Page 35 of Their After Hours Playbook

Tom smiled and delivered a sideways glance to Zach. “Glad to hear it.”

Zach waved Tom into his office and they got settled on the large leather sectional in one corner. Zach handed over a binder with a full report of his progress to date. It hadn’t taken as much time as the original proposal, but it had still been a real labor of love.

Tom sat back and opened the cover, then fished his reading glasses out of the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

Zach opened his own copy to follow along. “Obviously these are all projections, since we’ve only signed seven new clients. But I’ve already put together endorsement deals for four of the seven and we’re working on new revenue streams for the others.”

Tom flipped through the pages, nodding as he consulted the numbers. “It’s definitely proving to be exactly what you told me it would. Have you done any projections longer than two years for these new clients?”

“I haven’t, but I can. What would you want to see?”

Tom shrugged. “Five years? Just to get an idea of the full scope.”

“Sure thing. I can do that.”

“I noticed that all of the new clients are in golf and tennis. I thought you were looking at other sports. We talked about basketball, right? How’s that coming along?”

Zach held his breath, knowing that Tom was essentially asking about Alexis Simmons, a topic Zach did not care to discuss. “It’s a work in progress. I’ll put it that way. But I have made some strides in other big sports. I’ve started talks with Aida Niemenen, the Finnish race car driver. She’s likely going to be the first woman in Formula One. So that’s exciting. There will be so much attention on her. She’ll truly be breaking new ground.”

Tom nodded slowly, then returned to the binder and looked through several more pages before closing it and resting his hands on top of it. “I’m proud of you, Zach. You stood up to me. You fought for something I resisted. And you’re making it work. You’re putting your stamp on the agency, which is something I’d once thought I didn’t want, but I can now see that it’s a good thing.” He reached over and patted Zach’s knee. “Great job. Truly.”

Zach felt like he was floating on air. Tom had always been generous with praise, but this was a whole new level. “Thank you so much. It means the world to me.”

“And I have to say, the new job agrees with you. You seem much more relaxed and confident. You seem...” Tom scanned Zach’s face. “Happy in a way I’ve never seen you.”

Those were all very nice things to hear, but Zach knew very well it was about far more than his job. His demeanor and happiness were all due to Paige. “I need to tell you something.”

“Of course. Anything.”

“I know you were trying very hard to not mention Alexis Simmons just now.”

“I didn’t want to force the issue. You’re doing so well on other fronts. Not that I don’t want you to pursue her. I do want that.”

“Well, there’s a reason I haven’t done that.” He sucked in a deep breath for courage. “Paige Moss and I spent some time together in Las Vegas, then we spent more together after we got back and, well, you should know that we’re involved. Romantically.”

Tom didn’t respond immediately. In fact, it was a struggle to read his facial expression, leaving Zach feeling like he was floundering.

“She’s so great,” Zach continued, overwhelmed by an irrational need to fill up space. “And I know about the bad blood between you two, but it just seems like it’s all in the past and maybe it’s better if we all let bygones be bygones. You know? Water under the bridge and all of that?”

Tom nodded. He even smiled, which helped to relax Zach ever so slightly. “I see.”

“And?”

“Of course your mom and I want you to be happy. We want you to find love and have a family and all of the things that have made our lives so rich and rewarding.”

Zach’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you. I appreciate it. We’re not there yet. It’s new. But it’s special. We absolutely love spending time together.”

“If I were you, I’d take things slow. Keep your options open. Paige is quite a bit older than you. She’s probably not interested in the same things you are. You know, as far as life goals and things like that.”

Zach had never considered keeping his options open. He only wanted to be with Paige. “I’m happy with the way things are, Tom. I don’t plan to date other women.”

Tom frowned, then tried to cover with a forced smile. “Just don’t do anything rash, okay?”

Zach was so tired of that sort of advice. It was remarkably similar to what Paige had said to him. “I’ve got it under control. Everything.”

Tom nodded and looked at the binder again, then handed it over to Zach. “Well, you’re certainly hitting it out of the park with this.”

“Thanks.”

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