AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I raise an eyebrow. “You do?”
“Yeah. You’ll look fabulous on my arm. And you know Uncle Will and Aunt Meg. But you’ll have to meet my dad there, too. Maybe we should do dinner with my parents beforehand so they can meet you when it’s not at a big family event.”
“I’m happy to go anywhere with you and meet whomever you want. No problem.”
“Awesome, that was easy. Oh, and you’ll need a tux.”
“I happen to have one. Have you had coffee?”
“Not yet.”
“I’ll make you some.”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
I wink and head out to the kitchen. I’ve just pulled two mugs out of the cabinet when the front door opens, and I turn to find a woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, sputtering.
“Did I walk into the wrong condo?”
“I don’t know. Which one were you hoping for?”
She looks back at the door, then at me. “Uh, Sophie’s. This is right. Right?”
“This is Sophie’s place,” I confirm. “And you must be Becs. Coffee?”
“Uh, sure. Okay, yeah. Just black.” She walks to the kitchen island and sets a bag on a stool. “Wait. Aren’t you Ike Harrison?”
I grin at her. “I am. Nice to meet you.”
She shakes my hand. When Sophie comes walking into the room, she just shifts her gaze back and forth between us until a Cheshire cat smile spreads over her pretty face.
“Holy. Shitballs.”
“Hi, Becs.” Sophie takes her mug from me and sips. “You’re early.”
“And it’s a damn good thing because you haven’t told me about this little tidbit of juicy information. How long have you been doing the hot football player?”
“You think I’m hot?” I lean on the counter and smile.
“Don’t encourage him,” Sophie says with a sigh but nudges me with her hip. “And we’ve been dating for just over a week.”
“A week.” Becs props her hands on her hips. “A week. And you haven’t told me?”
“I apologize for not sending out the memo.” Sophie’s voice is dry, and it makes me laugh. She says that my sense of humor is hot, but it’s one of the things I’m attracted to in her, as well. She can make me laugh like no one else.
It’s just plain awesome and makes hanging out with her a blast.
“Are you staying?” Becs asks me.
“No, I’m on my way out. Have a good day, ladies.” I pull Sophie against me, cup her face in one hand, and kiss her the way I have every time I’ve left her over the past week. And when I pull away, I can feel Becs staring a hole through us. “See you later, beautiful.”
“See you.”
I wink at Becs as I walk by, and then I’m out the door.
I’m anxious to meet up with Bill, my agent. I’ve been working with him since I was just out of college, and I trust him implicitly. I know that he’ll get me the best deal possible.
Because I’m already in downtown Seattle, the drive to Bill’s hotel isn’t far. I was surprised that he wanted to come to town to discuss the contract, rather than go over things remotely.
It can’t be good if he wants to do this in person.
I leave my truck with the valet and ride the elevator up to Bill’s room. When he opens the door, his face looks grim.
“Okay, I’m here. Give me the bad fucking news.”
“Come on in, Ike. It’s good to see you.”
I walk into the suite and sit on the couch where Bill already has papers spread out on the coffee table.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” he continues.
“If it was awesome, you wouldn’t want me to be here in person.”
“That’s not necessarily true. I do think that there are some things you and I are going to need to go over in a meeting with the team management because there are a couple of clauses that we absolutely won’t agree to under any circumstances.”
“Like what?”
He sits across from me and picks up a flagged piece of paper.
“Let me just read it to you. Isaiah Harrison will not date or have any relationship, personal or professional, with anyone in Will Montgomery’s family. Any breach of this agreement can lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination without the possibility of compensation for the remainder of his contract.”
“I won’t sign that bullshit.”
“Absolutely not,” he agrees. “I will say that they’re offering you a nice amount of money. It’s for ten years, at four hundred million dollars.”
I blink and then clear my throat. “Holy shit.”
“I think they can do better,” he continues. “With your talent, I think we can get that up another fifty million over the ten years, and we’ll ask for that in negotiations. This isn’t unprecedented, but it’s significant, and I’m so proud of you, Ike.”
I can’t get past the amount of money.
“Ike? Are you not satisfied with the amount?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m happy with the amount. I’m not okay with that clause. If they won’t take that out, there’s no deal. I know I can get on with another team in a heartbeat.”
