Page 57 of Hard to Score

“Let me be clear on one thing. I’m not a fan of wild goose chases, Justin.”

“Noted.”

Silence stretches as neither of us want to bend our wills, especially considering he’ll be back in New York less than thirty hours after the game. Wouldn’t it be easier to meet then?

But that’s not how Justin plays. I know that much.

He likes the trappings of fame. The entourage. The people who come at the snap of his fingers. People chasing after him for his business.

That’s the only way this is going to work. My satisfying his need to be sought after.

The problem? I’m already committed to being in North Carolina on Sunday.

“Give me one sec,” I murmur as my fingers fly over my keyboard and I check flights. I can be in Miami by five p.m. today then leave Saturday for Chapel Hill.

“I’ll be there tonight. We’ll talk then.”

“Tonight?”

“You said if I wanted your business I needed to come to you.”

“Responsive.” He chuckles. “You have no idea how much I like that.”

I ignore the innuendo and the suggestion I hear in his tone and say, “I’ll be in touch.”

The bright side in all of this? I might land the client I’ve been chasing. Even brighter? Miami means there’s a chance of seeing Drew again.

And yes, I’m fully aware that that means I’m chasing after a man.

But I’m just going to pretend that I’m not.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

BREXTON

“THAT’S WHAT I REQUIRE IN order to sign with you and be under KSM management.”

“So that’s the ultimatum huh?” I ask. “I need to get you traded to the Los Angeles Chargers or Rams and then you’ll transfer your representation over to me?”

“Simple, right?”

I all but laugh as I meet his eyes across the table in the back corner of a small Cuban restaurant I decided on. It’s crowded enough that there are people around in case Justin decides to get handsy but not too loud where he can’t hear me.

The fact that I even had to navigate those boundaries says more than enough about the character and reputation of the man sitting across from me.

I shake my head. “You’re asking the impossible. There’s no way in hell any management team is going to listen to me, let alone negotiate with me on your behalf, when they already know you’re represented by someone else. It’s unethical and frankly kind of shitty for you to ask me to consider it.”

His nonchalant shrug and unapologetic smile grates on my nerves. If he’s asking this of me before I’m his agent, I fear what he’d ask once I am.

Especially since I’d have already broken rules for him.

“I prefer to call it dangling the carrot to see how hungry you are for it.”

“I don’t like carrots,” I deadpan. “In fact, I hate them.” I lean across the table. “What I prefer are athletes who are straightforward and without bullshit. That’s the kind of thing that excites me, Justin. Those are the athletes I like to fight for.”

He stares at me with confusion etched in the lines of his face, almost as if he can’t figure out if I just insulted him or not. “Isn’t this the part where you as an agent are supposed to be showing me just how good you really are?” he asks over the top of his beer bottle.

“No, this is the part where I tell you that you’re asking the impossible. Like I told you on the phone, I don’t like games and, frankly you’re playing one right now. Without that little thing called a signed contract, I literally have no authority to act on your behalf. I can bring you up in a casual conversation, I can mention you to the general managers when discussing possibilities, but as far as flat-out asking, it can’t happen.”