I shook my head and drained the last of my drink, checking the time.Another few minutes and I’d go back.It was probably time to order Mr.Harvey’s coffee so it would still be nice and hot when I went inside.Although, not too hot.After all, I was supposed to have brought it from the other side of town.
I did my best to pretend that nothing at all was wrong as I entered the office building again – but I needn’t have bothered.Everyone in the lobby had their attention locked on two men standing in front of the front desk, facing each other with aggressively casual stances.
Once of them was Ace.The other… I couldn’t place him.He looked familiar, somehow, but I didn’t know from where.
“Oh, that’s right,” the other man was saying, with something of a sneer on his face even though his voice sounded almost serious.“I forgot, you’ve never had a tennis champion on your roster.”
“We don’t feel the need to diversify into other sports,” Ace countered.He studied his fingernails as if the other man had absolutely nothing interesting about him.“I guess if we weren’t the most successful football agency in the world, maybe we’d think about branching out, too.”
The other man snorted.He was handsome in his own way.There was something… dangerous about him.Like he might be the type to persuade you into investing in a scheme, then disappear before your profits were supposed to be paid out.He had dark, short hair and was wearing a black suit to match it, a contrast against Ace’s dark grey.He was wearing a leather jacket over it.The only flash of something not black came at his wrists, where his white shirt sleeves poked out of his jacket – but even then, they were fixed with round black cuff links.
“You mean you don’t have thecontactsto branch out,” he said.“The Coleman Group doesn’t need to settle for being big in justonesport.We can dominate in so many others.”
“How wonderful for you,” Ace said through gritted teeth.“So, then, perhaps you have enough on your plate already and you can fuck off and leave my client alone.”
The other man gave a short burst of laughter.“Not rattling you, am I, Park?”
“No,Driver, but I do find you incredibly irritating,” Ace sniffed.Then he did a kind of double-take and sniffed again.“And you smell like a mechanic.Whoever sold you that cologne was your enemy.”
“They can’t have been,” Driver, whoever he was, retorted.“I don’t recall them looking anything like you.Which is to say, a jumped-up little model who should stick to looking pretty and combing his hair instead of trying to play with the big boys.”
Ace titled his head.“Oh, you think I’m pretty?”
Driver’s hands formed into fists at his sides.Despite the apparent bantering rhythm of their conversation, I had a sense that this was about to escalate.I quickly stepped forward.
“Oh, Mr.Park!”I exclaimed as if I had only just come in and seen him.As I suspected, both of them looked at me like they hadn’t noticed me at all.“Mr.Harvey asked me to find you.There’s an urgent call coming in from a big new sponsor.It sounds like they’re very keen to meet you.”
Ace looked at me with surprise for a moment, then a cunning look took over as he realized I was bluffing to save him face.“Oh, excellent, thank you, Keaton,” he said.“I’ll come upstairs with you.It’s not like there’s anything worth my attention down here.”
And just like that, he walked to the elevator with me, leaving Driver behind us spluttering in outrage.
As soon as the elevator doors closed behind us, I looked up to see Ace smirking.
“Who was that?”I asked.
“Brody Driver,” Ace said.“One of Caleb Coleman’s top agents.He’s an asshole.”
“Oh, right.”I didn’t really know what else to say to that.Brody Driver?There was no recollection of that name in my head, and there was no reason that I should recognize one of the Coleman Group’s employees.Maybe he just had one of those faces.“You know I was making it up about the meeting, right?”
Ace laughed.“I do.Thanks, kid.”
I bristled.“I’m probably the same age as you, thanks.”
“Thirty-one at the end of the month?”
I gaped, then outrage took over even more forcefully.“I’m older than you!My birthday was months ago!”
Ace chuckled and patted me on the shoulder, timing it perfectly to step out of the elevator and disappear behind the door of his office.
Which just left me, standing there with a to-go coffee in my hand, facing down the door of my own office at the other end of the hall.
The drama of the last few minutes faded into the background: irrelevant.
Right now, I just had to survive seeing my boss again.
I took the deepest breath I could manage and walked forward with a purpose and confidence that I certainly did not feel.
Olly
