Page 96 of In the Safety's Zone
“I grew up in New York. Saw the prep school set and the whole nine yards. The vast majority of those marriages are just like they were way back when: business arrangements to keep their wealth in-house. You can always spot the signs when the center of the relationship is money. Everything they do is curated around a financial benefit: a brand they’re tagging, a product they're promoting or the immediate announcement of an album or collaboration. They aren’t even trying to hide it at this point.”
“Plenty of opportunities have come my way because of Grant but I never reacted to it the way they do.” Lyric held up one of his jerseys in the black color way and added it to the stack she already had draped over her arm.
“Of course, y’all are marketable as hell but the two of you apart are extremely famous. That makes sense. But you’re not trying to do new things that you don’t normally do. You’re not trying to make movies or to have a career change. Y’all are still you. It’s when you fit into a mold that's completely different from the person you were before that means it’s complete bullshit.”
“Like when the liberal woman turns herself into the trad wife and her only desires are to bake oats and collect eggs.”
“That isn’t so bad—” Sterling looked offended like Billy was taking a jab but she had to understand that wasn’t the case.
“Not bad at all. When it’s your choice. If it’s not then you are playing a role to please someone else and they’re the result of that. Contempt with the life you allowed yourself to be a part of and then you take it out on everyone else around you.” Sterling nodded her understanding and her shoulder relaxed again. Billyturned to me with a sympathetic look on her face. “I understand that you aren’t really with this, but one thing is for sure. It helps Anthony look good when you’re here.”
“None of the players or staff are here.” Sterling glanced around and I knew it was because she was trying to see what we’d missed.
“No, but these bitches can’t talk shit behind your back that you aren’t doing your part. They’ll try to spread rumors or make it seem like there’s an issue. Being here keeps the narrative firmly in your grasp. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were reporting back on the team to blogs just to stay relevant.” Rye glanced behind us again with the same aggravated look on her face.
Trying to lighten the mood Billy picked up some of the kids apparel to add to her stack. “Well, fuck them. We have a stadium full of vendors and somebody else’s money to spend. Let’s enjoy the day for what it is and worry about trouble later.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Return to Gotham
ANTHONY
“THERE’S BEEN AN update in your contract.” Billy said that shit so smooth but her words had me ready to panic. I’d just gotten AP excited about the possibility of our buying a place together and now she was hitting me with this.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the numbers have changed since you’ve moved up to competing for an active roster spot.”
“So what are the numbers?”
My stomach felt tight and although I knew the business side of things, I wasn’t sure how confident the team was and what they were willing to invest in me.
She pulled up something on her computer before turning the screen around so I could see it.
Billy’s office was like coming to the Wizard of Oz. A lot of magic happened in this place but you still felt apprehensive about being in here despite how nice it was. The place was bright with feminine touches and an area to one side with sofas and several televisions in the room.
“The initial numbers are good. Like really good and I can see the direction they’re trying to get you to go in.” Her smile was making me less worried but I needed her to just tell me what was going on.
“You talking in riddles, Billy, help me out.”
“Hold on, I’ll let Isis go over it with you.” She called over her newest associate to handle the meeting. I’d met Isis when she first started working there. In my old days, I would’ve tried her because she was beautiful as fuck. She had a big coily fro and wasthick as hell. But my heart belonged to Aphrodite and nobody would take her spot.
“Sorry about that, Anthony. She’s trying to give me more hands-on experience.” Isis walked over apologizing but there was no need.
“It’s no problem. I just want to hear what they had to say.”
“Well, when we spoke about the numbers they were initially talking about getting you the vet minimum with a one-year credit.”
She was saying something else but it sounded like static to me. Even the rookie minimum was almost three times as much as I had made last year. We’d worked out the numbers for the house based on what I earned on the contract I’d assumed I’d get earning the league minimum for veteran practice squad players. This new number meant my guaranteed salary was just over a million dollars so the houses we’d looked at were well within my price range. The house that Parker offered us was still the frontrunner, but I didn’t want to rush such a large decision.
“Did you hear me, Anthony?”
I snapped back to reality and looked at Isis apologetically. “No. I think my brain broke slightly with the numbers you threw out. Over a million a year isn’t something I expected.”
She smiled sensing my gratitude and I rubbed my face because I was still in disbelief. “Well, if that made you happy then this will be even better.”
My stomach was bubblin’ like Pop Rocks in a Coke. “Thank God I’m sitting down.”
