#-but there ARE some exceptions and yes; Whitney is one of them. Alex is the other but I havent had the energy to do their fem version

[ddruxyart]

At this point the bully has become the bullied but he keeps coming back for more??

[savepc2023]

Do they have rizz?

🤨📸

Robin: Yes. A hundred times yes. Students see them walking by and they swoon. Specifically, they've got that 'girl/boy next door' rizz. Everyone (and by everyone I mean the more wholesome of the bunch because let's be honest most of them are downright nasty) wants to kiss their dimples.

Whitney: Well... yes and no? They have charisma, but it's more of aaaaa uh. Like they make an lasting impression. And maybe if they were nice they'd be somewhat on par with Robin. But they're not so all they got going for them is they're rough and sexy and people are into that. But in terms of romance? Hell no. No one wants to get with them like that.

Pure Sydney: Yes but to only a select few: The ones that have a certain type, which iiiis 'pure awkward baby girl/boy that is considered a role model'. Because to be honest if you're not one of those people you'd probably be a little scared and a bit annoyed of sydney tbh. Especially if you're a bit of a mischievous student bc what if they tell on you or smth??? nah. And plus they have a killer glare that just screams 'gtfo my way'.

Corrupted Sydney: The rizziest of them all. The rizzanator. The rizzly bear. The three rizzketeers. They are so hot and for what. With proper communication with pc (if they're dating), they openly flirt with literally everyone. Innuendos thrown into the air and suggestive pick up lines whispered huskily....lord. But that's about as far as it goes, they love leaving people hot and bothered just to sneak off with you to tickle your neck with kisses.

Kylar: Hear me out. Hear me out. Now you might think they have ZERO rizz and YOU'RE RIGHT. THEY HAVE ZERO. ZILCH. NADA. BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT GIVES THEM RIZZ. THEY'RE PATHETIC AND SOME PEOPLE(me) LOVE THAT. Except the people that take an interest in them are too afraid to approach them lest they transfer some of his encounters with bullies to themself. Either that or it's purely sexual like they just want to fuck them and toss them aside.

Avery: N.....no. They're hot as fuck, don't get me wrong but that's....about where it ends. Unlike Whitney, nobody even wants to fuck them because uhhh bad attitude. Also most of the town seems to be into obedient subs? So yeah. Like their arrogance, their bitchy-ness, their pride and how pretentious they come across..........ew. But yeah, no bitches no rizz and definitely no head. (I'd still peg them tho)

Eden: No. He looks hot but he's too scary for that to give anyone confidence to strut up to him. Also there's almost no one to rizz up when you're living deep inside the woods in a cabin. There's a reason the only time he got a bitch was because they developed stockholm syndrome.

Alex: Yes<3 Similar to Robin in a way but unlike with them when people feel at ease and comfortable, with Alex you feel energized. Like you just wanna fuckinf chase eachother and end up tackling the other and just make out in the open. Like oughhh he is so sexy and cute. Save a horse, ride a farmer.

[evermorehqs]

CATCHING MY BREATH, STARING OUT AN OPEN WINDOW

Wilbur Robinson is based on Wilbur from Meet the Robinsons. He is a 25 year old human, tech company intern, and uses he/him pronouns. He has no powers. Wilbur is portrayed by Alex Fitzalan and he is taken.

CATCHING MY DEATH, AND I COULDN’T BE SURE

If anyone asks, it was Wilbur’s fault. What was? It didn’t matter. Usually you could say it in response to anything, but in this particular case, he’s the current reason as to why the time line had been altered. He couldn’t help it. From the day he was born, Wilbur has been a troublemaker - asking questions when he shouldn’t, sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong - the list goes on. He was undeniably smart though it often seemed like he didn’t want to put effort into his academics, afraid he’d never be as good as his genius father, it felt like there was a lot of weight on his shoulders even though no one else had put it there. School might not have been Wilbur’s strength but he was constantly trying to prove himself with over the top antics which included the one he never thought would go this haywire. When his dad’s time machine was stolen because of some accident ( you can’t prove it was his fault! ...can you? ), Wilbur took it upon himself to fix the problem by taking the other time machine and to convince him to make another one. Was it a convoluted plan? Yes. Did he think it was brilliant? Also, yes.

Somehow, in the midst of traveling through timelines and other dimensions, the young man met his father, his mother and plenty of other family members he shouldn’t have but he could have sworn it would all be fine. It was on the way through yet another wormhole that Wilbur ended up getting spit out in a new town...and potentially a new timeline. In this version of reality, Wilbur was still the same - his age, his personality and his memories. The problem was it seemed like his parents were brought to this Evermore too, except both of them were his age and neither of them remembered anything. Now this was quite the pickle. Made even worse by the fact, none of them could leave. Not even with a time machine! It was absolute baloney but there was nothing Wilbur could do about it. He wasn’t going to give up though and decided the solution was to make the time machine even more powerful which meant he needed a job to create futuristic tech...even though they were still decades behind.

I HAD A FEELING SO PECULIAR

❀ Phyllis Geist: Phyllis is so clearly another unhinged person with an endless amount of energy and a filter that doesn’t seem to exist - just like him! Well, somewhat but the more he hangs out with her, the easy it is to pretend

❀ Robert Parr: Wilbur had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with his dad and as soon as he met Robert, he immediately looked up to him and wanted nothing more than to be as intimidating and strong as him

❀ Whitney Ramakrishnan: She’s so skittish that it’s fun to tease her for it. To be fair, she’s been able to help him organize and keep track of things he normally loses so it might be a good idea to keep her on his good side

THAT THIS PAIN WOULD BE FOR EVERMORE

[quercus-queer]

BA’s Reckoning

Yes, I stole this title from the Sporkful podcast. You should check it out!

So just a reminder the whole thing that kicked this off was when Tammie Teclemariam tweeted the photo of Rapoport in brown face (yes its brown face its a purposeful caricature of Puerto Rican ppl, his girlfriend called him her papi in the caption as well) saying he should simply write the article on Puerto Rican food then (the issue was Illyanna Maisonet, a Puerto Rican food writer, got rejected rudely by Rapo for her pitch to write about Puerto Rican food) Which brings up the larger issue of BA being racist and not covering any other dishes besides Eurocentric ones, and the ones that aren't Eurocentric are almost always either whitewashed or done by white people which is what happened with Masionet’s article (this is where Amanda Shapiro and Meryl Rothstein come in).

This led to a zoom meeting where Rapo made a shitty apology leading Sohla El-Waylly’s instagram posts, where she condemns Rapo, talks about her 50k salary despite having 15 years of restaurant experience (She ran a fucking restaurant and 50k in NYC is pathetic), being hired to help white editors, and not being paid for ANY of her video appearances (none of the poc you see in videos have been compensated including the zoom videos). Which has led to many people at BA being exposed for being terrible (Conde Nast is the parent company and owns BA, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Allure, Glamour, Wired, Epicurious,Teen Vogue among other things... also take note how most of these have consistently been criticized for their racism or “race problems”)

ANYWAY here’s a general guide of what each BA person has done, this is in no way comprehensive, feel free to investigate on your own, always fact check and form your own opinions!

Adam Rapoport: Brown face, not paying his non-white employees for their video appearances, treating his assistant Ryan Walker-Hartshorn (a black woman) like shit (she was working overtime and was barely making rent with what he was paying her), he's sexist (see every video with Molly) and racist (mixing up Sohla and Priya Krishna and never apologizing) and more!

Check out the Business Insider piece, twitter (Tammie’s, Christina Chaey’s, and Priya’s), Sohla’s podcast and interviews, and someone made a compilation of Rapo being condescending I think

Matt Duckor: Disgusting, racist, homophobic, sexist all around terrible person, probably the most obviously terrible of the bunch (see Rick Martinez’s insta plus Duckor’s own tweets), strung along Sohla for months saying that her pay was “stuck in legal” so that she would keep appearing in videos, gave Sohla a contract when this stuff first started happening to try and shut her up, HE is the one deciding pay for everyone at BA and was the one not paying poc for video appearances.

Check out Rick’s Insta, Twitter for Duckor’s tweets (screenshots bc he deleted his account)

Carla Lalli Music: First off, ppl are pointing out she was condescending af to a lot of her guests on her show (except for the white ones). The racism at BA did not start nor stop with Adam Rapoport and guess who was editor in chief before him? Yup, Mrs. Carla Lalli Music! Necessary amendment: Carla was the food director NOT the editor in chief and she is currently an editor at large... still a powerful position though and I think the sentiment still stands. She had a pretty pathetic twitter thread about how she should’ve done more but was focused on the sexism/focusing on women, strange because she also sent that shitty email to two women along with Delany and Brad after the two of them, Delany, and Brad were talking in the kitchen, telling them not to enter the kitchen without permission (not enforced on Brad or Delany obviously, only the two women who happen to not be white) I misread the article, Brad was a part of the convo, he did NOT receive the email, and didn't respond to the articles request for comment.. he fucking works in the test kitchen, i’m an idiot and that's on me

Business insider and her twitter 

Alex Delany: I have a post with the screenshots of the confederate flag cake he made himself because he felt the “need to express some southern heritage in cake form. Such a glorious cake...” for his friend moving to South Carolina, the lovely vine with the classic “F*g is a bundle of sticks joke” also have a post discussing that, he’s wildly underqualified for DRINKS editor and overpaid, also his girlfriend is Allegra Lorenzotti whose mother Eva Lorenzotti, is in Jeffery Epstein’s black book which is concerning (though who knows maybe Delany is dating a different wealthy Allegralo), also those sexist tweets

I have screenshots from Tumblr, ppl have the vine on twitter along with the sexist tweets (he deleted his twitter and Tumblr btw)

Andy Baraghani: There are screenshots of Alyse Whitney’s (an asian woman) twitter thread saying Andy purposefully undercut her articles multiple times because of a petty feud with Antoni from Queer Eye by using his friendship with Amanda Shapiro (Whitney’s editor) to kill the story, which is shitty and brings up the bigger picture of BA being cliquey and getting in with a friend of a friend and such which is just a toxic work environment

Amanda Shapiro: Puerto Rican food article, Alyse Whitney’s articles, she’s a perpetuator of the toxic work environment, stealing Nikita Richardson’s work and getting credit and pay for it (pls check out her twitter and the articles with her), also racist, should not be in charge

Chris Morocco: Made one (1) basic post (simply a reply to Molly calling him out actually) at the beginning of all this agreeing to not be in anymore videos until his coworkers got paid/backpay, he said he was complicit (duh) but also that he had no idea this was happening, but guess what? He is the one that hired Sohla for only 50k! There is a whole can of worms about how little Sohla was hired for despite her experience plus talent along with her current pay and Chris is a part of that. Also both his gumbo video and Halo Halo recipe are downright disrespectful at BEST and they should not have had a white man doing them (again with the white people doing articles/videos that can be EASILY given to someone whose actually part of that culture) and before anyone says anything yes the gumbo was for Chris’s show (strange how only white ppl get shows or in Andy’s case unless you’re friends with a higher up) still doesn't make the video less disrespectful, also he’s SAID he is friends with Anna Wintour (head of vogue, and a racist “there’s no room for black women” the reason the vogue challenge is happening)

Brad Leone: Himbo status permanently revoked, “Brad who just found out racism is real”(Sohla said this in the Sporkful podcast) is NOT acceptable for a 35 year old white man whose coworkers are suffering in a clearly toxic work environment, the screenshot with “I didn’t sign her contract she did” is NOT how you respond to your coworker being underpaid and disrespected by the company she works at because she is not a white man. I do not like him anymore, he has made apologies but ignorance to this extent is willful and I don't completely buy it the rumors he was upset Delany was going to be fired/would quit if Delany was fired/was mad at Sohla is not something I was able to confirm but based off of what I’ve seen he really needs to prove himself to be better, he can stay if that’s what his coworkers want but he is on thin fucking ice

Stuff I can't accredit to a single person, but BA is racist: 

NIKITA RICHARDSON, pls check her out on twitter

They sent Sohla to interview black chefs (bc BA has a bad track record) because she was the darkest and there were literally NO black chefs working at BA

Making Priya only cook Indian dishes (which were kinda whitewashed) I actually think this may have been Duckor

Tokenizing the poc staff (they would make them be in the kitchen when filming the white hosts shows and push them in front of the camera to highlight nonexistent diversity)

Paying Hawa Hassan only $400 for her video (probs also Duckor)

[turkeymonkey33-blog]

MLB Bullets welcomes the winter

I know it’s technically not winter yet and I know that most of you living in the Old Northwest are not looking forward to it. But winter in baseball started on Monday.

Happy Halloween, by the way.

Let’s just wrap up the World Series first. Jeff Passan goes into the clubhouse at the World Series to give an inside story of how the Red Sox won it all.

Tom Verducci has an inside look at both the World Series and key moments of the entire season and declares the 2018 Red Sox to be one of the greatest teams of all time.

Neil Paine and the number-crunchers at fivethirtyeight agree: The 2018 Red Sox are the best team in baseball since the 1998 Yankees. It should be mentioned, because this is a Cubs site, after all, that the 2016 Cubs are just behind this year’s Red Sox as the best team since the Yankees big ‘98 season. Only five of the top 20 teams in their calculations are from after integration.

Grant Brisbee announces that the Red Sox are now the bullies that they always wanted to be. And as for the Dodgers? They’re still the same disappointing Dodgers that we’ve grown to know since 1988.

Jonah Keri looks back at how the Red Sox built a juggernaut.

Travis Sawchik notes that the Red Sox won a title after their front office went against the prevailing conventional wisdom about building a champion.

The Red Sox get a lot of credit for their drafting talent and Jim Callis looks back at the 2011 draft that gave the Red Sox four of their 2018 stars. It’s also funny the way their then-scouting director gives himself a bad grade for drafting Mookie Betts—in the fifth round. (They did rate him as a second-round talent.) But 29 other teams messed up even worse and the Red Sox got Betts anyway.

Tim Keown profiles Red Sox first-year manager Alex Cora and explains why the Red Sox came to believe in him so quickly.

Whitney McIntosh looks at all the smart decisions Cora made in the World Series.

Sam Miller notes that the Red Sox starting rotation won the Series—by pitching out of the bullpen.

Clinton Yates writes about the redemptive power the World Series had on David Price, his career and the narratives that once surrounded him.

Clayton Kershaw, on the other hand. Claire McNear argues that Kershaw’s failures in the postseason and especially in deciding games is currently a part of his legacy.

Tim Brown wonders what is next for Kershaw. He can opt out of his contract with the Dodgers in the next couple of days.

Eric Stephen places the Dodgers’ failure in the World Series directly on their hitters.

Craig Edwards has four questions that LA needs to answer this winter after their second-straight World Series defeat.

One of the questions is certainly free agent Manny Machado. Alden Gonzalez looks at the decisions facing the Dodgers and Machado. Machado sounds like someone who wants to stay, but the Dodgers seem less sure, especially because of the money and that they expect Corey Seager to return in 2019. Gonzalez does note that Machado’s behavior is not playing a role as everyone on the team seems to love him.

The Dodgers do intend to sign manager Dave Roberts to an extension. Yes, Roberts has been criticized for many of his moves in the postseason, but he’s also the most successful Dodgers manager since Tommy Lasorda retired.

One note before we leave the World Series. You may have read about the poor TV ratings of the 2018 World Series. Craig Edwards puts those TV numbers into some context. For those of you who don’t want to read the article, basically Edwards says the numbers aren’t good news, but there are reasons for them other than “baseball is dying.”

The Mets introduced their new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and Van Wagenen announced that manager Mickey Callaway will return in 2019. He also said he wants to sign Jacob deGrom, his former client, to a long-term extension.

Buster Olney reports that baseball executives are shaking their heads in disbelief that the Mets would hand the keys a man who has never worked in an MLB front office before (ESPN+ sub. req.) The people Olney is talking to think this could go bad very fast.

Bob Nightengale also blasts the decision to hire Van Wagenen. When you’ve lost Bob Nightengale. . . actually, I don’t know what this means because it’s never happened before.

The Athletics are sticking with what works and have signed team vice-president Billy Beane, general manager David Forst and manager Bob Melvin to extensions.

Tim Kurkjian has ten top storylines as we head into the winter.

Jim Duquette does a ranking of the top-25 free agents. It’s like the Sears Catalog of baseball players, except that it still exists.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus will not be a free agent as decided not to opt-out of his contract.

OK, you want to know if Bryce Harper is going to be a Cub. I guess I’ve put it off long enough. The short answer is—we don’t know yet. (And his agent Scott Boras was joking when he said that Harper had already signed with a team.) Barry Svrluga and Chelsea Janes examine the top candidates for Harper’s services. Yes, the Cubs are at the top of the list.

Will Leitch has a bizarre idea that Harper should sign a one-year deal and go back on the market next season. It would be interesting to see what he’d get on a one-year deal, but it isn’t happening.

Mike Petriello thinks Nelson Cruz should be an in-demand free agent this winter and suggests some teams that might want the DH.

Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto announced that he will not sign an extension with the Marlins and that his agent said that expects Realmuto to be traded before Opening Day.

Jeff Sullivan looks at what went wrong with the Orioles this summer. TL:DR answer: everything. In case you’ve forgotten, the Orioles were projected to win 76 games this season. They fell just a tad short of that.

The roster of the team of MLB All-Stars that will tour Japan this winter has been announced. No Cubs are making the trip, but what a terrific young outfield with Ronald Acuna Jr., Juan Soto and Rhys Hoskins.

And finally, it’s election time and while I’ll avoid any politics beyond saying that everyone eligible to vote should please vote, there is a baseball connection here. Someone in the Boston area voted for David Price for district attorney.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/10/31/18046932/mlb-bullets-red-sox-alex-cora-david-price-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-free-agency-bryce-harper

[sweetmaryjay]

4, 10, 14, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 41, 48, 39, 76, 79, 82, 94, 98 :)

4. Do you like your name? why? - I mean, Its probably the most common name in the entire universe. But somehow I cant imagine going by anything else.

10. How would you describe your style? Well, Its either #Phreshoftherunway or #freshoffthestreets - Sadly as much as I try - there is no in between.

14. If you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? If I am honest probably somewhere in Far North QLD (Australia) - It is where I am originally from and I’d have a ‘uge property and live off the land. (That is actual goalz)

23. Describe your dream date - Anything that isn’t a super fancy restaurant dinner. I like people thinking outside the box for dates. (My gf is super incredible at doing that - we have done some cool shit together on our dates)

29. Whats the worst thing you have ever done? - Not gettin’ them juicy deet'z that eazzy’

30.Whats your favorite candle scent? Alla'them - I cant pick. I currently have bags of different melts/scents . #mynameisjess #andimacandleholic

31. 3 favorite boy names - Noah, Alexander (BUT NOT ALEX) and Benjamin (BUT AGAIN NOT BEN - LEL)

32.3 favorite girl names - OIiva, Mia and Sophia.

36.Favorite movie? First one that came to mind is - Candy. The poems throughout in combination with Heath Ledger just does something to my soul.

41.Top 10 favorite songs - Fuck - 10? Only 10? In no particular order as all of these songs are faves - 1. Sky’s the limit - Biggie smalls2.Beautiful Pain - Eminem 3.Its not right, but its okay - Whitney Houston4.Hypnotize - Biggie smalls 5.Words - Skylar Grey 6.The special two - Missy Higgins 7. Everyone’s waiting - Missy Higgins 8. Adore you - Amy shark9. Heartbeat - Childish Gambino10. You oughta know - Alanis Morissette

48.Who is your role model? To be honest I have never really been in a situation where I have had the need to look up to someone as a role model, I try to always be in competition with myself and always strive to do better then I have done in the past.

39. Do you have a nickname? what is it? lel - “Jess”

76. What color looks best on you? I love purple or sky blue. (and I never wear either of those colors, ha!)

79. Do you believe in ghosts? Short answer - Yes.

82. Favorite ice cream flavor? what do you mean “Favorite”. ALLOFTHEM

94.Favorite lyrics right now - (Except when I sing these it sounds like literal gibberish and instead of “Despacito I normally replace it with my dogs name and sing “Hagarito”) lelelelel“DespacitoQuiero respirar tu cuello despacitoDeja que te diga cosas al oídoPara que te acuerdes si no estás conmigoDespacito”

98.Favorite month? Any of the Winter months - I hate the heat.

[losille2000]

Building Happiness, Chapters 7 - 9

CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter 7 - Chapter 9 AUTHOR: Losille2000 WHICH ALEX/CHARACTER: AU!Alexander Skarsgård GENRE: Romance FIC SUMMARY: Life as Alexander knows it unravels when he takes over as CEO of the family business for his retiring father—especially when his modern ideals collide with the past. The fact that he also has to deal with a distracting new assistant doesn’t help matters any, either. Alex struggles to step out from under his father’s shadow and eventually find happiness and fulfillment in his career and love life. RATING: M WARNINGS:  Language and sex. AUTHORS NOTES: See them here. I am working on reposting this story as I am bringing some of the characters into The Chocolate Affair, namely Alex and Rory. Old fic, unedited, you’ve been warned. Rory and Christine will have a similar backstory, but that’s on purpose.

Prologue-Chapter 3 - Chapter 4-Chapter 6

Chapter 7

The reflection in the mirror staring back at Rory the next morning was not one of beauty. It wasn't normally amazing to begin with, but it had been better. Despite being physically exhausted by the time she made it back up to her room at two this morning, her mind did not want to sleep. Instead, it focused on recalling the dangerous blue-eyed gaze that had made her insides melt. And on the heat of his large, strong hand cupping her cheek. And the way, in an instant, the air between them had changed when he had shifted his gaze to her mouth. God, even now as she touched her own face, she could feel the outline of his hand, the memory seared into her brain.

She had wanted to let him keep inching forward. She had wanted him to kiss her. But she had stopped it. Rory refused to be one of those girls who slept with their boss, whether it was intended to receive favors or not. Even if she really, really wanted his lips on hers. To taste him.

Beside her own hang-ups, she didn't even know how he could find her worthy of that sort of attention. Maybe he'd just been caught up in the moment. Maybe he thought it would make her feel better to show her some interest. Well, he'd succeeded, because she had stopped thinking about Whitney and Walker. As a matter of fact, that was the furthest thing from her head this morning.

The fact of the matter was she had absolutely nothing to offer him. She wasn't wealthy. She wasn't beautiful. She clearly wasn't the type of girl he normally pursued. But that was another point. He wasn't pursuing her. He was just being nice. That was all it could have been.

That was all.

Rory grumbled, pulling her sweater down harshly and frowning at herself. This day was not going to be a good one. She could tell right now. It didn't help, either, that she had a raging headache from lack of sleep and her frizzy hair hadn't cooperated this morning.

She grabbed her purse and headed out of her room, finding the elevators and traveling to Alexander's floor. At least there would be a buffer zone at brunch with everyone else there. She wouldn't have to say much to him.

Rory lifted her hand and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a black-clad teenager who gave her a small smile. "Welcome to the madness," he said.

"Valter, right?" she asked.

He nodded and disappeared down a hall. Rory let herself in and shut the door, looking around at the ornately furnished foyer. Like the rest of the hotel, it was garish and dated. No wonder Alexander didn't like staying here.

"Hey, toots," said a voice she recognized.

Sam came from the hall Valter had disappeared down, a large smile on his face. She smiled. "Hi."

"What happened to you? Hotel bed uncomfortable?" Sam asked.

"Huh?"

"You look tired," he replied, motioning to her face.

Rory touched her cheek, though she knew he was referencing the gray pouches under her eyes. "Oh, yeah, I didn't sleep well. Just some stuff going on with my family."

"Well, I hope it's not too bad," he said, circling an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

He had absolutely no personal space bubble. It made her slightly uncomfortable, but because of Sam's open personality, it was easy to relax around him after a moment. He was accepting of everyone and made sure everyone had a good time.

"Let's go get some breakfast," he said. "They already set up the buffet for us, but hardly anyone is out of their room yet."

She walked with Sam into the dining room where she found Marissa sitting with her iPad, cell and leather bound appointment book open in front of her.

"Good morning, Marissa," Sam said as they walked past her.

Marissa looked up and gave them a small smile. "Morning."

Rory separated from Sam and bee-lined for the pot of coffee. After fixing a cup and taking a few sips, she felt a bit more human. She grabbed a pastry and some fruit, finding a seat at the table. Sam wasn't far behind with a plate stacked high with food. He didn't waste any time scarfing it down and had returned to the sideboard for another helping before she could blink.

"Where do you put it?" she asked.

"Hollow leg," he said around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Two hollow legs," said a voice from the other side of the room.

She looked up to find Alexander's mother, Regina, and Eija coming into the room. Regina smiled at her. "Did you sleep well, Rory?"

"She said she didn't," Sam replied.

"I'm fine," Rory said. "I had some things on my mind."

"Hopefully it's not the job keeping you up," Regina said, a tone of motherly concern in her voice.

Rory smiled. "Oh, no. I had a call from my family last night and had a lot on my mind."

"Oh, I do hope nothing bad happened," Regina said.

"Everything's fine, but thank you," Rory said, turning back to her plate. She nibbled absently on a wedge of cantaloupe that wasn't very sweet. It was when Alexander finally made his appearance that she tore her eyes away from considering the particularly annoying wall paper on the wall across from her.

"Good morning, Alexander," his mother said.

Alexander grunted a good morning as well, but she noted that he obviously wasn't one for interaction before he'd had coffee. He fixed his own cup, grabbed a bowl of granola and sat down in an empty seat opposite her, refusing her the opportunity to stare off into space.

Not that she was complaining. He was beautiful, even still half asleep. His eyes were bright and friendly, his hair still damp from the shower he had taken before coming out. She could also, very faintly, smell his aftershave or cologne on him, and it was intoxicating. It was woodsy and masculine without being overpowering and mixed with the fresh smell of his soap and shampoo. Her mind drifted to the shower in question, an excited tingling pooling in places it shouldn't.

Rory cringed and opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them. He stared back at her, an expression of interest on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"You look pleased," he replied, his voice throaty.

Rory cleared her throat nervously. "Coffee is finally taking effect."

She was saved by the arrival of Stellan, last of all, to the dining room. Sometime during the moments her overactive imagination had occupied, Kristina had come into the suite and Gurra had found a seat on the other end of the table.

"Good morning everyone," Stellan said simply. He gathered a plate of his own and sat down at the head of the table—the seat she had noticed everyone had left open in deference to the man. Even if they didn't always get along, there was obviously some respect there. It was like her father's recliner at home. She and her siblings knew not to sit in it, and if they did, they had better expect to get up as soon as their father had entered the room.

Everyone around the table, even Sam, straightened their backs and quieted down. Yes, there was certainly a strain in the air around them.

Rory sipped her coffee, holding the warm mug to her mouth. She would just be quiet and try to blend in as much as possible like she would do at home. Except here, she stuck out like a sore thumb with auburn hair.

Stellan sat in his seat and situated himself before taking a few bites. After he swallowed, he looked down the table. "So, Rory," he began.

Rory choked, mid sip of the hot beverage. She swallowed harshly and placed her cup down on the table. "Yes, sir?"

"Stellan, please," he said, waving his hand. "Where are you from?"

"Georgia," she replied. "Near the Alabama line."

He nodded his head. "We've done a few projects down in Atlanta… we were actually bidding on a new one. Alexander, we haven't heard anything yet, have we?"

"No," Alexander replied.

Stellan nodded and took a few more bites, the room silent but for the sound of cutlery on china plates and the sounds of chewing and sipping. Then he looked down at her again. "Tell us about your family."

"Dad," Alexander said, warning in his voice. "She doesn't need to tell you about her family."

"Why not? I find it pertinent," he replied. "She's working for a family business. I like to know about the background of those who will be very close to you in the future."

Rory stepped in then. "I don't mind, Alexander." She smiled sweetly down at Stellan. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was turn on the syrupy sweet Southern charm. "My father commanded an army base, Fort Benning, in Georgia for most of my life. They moved to Georgia when I was two, so all I really remember is that."

"Oh? What rank?" Stellan asked.

"General," Rory replied. "He retired about a year ago and has been driving my mother crazy ever since."

That received an uncomfortable laugh. Mark that next to a subject she shouldn't bring up in this company.

"What does your mother do?" Regina asked.

"Housewife," Rory replied. "It's a lot of work being an officer's wife. And with four kids… well, she never wanted for something to do."

Stellan smiled. "So you come from a big family, too?"

"I do," she said. "Well, large enough. Not like your prodigious lot."

It was barely recognizable, but Stellan puffed up his chest a bit. Clearly, the man was proud of his family, even though they had their issues.

They lapsed into silence again until Sam chimed into the conversation. "What are their names?"

"My eldest brother is Charlie, followed by my sister, Whitney," she explained. "Then there's me, and the baby of family, my brother, Bobby."

"And what do they do?" Stellan asked.

Rory didn't know why she was being grilled like this, but he seemed to be mildly approving of the answers she was giving him. She knew she should have expected something like this. She was the only person at the table that was a stranger.

"Charlie was in the service, too, but left and is now a police officer," she said. "Whitney is a phys ed teacher and coaches the cheerleading squad at our old high school. She's getting married next month, so I think she's going to take time to be a homemaker as well—she's marrying an officer. Bobby is still in school. He plans to become a marine biologist. He's in his last year of undergrad work at the University of Georgia."

"And you? What's your story?"

Rory shrugged. "I was a librarian. I wanted a change and moved to Illinois. HR found my resume online and called me in. The rest is history."

"You have no experience as an assistant?" Marissa asked, her eyes narrowing.

"No," Rory said.

Gurra grunted into his orange juice at her answer.

"With all due respect, but this is an awfully difficult job for someone with no experience," Marissa said, "and who isn't used to the lifestyle. Especially someone who comes from a background being a librarian."

Alexander bristled and looked down the table at Marissa. Rory sensed the change in the air. People were preparing for a fight.

Rory opened her mouth first, surprising even her. She never jumped into the fray that quickly, if at all. But Marissa's negative words hit her squarely where it hurt the most and she wasn't going to let it slide past. "With similar respect, Marissa, I am aware you have been Stellan's assistant for many years and know what goes into being his assistant. But I am Alexander's assistant, and he has a different style of management… and so far I fit into his plan. I haven't encountered anything I haven't been able to handle."

"He has a plan?" Gurra said. "I wasn't aware of one."

She glanced at Alexander, who looked like he could spit fire. To his credit, he didn't. Instead he cleared his throat and took a drink of his coffee to steady himself. The rest of the family and Kristina sat silently, watching the conversation like a tennis match, and the ball was coming over the net at her.

"Frankly, I think it's presumptuous of you to think I am incapable of the job when I haven't even had a chance to prove myself," Rory said. "And really, how difficult is it to schedule meetings and grab someone's dry cleaning?"

Marissa's eyes flashed with anger.

Rory felt a hand on her thigh and glanced down, finding Sam's hand there. It was a comforting, but warning gesture. As she looked at him, she saw his head bowed toward the table with a smirk on his lips.

She chewed her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to offend anyone."

"No, Rory," Regina spoke up. "If anyone should be ashamed of themselves, it's Marissa and Gurra. If I remember correctly, Marissa, you were only a mail clerk when Stellan found you and promoted you. And Gurra, you know your brother will be amazing."

Regina's remarks didn't cow Marissa at all. Instead, it seemed to enrage her more. Marissa stood up quickly. "Excuse me, there are some calls I need to make."

She disappeared out of the dining room. Very quickly after, Gurra and Stellan both left, Valter returned to his room and she was left with the remainder of the family.

Sam turned to her and threw his arms about her, hugging her close. "If it's possible to love someone after just meeting them, then I think I'm smitten with you!"

"Uh…okay?" Rory started.

"I've never seen someone handle them like that before," Sam replied. "Except maybe Kristina, but Kristina has been around longer than Marissa."

Rory shrugged him off and Sam righted himself in the seat. She looked at Kristina, Eija, Regina, and landed on Alexander. "I'm sorry. Really."

"Don't apologize," Alexander said, a small smile on his face.

Regina heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Welcome to the business… and family, regardless."

"Thanks, Regina," Rory replied.

"Let's go, Eija," Regina said. "We have a spa appointment at eleven."

Rory looked at her phone to check the time as they left the room, and sighed. "We should probably be going, too, Alexander."

"Where are you off to?" Sam asked.

"Tux fitting," she replied.

"Don't you already own like five tuxedos?" Sam questioned.

Alexander drank the rest of his coffee and set the cup down, smiling at his brother. "I do. But this is this season's style. Come on, Rory."

"You are such a girl," Sam called as they left the room.

Kristina stopped her while Alexander went to his room to grab his jacket and wallet. She smiled warmly. "I'm proud of you, young Padawan."

Rory burst out laughing. Honestly, she was surprised Kristina knew the reference; Kristina did not strike her as the type to enjoy watching Star Wars. "Why?"

"You held your own in that fray," Kristina said. "Many before you have been completely blindsided by the alpha domination they do when they're all together. You pushed back just enough so as not to be overbearing, but you also put them in their place. That's what they need."

"Well, at least I'm doing something right," Rory replied.

"Honey, you're doing everything right," Kristina said, patting her shoulder. "Now, I have to go meet with Stellan about the gala on Friday. You and Alexander have fun shopping—don't let him get sidetracked. He really is like a girl when he shops. It's like ADD but worse. Oh, and don't you dare let him leave any store with a plaid shirt. He has enough of those."

"Okay," Rory chuckled. "You know, he is a grown man. He can make his own fashion choices."

Kristina shook her head. "Trust me, when you see some of his choices down the line, you'll cringe."

"We're just going for a tuxedo," Rory replied.

"What are you telling her?" said Alexander as he came into the foyer.

Kristina turned. "Not to let you get distracted at the shop."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'll be fine."

"Famous last words," Kristina said. "I'll see you two later for the baseball game."

"Bye," Rory said. She turned to Alexander, looking up at him. "Ready?"

"Now I am," he replied, stuffing his hands in his jeans and turning toward the door.

Rory was relieved that though she had stepped out of her own comfort zone and stood up for herself, she hadn't completely stepped over the etiquette boundary. Of course, there were a few people who would disagree with that idea, but she couldn't care at the moment. There was something she hadn't felt in a long time welling within her. And it was empowering.

She looked up at him as they stepped out of the elevator into the main lobby. "You aren't really that bad when it comes to shopping, are you?"

He looked down at her, gave her a mischievous smile and placed his sunglasses on his face. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

Chapter 8

Alexander shook his arms out and swung them around, getting a feel for the tuxedo jacket the tailor had just helped him into. Like he expected, it fit perfectly, just as it had a few weeks ago when he had come in for his first fitting, though now the sleeves and pants had been hemmed correctly.

"How does it feel?" asked the tailor, Antonio.

"Awesome," Alexander said. "Like always, Antonio."

Antonio laughed and moved around him, picking at his jacket and fixing the pants. "I don't see anything that needs to be fixed. Do you? Feel anything that will bother you?"

"No," he replied. "I can't tell. You know I think they all look the same."

Antonio rolled his eyes. "Perhaps a female eye should see?"

Alexander glanced at Antonio and smiled. He thought it was a very good idea, actually; he felt a bit mischievous at the moment and he had a female waiting for him outside the fitting room.

"I'll go show my assistant," he said. Alexander turned toward the exit and walked out into the store. She was still sitting on the couch she had commandeered as her own upon entering the store and didn't look up at him. She was too busy typing something furiously into her phone. He stepped in front of her and noticed her worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Screw you," she muttered under her breath and mashed a final button on her phone. With an angry shake of her head, she dropped the phone beside her. That was when she turned her attention and caught sight of him, her eyes snapping up. "Holy crap, you scared me."

"Sorry," he replied. "I just wanted to make sure it looked okay."

Rory blinked her eyes a few times as though it took her a minute to process his words. When she finally made sense of them, she blushed. "You're too close for me to really see."

He stepped back a few steps and held his arms out.

"Turn," she said.

He made a slow revolution and turned back to her. "So?"

"Looks good," she said noncommittally.

"Just 'good'?" he asked. He knew he was making her uncomfortable, but he enjoyed doing it for some reason. Especially now, after he caught her looking at him speculatively at breakfast. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what that blush was for after she opened her eyes from her daydream. At least, he hoped it had to do with him.

Rory frowned, her blush deepening. "What do you want me to say? You wear a suit really well? You're like James Bond, just terribly Scandinavian and blond? It must be difficult being so unattractive only a tuxedo could improve it."

He grinned. "That's what I wanted to hear. Thank you!"

Alexander left her sitting there, he was certain shaking her head, and stepped back into the fitting room. Antonio looked at him. "She is new, no?"

"She is," Alexander said. "I have to put her through her paces."

Antonio laughed. "I sense something more there."

Alexander looked at the tailor a long moment. "She's my employee."

The man shrugged his shoulders and set down his measuring tape. "I will say no more… Now, if you please, change back into your clothes. We will have the tuxedo cleaned and pressed and sent to the hotel for you on Tuesday with the other suits you ordered, Mr. Skarsgård."

"Thanks," Alexander said. He walked back behind the changing room door and began removing the pieces of his tuxedo, but his mind wasn't on the task at hand. Instead, it turned back to his conversation with Antonio.

He didn't understand why he was so defensive about Rory. He recognized his attraction for what it was. There had almost been action on that attraction less than twelve hours ago. He'd purposely baited her all morning to see if she would bite. To see if he was the only one with an attraction. What he found out was that no, he wasn't the only one.

And now that he thought about it, that knowledge really complicated matters. It was easier when the attraction was one sided, because it was easy to put the brakes on and resist temptation. But when he knew the other person in the mix also might have some level of interest, he couldn't hold back. He'd learned over the years that he should pursue every opportunity because they were startlingly rare for people like him. Well, at the least the truly genuine opportunities were rare.

There was just one problem. She was his employee. He was her boss, in a direct supervisory role. Even if there weren't non-fraternization clauses in contracts, it was bad form for a boss and employee to have any type of relationship beyond the work-related. That was true for all private and public companies and professions.

He knew these relationships did happen on occasion. But those occasions almost always blew up in the faces of the people in question. It led to rumors, heartache and, most importantly, costly and drawn out legal battles if the relationship went sour. His situation as CEO was too precarious at the moment to ever contemplate stepping beyond the lines of propriety to pursue something. He couldn't even think like this. He refused to.

Besides that, he considered himself an honorable enough man not to set Rory up for trouble. He respected her too much to damage her reputation.

Alexander stepped out of the changing room and handed Antonio his clothing. Doing a quick once over to make sure he had dressed properly, he stepped back out into the main store. Rory sat in her spot, one leg crossed over the other, again typing a message on her phone. She placed the phone back in her bag and turned toward him, a smile on her lips.

Just like the night before, his want hit him like a punch to his gut. It made his heart ache for what he couldn't physically have. He might not be able to have her how he wanted her, but he could have a friendship with her. What harm was there in loving a friend?

He cringed. How had love gotten in there? He didn't love her. He was infatuated. That was all.

Right?

She came over to him. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," he said. They gave their thanks to the people who had helped him and stepped out onto the busy New York street. He looked down at Rory. "So, what's next?"

"Nothing," she said. "Until the baseball game tonight, that is."

"Then what do you want to do until then?"

Rory looked up at him. "Um, I don't know."

"You've never been to New York," he said. "Isn't there some sightseeing you'd like to do?"

"Of course there is, but you don't have to go with me," she replied, waving him off in dismissal as though she was under the impression he didn't want to spend time with her.

Alexander smiled and looked at the driver who stood at the car, holding the door open for them. "Pick us up at the zoo at about four. We'll walk there."

"Very good, sir," said the driver with a smile. He nodded his head and closed the door, returning to the driver's side.

"Alexander, don't feel like you have to go with me," she said. "I don't want to be an imposition."

Alexander placed his hands on her shoulders, effectively stopping her words. She tensed under his touch. "Rory, it isn't an obligation. I want to take you out and show you the city. And really, it's just the park and the zoo."

"Alright," she said. "Take me out, then."

He grinned. "I will."

She laughed and shook her head as he motioned for her to follow him down the street toward Central Park.

He didn't know what he was doing and whether it would be a huge mistake in the end, but at the moment, he could care less. For the moment, he was enjoying being a normal guy walking through the zoo with someone in which he actually enjoyed spending time.

"That'll be ten bucks," said the hotdog vendor in front of him.

Alexander pulled a bill out of his wallet and paid the man, grabbing the two hotdogs. He turned back on the walkway and headed to the park bench Rory had chosen. Like the first time he had seen her in Chicago, her head was back and the late afternoon sun cast a glow on her face and lit her hair on fire. Her eyes were closed and a pleasant smile was on her lips.

"Hey," he said softly so as not to startle her.

She opened her eyes and grinned at him, spying the food in his hands. "Mmm… give that to me, I'm starving."

He laughed. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she said, taking her hotdog from his hands.

He couldn't remember the last woman he had been on a date—or otherwise—with that would even dare look at a hotdog, much less eat one with delight. If they didn't have an eating disorder, then they were organic and vegan. While there was nothing wrong with the latter, he certainly did enjoy a woman who wasn't particularly picky.

Actually, now that he thought about, this was first woman he had spent any time with recently who wasn't high maintenance. She wasn't checking her makeup every two minutes, or complaining about something or another, or teetering through Central Park on spindly little heels because they were fashionable.

Rory was different. She was comfortable in flat shoes, a pair of jeans and a sweater while eating a hotdog in the middle of Central Park. He didn't have to impress her. He didn't have to take her to a fancy restaurant because she refused to go to any place where a "lesser" person might eat.

Even Kristina, though he loved her as a friend, could be snooty at times. She was one of the highest maintenance women he knew, actually. And he loved her for it, because it was her. But she could certainly do with a hotdog now and then, and maybe jeans and a t-shirt instead of her high-priced designer clothes.

"Damn it," Rory said out of nowhere. She reached into her pocket and withdrew her cell phone. "I really wish you would stop texting me."

Alexander glanced over at her, finishing off his hotdog. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Who?"

"My sister," she said. "Asking about dates that I can be in Georgia."

"When do you need to go?" he asked.

Rory sighed. "She's having the wedding the Saturday after Thanksgiving," she said. "She wants me to take the whole week off for all the festivities she has planned. I told her I would leave Wednesday evening."

He nodded. "I might be able to get you out there sooner… you know, with the deal my dad mentioned this morning at breakfast. I have another meeting with some people and I can write it off as business."

She looked up at him, an expression of complete seriousness on her face. "If you absolutely need to schedule it for that week, be my guest. But don't do it especially for me. I don't want to spend any more time than I absolutely have to on this wedding."

"Point taken," he said with a nod.

She typed a message into the phone and then put it back in her pocket. He turned his eyes back out to watch the people passing them by while Rory finished her hotdog. This was relaxing. Normally he was constantly on the move. This was the first time in ages he had been allowed to stop and smell the roses as it were.

He glanced back at her, noticing that she was rubbing her hands together and blowing in them. "Are you cold?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're cold," he replied, noticing that the sun had dipped down and their bench was now cast in the shadow of a large tree.

"I didn't think it would be that chilly," she replied. "I'm used to balmy Georgia weather this time of year."

As suavely as he could manage, he slipped his jacket off and held it out to her.

"No, I refuse," she said.

Alexander fixed her with a defiant stare.

"Alexander…"

"Take it," he said. "I'm perfectly warm."

She hesitated a moment longer, but eventually gave in, slipping her arms into the jacket as he held it for her. The garment was huge and she sunk into the brown leather, wrapping it more snuggly around her body.

"See? It looks better on you anyway," he said.

"Thank you." She blushed and hid her face partly in the collar of the jacket before turning her attention out onto the people around them.

He leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms over his head. After a long while, she let out what sounded like a contented sigh, gravitating closer to him, whether she intended it or not. An idiotic grin spread on his face and he slipped the arm he had rested on the bench behind her around her shoulders.

Again, his conscience told him to stop, but he couldn't make himself. Not after the amazing afternoon he'd had with her. He would have been a stupid man to fight it.

But then, he could be a stupid man for allowing it, too.

She rested her head on his shoulder and yawned into her hand. Without thinking, he ran his fingers through her hair, playing inattentively with the silken ends of the long auburn locks. He tried desperately to think of other things, to get his mind off of the woman resting against him and the heady scent of roses in her hair. He struggled not to lean a few inches and kiss the top of her head.

"We should really be going," she said, her drawl lazy and relaxed. "It's a little past four."

"We should," he said, but didn't move. She didn't move right away, either. "One of us has to move. I elect you."

She laughed and parted from him, standing up from her seat and stretching. He watched her do this and realized he wanted her. Now more than ever, he wanted her. But he couldn't have her. He knew as soon as they stepped back into that hotel, they would go back to being solely boss and assistant.

"Come on," she said, offering her hand to help him up. "We've really got to get back. I'm not being a very good assistant letting you slack off."

He accepted her hand, but refused to let it go as soon as he stood to his full height. "Let's go then, if we must."

"We must," she replied.

Alexander nodded his head and placed an arm on her shoulder as they walked through the park toward the entrance to the zoo where their car would be waiting for them. He saw the black Towncar in the distance and slowed their pace a bit.

This had honestly been one of the best days he'd ever had, and he didn't want it to end. But he knew it had to. Just as his infatuation with her had to end. They'd already gone too far blurring the lines of what their relationship should be. This couldn't go any further than it already had.

The ride back to the hotel seemed far too short and painfully quiet. Rory practically jumped from the car as soon as it stopped and hurried into the lobby before him, as though she was anxious to get out of his presence. It made him wonder what was going through her mind. Was she as captivated by him as he was of her? Did she want him to push forward? Or did she think it wasn't right? Did she think he might be using his status as her boss to force himself on her?

Such a though sobered him instantly. Yes, there was a huge problem. He just didn't know what was going through her mind, and didn't know if she really wanted his attention or would rather he focus on someone else. Perhaps she just tolerated his attentions because she thought she had to.

As they rode the elevator up to their floors, they stood a respectful distance away from each other. She stepped out of the elevator onto her floor, but froze in the doorway and turned around to him. "I forgot…" She slipped the jacket off and held it out to him. "Thanks, again."

"No problem," he replied with a sheepish smile.

The elevator doors slid shut and she was gone. He let out a long breath and shifted uncomfortably. He needed a cold shower and a heaping dose of reality as soon as was humanly possible. Luckily for him, he knew stepping foot into that hotel suite in a few seconds would serve as both.

In her hotel room, Rory fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, utterly confused about so much. Just as it had been early this morning after their little chat in the gym, she felt tingly all over with a pressure in her abdomen that didn't seem to go away. There had to be some way to release it, but she couldn't find a way, especially when every time she saw him now it grew larger.

Did he know what he was doing? Was he being genuine about his attention? Did he know he was toying with her feelings? Did he enjoy doing it? Maybe he saw her as easy prey and turned on that charming persona to see how far he could get. Maybe it was some type of challenge he appointed himself to see if he could get into her pants.

Had Kristina ever encountered this with him? Had they actually had something sexual? A real relationship? She knew Kristina said they couldn't work because she'd kill Alexander, but that didn't mean they hadn't tried at one point.

Whatever the problem, Rory knew she couldn't let herself get drawn into this trouble. It was wrong of her to even contemplate anything with her boss. She wasn't that type of girl that got through life sleeping with people. Her sister did that. She didn't.

A knock at her door startled her out of her thoughts. "Yeah?"

"It's Kristina. Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah," Rory said, jumping up from her bed and going to the door. Kristina was already dressed for the game in a Yankees shirt and cap. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly today," Kristina said. "You were gone all day, and Alexander didn't come back with any bags. I thought with the time you were gone, he'd be bringing back a whole car full."

Rory shook her head. "Uh, no… we went for lunch and had some time to get to know each other. I guess 'teambuilding' is a good explanation for it. We haven't had much time this week."

"Oh, awesome!" Kristina said, sighing in relief. "I just worried about both of you. See? I told you he wasn't too difficult to get to know once you had some time."

"No, he certainly isn't," Rory replied. She felt like she'd known Alexander for years, actually. It was just too easy to be around him. There had to be a catch somewhere.

Wait. There was a catch. She was Alexander's assistant.

Kristina grinned. "Well, get ready for the game. You'll have fun tonight meeting everyone from the New York office. Especially Joe. You'll love Joe. He's gorgeous in person."

Rory laughed at her, wondering if any person could be more gorgeous than Alexander. But she supposed she would find out tonight. If she could get her mind off of Alexander and the meaning behind their afternoon together.

"Alright," Kristina smiled. "I'll see you later."

Rory nodded and shut the door, leaning back against it and closing her eyes. She had to get a grip. Fast.

With a grumble, she pushed away from the door, reaching down to pull her sweater over her head. As she did, she caught a whiff of Alexander's cologne that had somehow lingered from wearing his jacket. She placed the sweater to her nose. Yes, it smelled like leather and Alexander. Like man.

Rory cringed and threw the sweater in a heap on the floor. She needed a cold shower. Now.

Chapter 9

Rory irritably tossed her lip gloss in her bag and silently prayed for an easy night ahead at the gallery opening. A huge headache had formed at her temples and still throbbed relentlessly against her skull. The Tylenol she took a while ago had barely even touched it.

This headache was a combination of many things, not least of all the breakneck pace of the last three days filled with shopping, meetings at the New York office, and other events Alexander had on his schedule. She had slept a total of eight hours in the last two nights due to these meetings and dinners, making her exhausted and cranky. In addition to the workload, she had to deal with Marissa's snotty attitude as she made it her personal responsibility to comment about every little thing Rory did or did not do for Alexander. To his credit, Alexander had warned Marissa to cease her antics, but it didn't help much. Instead, she did it when Alexander was out of earshot.

Rory didn't want to complain to him. She was a big girl and could handle it herself, but it was wearing on her nerves with everything else going on around her. Marissa seemed perfectly fine when others were around, even chirpy in some instances, but whenever they were alone, she immediately started digging where she could.

Then, to top it all off, she had to deal with her relationship with Alexander having gone back to the professional rather abruptly the night of the baseball game. He didn't say much when they were together and seemed grumpy about having to do any work whatsoever the last few days. For most of the day today, Alexander had remained distant and noncommittal, clearly upset with the amount of time he had to spend with some members of his family.

She had tried on more than one occasion to engage him in conversation in hopes of at least helping him get through this nightmarish week with his family, and also to try to ascertain where they stood personally. None of their conversations had been successful as they were constantly interrupted. The aforementioned attitude he had adopted had annoyed her so much that she found it difficult to speak with him even when they had a few moments of peace. He didn't say much, and when he did, it was professional, succinct and only communicated exactly what he needed.

It aggravated her that after a truly wonderful Sunday afternoon, he had the gall to do this to her. She worried she had read too much into the time they had spent together. Maybe she had imagined his fingers in her hair. Or how he'd sat with his arm around her. Or that while they were actually walking around the zoo, he had made a concerted effort to stand close and touch her with his hand on her lower back or an arm around her shoulders.

She wasn't an idiot. At least, she liked to think she wasn't. It had to mean something. But rather than being a grown up and voicing his thoughts, he seemed to have taken what he wanted and turned away, back to the man she had met on her first days on the job. This had to be one of the reasons why workplace relationships between a boss and assistant just didn't work. The conflicting signals were too much and were a hotbed for potential trouble.

Rory glanced in the mirror one last time, smoothing the body-hugging, knee length dress over her abdomen, turning to the side to check her profile. It wasn't too showy, just one color in emerald green. She would definitely hand it to Kristina—the woman knew how to shop and where to shop—and they had found some fantastic clothing for her. Clothing that she actually felt comfortable in and that looked amazing on her body. This particular dress even had to be taken in by a tailor at the designer's store, which made Rory feel even better.

She slipped on a pair of black heels Kristina had insisted she buy, though Rory knew that there was a high probability of falling tonight if she wore them. They were too high and no matter how hard Rory tried, she still felt like there was a huge disconnect between her feet and brain when she attempted walking in them.

Rory didn't know how she was going to make it through Friday evening's gala without tripping over the long evening gown she had chosen. It would be a miracle if she didn't make a fool of herself.

She grumbled and grabbed the leather pea coat from the back of the desk chair. Even the scent of leather made her mind go straight to Alexander and their afternoon together. She wished she had brought another nice jacket with her, but then, she hadn't known when she packed for the trip she would be adverse to leather jackets.

When she was in the elevator alone, she fidgeted with her hair some more. She'd left it down again, and it was already annoying her. She felt like her sister as she peered into the mirrored elevator wall, rechecking her makeup, brushing a side swept bang further out of her eyes. Her sister was the one who couldn't have anything out of place. Not her. Rory could care less.

She stepped out of the elevator and made her way through the lobby where she was supposed to meet the rest of her party, but only found Kristina and Marissa standing there. Rory paused for a split second, steeling herself to dealing with Marissa. Kristina spotted her first, a large smile spreading across her face.

"Girl, look at you!" she exclaimed. "I knew you had a body under all those clothes somewhere."

"I feel practically naked," Rory said.

Kristina laughed. "You have an amazing figure and should totally show it off more than you do."

"Thanks," Rory said. "Where is everyone?"

"They were miraculously ready early, so we sent them ahead in the cars," Marissa replied. "We decided to stay back and wait for you since you were taking your own sweet time."

Rory looked at her watch. "I'm right on time, Marissa. I would appreciate it if you would stop with the attitude."

Kristina cleared her throat, drawing their attention away. "One of the cars is back for us. We should go."

Marissa sniffed angrily and turned around, marching down the stairs and out the front entrance. Rory turned to Kristina. "Sorry."

Kristina shook her head. "Don't apologize for it. She deserves it."

"By the way, you look amazing, too," Rory said. "But you always do."

"I know." Kristina laughed as they slowly made their way outside.

The car ride to the gallery was tense, and Rory was thankful when they finally arrived. Each of them went off in their own separate directions after dropping their coats at the coat check, she in search of her charge to follow him around all evening in case he needed anything.

What she found made her head ache even more and her heart plummet to her feet. Alexander was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women, but one in particular was hanging on his left arm. She had caramel colored hair, bronzed Latin skin and looked like a supermodel. Her dress was skimpy yet not entirely vulgar, and the plastic parts of her body held everything in place with a precarious combination of luck, gravity and double-sided tape. He leaned in to her, whispering something in her ear, causing the woman to laugh. She in turn kissed his lips as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Then the woman told a girl next to her that she adored her boyfriend.

Rory cringed, a bitter taste forming in her mouth. It was no wonder he had acted like he had after their day out with each other. He apparently had a girlfriend. A woman she could never amount a serious competition against for Alexander's affections. Yet, she had to give Alexander credit. He may have contemplated cheating on his girlfriend, but he didn't. He had pulled back from her just in time.

"God, I need a drink," she muttered.

On cue, a hand thrust out in front of her, holding a full flute of champagne.

"I heard someone needed liquor," said the male voice beside her.

She looked up in surprise to the tall man who stood beside her. "I did."

"Here," he said.

"Thank you, Gurra."

"My pleasure." He gave her a small, tight smile. "You look beautiful this evening."

"Again, thanks." A shiver ran up her back and she rubbed her bare arms. Maybe she should have gone with something that had sleeves. Rory shifted uncomfortably on her feet as they stood in silence beside each other. Alexander continued to hold court.

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" Gurra asked.

"What is?" Rory asked.

"The women hanging all over him," he replied. "The mugging for the cameras."

Rory shrugged. "It's his life."

Gurra turned and looked down at her. "That it is."

Rory sighed and sipped her champagne, glancing back up at him. "I'm sorry if this is forward, but why don't you and Alexander get along?"

"We just have two different philosophies in life," Gurra said. "His borders on the ridiculously liberal that I fear will get him into trouble. And if he gets into trouble—the whole company can go down with him. I suppose you ask because you've heard I'm not pleased the company is going to him and not to me."

Rory didn't respond.

Gurra sighed. "I won't lie about it. No, I'm not happy with the decision. I think the company is in the wrong hands."

"Maybe you should give him a chance," she replied. "He hasn't had time to show you he can do it."

Gurra nodded. "I'm trying. Really, I am. But just once I'd like to be recognized for the work I have put into this business instead of Alexander getting all the glory."

"He does a lot, too, Gurra. I know, I've seen his workload."

Gurra shrugged and sipped his own champagne. "It just boggles my mind that my father chose to give it to Alexander when Alexander's background is in architectural design, not business. I have been in business operations since I got out of school with my MBA, and just became CFO a few years ago. I know the workings of a business. This business. Alexander has his head in the clouds."

Rory turned to him, meeting his dark eyes. "Maybe that's the point, Gurra. Yes, you know the nuts and bolts, but Alexander is a visionary. He needs to dream up these big plans and have people like you execute them. That's pretty much the definition of a CEO. But I also know he knows a great deal about the business side, too. He just doesn't like it and that's why he lets you do it, because you like and are good at it. Did you ever think it was your father's intention to have Alexander as CEO and you as CFO because each of your strengths balances out the weaknesses of the other? You're the two highest-ranking officers in the company. Nothing can really be done without the other. So don't you think you should start working with him instead of against him? You'll reap the rewards if Alexander does."

Gurra said nothing and merely stood there, his gaze penetrating and uncomfortable. She could also see the wheels turning in his head. Rory knew she had stepped out of bounds with what she said, especially seeing as her position with the other family members was still tenuous, but she didn't feel the least bit remorseful. What she had said was the truth.

Finally, he turned back to watching Alexander. He gave a rueful laugh as Alexander posed with a few older women for a picture. "I'll be honest, too, and say some of the female attention might be nice."

Rory looked up at the man beside her. He certainly didn't look like the perfect, golden Norse god that Alexander was, but he was darkly attractive. All the rest of the Skarsgård children were. "I'm sure you have your share."

Maybe if you weren't such a stick in the mud, more women might like you, she thought to herself and sipped her champagne to keep from saying it aloud.

He continued when she didn't respond. "You know, I feel like we've barely had a chance to get to know one another and yet we've been thrown together the last four days on business."

She wanted to tell him to join the club. She worked for Alexander, and she still didn't know him. "All you need to know about me is that I am one of your employees and I work for Alexander. You heard about my background at breakfast on Sunday."

"I only meant, if I'm supposed to be working in consort with Alexander like you say, we should become better acquainted," he replied. "Do you want to get out of here and go grab a quiet drink?"

Rory was flabbergasted. She didn't know what Gurra meant by saying these things, but it gave her pause and made her stomach sour. Whatever he was getting at, she didn't want it, especially if he was still on Marissa's side in all of this.

"Thank you, but no," she replied. "I haven't even seen any of the art yet."

Gurra snorted in derision. "Staring at Alexander all night doesn't classify as looking at the art."

Rory opened her mouth to reply, mortified as a blush inflamed her face. "I don't know what the hell you're attempting to do, Gurra, but it's not going to work. Go find Marissa if you need someone to be rude to."

With that, she left him. She didn't have to take any more of this. Alexander looked at home with the gaggle of people who surrounded him. He likely wouldn't need her any time soon and there were a lot of other things to look at in the installation. Not just Alexander.

Rory turned her head, laying it against her shoulder as she peered at the large canvas hanging on the wall. All of the works she had seen this evening—those by Sam and those by others, as well—were all wonderful. She just didn't get the point of some of the modern art pieces. After all, couldn't anyone paint a red circle on a white canvas and call it art? Sam's work, though, had a little bit more meat to it. Some was beautiful, some not so much, but all of it was interesting. Like Sam.

She sighed and turned, looking around the small room. A few people stood looking at other paintings, but it was nearly empty in contrast to what it had been earlier. She drank what was left of her third champagne for the evening and set the flute on the tray of a passing waiter.

The past two hours had been long and tedious as she moved through the gallery, chatting with some of them. She'd spoken a little to each of the Skarsgårds, except Alexander. He had stayed near the front of gallery all evening with the same woman.

Now it was nearing midnight and he had an early appointment in the morning. He knew he had it; she had run down the schedule for the following day in the car on the way back to hotel after today's meetings. He was a grown man who could take care of himself, but it was also her job to make sure he reached his appointments on time and with some modicum of alertness.

So she was faced with a problem. Did she or did she not intrude on his evening to act like his mother, just to make sure he got enough sleep? Where did her job end and nagging begin? Was she supposed to warn him about the time?

Maybe it was just time she purposely place herself under his nose? She couldn't blend in with the wall forever in hopes that she wouldn't be recognized to confront other issues.

She moved back through the rooms to the front. Alexander sat at the bar across the room, completely alone and nursing a green-bottled beer. Rory seized the opportunity and walked over to him.

He turned when he heard her approaching, clearly expecting the other woman, because the smile that was on his face died the moment he saw her. That reaction, in turn, made Rory feel ill to her stomach. She stopped in front of him and took a moment to collect herself before speaking.

"I just wanted to see if there was anything else you needed tonight," she asked. "I'm very tired and need to go back to the hotel."

It came out snippier than she has intended.

"No," he replied shortly. "I have it."

"Good, I'll see you at eight tomorrow," she replied, turning to leave. Instead she ran into a body that was standing close behind her. It was Alexander's girlfriend.

"Watch where you're going," she said.

Rory met her mean, crystal blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so close to me."

Alexander sighed. "Carrie, this is my assistant, Rory. Rory, Carrie."

Rory nodded her head at the woman who sneered at her. Carrie sniffed and slid into the chair beside Alexander, crossing her legs so the short dress rode up high on her thighs. Alexander noticed that, and all his attention was lost.

"Alright, goodnight Alexander," Rory replied. She had to get out of here before she made more of a fool of herself and before she had to witness any more of Alexander's adoration of that overly tanned bimbo.

She grabbed her coat from the coat check and stepped outside. The immediate rush of cold air felt good on her face. Refreshing. She grabbed a taxi instead of waiting for one of their cars, but as she was sliding into the yellow Crown Victoria, she heard someone call her name.

It was Regina.

Rory turned and looked at the woman. "Yes?"

"Can we share a cab?" she asked. "I don't want to wait for a car."

"Sure," Rory replied. "Come on!"

Rory moved over and allowed Regina to settle into the vacated seat. The driver looked back. "Where to?"

"The Waldorf, please," Rory said.

Regina covered a long yawn with her hand. "Goodness, I am exhausted after today."

"It was a long day," Rory said conversationally. She hadn't said much to Regina, but she liked the woman enough. Any woman who could manage the life she did with five children deserved a medal. And she certainly was more approachable than Stellan had been.

"Did you enjoy the art?" she asked.

Rory nodded. "I did, even though I prefer French impressionism over modern art. I feel the meaning is lost on me."

Regina laughed. "I agree. That's why I like working with the old paintings instead of the new. But Sam does have a talent."

"He does," Rory replied. "I didn't know you were an art historian."

"I am," Regina said with a smile. "I prefer preservation, but my work has been leaning more toward the curating and collecting as I've gotten older. I figure if I purchase some of these pieces, then I know they are in good hands and can't be harmed."

Rory nodded. "I can understand that. If I had the resources, I would be collecting books left and right."

"You may yet," Regina replied.

She watched the streets pass as they slowly made their way through Manhattan. A yawn caught her lips and she sighed. Finally they pulled to a stop outside the hotel and Regina paid for the cab before Rory even had a chance to open her purse.

They bade each other goodnight as Rory stepped out onto her floor. Kristina was waiting there for an elevator to go downstairs.

"Hey, hon," Kristina said.

"Hi," Rory said.

Kristina frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I have a horrible headache," Rory said. "Had one all day."

An empty elevator car opened up and Kristina stepped inside. "I'm just going to go drop this mail off downstairs to be sent tomorrow. I've got some Excedrin if that might help."

"It's worth a try," Rory said.

"Cool. See you in a few," Kristina said as the doors slid shut.

Rory turned back toward her room. There were two imperatives at the moment: getting rid of the headache and taking off these damn shoes. At least now her mind wasn't on Alexander.

When Alexander met Kristina in the hotel lobby that night, he was agitated, angry and more than a little horny. And all of it had to do with Rory, whether she knew it or not.

He had tried for no less than three days to push the thoughts of romance with her aside in favor of morality and ethics. It wasn't right for a boss to chase after his assistant. He knew that. But he couldn't deny the fact that it would make even less sense for him to disregard it all together.

He'd tried to convince himself he just needed to get laid. That was how he had come up with the not-so-brilliant idea to invite the vain twit Carrie along for the evening. After a very short time, he had, in fact, discovered that yes, he did need to get laid, but Carrie or someone else like her wouldn't do. He didn't want that anymore. He wanted someone like Rory. Someone who he could at least have a quiet conversation with at an art gallery rather than having to show off to others.

And yet, even as he had ascertained this early on, he had been a jerk all night by ignoring her. He hadn't gone looking for her. Of course, she hadn't sought him out either. A little bit of confirmation from her that she didn't mind his attention would have been nice. Even if she told him to stop it, it would have at least given him the opportunity to move on from his infatuation.

"You look like you're on a mission," Kristina said.

"I'm looking for Rory. Have you seen her?" Alexander asked.

Kristina nodded slowly. "She's up in her room. She just got back. Is something wrong?"

"No," Alexander replied. "I just need to speak to her."

"Well, follow me up," Kristina replied. "I said I would bring over some Excedrin."

"Is she not feeling well?" Alexander asked.

She tapped her head. "Yeah. She has a headache. And I have a feeling its name is Alexander. What did you do to her?"

"Me? I didn't do anything to her," Alexander replied. Well, not really, anyway.

"Whatever," Kristina said. He followed her upstairs and into her room. She handed him the green bottle of Excedrin. "Take this to her. And don't bother her for long. She needs to rest. This is a lot for someone just starting out."

Alexander saluted and stepped out of the room, but paused. "Uh… what room is she in?"

"1809," she replied.

He nodded and followed the numbers down to the end of the hall where the door for 1809 stood ajar, the latch lock holding it open. Alexander lifted his hand and knocked.

"Come i—oof, damn it," said the voice inside the room. "Come in, Kristina! It's open."

Alexander debated on entering without announcing himself. He didn't want to give her the opportunity to leave him outside if she were truly unhappy with him.

She muttered something about shoes killing her without even wearing them as she came around the corner. Her words died on her lips when she saw who it was standing in her bedroom. "Oh my god, don't you knock?" she asked, her voice shrill as she struggled to find more cover than the short silk robe she was wearing. It covered her important parts—the parts he really wouldn't mind seeing, he thought belatedly—but it certainly gave him a good view of her amazing legs and a bit of cleavage.

"I, uh, did knock," he said.

Rory frowned. "That's not what I meant and you know it! You could have told me it was you and not Kristina."

"Uh, sorry," he said. Though he wasn't. Not really, anyway. He very much enjoyed letting his eyes run over her body. It was a shame she always covered it up.

She growled angrily, snatched the Excedrin from his hands and left him standing there. He heard water running and she came back out, her eyes narrowing at him as though preparing for a fight. If it was an argument she wanted, she'd win it. His blood had left his brain and he couldn't formulate words.

"Is there something you needed?" she asked. "Where's your girlfriend? Wait… you had to have left right after me to be here now."

He closed his eyes for a moment, willing his words to return to him; Alexander thought of everything repulsive and unsexy. The battle raged on even as he opened his mouth to reply. "I don't need anything. She's not my girlfriend. And yes, I left right after you and my mother."

"Then why are you here?" she asked, placing her arms on her hips in defiance. It only spread the v-neck of her robe more, exposing a bit of lacy black bra beneath.

Must not stare, he cringed and forced himself to meet her eyes.

"I, uh," he started, swallowing. "I wanted to say…"

"Look, Alexander, I'm really tired. Could we speed this along?" she asked.

He wasn't used to this outspoken, sarcastic Rory. Since their relationship had changed, she had been more open with him, clearly because she was more comfortable than when she started. But this was different. She seemed to have no inhibitions with the angry energy coming from her.

"I just wanted to tell you that you looked amazing tonight," he said. There. It was out of his mouth.

Rory hadn't expected that from him. He could see it as the words hit her like an invisible slap. Her attitude went from angry to bashful in no time. "Thanks," she mumbled, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

"Look, I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together tonight," he said.

Rory shook her head. "Alexander, I'm your assistant, not your sister or your mother or girlfriend or whatever. You don't have to babysit me. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

But it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement before the end of the night, she didn't voice it, but he could read between the lines. Or maybe it was just his guilty conscience. Needing a comment of encouragement wasn't because she hoped he felt more for her. It was simply because she was a woman who needed reassurance.

"Yes, you are my assistant," he said, testing the waters.

"Good," Rory nodded. "Now that we have that straight, I would like to go to bed."

"Fine," he said.

"Fine," she replied, walking toward him.

He didn't move.

"Leave my room, Alexander." She stood in front of him and looked up at him.

Her eyes were a darker shade of green. With gold flecks.

He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere else with her tonight. She had shut down and pushed him back into the neat little box labeled "boss".

"Okay, I'm going." He walked to the door and let himself out. She followed him and held the door as he stepped into the hallway.

"I'll see you in the morning," she replied. "Goodnight."

With that, she shut the door in his face. Alexander took a step back, let out a heavy sigh and hung his head. Well, that had gotten him nowhere. Now he would go up to his suite completely alone and even more confused than he had been before he had come to see her.

[junker-town]

Enjoy our best (and worst) gambling stories

More states will soon legalize gambling. Learn from our mistakes.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court paved the way for legal sports betting when they ruled, 7-2, that the ban on sports betting at the state level was unconstitutional. The decision doesn’t make gambling legal right away, but states will be able to legalize it on their own if they so choose.

Or at least make it more legal, if you know what we mean. Gambling on sports exists now, and not just in Las Vegas. If you’ve ever watched one of a few choice announcers calling an otherwise uneventful game and heard them get very excited all of a sudden for seemingly no reason, you know what I’m talking about.

So this will just make gambling easier for everyone, and maybe allow some of those enthusiast announcers to be a little more explicit about a backdoor cover or a bad beat. Since this isn’t the dawn of sports gambling, some SB Nation writers have entertaining personal experiences from past sports betting that more people may get the chance to replicate (or, sometimes, hopefully not) moving forward.

Where’s my cut?

My dad went to Vegas one time and put a couple hundred dollars on the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup in 2017, many months before they actually did. We agreed we were going to share the bet. I never paid him my share, but I asked for half the winnings anyway. My overture was swatted away like a floater in the direction of Dikembe Mutombo. — Alex Kirshner

Assistant to the bookie

The summer after college I moved home and catered for a few months. One of the chefs (an awesome Italian guy) and I were close and were on the same crew that worked together a lot and were a well-oiled machine. One day, he saw me with my BlackBerry during staff dinner and asked if it got internet. I said yes, and he asked for a baseball score. So I obliged.

A few weddings later he asked me for another baseball score — except neither of the teams playing were the same as the first two teams he had asked about. I asked him which team he was a fan of since he was asking about so many, which is when he took out a tiny book and jotted the score down and said, “Asking you during our shift saves me so much time looking online later. I don’t have a phone with internet.” That book happened to have a whole lot of odds, lines, and names in it, which is when I realized that “fun Italian catering chef” wasn’t his only job.

So all that summer, after the weddings were over and we were waiting for straggling guests to leave, we’d split leftover bottles of wine and go over scores and sometimes he would throw me a few dollars. When he realized the ESPN app also provided odds he’d ask about those if he got a mid-shift call. Which is how I came to be a bookie’s assistant for a summer. — Whitney McIntosh

The tie that binds

When Roy Hodgson was the manager at Fulham, my favorite soccer team, he kept his team very organized defensively. They wouldn’t attack all that much, and they’d sit back and defend well. Thus, a lot of their games ended in ties, especially away from home. So I started betting on that.

I, a college student in New Orleans at the time, opened an account at a gambling website, and for every Fulham away game, I would bet on a tie. At the time it seemed normal and smart, and I did make a little bit of money. But one morning I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to watch that week’s game and, sitting there by myself in my living room, the sun not quite up, I was struck by a horrifying realization.

Nate, I thought to myself, you are a college student in New Orleans, in the prime of your life, living in the greatest city on Earth. And every Saturday you are waking up early in the morning to sit by yourself and watch a soccer game played thousands of miles away, rooting for your favorite team in the world to tie.

That was it. I wised up and stopped. Don’t live like me. — Nate Scott

Blitzed after Blitz

At an arcade in Japan, right around the time I was of legal Japanese drinking age and definitely not slightly under it, I was way into money matches. I played people for around five U.S. dollars per game in things like Street Fighter II, NFL Blitz 2001, Mr. Driller, Tetris, and quite a few others.

Eventually, I got on a pretty good winning streak on Blitz and was getting arrogant with my bets. I had around $200 in cash on me, and one person, whom I had absolutely destroyed in Street Fighter earlier, offered to play me for everything I had in Blitz. I was invincible. I could not lose. So I went for it, and I lost bad. Like extremely bad. Like 49ers beating the Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV bad. Dejected, I left the arcade and realized it was the middle of the night, I had no money for a cab or a bus or anything like that and, furthermore, the trains in the area were not even running.

I wound up in a bar, where I managed to convey my situation to both the person tending bar and a few people around me. Or at least I thought I did. The person behind the bar, seemingly understanding of my plight and sympathetic, put a drink in front of me. I drank it. They put another drink in front of me. I drank it. This happened a few times, and when it was extremely late (or extremely early, I guess), I stood up to leave. Apparently, the person behind the bar did not quite understand, or perhaps I did not quite understand, but they became very irate once they realized I was not paying for what was ... seven or eight alcoholic beverages.

They called the police, who were very quick to show up, pick me up, take me to a station, and talk to me in, thankfully, English, about why I decided to order a bunch of drinks when I had no money. I was drunk, but managed to explain myself by the end of it, and also managed to explain that I had money at my hotel, which I needed help finding, and that it was all a misunderstanding. The police took me to the hotel, and the next day they returned, picked me up, took me back to the bar, and I paid my tab.

I think I am still allowed in Japan. — James Brady

Daughter knows best

I’m not much of a gambler (I mean, other than my unhealthy lifestyle and betting I won’t just die from a heart attack anytime soon), but I’m the kind of person who likes to show how much he believes in an athlete’s ability to overcome staggering odds that I make bold statements.

Like at a wrestling tournament when I turned to my 16-year-old daughter, who is a varsity wrestler at her high school, and I said to her that I thought her boyfriend at the time, Cooper, could beat the defending district champion (who was really, really, really good). She said he couldn’t. I said he could. We played that little game until I said that I bet $20 Cooper would win.

Without hesitation and to my surprise, my daughter shook my hand and then smiled. I chided her a bit for not having faith in her boyfriend’s ability — the week prior, after all, he won a match he shouldn’t have to bring home the victory that won the team district tournament. It turns out that my daughter was right however, and Cooper was destroyed in less than 20 seconds. I watched $1 per second melt out of my pocket and into her greedy, greedy hands. I won’t make the mistake of betting against her again. — Sam Eggleston

I’ve made a terrible mistake.

I had a fake I.D. from the age of 15. My mom still doesn’t know I had one. It was relatively easy with the drinking age being 18, so I obtained an “international student I.D.” card from a travel agency and all I needed for proof of age was my principal’s signature, and she was old and didn’t pay attention — but I digress.

Some friends and I went to a RSL Club, which is an Australian catchall institution of drinking, cheap food and gambling, with proceeds going to veterans. After several screwdrivers, I rocked up to a slot machine that had a cup of 20 cent coins sitting on it. Probably about $3 worth or so. I thought it was my lucky day — not only was I drinking cheap drinks, but I had some free coins to gamble with.

15-year-old James didn’t know the etiquette of gambling, or that this cup was being used as a marker to hold the machine — so he hit the slot a few times before it paid out the jackpot, which was at $210 at the time. James was ecstatic, the 80-something year old veteran who had been on the machine all night and returned from the bathroom to find a kid using his machine and hitting the jackpot was decidedly less enthusiastic.

It was that night I learned that old people used swear words too. It was also that night that I learned that elderly war veterans can still throw a punch. It was the next morning I learned how to explain a mysterious black eye to my mom. At least I had $210 in my pocket. — James Dator

Do you have your own gambling story you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments.

[wellpersonsblog]

5 Ways To Get Babies To Eat More Vegetables

Should babies eat more vegetables? Yes! Try these easy tips from two Registered Dietitian moms, including a quick recipe for Superfood Popsicles.

Hi friends!

Today I’m thrilled to have two friends and fellow RDs taking over the blog to share some tips for introducing veggies to babies and the importance of doing it early and often!

Hello! Let us introduce ourselves. We’re Whitney and Alex, Registered Dietitians, moms and co-creators of Plant-Based Juniors. While we’re both “predominantly plant-based” eaters ourselves, our mission is to get more plants on the table — regardless of what else you’re serving! After seeing private clients for the past decade, we believe that most of us could use a few more plants in our diet, so why not begin that habit right from the start?!

As we both became moms in the last year, we know the struggles that come with deciding what (and how) to feed your children. It’s the reason that we started the Plant-Based Juniors community; a space to share evidence-based nutrition research on feeding kids and a judgment-free zone where we could help each other with all of the many decisions that come with raising healthy eaters, including things like division of responsibility and baby-led weaning (BLW).

Because this mission is so important to us, we also wrote a book, Plant-Based Juniors: First Bites (aff link) that guides parents in guiding baby toward a happy, healthy relationship with food. We provide you with a comprehensive guide to starting solids and answer all of the questions you may have along the way – from the first bite and beyond. We’ve also included 20 plant-based recipes that are perfect for infants!

Think of your baby’s palate like a blank canvas, easily shaped by each new taste and experience. As dietitians and parents, we’re focused on shaping that palate to enjoy all foods, especially nutrient-rich foods like vegetables. At Plant-Based Juniors, we take a baby-led weaning approach for many reasons, but no matter what approach to feeding you take, we recommend adding vegetables at almost every meal.

Studies have shown that babies who eat a wide variety of vegetables during the first year of life go onto eat more vegetables than those that don’t. Sweet-tasting vegetables, like carrots and sweet potatoes, might be accepted more than bitter-tasting vegetables but that’s OK. Continuing to offer different vegetables in different ways helps improve acceptability, even if it gets frustrating for mom and dad!

Now that we’ve shared WHY it’s so important to introduce veggies early and often, here are 5 tips to get you started:

Vary your own diet: Breastfeeding? Then your diet may be just as important as baby’s. According to recent studies, babies are more likely to enjoy the foods their moms ate while breastfeeding over new foods they were never exposed to. If you are nursing, here’s one more reason to pile on the vegetables.

Add spice: Yes, babies like flavor! We don’t know where the idea of bland baby-food came from, but it likely wasn’t from a baby! Season baby’s food the same way you would yours. All seasonings are on the table, except for salt, sugar and anything too spicy. Experimenting with different spice blends is a great way to expose your baby to new flavors. 

Make superfood popsicles: We consider popsicles to be the perfect place for leftover smoothies and green juices – throw them into a popsicle mold, freeze and you’re done! Enjoy the recipe below for our Superfood Popsicles.

Offer them often: The key to acceptability? Making vegetables part of baby’s everyday routine. This is true for kids of all ages. The more they are exposed to veggies, the more they are willing to try them. We like to offer a vegetable in some form at every meal; it doesn’t need to be fancy – even steamed broccoli or finely-chopped spinach in scrambled eggs works!

Make a dip: We all know that kids love dips! If your baby is less than a year old, dollop the vegetable dip onto steamed vegetable fingers or spread a thin layer on toast. For older kids, offer the dip alongside items you know they will eat. Almost any vegetable dip works. We like blending spinach, cooked beets or steamed carrots into hummus or yogurt.

  If you want to learn more about BLW, our First Bites ebook provides guidance on how to start baby-led weaning, 20 baby-led weaning recipes, and how to incorporate key nutrients in a baby-led weaning approach. You can use code ‘pbjpartner’ for 10% off.

And now it’s recipe time! Like we mentioned above, superfood popsicles are an easy way to get vitamin and mineral-rich greens into your infant’s diet.  We use a basic formula of greens + a vitamin C source (for enhanced iron absorption) + fruit to balance. The possibilities with these popsicles are endless! Bonus – they’re especially appealing to teething babies who need a little extra love on their gums.

Remember, the first few weeks and months of introducing solids to babies can shape their eating preferences for a lifetime. Therefore, we recommend introducing bitter greens early and often!  

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Superfood Popsicles

An easy way to introduce vitamin & mineral-rich bitter greens to babies.

Author: Lindsay

Yield: Makes 4 popsicles

Ingredients

1/3 cup breast milk, formula or water ½ cup chopped greens of choice (try spinach, arugula, kale) ½ cup chopped fruit of choice (try peach, apple, pear, berries) 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice

Instructions

Puree all ingredients in a high-powered blender or food processor until smooth.

Strain, using a fine mesh strainer. This step is optional, but provides a smoother texture when using heartier greens or fruits with peels.

Pour into popsicle molds, cover and freeze until hardened, about 3-4 hours.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

For more tasty, easy recipes for kids, check out our ebook Plant-Based Juniors: First Bites (aff link) and follow us on Instagram @plantbasedjuniors!

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

First found here: 5 Ways To Get Babies To Eat More Vegetables

[stellaad-astra-blog]

ii. sophomore spring 2009

Maybe it’s divine providence that Magnus Chung, my ever-reliable Thursday lecture buddy, dropped his bagel on the sidewalk on the way to class this morning. At 10:42, exactly 3 minutes before the start of the lecture, Magnus, all five feet and seven inches of his Tiger Mom-constructed, beige cargo shorts-wearing, Chinese fire flute-playing, Death Crusade 4-loving, Steve Jobs-worshipping self runs into the room and heads straight for the professor’s desk. He is barely understandable as he pants and sputters at Henry Cavanaugh, who crosses his arms and listens sympathetically to his case.

As far as gentlemen go, Dr. Cavanaugh is the whole package: the whiskey, the tweed, the full beard, the English manners. He has an air of wisdom and regal strength about him, like he might have been a valiant and beloved Scottish king in a past life. He has a heavy soul presence, my mom would say.

It’s only when Cavanaugh’s piercing blue eyes turn to me in my usual chair, in the third row on far left, right behind Stacey P.’s blonde ponytail, put everything together. The streak of coffee down Magnus’s shirt and the crumpled, stained papers on the table were tell-tale signs that the midterm paper that we had spent most of Tuesday night and yesterday on had not been spared in Magnus’ collision with the pavement. ‘These things happen,’ I hear Dr. Cavanaugh say sympathetically to Magnus before calling me over. I get up and run to the front of the room to where the two of them were standing to receive my instructions.

“Of course, professor, yes alright,” I hear myself say, though the words seem like they’re coming from outside of me.

He nods and checks the wall clock hanging by the exit, “You have until 11:05, Alex. Don’t be late.”

I clap Magnus on the shoulder and hand him my jacket, “Here you go, buddy. This should cover up the coffee stain until you can get into a new set of clothes.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and pocket the thumb drive Magnus passes to me, whistling as I leave the room. Easy.

Dr. Cavanaugh’s office is on the 4th floor, just a few flights up from the lecture hall. I repeat the instructions in my head like a song: down the corridor, second door to the left, right by the big window that overlooks a small courtyard. The gold nameplate on the door is as fancy as I had expected. Whistling, I turn the knob and push the heavy door open.

The door groans as I step in to see a someone standing in the back of the bright room. She is reaching for something on a high shelf, her back to me.

“Oh! Good morning, Professor, I wasn’t expecting you--,” she turns and stops mid-sentence. The song in my head stops. She looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Her dark hair is piled on top of her head in a bun, a pair of red-rimmed glasses rest on the non-existent bridge of her nose. Her face is bare except for the same blush creeping over her cheeks. Her surprise mirrors the one from our encounter over a year ago.

She is scanning her eyes over me in disbelief, as if trying to process my presence. “Well, I’ll be damned,” the way she regards me drips with amusement and irony. “I remember you.”

My lips twitch up into a smirk. I remember her, too. I’ve seen her around in the student center and in the computer lab in Whitney Hall, and once when she looked like she was on a date at the Gotham Comedy Club. I feel my stomach flip and my vision blur a little, so I blink a few times and try to smile at her coolly. This is stupid. You’re supposed to outgrow this nervousness at 15. If I open my mouth right now, I risk saying something lame or pervy, because I can’t get the image of her standing in front of me in a tight, white tank top and ridiculous orange shorts out of my head. I remember seeing her at the library during finals week, chewing on the end of her pen, a strand of hair fall out of her braid and onto her face. Just.. pretty. I don’t know what to say, but my feet start to pace and I only hope it seems natural.

I let her watch me as I stalk around the room, looking through the tall shelves full of books and trinkets. I scan over some of the titles and inspect a blue Buddha figurine. I pretend not to notice the way she sizes me up. I circle back to her, standing on the other side of the desk she was rifling through.

When I don’t say anything, she licks her lips and shifts, her hip jutting out to the side. “It’s Stella,” she reminds me. Her brow quirks up and she crosses her arms over chest loosely.

“I remember. I’m Alex, in case you don’t,” I turn to her, smiling innocently and pushing my right hand out for her to shake. “How’s your…”

“Ex-suitemate? Elle is doing great, last I heard. I moved out after freshman year, but I remember she wasn’t too happy about you losing her number——” Yes. Damn, that girl was awful. She left me in her bed and went to spin class, expecting me to see myself out.

I fight hard to resist rolling my eyes and scoffing, “I saw her at Prysm two weeks later with Craig.” Total douchebag. They were made for each other. “Honestly, she didn’t seem too broken up about it.”

“Ah yes, C-Dawg,” she gives me a wry look and I smirk, “Did we really expect any different from someone who lives like her life is a cross-over between Gossip Girl and Jersey Shore?”

Phew, apply ointment to burn. “Oh and did you want a prize for originality, Little Miss Hot Topic?” My mouth runs before I am able to stop myself from commenting on her cheesy band shirt. I’ve learned that it’s generally not a good idea to tease girls about what they’re wearing, but I am laughing and thankfully, so is she.

Her jaw drops and her brows raise as she looks at me in mock defense, “Actually, it’s the real deal,” she says with thinly-veiled smugness as she points to the blurred scribble in silver ink on the front of her shirt. “I was back home for the Incubus World Tour in Manila and I got backstage passes. He signed it while I was wearing it, right on my left tit. Total rockstar. 100 pur-cent.”

Tit. She said tit. I nod, “Classy.”

“As always.” she sing-songs. For a few seconds, she stands there and I watch the particles of dust floating in the sunlight above her. She straightens up, looks around, and clears her throat, “So Sparky, as much as I love this little reunion, let’s talk about what you’re really doing in Cavanaugh’s office.” she says, “How may I help you?”

[martens-movie-reviews]

Released: August 18, 2017 Running Time: 1 hour 58 minutes

“The world’s top protection agent is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hit men. The relentless bodyguard and manipulative assassin have been on the opposite end of the bullet for years and are thrown together for a wildly outrageous 24 hours. During their journey from England to the Hague, they encounter high-speed car chases, outlandish boat escapades and a merciless Eastern European dictator who is out for blood.”

Hitman’s Bodyguard is a movie that caught me by surprise, as I had never heard about it until I saw a trailer that was either a homage or a parody of ‘The Bodyguard’ movie, even having Whitney Houston’s song during the trailer. The promotional poster is even the same theme and style, which is pictured below.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard – Source – VVS Films

The Bodyguard – 1992 – Source – Warner Brothers

I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since. I went into this movie hoping that it was a fun, action – packed comedy with two great leads who have amazing comedic timing, and I was not disappointed in that respect.

I got to see this movie at an advanced screening on the evening of Wednesday August 16. I had originally won a pair of tickets to see the movie, and I had asked my brother in law to go with me as my girlfriend was working until 7, and the movie started at 7:30, not thinking she would make it in time. My sister got upset when I didn’t invite her, since she did not enjoy Atomic Blonde (the previous movie I brought her to), and she felt as if I owed her a good movie. It turns out that I won 2 pairs of tickets (as I entered every contest for these tickets), and so I asked my girlfriend to try and make it, and also got to make my sister happy and ‘pay her back’.

I’m happy to report that according to my sister, I have settled my ‘debt’, as she enjoyed the movie. This movie is rated ’14A’ for graphic violence, a torture scene, and a liberal amount of the swear word ‘Motherf-er‘.

Cast and Crew

This movie was directed by Patrick Hughes, a director whose work I was not familiar with when I originally her he was directing. His previous works includes 2010’s ‘Red Hill‘, and 2014s ‘Expendables 3‘. It turns out, I have seen one of his movies, and it’s what I believe to be the worst of the Expendables movies. I will say that I believe that this is a much better film than the Expendables movie, and in my eyes, has redeemed himself (1 bad movie, 1 great movie).

Pilgrimage was written by Tom O’Connor, whose previously only written one other movie, ‘Fire with Fire‘, which was in 2012. He’s not done any other writing work that I can research, so I was extremely skeptical about the overall story of the movie after finding that out, and I was right in doing so. The script of the movie was not a strong part of the movie, and if it wasn’t for the amazing chemistry and talent of the two leads, this movie would have fallen flat.

The cast of The Hitman’s Bodyguard features a bevy of talented actors such as Ryan Reynolds as the Bodyguard Michael Bryce, Samuel L. Jackson as the Hitman Darius Kincaid, Salma Hayek as Darius’ wife Sonia Kincaid, Gary Oldman as Vladislav Dukhovich, Elodie Yung as Amelia Roussel, Rod Hallett as Professor Asimov,  Richard E. Grant as Seifert, Yuri Kolokolnikov as Ivan, Tine Joustra as Renata Casoria, and Joaquim de Almeida as Jean Foucher. 

The Good

The music by Atli Örvarsson, was memorable and perfectly captured the tone and feel of the movie. The Cinematographer Jules O’Loughlin, did a wonderful job in capturing the beauty of the scenic cities featured in the movie, as well as capturing the action scenes without the need of ‘100 cut’ scenes to display the action.

The chemistry between Reynolds and Jackson was everything that I was hoping it would be. I can’t believe that they’ve never worked together before, and now I hope that I get the chance to see them work together again. They did a wonderful job of getting on the same wavelength for this film, and this is what carries the movie.

Hitman’s Bodyguard was marketed as a funny action movie, and I have to say that this movie was funnier than I expected. I heard more laughs, and I laughed more during this film than I have in anything I have seen all year. Now, comedy is very subjective, and I can understand why some people will disagree with me on this point, however, this is my opinion.

Outside of Reynolds and Jackson, who I’ve previously mentioned above, Yung and Hayek also did a great job in the small amount of screentime that they got in their portrayals. I feel like while Gary Oldman did a good job with what he was given, he was wasted as a villain in this movie.

The action in this movie, whether it be a car / motorcycle / boat chase in Amsterdam, to the hand to hand combat, to the many gunfights displayed in this movie were all really well shot and choreographed in my opinion. I loved the action in this movie, and there were some brutal moments in the film, and a large body count of endless ‘bad guys’, the action worked for me. I can understand that some people will wonder about the logic and question the amount of bad guys, but this is a movie, it’s not a serious depiction of events, nor is it trying to be. It’s a hilarious, fun, action packed movie that I enjoyed.

The Not So Good

The overall story of the film felt very flat, in the way that if you have seen any action comedy movie in the last 20 years, it’s a very similar plot to all the other movies. It’s very similar to another Reynolds movie, 2012’s ‘Safe House’, except this movie is the comedic version.

The twist and turns in this movie was very predictable, now, did this predictability ruin my experience in watching this movie? No, it didn’t because Reynolds’ and Jackson’s chemistry and comedy made up for it in spades for me, however, it was a weak point for the film.

The film was too long in my opinion, where it could have lost the opening scene of the movie, as it’s tone is very different than the rest of the movie. While it does show the horror of the villain it could have been shown differently. There were also other scenes that could’ve been cut or shortened to bring this movie to around 95-105 minutes instead of the 116 that we got. I loved this movie, and even I at one point was looking at my watch to see how much longer was left.

Final Thoughts and Score

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is hilarious, action – packed, and fun movie. The story was a little flat, and the movie could have been shorter, removing some scenes entirely. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds’ previous work. It was funnier than I expected and featured a song battle between the two leads that came out of nowhere and perfectly encapsulated the tone of the film. In the end, I would give this film a score of 8/10.

Have you seen this film, if yes, what did you think, if not, do you plan on watching it? Let me know in the comments below!

What movie would you like me to review?

Thanks for reading,

Alex

The Hitman’s Bodyguard Non – Spoiler Review Released: August 18, 2017 Running Time: 1 hour 58 minutes “The world's top protection agent is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world's most notorious hit men.