Head Over Heels (5 page)

Help her,
he imagined Elizabeth telling him.
Be there for her.

Thane grabbed a chair and put it next to the bed. He plopped down in it. “One hour. That’s it.” To punctuate his statement, he glanced at his watch.

Lora Ann nodded. “Thank you. I know I have been a—”

He held up his hand. “Please get some sleep.” He didn’t need to hear any explanations or apologies right now.

She slipped under the covers and closed her eyes. To help her get to dreamland, Thane extinguished the light. In the dark and silence, his mind wandered. He replayed his conversations with Queen Elizabeth and Gunnar. Neither gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping to forget both situations.

What felt like only a minute passing by must have been longer. Thane felt an ache in the back of his neck that throbbed as soon as he moved his head. He put his hand to his forehead while keeping his eyes closed. He became alert when he put his other hand to his chest and felt his bare skin under his touch. He hadn’t undressed.

Thane peered down. With the light in the room now on, he saw that not only had his shirt been unbuttoned and opened, his pants had been undone and unzipped.

“What the hell?” He bolted to his feet in time to see Lora Ann coming out of the bathroom completely naked.

He had been right that she had long legs under her conservative pantsuit. She also hid a myriad of colorful tattoos over her body. Dragons crept over her belly. Tigers ran down her thigh. An eagle’s outstretched wings cradled her breasts.

“You looked uncomfortable in your suit.” She sauntered to him. “I was making sure you were relaxed.”

He glanced at his watch. “Damn!” He’d slept for several hours.

How the hell did that happen? He had a lot on his mind, but nothing plagued him that deeply to cause him to sleep for hours with a complete stranger.

Thane zipped up his pants and headed to the door. “Looks like you’re doing fine now, so I’m going to go.”

“Wait. Don’t you want to—”

“No.” He opened the door and stumbled out of her room. He had to get packed and get home.

When Thane turned toward his room, he saw someone else he really didn’t want to see right now.

“Christ. You came all the way down to Florida to yell at me?” Thane closed his shirt as he glared at Gunnar.

Gunnar’s mouth looked tight as he stood by Thane’s door like a guard. He balled his hands into fists. Wearing black boots, dark colored jeans, a dark T-shirt and black jacket, Gunnar looked like a knockoff hit man.

“Were you with a woman last night?” Gunnar’s eye twitched.

He blocked Thane’s door, preventing Thane from gaining access to his room.

Thane turned back to Lora Ann’s room. “Long story.” He sighed as he looked at his brother in front of his hotel room door. “Why did you come all the way down to Florida? Want to see me train or something?”

Gunnar’s jaw flexed. “Mom—” He stopped.

The one word felt like a stone dropped down into Thane’s gut.

Gunnar took a deep breath and stood straight. Thane noticed the redness coloring his eyes. The glossy sheen gave away his reason for being there.

Gunnar took a deep breath and on the exhale said, “Mom died last night.”

Thane’s heart stopped beating. He took a step back. “Stop lying.” He shook his head. “That shit isn’t funny.”

Gunnar stomped to Thane and grabbed his lapels. “Mom had another stroke last night. She never recovered.” He let Thane go. “Pack your shit. I’m taking you home.”

Thane stared at his brother, wanting the words he’d spoken to be untrue. No way could Queen Elizabeth be gone. He’d just talked to her. She said she would be fine. Now he felt alone.

Kari Meyers sat at her cubicle at the Winning Edge Agency with her phone pressed to her ear. She crossed her legs while listening to the worst Musak ever created. She would rather hear fingernails scratching down a blackboard than the light and easy version of a Beyoncé hit.

She heard a knocking sound that grabbed her attention. She glanced up to see her boss’s assistant tapping her wrist and shrugging her shoulders.

Having after-work drinks with Chelsi would be the highlight of her week. Kari shook her head as she waited to talk to Jean, her temperamental client, a French professional tennis player who refused to leave the locker room during the first day of a major tennis tournament. As an agent, Kari knew there would be a lot of handholding. She didn’t expect to also be a babysitter. Her ten-year-old son acted more mature than some of her clients.

Kari shook her head as she watched Chelsi cleaning up her desk area.

“I’m not going.” Jean cut through the music with his thick French accent. “You can’t make me.”

Kari plastered a smile on her face, determined that if she carried a pleasant countenance here, she could convince this prima donna to do the right thing. “Jean, I understand. I’m not telling you to play. Whatever reason you have for keeping yourself in your locker room is justified.”

“
Oui.
They gave me half the time to practice.”

Kari rolled her eyes. Her grandfather would have been so disappointed to see her doing that. “That is unacceptable. You are ranked one of the top twenty tennis players in the world.” She would leave out the fact that had another player not broken his wrist, causing him to bow out of several tournaments, Jean wouldn’t have cracked the top twenty.

“
Oui.
They treat me like the ball boy or something.” He snorted.

“Unacceptable. I won’t stand for them treating you less than the international star you are. Here’s what I’ll do. You pack up and come back to the States.” She heard some rustling on the other end of the line. “I’ll tell them to hold off paying your appearance fee.” The movement stopped. “And the sponsors will not be happy not seeing you play and wearing their sneakers and clothing. But, hey, it’s only endorsement money. It’s not like you’re living off that. You’re young. You can keep playing for tournament money—that’s if you place.”

The line became silent for a moment.

Kari filled the void. “I’ll have Chelsi get plane tickets for you to come back.”

“No. Hold on.” Jean cursed in French. “The sponsors will drop me if I don’t play?”

“Of course. They’re counting on fans seeing their logo all over you.” She cleared her throat to keep from laughing. “But you have standards. I’ll call and let them know to hold off payment.”

“Wait.” A pause lingered before he continued. “I’ll play. I need more practice time.”

She smiled. “That should be easy. Contact your manager and he can call the organizer and make that happen.” Good thing she’d done that before even calling her client. “You’re going to be amazing.”

“I know.” He snorted.

“What else can I do for you?” She opened her desk drawer and pulled out her purse.

“There are no good wines here.”

His whining rivaled a classroom full of bored children. “Tell me what you like and I’ll have Chelsi track down a bottle for you.”

“Just one bottle?”

Kari laughed. “Of course. You’re going to be there for a week. I’ll have her find as many as she can.”

“Thank you, Kari. You’re the best.”

She disconnected the call, not exactly feeling like the best. She had clients she represented, but her boss still classified her as a junior agent. Kari glanced at an empty office at the corner of the room. That place should be hers. She’d earned it with hard work.

Kari stood and hung her purse on her shoulder. As soon as she started to head to Chelsi’s desk, her boss stopped her.

“Kari, will you come in here, please?”

She turned and saw Frank Milliner standing in his doorway. He waved to her before turning around and disappearing into his office.

She took determined steps in her expensive heels as she went to see her boss. Hopefully, he would keep this impromptu meeting short. Then again, Kari wanted that position and the office. She glanced in that direction, hoping Milliner saw her. She’d been overt with him about her desires. She really needed him to get the picture.

“What’s up, Frank?” Kari leaned against the doorframe. She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her massive saddlebag purse to swing and nearly knock her off balance.

“How’s our friend Jean?” Frank sat on the edge of his desk and smiled.

As she stared at him, she saw the guy she’d admired when she started in sports representation. He’d gotten great deals for a lot of high-profile athletes, including Jarrod Townsend. Thinking of that name sent a shiver through her body.

“Temperamental as always, but I calmed him down.” She pulled her keys from her bag to let him know she didn’t want to stand around and chit chat.

Kari wanted Frank to get the hint that she had places to go. Unless the slick, mature man had her staying late to offer her a promotion to full agent, she didn’t have time to sit around and gossip.

As though reading her thoughts, Frank blurted, “I want to put you in that office.” With his manicured fingernails, he pointed in the direction of the empty space. Like she hadn’t seen the darkened room before, Kari turned toward it to be sure he meant the same place she wanted. Before she allowed a smile to crack her hard countenance, she had a few questions. She’d learned not to take anything at face value.

“What more do I need to do to be a full agent?” She hoped he caught the underlying meaning in her question.

She’d worked hard for the business. He and everyone else here had to recognize that, as well as all her sacrifices. Making it as a full agent would allow her to represent a higher level of athletes that would get her more money. The extra money would afford her a better lifestyle for her and her son.

“Thane Wells.” Frank stood and sauntered around his desk.

Kari blinked when he mentioned the name. Of course she knew the hot Major League Baseball pitcher with the golden arm. More like platinum arm…and a great body to go along with it. She didn’t have to admit to her boss that she’d thought about the dark-haired, blue-eyed player in more than a professional way.

“The one that got away. Not for lack of trying though. I continue to contact him once or twice a month to make my sales pitch. Why did you mention him?” She shrugged to give a nonplussed appearance.

“I want you to represent him.” Her fit boss sat behind his desk and adjusted his dark-rimmed glasses.

Inside, Kari screamed and did backflips. Then her reasonable self took over and started questioning everything. “That’s a neat trick, but I know he’s represented by Alec Fogel. I’m a great agent. You’re a super agent.
That
man is God. I recalled the deal he got for Thane to play with the Wrens. I don’t see Thane leaving him any time soon.” She shook her head and took a step back.

Talking about Thane started to conjure up a lot of fantasies of Kari representing a man she wanted to strip naked and ride until the sun came up, or she killed him, whichever came first. Of course, she would only use the man for sex. Anything else would never work. It never did for her and athletes. Damn her taste in fit men who played their sports like champions.

“I’ve heard from a reliable source that Alec is looking to retire soon.” Frank swept his large hand over his neatly coifed hair.

Although he could afford to have his clothes custom made, he wore suits that looked like they came out of department stores. He had to keep the top button of his blue-and-white striped button-down shirt undone because it didn’t fit around his thick neck. She could hear the ticking of his Timex watch from across the room. His wedding band looked like the same one he’d gotten when he married his saint of a wife over thirty years ago. For that, Kari gave the man a pass for his other poor fashion choices.

“What source?” If this rumor could be substantiated, she would start cheering on the spot.

“Another agent at his firm.” He leaned back in his chair and placed his feet on the desk.

Kari glanced at his scuffed shoes and had to look away. “Why would another agent at his firm tell you something like that? And why should anyone think that Thane wouldn’t want to stick with the same firm and go with another agent there? That’s what I would do if I were him.”

“Because that agent also said that since Alec owns the firm, he plans on closing it when he retires. The old bastard never married and never had any kids, or any that he wants to admit are his, so he can’t leave his business to anyone.”

“So why don’t you—”

Frank held up his hand. “I offered to buy him out and take all his agents. He told me—” He stopped and shook his head. “He gave me another option for my offer.”

Alec had probably told Frank to eat shit and die. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had given her boss that directive. Even with his plain clothes and accessories, Frank had battery acid coursing through his veins. She’d seen him reduce a junior agent to a puddle of tears and made an MMA fighter question his manhood. He kept in shape to keep up with the younger agents. Frank hadn’t lost a lot of his hair and kept it cut short and neat, like his fingernails.

“What makes you think Thane Wells will even want to come over to me or this agency?” Kari also wondered why her tough-as-nails leader didn’t have plans to go after this commodity himself.

Frank screwed up his thin lips and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if they’ve put their other agents on him to pull some Jerry Maguire thing. Or possibly some rogue agent wanting to go out on his own with one key client. Only works in fucking movies.” He stood. “You’ve worked hard here. It would be a cool feather in your cap if you can get this guy to come on over to us.”

Kari knew what that meant. Frank would love to have an African-American woman as a full agent at his company. To him, he would look cool and trendy, instead of being fair and just.

“What else would I get besides a feather?” She took a step back into his office.

“What do you mean?”

Kari tilted her head, surprised Frank would play this cutesy game. “You mentioned the office. Would I be made a full agent?”

Frank’s smile widened. “And then some.” He came around his desk and faced her. “How would you like to be a partner at the Winning Edge?”