AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had definitely struggled this morning when we woke up.
After hanging out for hours at Gizzy’s yesterday, we’d gone back to my place and relaxed for the rest of the day, bringing a bottle of wine out by the pool. With AJ’s head resting on my chest, we switched back and forth between talking and simply laying there, watching the sun go down.
The sky was streaked with purple, orange and gold when I got the text from Knox.
KNOX: Let’s sign that contract tomorrow.
Before I so much as pumped my fist, I flashed AJ the screen.
And the next thing I knew, she was squealing, cheering with such triumph and excitement that I couldn’t help but forget about Knox in that moment—about why I’d been quietly chasing him for years.
All I could think about was AJ. Because I knew what this meant for her.
Given how closely we worked, my success was always hers, but it was different this time. Because of RTA. Schilling. She was stronger than to let the demons from her past haunt her every day, but still, I knew this felt good, deeply satisfying—especially since she’d been the one to hook Knox. To lead that meeting and beat him at his own game of bluntness.
“This is the secret weapon right here.”
Surrounded by his team, Knox sat at Engelman’s desk, nodding at AJ and setting off a round of laughter that allowed me to keep watching her as I pleased.
I liked that she wasn’t looking at me. It gave me the chance to just soak her in as she smiled and talked to Knox, who clearly couldn’t help himself from chatting her up a bit more today, because as gorgeous as she was on her own, she was radiating happiness right now, and it was genuinely fucking mesmerizing. The glow of her skin was probably a result of the cardio we did till 2AM, but her smile was about far more than that.
It was bigger, brighter than I’d ever seen it, and I couldn’t stop staring even as she caught my eye and snuck a knowing smirk across the room that made a big-ass grin spread onto my lips.
Oh, yeah.
I was fucked.
But I kind of knew I’d be after bringing her to Gizzy’s yesterday. It was the kind of mistake that I knew I was making as I made it, that I wanted to make because as much as I knew I needed to compartmentalize my life, I couldn’t help but indulge my temptation to just bring her to that happy place of mine. The private spot that had been my secret escape for so many years. I couldn’t explain my need to be there with her. To have other people see us together.
I just knew it meant I was fucked.
But in a way that I didn’t exactly mind being right now, because oddly enough, it felt okay. Right, even.
“Too early to drink, Maxwell?”
The question came from Engelman after the room had cleared and he’d asked me to stay behind.
“We’ve had eighteen-year-old Scotch in this room at 9AM before. Is this a real question?” I asked. He laughed.
“Nah. Just a formality,” he said as he poured two glasses. “I only wish I got to see the fucks at RTA react to this news.”
“Trust me, same here.”
“You know, if you keep up this kind of work, you could be partner here soon.”
“I’m flattered, but if anyone’s going to be promoted for the Knox signing, it’s AJ. She did half the work,” I said.
Engelman chuckled. “She’s quite good at what she does, but I’m promoting Davis this year.”
“You’re shitting me. That kiss-ass?” I didn’t even try to hide my contempt, because Davis was an inept suck-up who was the son of Engelman’s college buddy, so it was pretty clear what was going on here.
Engelman shrugged. “What are you going to do, huh?” he said, as if this were just out of his hands.
“I can answer that—you can recognize AJ’s talent sooner rather than later, so you don’t lose both her and me,” I snorted, taking a drink.
“I already told you, I’ll burn Thorn Sports to the goddamned ground if you ever leave us for them,” Engelman said with a grin.
“My best friend’s run the place for the past six years, Don. If I wanted to leave, I would’ve done it awhile ago. You know LA’s my home. Always has been, always will be. And as long as I’m happy here, I’m retiring Engelman.”
