Chapter 22: Angel
Neil looked at me and then over his shoulder to Onyx, who waltzed away like he had said nothing more damning thanit was hot today.
“Err . . .”
I jumped in before I got a lecture. “Neil, please, it’s nothing to worry about.”
Neil was a great guy, older, refined, proper gentleman from the South. His suits were always sharp, and his shoes were always polished. I liked that about him — shiny shoes.
And I was obviously freaking out.
“It’s just you two are—”
“Difficult. I get it, I do. Please, just ignore him. He says things for shock value, you know he does. He’s just an attention-seeking brat.” I was nodding like a puppet. I was going to kill him.
“So you didn’t, you know, last night?”
Well, just come out and ask me, Neil, why don’t you?
“It won’t happen again,” I assured him. He looked more concerned when I confirmed it, and I knew that I couldn’t stand here any longer. “I’m going to start work,” I said with a bright fake smile.
As I passed the dickhead’s office, I gave him a death stare that would have made other men quake. He simply ignored me, because he wasn’t a man, he was a monster.
Why had I forgotten who Onyx Santo was?
At what time in the last few weeks had my guard slipped so low that I humanized a Devil?
Furious with myself, I opened one of my contract renewals for a client whose team was being evasive. Skimming it one more time, I saw the nuances, the soft gives, and the hard nos. As Ilooked at it, my anger with people who took what they wanted and gave nothing back mounted.
Fuck this contract.
Hitting delete, I phoned my client.
“Hey, Tyquan, how are you?” I asked him.
“My Angel!” he greeted me warmly. Tyquan was one of my pro footballers, and honestly, he was my favorite. He was generous, kind, a pillar of his community, and a shit hot safety. His team were dicks for not biting my hand off for his renewal. “How’s talks?”
“I want to pull you from LA.” The line went silent, and I waited.
“Ohhh-kay . . . why?”
“They treat you with no respect,” I said as I leaned back in the chair, fixing my ear pods so I could be hands-free. “I sent the contract renewal, and they made changes. The changes are for pussies.”
Tyquan laughed out loud. “Who firedyouup today?” he asked me.
“Dickheads who think they can take what they want from nice people who deserve more,” I told him truthfully. “You’re an asset and a game changer. Have you seen your stats from last year? I mean, come on, what’s that worth if it’s not an extension of some really incredible income growth or a new team that recognizes gold not brass.”
Tyquan whooped loudly. “I hear you. Okay, who wants me?”
“Three. I won’t share yet — you know I hate to influence you.”Or don’t have three to share.Onyx wasn’t the only one who could bullshit.
“Okay, Angel, but float it past my current GM. Shake him up to realize he may get hit by the Balan Tornado.”
I laughed out loud. Only Tyquan called me that, and I secretly liked it. “I will, give me two days, and be prepared to pack your bags, my friend.”
“All good. Thanks, Angel.”
With the go-ahead from Tyquan to look, I then spent the morning finding the right teams for my client. I also drafted the terms I wanted to get him and the salary range he deserved. By mid-afternoon, I had my proposal sharpened and calls in and was waiting for three general managers of opposing teams.
