CHAPTER 27 ALEXIS
“We need to go public with this,” I say quietly.
The meeting is over, and everyone has cleared out of the conference room. I swear, I thought Arthur was going to drag Brooks out by his ear. He was positively fuming over what his son did, and it was such a delight to witness.
But it’s not enough. He needs to go down, and I’m brainstorming all the possibilities of how to go about doing it. Now that we’ve confronted Brooks and what we know, we need to save the reputation of this company.
I’ve chosen my new manager. I’ve chosen my new agent at the agency I now own.
I’m finally in control.
“I agree,” my dad says. “But first…”
He tosses a manila folder across the table toward me, and I flip open the cover.
I read the top line and my eyes meet my father’s.
He presses his lips together and nods. “I figured you’d want to take care of shredding it.”
A small smile lifts my lips. “I may hold onto it as a souvenir of my first contract.”
He chuckles a little. “Alexis, you’ve more than proven that you’re capable of handling yourself and your career. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve acted all these years.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be sorry, Daddy. We move forward now. We’ve had a lot of success together, and you’re still a forty-nine percent owner of this agency. You’re still very much a part of my career, and I want you to be because you’re the best at what you do…but now I’m in control.”
“I appreciate you saying that. I’ll be as much or as little a part of things as you want. I guess it took losing both my daughter and my company to realize how terribly I’ve treated you. But all that changes now,” he promises.
I hope he holds true to that promise. I think he will.
“So how do we want to handle going public?” Danny asks.
“I have an idea,” I say.
Both my dad and Danny look over at me, and it feels really good to have them on the same page now. It took a whole lot to get here, but now that we’re here, I can’t help but feel like everything is working out just like it was always supposed to.
“I haven’t addressed anything over the last month, and I think it’s time. I have a lot I want to say, and I think I’m ready for an exclusive,” I say.
“An exclusive?” my dad asks. “With who?”
“I have someone in mind, but she’s in Vegas. She’s primarily a sports reporter, but she had me on her podcast a few months ago, and the way she handled the tough questions made me feel comfortable enough to open up,” I say.
“Are you talking about Jolene Nash?” Danny asks.
I nod. “She’s married to the coach of the Vegas Aces and they run a podcast together. She’d be perfect. She used to be a team correspondent, so she’s used to the cameras, and I loved her when we talked.”
“And it would bolster her career a few notches to interview you,” my dad finishes.
I shrug. “It won’t hurt it.”
“You’ll be putting her on the map, darling. Are you sure you want to do that? You don’t want to aim higher? Say…Oprah?” he presses.
“She’s already on the map, Dad. And I want her to ask the hard-hitting questions the others would be afraid to. I’m ready to tell all, including why I didn’t marry Brooks and why Bodega isn’t merging with D-Three.” I nod my head emphatically at the end of my speech.
“Okay, then. Let’s put in a call to Jo—”
I hold up a hand to cut him off. “Charlotte is handling it.”
“Charlotte?” my dad repeats.
“My new agent,” I clarify. It’s her first job as my new agent, and it’s a trial run to see if she can get me exactly what I’ve asked for.
She’s working hand-in-hand with Gemma, my new manager, and it’s a test of sorts for both of them.
Danny’s lawyer—my lawyer, now—is working up a contract for both of these women, and I’m thrilled to be working with them.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
There’s a knock at the conference room door, and when my father yells at whoever it is to come in, Charlotte stands there. “Mrs. Brewer, I have your interview scheduled with Jolene Nash this Saturday at noon at her home studio in Las Vegas. I’ve given her a list of talking points, and she will send you the list of questions by tomorrow evening.” She looks triumphant, and she should. She rocked it.
“Thank you, Charlotte.” I beam at her. “Well done.”
She offers me a smile.
“You’re hired, by the way,” I say, and her smile turns into a wide grin.
“Thank you so much, Alexis! I promise I won’t let you down.” She’s squealing a little, and I feel the excitement, too.
“I know you won’t,” I say simply. I stand, walk over to her, and give her a hug. “Now go celebrate. We’ve got an exciting future ahead of us, and I’m going to keep you very, very busy.”
She squeezes me back, and then she heads out.
“You stole my best agent,” my dad whines, and I laugh.
“I’m putting your best agent to work,” I correct. “You better get started on redistributing the rest of her clients because I’m going to need her all to myself.”
He chuckles as we wrap things up, and I return to filming for the two days that follow. And then I find myself in Vegas at the new house I’m sharing with my husband the night before my interview with Jolene.
“Are you nervous?” Danny asks me.
I shake my head. “I’m excited. I can’t wait to get the truth out there. I can’t wait to tell the world how I fell for you. Are you nervous?”
“Maybe a little,” he admits. “But nothing changes. We’re already being followed everywhere we go. This just puts the truth out there so we can live our lives without other people making assumptions about us.”
I kiss my husband then sleep well despite the big interview I have coming up.
Danny makes me bacon and eggs for breakfast, and a small team of stylists comes by to prep me for the interview.
And then it’s time. He drives me over to Jolene’s house, a mansion not far from where we live, and she greets me at the door with a smile. A little boy around seven or eight stands behind her, and his eyes are wide.
“It really is Alexis Bodega!” he murmurs in awe.
“It really is,” I say. “What’s your name?”
“Jonah.”
“Well, Jonah, it’s lovely to meet you. Did you know your mom is amazing?” I ask him, and I wink at Jolene.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.” He shrugs a little, and then Jolene welcomes us in.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you in person,” she says, holding out a hand to shake mine.
“And you,” I say.
“Right this way,” she says, leading us toward her studio. “Danny, will you get on camera, too? Usually we’re more football-focused, but I’ve interviewed Troy a few times and I know a thing or two about baseball.”
Danny chuckles. “This is Alexis’s interview.”
“And I’ll be talking about you, so yes, he’ll be on, too.”
“But I didn’t even shave!” he protests.
I roll my eyes. “You never shave.” I reach over and finger his scruff. “And you know I like it that way.”
Jolene giggles. “You two are adorable.”
“Brewer!” a voice behind us says.
“Nash!” Danny says, greeting the head coach of the Vegas Aces football team, Lincoln Nash. They do some kind of bro handshake. “Good to see you again, man. I didn’t know if you’d be here.”
“I’ve got to get to practice, but I’m glad I ran into you,” Lincoln says. “We have our annual charity ball coming up, and we’d love to highlight some of our favorite ballplayers in town. Interested?”
Danny nods. “I’d love to take part.”
“I’ll have our charity director get in touch with you,” he says. “And if you’re up for it, we’re doing a local cornhole game for charity the week before the Super Bowl.”
“I’m up for it. Definitely. And Coach?” Danny says.
Lincoln looks at him expectantly.
“Kick the Bears’ ass this weekend, okay?”
Lincoln grins. “You got it, man.” He walks over and gives Jolene a kiss. “You got this.” He murmurs the words, but I don’t miss them.
“She’s definitely got this. When I first had this idea, I knew I needed the best in the business. And here we are,” I say.
Jolene blushes, and then we get set up in her studio. She introduces me to Dave, the camera operator in the corner, and has me take a seat in a beautiful leather chair. Beside me is a little table with a cozy winter set-up complete with a blanket and candles, and it’s a calm and relaxing atmosphere to do this.
“You ready?” Jolene asks.
I nod emphatically. “Ready.”