“You know it’s just Nick, Dev,” Nick said, giving Dev a half-bro hug, then turning to me with his arm open. “Annie.”
I stuck my hand out. “Nick, good to see you again.”
He pinched his lips as he shook my hand, studying my face. “Yeah.”
“Shall we?” Dev extended his hand to the conference table.
Retha entered with two bottles of water and a Diet Coke can for me. She set it in front of me with a wink.
“Thanks, Retha,” I said sweetly, thrilled to have a little DC bolstering for this difficult meeting. Except only two of us knew it was difficult, and they were me and Nick.
“I come bearing gifts,” Nick said. “Dev, I feel bad that we have to split up, so here’s a goodbye gift. And Annie, a welcome gift for you.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” I said as Nick handed us each a large box.
“Oh, my wife will be so tickled! She loves you,” Dev said as he pulled out a signed jersey. “Thanks, Obi.”
I pulled the same out of my box and fought a full body flush as I caught Nick slipping me a covert wink. “Guess I’ll have something else to wear to games,” I said.
“That’s right, you will,” Nick said.
Dev had already briefed me on what was coming up on Obi’s calendar for the next few months. The meeting was just to formalize the handoff. We went through the established agenda items.
One event in February was discussed.
“You’ll be there with me, right, Annie?” Nick asked.
I looked to Dev. In Nashville, I mostly stayed on the back end with contracts and the true legal work. Athlore was more hands-on, acting as a hybrid between agent, attorney, and PR.
“She will,” Dev said. “Right, Annie?”
“Yeah, of course,” I said with a smile, willing my chest not to go red.Don’t think abouthow the very attractive young man across the table hasseen your vulva, Annabelle.
“That settles all of that. New business, Miss Markham?”
I cleared my throat. “Goran Skate reached out to me yesterday about having you collaborate on a goalie workshop they havecoming up in November. The offer isn’t small.”
“Oh, sure,” Nick said. “I’ll do it pro bono.”
I froze. I’d make a nice commission if he accepted the contract. A few thousand bucks. That commission alone would be enough to knock out one of Mom’s old medical bills that was gaining interest in collections. My stomach turned.
I gave a polite laugh, my leg bouncing under the table as I fought to keep my calm exterior. “Ah, maybe you should look at what they’re offering.”
“Goran trained me for free when I was coming up. I know some kids can’t afford it. I’ll do it for free and fund any scholarships they need.”
Something inside me swelled and died. Swelled because God, why was he such a nice guy? Like the epitome of doesn’t forget where he came from. Died because I needed that money. My shoe squeaked as my leg bounced, trying to figure out if it was even right for me to push Nick to make a different choice.
“It’s pretty competitive,” I said weakly.
“You heard him,” Dev said. “This is great PR if he picks it up.”
Nick shrugged. “Doesn’t need to be PR. I just want to help out.”
I forced a smile as a warm hand met the top of my thigh under the table, stilling my bouncing. Nick’s thumb brushed over my tights, a gentle stroke that stopped my breath. “Okay, I’ll reach out and find out what sort of figures they need to run the camp.”
Nick chewed his lip, studying me. His hand continued its delicate path on the top of my thigh, making me clench. “Actually, maybe show me the contract.”
Silence hit hard and fast, the air conditioning the only sound in the room.
