Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
His gaze holds mine, his eyes resolute. “I’ve never felt pressure. And I’d take any of my clients out to celebrate. So let’s do it, Zane.”
A few weeks ago, I might have bristled at the super agent attitude. But I see through him today. Any of my clients is a safe cover-up for the truth. He’s stealing a chance to spend time with me too.
Even if it’s just drinks.
I can’t wait for the game to end.
18
SEXY ERGO
Zane
With two cocktails in hand, I weave through the crowded speakeasy in Chelsea, past throngs of twenty-somethings out for a night in the city. A guy in a goatee, lounging on a blue velvet couch, tips his chin my way. “Dragons suck,” he mutters.
“Thanks, man,” I say. Nothing can bring me down tonight. We destroyed the Comets in a ten to three rout. Three of those runs were batted in by me. Off Cohen. I already sent my brother a thank you very much note.
“Comets rule,” the fan adds, louder this time.
“Not tonight they didn’t,” I toss out over my shoulder, then make my way to a dark nook in the back, a corner spot away from the crowds. I rejoin Maddox for our second round of drinks. I hold up the bright red concoctions, complete with silly umbrellas. “For the man of the hour. Wait. That’s wrong. The man of the night.”
He grins, and that’s my invitation to keep going.
“The man of the week? The month? The man of the year.”
Rolling his eyes, he pats the couch. “I’m just doing my job. Sit down.”
Sternly, I stare at him. “No.”
“No, you won’t sit?”
“No, you do not get to downplay what you pulled off,” I say.
“Zane, I’m not going to pat myself on the back,” he says, then tips his forehead to the couch cushion. “C’mon.”
I puff out my chest. “That’s why I’m going to pat you on the back. You deserve it,” I say. That’s what tonight is for—the chance for me to show him I respect and appreciate him. We can pull this off, snapping right back into place as agent and client. That’s all I can have of him, but it’ll have to be enough.
Sitting next to him, I catch a whiff of his fading ocean scent, then do my best to ignore its effect on me.
I hand him a frozen strawberry daiquiri.
“Can’t believe you really like daiquiris,” he says, amused, as he takes the glass.
“I’m man enough to like a scotch and a daiquiri.”
“I wasn’t doubting your manhood.”
“Good. You better not,” I say, then I tip my glass to his, clinking. “To you.” I knock back some of my drink and…my brain freezes. “Holy shit, that’s cold.”
“Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth,” he says with his brand of calm savviness.
“Press your tongue against the roof of my mouth,” I suggest, since I’m helpful like that.
He laughs until my brain freeze fades.
“Whew. Time for another one,” I say, then take a smaller drink. “Ah, yes. I’m imagining I’m on a tropical beach now.”
What I wouldn’t give to lounge by the water with him.
But that’s not in the cards. I mentally wave off those dirty dreams as I stretch my arm across the back of the small couch. I don’t touch him. I don’t want to tempt him or me. “I wouldn’t mind being in Cabo ordering daiquiris. Or Hawaii. Or Fiji,” I add, and I don’t say with you, even though I want that.
I’m a dog learning new tricks.
“So basically all the tropical places,” he says drily.
“I like beaches. I like oceans. I like cocktails. You know what else I like?”
“What’s that?”
“I like patting you on the back. So I’m going to.”
He sighs, but relents. “Fine.”
I set down the drink, then rub my palms together. “All right, let’s start with the basics. Last fall, I asked Vance to pursue some deals. He worked on the video game company, but that fell apart,” I recount, and I’m no longer irked by that failed negotiation. “I was the wrong guy to endorse that company. And you’re the one who had the guts to tell me.”
A small smile tips his lips. Like he’s proud I see him as an upfront agent.
“Then, there was Energize Drinks. You had to give me the bad news about that deal the night we met. And you were tough enough to do it even though you thought I was gonna walk because we’d hit on each other.”
“I was admittedly concerned,” he says.
“And through it all, you had a plan. Find the right fit for me. You were like a doctor diagnosing the condition,” I say, fueled by the passion this man brought to the job. “And you had the medicine.”
“All I wanted was to get the right deal for you,” he says, trying to downplay his work.
I’ll have none of that. “And you did it in mere weeks,” I say, riled up. The hair on my arms stands on end with a new realization—Maddox went the distance, outperforming anything Vance ever did. No shade on the dude who’s repped me since the start, but Maddox walked in and took care of business out of the gate. “You’re the problem solver,” I declare. “Your tie video idea was fantastic. It’s baller that you pulled this together at the last minute.”