Page 35 of Sliding into Love
“Grizzly,” I greet, standing and moving over to the familiar man.
I pull him into a big hug and step back to look him over.
“You look good. It's been a while. How long?”
He looks up and over my left shoulder. “About seventeen months, give or take. It was at that party.”
“Yeah, a party,” I say, as if that would make it crystal clear.
I clap his shoulder, then step back and move into the seat by Tollide's bed again. The young man is beaming over at Grizzly.
“Hey, G. Good to see you made it to the cafeteria and back in one piece. You know, sometimes people don’t.”
Grizzly makes a disgruntled noise as he moves to the side of the bed, hands leaning on the bar. I know he's not putting his full weight on it because Grizzly is a big guy. Bigger than me even.
If he puts his weight on the bed, it would make a creaking noise, possibly even break.
Ironically enough, though, he's a sweetheart beneath all that muscle. Like the softest and sweetest of sweethearts.
Just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.
Same with Royce
… and I'm back to thinking about them.
I'd managed to put them out of my mind for a few minutes. Seems right that they would come back around.
“What are you doing here, Grizzly? I know why I'm here,” I say, trying to shift my thoughts back to the present moment.
Grizzly points to the bed. “Well, obviously he's my client, so I'm here to talk to him about his options.”
“His options?” I sit up straight. “But he called me here because he wants to talk about his options. He's going to come work for the Blue Jays.”
Tollide's head moves from side to side as if he's watching a ping-pong tournament, his grin growing by the second.
Grizzly scoffs. “Well, duh, he's going to work for you guys, but we have to make sure the contract's solid. That's what I do as an agent, you know.”
Tollide takes in my curious expression and decides to explain. “Grizzly has been with me from the beginning, and since I'm no longer going to be able to play, I asked if he would kind of step into a different position with me. I know all the people he handles are athletes, but maybe there's other stuff he can handle.”
“Other stuff?” I question.
“Well, yeah, like if I go on to be a newscaster for sports, then I'll still have contracts and stuff to handle. He'll be able to help me, and he'll still get a cut. It's a win-win for us all.”
I nod as the reality of it all settles over me.
“That's actually pretty smart, Tollide. I'm glad that you're making all these moves. Your brother seemed to think that he was going to have to uproot his life to step in for you. I tried to explain to the guy that it probably wasn't all that necessary, but he seemed adamant.”
Grizzly nods, laughing under his breath as Tollide answers, "Yeah, he is a bit of a sore thumb right now. He's currently packing all his things to be able to move here because he's convinced that I'm not capable of taking care of myself or hiring someone to help take care of me. I would much rather pay a nurse to help me go to the bathroom than have my brother do it, but trying to tell North that is a lost cause.”
“I definitely got those vibes from him.”
Grizzly agrees with us. "Yeah, North has never been one to be patient. Even when I was working to recruit this guy, he was all in my business asking questions. He'd been looking up legal advice for athletes on Google, and he had a whole interrogation prepared.”
We share a laugh at the picture he paints.
“At least you've got someone who's willing to bend and help you,” I say. “It's good to have that support, and along with the rest of the team, you likely won't have a single dull moment in your recovery process.”
Tollide uses his good hand to reach up and swipe his forehead.
