But what if she…
A knock sounded on her office door, and Cree wanted to scream thank you for saving me from myself to whoever it was.
“Come in,” she called out, and the door swung open. She tried not to let her disappointment show when her visitor appeared. She would’ve preferred anyone but him. “Hey, Warren.”
“Hi, gotta a minute?” he asked, and Cree closed the file that held Tristan’s information.
In his early sixties, Warren’s pale face was showing a hint of wrinkles, but he still had a head of salt and pepper hair. Considering his workload and long days, his gray eyes were as sharp as the day he’d hired her around ten years ago.
She’d been excited to join his firm, one of the top law offices in the city. For the most part, her experience had been good, especially since she’d been able to make partner sooner than she’d expected. But lately she’d been antsy, and a lot of that had to do with him trying to micromanage her. It hadn’t always been that way. Not until recently.
“Congratulations on signing, Tristan Whitmore,” he said and unbuttoned his suit jacket before sitting down. “I didn’t realize you were scouting him. When did that happen?” he asked the question casually, but Cree wondered if there was something more behind it. She no longer trusted him, and she wasn’t a hundred percent sure why. Just a gut feeling.
Slow to respond, she debated on what to tell him.
“You’re acting as if I don’t usually bring in high-profile clients,” she finally said and rocked back in her chair. “I brought in several this year and have clocked more billable hours than any other partner. So, what’s really going on here?”
Warren sighed. “I’m just asking and making conversation. Why are you getting defensive?”
“Because it doesn’t feel like just conversation. It feels as if you’re fishing for something. If there’s something you want to know, just ask.”
“I want to know the relationship between you and Whitmore. There was definitely tension between the two of you when I introduced myself to him the other day. If there’s a problem, I can assist with representing him.”
Ha! She just bet he could. As a huge sports fan, he’d kill for a client like Tristan.
“That won’t be necessary. I was his agent before he signed on with Ralph Dawson. You probably showed up when I was asking why Dawson was now his former agent.”
“So, Whitmore came looking for you? Not the other way around?”
“Correct,” Cree said simply. No need sharing more information than necessary.
“Interesting.”
“Why is that interesting?”
Warren looked at her as if she should know. “No offense or anything, but I’m surprised Whitmore would leave Dawson and then ask you to represent him. Dawson is the best in his field. It’s just interesting is all.”
Cree couldn’t be mad at his word choice because she’d thought it interesting too… at first. Now she believed Tristan truly was trying to make things right between them professionally. Though she still thought he had a secret agenda. Specifically, for them to get back together, but she took him at his word when he told her he wanted her to represent him because he owed her.
He didn’t owe her, but she didn’t tell him that. Like he had mentioned, they’d been so young back then, and she’d been all in her feelings with the way he had signed with another agent. But Cree truly did understand his reasoning. Had she been him, she probably would’ve signed with Ralph Dawson too. The man had an incredible track record.
“Full disclosure,” she said. “Tristan was one of my clients when I first opened my sports agency years ago. I haven’t had much interaction with him since he switched agencies shortly before his second year in the league.”
Warren nodded. “And why did he leave your agency in the first place?”
Cree watched him carefully, wondering if he already knew the answer and was waiting to see if she’d be straight with him. Or if he genuinely didn’t know. She couldn’t tell, which was no surprise. Like most attorneys, he wasn’t easy to read.
“You said yourself Dawson is the best. I had only been an agent for a year or so, and Whitmore felt, with Ralph Dawson’s track record, he could get him a larger contract.” She shrugged. “And I couldn’t much blame him. Even back then, Ralph was known for getting his clients record-breaking deals.”
“So, Whitmore wasn’t loyal to you. He jumped ship at the first chance he got to sign with a bigger fish, so to speak.”
Cree schooled her features. When he phrased it like that, the memory of that time in her life reared its wicked head. So maybe it was still a bit of a sore subject for her. But she was determined to get over it and leave the past in the past.
But it was more than that. Her previous relationship with Tristan was complicated. They’d been friends and then lovers before he had become her client, and that made their professional relationship tough. It wasn’t always easy to separate the personal from the business, even more so after marrying him.
“Why do you think he left Dawson’s agency to sign with us?”
“According to him, he felt he owed me for getting his career started, and he wanted a chance to work with me in this new stage of his life.”
