Page 36 of Reckless Kiss

Chapter 12

Iwas stuck in a meeting I wasn’t paying attention to. The conference table was absolutely packed with agents. Marie stood at the front of the room going over figures and projections for salary caps and how it would affect trading practices. Baseball, football, basketball, soccer, none of them were all that different when it came to money. That was why I often preferred the excitement of working with my other clients. The tennis stars, the swimmers, track and field. It took more creativity on my part to find them the right endorsements, negotiate the best terms.

Which was why I’d essentially tuned-out my boss and had chosen to stare out the giant windows.

So much money moved through our world. Most of the time I stayed focused on the job, on the individual lives it affected, but every so often I took off the blinders and let it sink in. The millions upon millions of dollars we negotiated each year. The things that could be done with that kind of money.

I was one to talk. I earned a hefty income thanks to these athletes. But most of it sat in the bank and in investments. I bought my house with cash, but I intentionally chose a modest one. I drove a very nice car, but nothing extravagant. I ate well, drank well, and clothed myself in whatever my heart desired.

But the rest? I hoarded it.

And my athletes? Some were as diligent as me while others burned through their cash at lightning speed. It occurred to me that several of those athletes that had a heavy hand for expensive cars and homes had suddenly made some rather large purchases in the last couple of weeks. It happened one by one, but now that I was sitting here looking back, it was a lot all at once.

All football players.

An idea I really didn’t like started to niggle at the back of my mind. I let it settle and dig while I waited for the meeting to adjourn and the room to empty.

“I take it you have something on your mind?” Marie asked, closing the door behind the last straggler.

“Bolton just bought a Lamborghini.”

“So what’s new?” she chuckled. “It’s his third.”

“Exactly. He can’t afford it.”

I had her attention now. “What are you thinking?”

“Ramirez just bought that mansion on the beach, Tesco the yacht, and Roscoe has been taking private jets all over kingdom come. He’s been at every race, awards show, and special event in the last month.”

She sat. Hard. “I thought it was strange that Roper bought his wife, mistress, and son new cars this week. The man has been cash strapped for the last two years.”

I nodded, not wanting to say what I was thinking. Hoping Marie would do it for me.

“A lot of our clients have suddenly come into some good fortune that we don’t know anything about.”

I nodded again.

“Shit.” She pushed out of the chair so hard it bounced off the wall behind us. “What the hell?”

“Is this what happened in Nashville?” I had no proof, but Brown’s sudden acquisition of the Renegades and now this...it felt connected.

“No. Not exactly.” She paced in front of the windows. Back and forth several times before she stopped and turned to me. “These players are all on different teams.”

“But they’re all football players.”

She made a face and kept pacing. “In Nashville it was just the team.” She stopped. “At first.”

“Don’t leave me hanging here.”

She fidgeted with her clothes, then sighed. “Just before it all blew up and the franchise was shut down, there were rumors it had begun to spread. That players were paid off for some reason. I never knew why.”

That’s what didn’t make sense. “Why now? Why at all?”

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “But we better find out or we’re all going down this time.”

* * *

I was confused.

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