“You still don’t trust him?” Preston asked, closing my office door behind him.
I shook my head.
“But you went to bat for him to get this exhibition fight,” he commented.
“Fuck.” I stood from my chair. “He’s good. He can win this fight, and he’s shown up for training every day since he missed.” Plus, we hadn’t heard anything more about rumors and illegal betting from other potential sponsors.
“What’s your gut say?” Preston asked.
“It says he’s good. He can win, and he has a shot to be one of the best middleweight fighters in the league.”
“But …”
“But I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.”
“Me too,” Preston added. “Which is why making this exhibition fight one of his first is a good thing.”
I nodded in agreement. “We’ll watch him closely. Branson and a few of his staff are flying out with us to New York for this trip.”
“We’ll have Branson keep a close eye on Eli when you can’t.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t Eli’s fucking babysitter, and neither was Preston. We were his representatives when it came to advancing his career. If he had secrets, that was his business. That is until it affected our bottom line and our reputation.
“We’ll touch base again before your trip.”
“Miriam will make the travel arrangements by the end of the week,” I said as he got up to leave.
Checking my watch, I noted that it was close to one o’clock. I thought about calling Lena but didn’t want to chance her answering the phone if she was driving.
The phone on my desk buzzed, interrupting my thoughts.
“Mr. Townsend, Ms. Lena Clarkson is here to see you,” my assistant said.
“On my way out.”
I bounded out of my office without another thought. When I turned the corner to the primary office area, the first thing that caught my attention was a smiling Lena. My cock stirred in my pants.
I had to remind myself that we were standing only a few feet away from my assistant.
“Hey,” I said at the same time I pulled her to me and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.
The tiniest of shudders passed through her body, and a vein in her neck pulsed.
“Hi,” she said. Her voice was breathy.
That was the moment that I knew I was a saint. Part saint, at least, because how I’d managed to keep my dick out of Lena for this length of time was due to some insanely divine part of me. It had to be.
“The food will be here soon,” I said. “We’ll get the tour out of the way first.”
“Sounds nice.”
I stepped back and held out my arm in the direction of the front desk and my assistant. “This is our office manager, Miriam.”
“We’ve met,” Miriam said, smiling broadly at Lena. “Excuse me, if you don’t mind me saying,” she continued, “it’s such a pleasure. I’m a big fan.” Her smile was as wide as her face, and her eyes sparkled. “I—” She stopped, and her gaze darted over to me.
“Don’t worry about him,” Lena said, causing me to frown.
“I don’t want to intrude on your private time, but could I get your autograph?”
