Antonio had been staring at his tablet for nearly an hour, trying to figure out this contract for his newest client, a snowboard phenom named Rakim Riley. Riley was an anomaly in the sport—a young Black guy from Harlem who got into snowboarding on a whim as a Fresh Air Fund kid, when a host family invited him on a ski trip. After a few lessons, he was hooked. And the rest, as they say, was history. He’d been dominating the X-Games ever since he turned pro at nineteen.
But this potential sponsorship contract with a board manufacturer was making absolutely no sense and seemed extremely restrictive. Antonio needed a second pair of eyes on it. He needed the one person who could rip apart a contract while understanding it inside and out. He needed Jackie.
Antonio glanced at his laptop to see that she was online—but naturally, her status was set to busy. He knew that it was her attempt to ward off everybody in the office.Hewasn’t everybody, though.Fuck it, he said to himself. He grabbed his laptop and headed down the hallway to see if she was free.
When he turned the corner, Calvin popped up from his desk.
“Listen, if you’re trying to go in there for a little, uhm, alone time, I don’t think she’d be receptive. She’s…pissed. She’s just been banging stuff around for the past fifteen minutes.”
Antonio heard a crashing sound. He looked at Jackie’s office door, then back at Calvin. “Why is she so pissed?”
Calvin sighed. “For starters, her voice isn’t back, at least not consistently. And secondly, the only day that Guzman can meet is the same day as PJ’s interview with WWSN. It’s the only time he can meet because Thanksgiving is soon, and he’ll be unavailable for a minute. She can’t reschedule either, so she’s freaking out.”
“That’s it?” Antonio adjusted his cufflinks. “Let me talk to her.”
“Okay. You might want to watch out for flying objects.” Calvin stepped aside as Antonio knocked on the door.
“Luck—I mean, Jackie. It’s Antonio. Can I come in?”
Antonio waited a few beats until Jackie snatched open her office door. Her angry face softened when she saw his face. She stepped aside to let him in.
Antonio leaned against her desk, arms folded, and watched Jackie pace. “Now, why are you in here scaring poor Calvin? You know you terrify him enough.”
Jackie stopped pacing. She grabbed her phone to type. “Because this is messed up! I can’t reschedule this meeting with Guzman, but if I go to Miami to meet with him, I won’t get back in time for PJ’s interview. What am I supposed to do?”
Antonio was getting used to Jackie’s voice app, but it just wasn’t same. In this moment, the artificial voice certainly couldn’t convey the panic he knew Jackie was feeling. “Try to calm down, Jackie. Breathe, baby girl. When is all this happening?” Antonio asked.
Jackie took a few deep inhales and let out a long exhale, before replying, “Next Thursday.”
Antonio pulled out his phone and looked at his calendar. “What time is PJ’s interview with Sara?”
Jackie showed him her own calendar. The interview was scheduled for 3:00 p.m., with a 1:00 p.m. call time at the studio.
“I can go. I have a potential sponsor meeting early that morning, and then I’m free.”
Jackie frantically shook her head in objection.
“Jackie, it’s no big deal. Besides, I’ve been working with PJ on interview prep.”
“Oh?” Jackie was surprised.
Antonio and PJ had been working for weeks on techniques to stay calm and engaging during interviews. PJ was still bit skittish, but overall, he’d made vast improvements.
“I promised you I would. Trust me, he’s gotten better. I think he’ll be fine.”
Jackie bit the pad of her thumb as she thought. Antonio kinda liked when she did that. Besides smoothing down her hair at her nape, this was her only tell that she was nervous about something. Jackie wasn’t one to let people see her sweat.
“We’ve been over this. It kills you to accept help,” Antonio moved closer to her, gently prying her thumb from her lips. He held her hand, her wet thumb pressing against his palm. It was oddly comforting. “Chill, Jackie. I got it. I’ll go to the interview with PJ. You handle your meeting with Guzman.”
Jackie’s brows bunched together.
