“Time…is…money. What’s up?” she said as she slowed down the pace.
Tanika shook her head. “You have a full gym in your house. You also belong to that swanky gym in Atlantic Station. Why don’t you work out there?”
“Nik, what do you want? Let me guess, you and Gideon eloped. Good, because I don’t want to try and squeeze myself into a dress I’m never going to wear again.”
Tanika blinked. “Why the hell would I call you randomly with that? And you are squeezing your big booty in whatever dress I say. Anyway, I called with a scoop. You might want to stop walking for this.”
Curious, Jackie stepped off her walking pad, leaning her phone against a dying succulent on her desk. How she was able to kill a succulent, she’d never know. “What’s the tea? Which one of my clients did something stupid that’s about to be national news?”
“Nope, not this time. I’m about to make you and AMW-ELITE headline news for a minute. Guess who needs representation?”
Jackie folded her arms across her chest, careful not to wrinkle her shantung top. “Tanika, stop with the guessing games. Tell me who it is, or I’m hanging up.”
“Mo Williams.”
Jackie froze. “Are you serious?”
Mo Williams was a former middleweight world champion. Years ago, she had tried to sign him to Elite, but he declined and chose an up-and-coming agent named Clyde Donovan. Jackie never liked Clyde. He seemed slicker than a snake oil salesman, and she felt like Mo deserved better. When Mo got into some legal trouble a while back and lost his titles, Jackie was grateful that she hadn’t taken him on as a client; he was unpredictable, with a temper that could be set off for any reason. But it still never sat right with her that Clyde was in Mo’s circle, letting his career falter.
“Yep,” continued Tanika. “Dead serious. The blotter came across my desk today. He fired Clyde Donovan on suspicion of theft. To the tune of 7.8 million. Clyde’s going to go down for sure. And it’s a shame, because Mo was in the middle of trying to make a comeback.”
“I knew it!” Jackie fumed, stomping her feet. “I knew Clyde was a liar from the moment I met him. Damn, I hate that Mo got taken like that. I hope Clyde’s ass goes to prison for a while. And not the cushy, Martha Stewart kind of prison.” She moved toward her desk to get her other iPad, aiming to gather some notes and find contact information for Mo. “Thanks, Tanika! I need to try and put together some things to present to—”
“Hold on, not so fast,” Tanika interrupted. “Now, I came to you with some juicy information. Info that could make you bank. You need to do something for me.”
Jackie squinted at her screen. Tanika hardly ever asked for favors, so this must have been something big. “What is it, Nik?”
“This is what I tried to bring up with you before. I want the exclusive interview with PJ Dawson, right before the Rookie of the Year nominations come out.”
“Damn, Tanika! Why you gotta ask me for that? I told you that he isn’t really the exclusive interview type.”
Jackie sighed, remembering the last interview PJ did withSports Illustrated. He was rambling, avoiding personal questions, and not as smooth as she’d have liked him to be. She’d had to step in and end the interview early before things got ugly.
“Yeah, but we are the ones who can do the interview right. C’mon Jackie! I scratched your back; you gotta scratch mine!”
“You’re asking me to do more than scratch your back, girl! You’re asking me to…hell, I don’t know…jerk you off with one hand tied behind my back.”
Tanika frowned. “That is a very specific analogy. You’ve done that before, haven’t you, you little freak?”
“Tanika, I’m hanging up.” Jackie motioned to end the call, but Tanika began to whine.
“Seriously, Jackie! I’m your best friendandabout to be your family! Do this for me! Please!” Tanika was pouting and batting her big brown eyes behind her glasses.
Jackie tilted her head. “I know you didn’t pull out the bestieandcousin-in-law cards. You’re very manipulative, heifer!”
“And you love me,” Tanika grinned. “I’m telling you it’ll be a top-notch, classy interview. A Primetime special. I’ll even let you see the questions ahead of time. I never do that.”
Jackie was surprised. Tanika must have wanted this exclusive with PJ pretty badly. “WWSN isn’t the only sports channel who’d be interested in an exclusive. Besides, you’re asking me to commit to something that’s months from now—who knows what’ll happen before then.”
“I’m trying to get a jump on it. As soon as the Rookie candidates hit, the bidding wars for exclusives are going to ramp up. I want in on this.”
“I take it you’re coming out of retirement to do this? Okay then, Barbara Walters Winfrey!”
“Uhm, no. Sara is going to do it!”
Jackie pursed her lips. Sara Taylor, Tanika’s rival-turned-protege, was now a friend, but Jackie didn’t really trust her as a reporter. She was too new. Too green.
“Before you object,” Tankika said, “trust me Jack; she’s ready. The girl has been studying day and night in the event that she got a shot. I’ll help her prepare. Please, girl! You know I don’t like to beg!”
