“What didn’t you expect?”
Rhys laughed. “You. With an actress. A high-profile actress.”
“Is it a problem?” I couldn’t work out how it was a problem, apart from I was having to cope with more attention than I was used to dealing with.
“I’ve had two brands contact me this morning already to ask if you’d consider working with them. Genny isn’t flapping either, so the club’s happy. I’m just getting my head round that you’re dating someone.” There was a pause, during which I heard another car’s horn. Rhys was not known for driving calmly. “I thought you might have batted for my side.”
“Thought or hoped?”
Rhys chuckled. “You’re too pretty. My bathroom wouldn’t be big enough for our combined products. Speaking of which, one of those brands is for that cologne you wear. Otter put something on her social media about it being her favourite scent with a photo of the two of you and it’s had like a hundred thousand likes since she put it up. Good move. How did you end up seeing her again?”
“What do you mean, ‘again’? I didn’t tell you in the first place.” The only people who knew were Nate and Rowan. That would be how it stayed.
“Just trying to get more information out of you, man. Look, we could do with meeting and going through these offers. There was a third, but I said no straight away as I knew it wasn’t for you. I think by the end of the week, there’ll be a few more on the table too.” He sounded like he’d parked up, which was a bit of a relief. I was always concerned when Rhys phoned me when he was driving that I might be the last person he spoke to. Since he’d been my agent, he’d written off three cars. How he hadn’t been banned was beyond understanding.
I wasn’t against a few more endorsements or campaigns at the moment, if they were the right ones. The nest egg I was building was becoming significant enough for me to quit playing as soon as the toll on my body was too much and not have to worry about doing anything to maintain my lifestyle. While I wasn’t flashy like some of the guys were, I did like my lifestyle. Renovating property was something I was interested in doing, starting with what was effectively a farm. I also had my eye on a vineyard in the South of France that had an old chateau nearby in massive need of renovation. There would be enough to keep me busy when I chose to retire, as long as I had the funding to be able to invest initially.
“I’m leaving for the England training camp on Monday, so the meetings will either need to be remote or before then.”
“I’ll try to book them in for Friday afternoon. The perfume brand is keen to strike while the iron is hot, and the other brand is a vitamin. Fits with your image. This with Otter hasn’t done you any harm at all.” Rhys sounded pleased. “Just wish my other clients were the same.”
“Rowan’s doing okay.” Rhys and Rowan had been friends since they were kids. “Dee’s tamed him.”
Rhys groaned. “You know he’s going to propose today?”
“No. Hadn’t a clue.”
There was another groan. “I’ve tried telling him it’s too soon. They’ve only just gotten back together, for fuck’s sake.” He sounded like he was walking now, which was a fucking relief.
I laughed at the idea of Rowan proposing. He was so far gone over Dee. In the last couple of weeks, while things had been a bit up in the air between them, he’d acted weirdly calm, giving her the space she’d asked for and not firing himself up, all unusual behaviours for Rowan when he was passionate about something, and he was definitely passionate about Dee.
“Has he bought a ring?”
“Aye. He has. Where are you headed off too?”
“Over to the farmhouse. Meeting the architect there.” My offer had been accepted and I’d managed to get planning permission for the alterations I wanted to make. There were a lot, but the property didn’t have any restrictions and when I’d said I wanted to develop a forest area where there used to be one – the trees had been removed to allow for more grazing land, the planning officer had practically started drooling.
“You’ll need those endorsements then. I’ll sort out Friday afternoon. Let me know if anything comes up.”
“Will do.”
I ended the call, turning left up the long driveway that led off the country road towards the farmhouse. It was a good five-minute drive off the road, a decent distance to deter any press and I’d be putting additional security in too. Electric gates, cameras, twenty-four-hour surveillance. All of that would be done as standard. I was also buying it under a business name, just like I’d done with the other properties I’d bought so far, making it harder to trace who the actual owner was.
It was already going dark, autumn had turned into winter, which was when the football season really started to crank up. Being in the top four once we’d got through the Christmas period was a must if we wanted to be contenders for a place in Europe next season. The wintertime was also when the supporters became hardcore. It took a lot of dedication to travel across the country to watch your team play, especially when you were sat outside with the temperature dropping to low single figures, being rained on, hailed on or even snowed on.
While the game itself had never been my passion, the supporters made up what was needed. They afforded me the life I had. The least I could do was turn up on all counts every game and put a shift in. They weren’t paying my wages so I could be seen falling out of bars and into hotel rooms. They were trying to live a dream and I was part of that one day maybe coming true.
Gabe was already there, his sketchbook out. I couldn’t be sure that what he was doing had anything to do with the renovations – the man danced to the beat of his own drum.
“Thanks for coming out here.”
He nodded, slipping his notepad away. “I had some other shit to sort out here too, so no big deal. You mentioned the main outhouse.”
I nodded. “The plans for the main house are good to go. I have a company on board to start as soon as the property completes, but I wanted to get your thoughts on this.”
He followed me round the back of the main house to where what would’ve been a large cattle shed stood.
The building was beyond repair; half the roof had gone and one of the walls was unstable, possibly because a vehicle had been driven into it – when was Rhys here?
