AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Adrianna and Bron did not call him on their way home.
He wished that he could have been a part of their afternoon commute and not here setting things up for his departure. He decided to use the time constructively and meet with his assistant. Marli was the daughter of two of the crew members at Emperor Stadium. Her parents had always been nice to him when he was playing. Cam hired her straight out of college as a favor to them and he’d never been sorry. She was a sweet kid, shockingly efficient, didn’t harbor some sort of crush on him, and there was no way Chase could get inside her panties.
In her pink skirt with purple tights underneath, she couldn’t look older than fifteen. The one time they’d met, Bron had taken one look at her and declared her a fashion icon. He liked Marli but he needed to get her out of here. He wanted to talk to his daughter at leisure. He’d missed her like crazy all day. How was that possible? He’d never known about her and now he couldn’t deal with a few hours of separation well.
“You’ll need to handle things here while I’m gone. I’m always a phone call away and I want you to travel to Maryland every two weeks to meet with me. I also need you to check on the sale of the Acacia Falls property. Chase and Lux have no desire to go back and have decided to sell it. It’s a money pit right now and I could be throwing that cash into other investments.”
Marli scribbled as fast as she kept nodding. The bobbing of her head was pretty much a recording mechanism.
“While you’re at it, tell the realtor I need her to look for a beach house an hour or two from Baltimore. I want to have a short getaway place to take Adri and Bron. And remind her that I need some other investment properties in Maryland. Tell her I want in on new developments and row houses.”
“Okay, Cam. I’ll also make sure your lawyers and Chase get copied on the communication. Do you want it all in your name? Or some in Bron’s too?”
He smiled and nodded. “Also, find me a nice row house in the city. Fells Point, Federal Hill overlooking The Inner Harbor, Canton, or Harbor East. I want a place for Lux to run her blog and where she is close to everything.”
Marli nodded. “Will do. Is that all on your side?”
“No, I have one more thing. The two-bedroom apartment in the basement. I had it done for whenever one of my teammates stayed over. You know I don’t like strangers in my space?”
“We all know, Cam.”
He ignored the dryness in her tone. “I was thinking that I need someone to house sit when Lux moves south. I was wondering if you would—”
Her eyes went wide like an anime character’s. “I’ll do it,” she gasped.
Cam chuckled. “You won’t have to pay for anything, just your own food. I’ll just need you to go through the house, sort my mail and make sure I see what I need to see. You can work from the office. I can have the furniture removed from the apartment if you want and you can bring your own stuff.”
“Are you serious? I live in a small, Bronx apartment where my parents had everything covered in thick clear plastic. My room only has my clothes, the white bedroom set they bought when I was five, and Janelle Monáe posters. There are Hello Kitty stickers all over my dresser. I’ll keep your expensive furniture.” Her energy jumped on her every word but she still managed to roll her eyes in the end.
“About guests, even your girlfriends—”
“I’m only dating Tessa now and she is too afraid of you to come into the house. I will make sure the guests come in through the separate entrance.” She pushed her glasses up. The sparkly unicorn horn design glinted against the light. “You can trust me, Cam.”
“I know. That’s why I’m offering it to you. I think that settles it. You got anything for me?”
“Now that you mentioned it.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a thick folder. She opened it to reveal a wad of papers with color-coordinated tables. “I have a list we need to go through.”
Fuck. “What the hell is that?”
Her eyes narrowed in that you-know-damned-well kind of way. “I think you know. We have to know who’s in charge of all your ventures and what to do with all your stuff here.”
Cam loved that she wasn’t a pushover but shook his head anyway. This wasn’t happening. She nodded, her smile sweet as apple pie with two scoops of caramel gelato but her eyes shone with her the strength of the bulldozer she could be.
His cell phone rang and she shot him a forbidding look. Then looked at the object and sighed like she’d already lost the battle. “It’s Adrianna.”
Yep, she’d lost. And he won.
Anticipation rushed through his body and he reached the desk in two steps. “Hey.”
“Can you talk?” He barely recognized her voice. It was strained and thick and it pricked at the hairs on his neck.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Cam. Something’s happened. Your father is here in Maryland.”
“What? Walter is there? At the bistro?”
