Sushi for One? by Camy Tang Page B

Indian badge attached to the flap. Stanford’s old mascot. “Wow. How did you get that?”
    He shifted his bag in front. “Isn’t it great? I got it from a retired football coach. All my coworkers are jealous.”
    “I am too. I wasn’t born yet when Stanford retired that mascot.”
    His eyes seemed to glitter with curiosity. “Did you go to Stanford?”
    “No — not smart enough. I went to San Jose State, and my cousins have all gone to Berkley.”
    He tilted his head and his forehead wrinkled slightly. “You know a lot about Stanford for a Cal fan.”
    She shrugged to hide her embarrassment. His tone reminded her of when her male cousins teased her about her sports fanaticism.
    Then she remembered where she was. SPZ. Sports Mecca of Silicon Valley. Largest sports presence on the net. She was a sports nut just like any one of them. Oh, yeah ! “Where did you go to school?”
    “Sac State.”
    “Oh, did you see the game last night? I thought Lloyd would hit fifty points.”
    “That foul on him was so wrong.”
    “Thornton should have taken Stuart out. He hasn’t been shooting well since he came back from that ankle injury.”
    “Jamieson was smart to keep Costello on him.”
    “Yeah, that was brilliant. Stuart didn’t have a chance.”
    His direct, intense gaze reminded her of Aiden, except this man’s eyes were harder, more shrewd. “What do you think of UC Davis baseball this year?”
    “Disappointing. All their key players graduated last year, and the new coach is failing his fresh blood. But their wrestling team is doing really well. I think they’re going to go to nationals.”
    “You follow a lot of different college sports.” His mild tone contrasted his shrewd eyes, which seemed to search her face for her answer, not just listening to what she said.
    “I love sports. I grew up with just my brother and my dad.”
    “Not to be rude, but it’s kind of surprising.”
    Lex gave a rueful snort. “Yeah, you kind of expect an Asian to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, right?” Like most of her cousins, who were pushed to excel in school, which just fed the stereotype.
    “You’re here for an interview?”
    Lex grimaced as she glanced down at her stained blouse and felt a fresh breeze spin a cold finger up her skirt. “For uh . . . receptionist. I’m actually a manufacturing engineer, but I’ve always wanted to work at SPZ and thought I’d get my foot in the door.”
    “Oh.” He smiled, the lines deepening around his wide mouth.
    “Russell Davis.” He held out his hand.
    “Lex Sakai. Trust me, you don’t want to shake my hand.”
    “Got a business card, Lex?”
    She flipped open her folio — her brother had given her one of his extras, so who cared if she got her hand gunk on it? She passed him a card.
    “Thanks. It was nice talking to you.”
    “You too.” She watched him walk away. Professional despite her appearance and her smell. She sniffed her shoulder. Yup, she still smelled like rubber and car grease.
    What a nice guy. Too bad he hadn’t been the one hiring.

    Well, Lex would need to look for another engineering job in the morning. Maybe she’d find something with a nice pay raise so she could buy a condo. She didn’t dislike living with Dad, but she had turned thirty and thought she really ought to be on her own.
    Lex weighed her options while waiting for the tow truck to haul her klunker-mobile to the nearest body shop, who said it would be ready in a couple days. She paid an exhorbitant price for a full-size rental car — all they had last-minute — and reveled in the fact that the engine actually turned over the first time she tried.
    Thing is, now that all her potential sponsors had said no — which was really strange, come to think of it — she’d either have to get a boyfriend or use the money saved for a down payment for the girls’ playoffs costs. Too bad it wasn’t enough. If she really had to, maybe she could borrow the rest of what she’d need from Dad