Chapter 19
NINETEEN
DAYLEN
After dropping Kennedy at the airport, I head straight to Tanner’s office.
It’s in a big downtown office building. He’s been here ever since he moved his company from New York City to Philadelphia.
While I was sad for him that he was getting divorced, I was extremely happy when he relocated.
I love having my agent and friend so close by now.
When I walk off the elevator, I smile warmly at his longtime, middle-aged secretary, Shannon, “Good morning, beautiful lady.”
She looks up from her computer and blushes shyly at the compliment. “Good morning, Mr. Humblecut.”
“Shannon,” I scold.
“Good morning, Daylen.”
“That’s much better, pretty woman. Is he in?” I ask.
She nods. “He’s in with Mrs. Montgomery right now, Mr.…Daylen. Let me tell him you’re here.”
I wave my hand dismissively. “No need. He loves my visits.” And I’d like to see Fallon and congratulate her on the new job. I know how much the ladies on the team love having her around.
Shannon begs me not to go into his office and scrambles to pick up her phone, but I ignore her and open Tanner’s office door, completely forgetting there’s a new Mrs. Montgomery.
I’m reminded. Quickly.
Bailey is sitting on his desk facing him with her legs spread. She’s giggling while his head is buried under her dress. Her back is to me. I can’t see anything I shouldn’t be seeing, but I know what he’s doing to her.
“Oops. Sorry,” I mumble.
His head quickly pops up, and Bailey pulls the bottom of her dress down to cover her thighs. Shannon appears behind me. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Montgomery. He wouldn’t wait until I called you.” She throws a death stare my way.
Sitting up straight in his three-piece navy-blue suit, Tanner practically growls at me in annoyance. “There’s a reason Shannon is out there. There’s also a reason for closed doors.”
“So you can get office action?” I ask innocently while batting my eyelashes.
Bailey smiles, but Tanner scowls. She hops down from the desk and pecks him on the lips. “I’ll leave you two alone. See you at home tonight.”
“No,” he barks out. “This will be quick. Very quick. Stay. I’m not done with you yet.” He grabs her by the waist and pulls her to sit across his lap, refusing to let go despite her soft protests.
He nods his head toward Shannon. “That will be all,” he barks at her. “In the future, when my wife is in here, no one is to disturb us,” he commands with authority as he glares at her, and she practically shrivels while closing the door.
I’m glad he’s on my side. He can be a scary dude sometimes.
Though as soon as he looks at Bailey, his face immediately softens. He practically has hearts in his eyes when gazing at her and her baby bump lovingly.
It’s weird to see him this way. It’s not at all how he was with Fallon when they were married.
They were more formal around each other.
Always appropriate, but there was no spark.
They lacked the playfulness my parents had and that I hope to have one day.
In fact, in all the years they were married, I don’t remember him ever touching Fallon the way he’s always touching Bailey.
He can’t keep his eyes or hands off her when she’s around.
I have an uncharacteristically brief moment of jealousy for what they share. They’re lucky to have it.
His face hardens as he turns his attention to me. “What else is it that I can do for the man who I recently helped become the highest-paid tight end in all of football?”
I grin at him. “That’s why I’m here. Because you’re the best in the business. The only one I’d ever trust. Kennedy needs new representation, and you’re the only man for the job.”
Bailey’s eyes widen. “I bet offers are pouring in after last night’s excitement. That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in women’s sports. We don’t have much of that in softball. It was so intense.”
I nod as I sit in a chair in front of his desk. “Yes, she’s gotten a lot of offers. She needs a better agent. She needs you, Tanner.”
His eyes toggle between me and Bailey. Appropriately, he hasn’t told her about Vegas, and now he’s cornered himself by keeping her in the room with us.
I decide to let him off the hook. “As long as she can be trusted to stay quiet, you can tell her everything.”
He nods and then proceeds to tell Bailey about our Vegas wedding and the judge’s mandate about us staying married through the year and all the other conditions that came with it.
“Holy shit,” she breathes. “That’s the wackiest story I’ve ever heard.”
I nod. “Sure is. Anyhoo, my wife needs your help, Tanner. Please draw up the contract right away. I want her to have it when she gets home.”
His shoulders fall. “I’m at my capacity. I’m beyond it. I can’t take on more clients, D, especially with the babies coming. I just don’t have the time or bandwidth to give her what she needs.”
My jaw tightens, and I increase the grip on the armrest of the chair until I think it might break. I don’t take up much of his time. I don’t ask for much, so I’m asking for this. “Make fucking time for my wife.”
His eyes widen in obvious shock. I rarely get heated, but I care about this. A lot.
He licks his lips as he studies my unusually aggressive demeanor. “Is something going on between you two?”
“We’re married. Duh.”
“You know what I mean, Daylen.”
I exhale a long breath. “She’s my wife and my friend. I care enough to want to make sure she’s in good hands, as I do with all my wives and friends. There are no better hands than yours. You’re the only person I trust to manage her career properly.”
Bailey runs her fingertips over his beard. “Come on, baby. It obviously means a lot to him. She’s a Philly athlete. She should be with you. Help her out.”
He stares lovingly at her compassionate, soft face. His shoulders fall as he says, “Fine,” as though he’s in a trance. I’m pretty sure she could ask him anything and he’d agree to it.
I gasp in mock shock. “All I had to do was massage your beard, sit on your lap, and call you baby? It’s good to know for the future.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I have a condition.”
I twist my lips. “Hmm. Is it that you want me to join you and Bailey in bed? Fine. No problem, but I like to be cuddled afterward for a solid twenty minutes. And I like to be the little spoon.”
Bailey giggles, but Tanner doesn’t. “No, asshole,” he growls at me. “You know I’ve been searching for the right woman to lead my women’s division, right?”
I nod. I do know that. He’s been interviewing for the position for over a year, never finding the right person for the job.
He continues, “This will stay between us for now, but Kam is going to run that division.”
“Kam?” I ask. “As in Kamryn Hart, Bailey’s sister?”
He nods. “Yes, she’s been taking law school classes at night for years.
She’s almost done with her legal degree.
She’s going to run that division as soon as she graduates, if not before.
We’re in the process of getting her set up because I’m in negotiations for her to represent the star of the new women’s football league, Jordie McNamara.
I planned on her being Kam’s first client, but Kennedy might beat her to the punch. ”
“Cool. Yeah, Kam would be perfect. I think she and Kennedy would get along great.” I smile. “I can totally see Kam being a barracuda at this. That’s awesome for her.”
Bailey grins widely. “I know. I’m so proud of my sister.” She turns to Tanner. “And of you for being nice to her and giving her this opportunity.”
I know Tanner and Kam don’t get along all that well, but I love this idea.
Tanner also agrees to help deal with Judge Eternal Sleep. He said he’ll probably just want to tack on extra dates when she returns, which is fine by me. It’s becoming more and more appealing to spend time with Kennedy. In fact, I’ve begun to look forward to it.
The sex we had yesterday was out of this world.
It’s so damn hot between us. Who knew that once hating each other would produce this level of passion?
I’ve never come as long or as hard as I did yesterday.
My brain was such mush that I momentarily forgot a condom.
But, hell, it felt so good being inside her like that.
She handled my miscue much better than I would have anticipated.
She was calm and took equal responsibility even though it was all my fault.
I can’t wait for her to get back so we can have a repeat performance. She let me kiss her long and hard at the airport before she left. It will have to tide us over until she gets back in two weeks.
I leave Tanner’s office feeling hopeful for Kennedy. I’m excited to tell her about Kam. She’s going to flip out.
On my way home, I decide to call my sister. We’re due for a catch-up session.
“Hey, D,” she answers right away.
“Hello, lovely sister of mine. What’s the latest on Cherry Tree Lane?”
She giggles at my Mary Poppins reference.
That was her favorite movie growing up. “Good one. Everything is fine.” She snorts in obvious annoyance.
“You should see what my mom wore to my softball game the other day. It was ridiculous. She wore a tight Versace dress, Jimmy Choo shoes, and held a Gucci purse while sitting on a dirty metal bleacher next to the bearded lady who’s doing her best to keep K-Mart in business. ”
I burst out laughing. “Holy shit, that’s so damn funny. You painted an excellent picture. I can imagine it perfectly. She used to do the same thing at my high school football games. And she was only, like, twenty-five then. Everyone assumed she was my sister.”
“Yeah, I bet that sucked big time. You probably hated her back then.”
I don’t really like to Ashleigh-bash in front of Jagger. No matter what, she’s still Jagger’s mom. If my sister wants to complain, I’m happy to give her an ear, but I usually steer clear of fueling the flames.
“Nah. It wasn’t so bad,” I lie. “She made Dad the town hero. It could have been worse. He could have married that K-Mart-loving bearded lady. Then my sister wouldn’t be as stunning as she is.”
“You flatter me, D. Speaking of stunning women, I saw on TV that you were at the crazy basketball game last night. You ran on the court to pull people off Kennedy Jeffries, and you were wearing her jersey. Do you know her?”
“I do. She’s a…friend. I was sitting with Coach Jeffries. She’s his daughter.”
“Hmm,” she says skeptically. “A gorgeous female friend whose jersey you were wearing. Who you ran out to defend on the court. Sounds like more than a friend to me, D.”
I suddenly wish she had gotten her mother’s brains instead of our father’s. I try to play it off. “She’s a cool chick. We hang out sometimes. Our friends are all friends.”
“Pft. What a load of crap. Anyhoo, did Dad talk to you about us coming up for a visit in a few weeks?”
I smile at that bit of news. “No. When?”
“When I get out of school next month. I want to tour some of the colleges in Philly.”
“Hell yes. Stay as long as you want. I’d love to have you. BJ could use some female companionship, and you’re the only female she likes. The only one she doesn’t try to kill.”
She giggles. “Still? What happens when you bring women home?”
“I don’t bring any home. She attacked an deliverywoman a few months ago.” Though that was worth it because after I cleaned her injuries, she gave me an amazing blowjob on my back deck. I choose not to share that with my sister.
“Oh man. Poor woman.”
Poor woman? I gave her three orgasms after the blowie. I’m sure she, too, agrees a few scrapes from BJ were worth it.
“Yep. Poor woman.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Dad, and we’ll figure out a few days for him to take off work. I’ll text you the dates.”
“Can’t wait.”