“He’s getting nervous about the upcoming deal,” I said with a smile. “I like that. We’ll make him sweat a bit more.”
“And if they transfer me?”
“Not happening,” I assured him. “Your contract’s watertight, and I made sure it was.”
“Okay, I know, I just like to ask. Got family to think of.”
“You’re sitting in a house that’s worth four million, your money’s invested, and you are set for life. Don’t play the pauper card with me.”
As we spoke about other things, I heard his kids arrive home, and I told him to go, and we’d talk later.
Jer was good people, his friendship kept me grounded, and on days like today, it was nice to speak to someone who wasn’t in my crazy.
Heading up the stairs, I considered my own house. Worth a little more than Jer’s, set in its own grounds, secluded and quiet. Belle Meade had a range of properties, and although I wasn’t top-end, I wasn’t bottom either. Four bedrooms, five baths, and the whole downstairs was open plan with a cinema room, gym and pool on the lower ground floor. I had an outdoor pool, too, but the Tennessee heat hadn’t picked up enough to take advantage of my morning laps outside.
The master bedroom had a full ensuite bathroom and a separate walk-in closet. It also benefited from a wraparound, balcony as it was a corner suite.
The views were pleasant, and the privacy glass allowed me to look out without anyone looking in.
After showering and getting ready for bed, I picked up my tablet and went over my clients’ upcoming contract breaks andrenewals. I had several who were due for renewal, and I had some ready to move on. I needed to consider all the possibilities before I committed them to anything.
I also picked up the contract Neil had wanted Angel to look at for Johnathan’s new hockey player. He’d suffer from losing the one from today, but personally, I would rather have the loss.
It looked adequate. I wanted to delete it and start again, but I left it, knowing Angel would.
I then spent the better part of an hour watching the tapes of my brothers and cousin on off-season practice. I needed to be able to sharpen their skills to get the scouts to sit up and take notice.
Not that they weren’t being noticed, but they weren’t being noticed enough. It was going to be a hard sell. Three offensive players are being picked up at the same time by the same team. It was a long shot. If I could talk one or two of them into stepping back, I would pull it off better, but who would I ask? The QB with the precision point throwing arm? The tight end with the perfect balance of offensive and defensive skills? Or the running back with the speed of a cheetah and the build of a linebacker?
It was impossible.
Throwing my tablet aside, I decided it could be an impossible task for tomorrow. I had a meeting at eight in the morning, and I wanted to do an hour in the gym before heading into the office.
I also needed to check in with Cooper regarding the security film.
Letting out a deep exhale, I closed my eyes.
Almost immediately, an image of wide dark eyes in a pale face flooded my mind. Groaning, I turned over. I didn’t need the vampire sucking on my dreams tonight. “Fuck off, Angel,” I muttered in the dark.
It was enough that I dealt with her during the day; I didn’t need her invading my thoughts at night. I knew it was because I’d been talking about her to Jer. In fact, she had pretty much been in my face all day, so it made sense she was prominent at nighttime too.
Rolling over, I switched on the speakers, hoping that the calming sound of ocean waves would lull me to sleep and block any more thoughts of little vampires from my head and allow me to sleep.
It must have worked, because the ringing of a phone woke me long before I was ready.
