly.

“What?”

“Nothing. You really are busy.”

“I am.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

Then I asked the question that had been sitting in my mind for most of the afternoon.

“What are you doing Sunday?”

He said it was another rest day.

I already knew that.

I had remembered his training schedule.

Four days of team practice.

Three rest days.

I had been listening when he told me.

I didn’t always remember things people said.

But I remembered things Rowan said.

That realization stayed with me for a moment.

Then I said,

“Can you have lunch with me?”

There was silence.

“At your house?”

“Yes.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“I’ll cook for you.”

I don’t know why I said it that way.

Maybe because I knew it would surprise him.

And it did.

“You’ll cook?”

“Yes.”

He laughed.

It was a quiet laugh.

Warm.

I liked hearing it.

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to lunch.”

“That’s not an answer.”

I smiled.

“I’ll cook.”

There was another pause.

Then he agreed.

“Okay.”

“Sunday?”

“Sunday.”

“Good.”

I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I’ll see you then.”

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, Rowan.”

“Goodnight.”

The call ended.

I placed my phone on the desk.

Then I sat there.

Quietly.

I looked around my office.

Everything was exactly where it belonged.

Files arranged.

Laptop open.

Documents stacked.

Calendar full.

The same controlled life I’d always had.

And yet, somehow, Sunday was now the thing I was thinking about.

Lunch.

At my house.

With Rowan.

I had invited him into my personal space.

That wasn’t something I did often.

Actually…

Almost never.

People knew my office.

They knew my businesses.

They knew my family.

They knew the public version of Richard Avery.

But my home?

That was different.

My home was quiet.

Private.

There were no assistants.

No meetings.

No business partners.

No cameras.

No expectations.

Just me.

And now Rowan.

I looked at the time.

It was late.

I should have gone home hours ago.

Instead, I picked up my phone again.

I opened our messages.

I saw his name.

I smiled.

Just slightly.

Then I locked the phone.

“Sunday.”

I said the word quietly.

I wasn’t sure what I expected from lunch.

Maybe nothing.

Maybe conversation.

Maybe I simply wanted to know what Rowan was like when there wasn’t a basketball court between us.

I wanted to see him relaxed.

Without cameras.

Without teammates.

Without his mother managing his schedule.

Without me rushing somewhere afterward.

Just Rowan.

And me.

I stood and picked up my jacket.

Tomorrow would be busy.

The rest of the week would probably be worse.

But Sunday…

Sunday was different.

For once, I had something in my calendar that wasn’t a business meeting.

And strangely enough, I was looking forward to it.

More than I wanted to admit.