Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Kyon Shoulders
Day Two
“Did you hear what I said?” My manager, Freedman, nudged me while we sat at the dinner table. I must have zoned out because I had no idea what he was talking about.
“My bad, Free. I’m a little distracted this evening,” I admitted.
I hadn’t heard from Laikyn since she left my room with China this morning.
She gave me her new number before she left, but she had been radio silent ever since.
No text. No updates at all. It was taking everything in me not to go looking for her.
“Well, I need your head in the game. If all goes well, you’ll be a few million dollars richer and the new face of Boors Athletics.”
“I got you. I promise, I’m good,” I assured him.
“Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Aaron Peterson. I’ve been in touch with your manager, Freedman, to arrange this meeting with you. I hope you’re enjoying yourself on the cruise and that the accommodations are to your liking.” Aaron gave a cheesy grin as he held his hand out for me to shake.
“Thank you for having us. We have enjoyed ourselves thus far. We’re looking forward to seeing what else you have to offer.” Freedman spoke up.
“What he said. Everything was great. Thank you for having us,” I responded.
“Well, I’m going to do my intros, and we can get this dinner started.
I booked this private room with a chef, so we wouldn’t have to wait too long to eat.
This is my lovely wife, Roxanne, and my assistant, Janice.
She’ll be helping with my children tonight, so unfortunately, she won’t be able to sit in on the meeting. ”
I peeped the look between ol’ boy and his assistant, but it was none of my business. At the end of the day, whatever he had going on in his personal life had nothing to do with our business.
“It’s nice to meet you both.”
We all took our seats and engaged in small talk. I sent Laikyn a message to see if she was okay, but it only showed that she had read it. My nerves were unsettled, and I told myself I would stay long enough to hear what they were offering, then I would excuse myself to find my baby.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Destiny, and I’ll be one of your servers.
The chef will be out to greet you momentarily, and then we’ll start bringing your courses out.
There will be a total of five courses with your meal.
If you look under your silverware, you will find a complete menu breakdown along with the ingredients.
“We were given your allergy forms when the dinner was initially requested, but if any of you have any allergies you may have forgotten, please let us know now. We want everyone to have a pleasant and safe dining experience. Are you ready for me to take your drink orders?”
“We’re waiting on two more people. They seem to be running a little behind. Would you mind starting us all off with water, and then we can add additional drinks if necessary?” Aaron requested. I would have called him Mr. Peterson, but he didn’t look much older than me.
“Sure thing. I’ll be back with your drinks.”
The waitress scurried off, and the conversations resumed. Freedman and Aaron talked amongst themselves as his wife sat next to him looking out of place and uncomfortable. She excused herself to go to the bathroom, and I wondered if she had peeped the same thing I noticed earlier.
After ten more minutes had passed, a skinny black man walked up to the table and whispered something to Aaron before he addressed the table.
“My apologies for my tardiness. My fiancée was having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction and needed a little assistance. I’m Kalvin Holmes, and it is a pleasure to have you joining us, Mr. Shoulders.
I’m a huge fan of yours.” He held his hand out anxiously while I stared at it as if it was covered in shit.
My attention was on the beautiful, visibly flustered woman who walked in a few seconds after him.
“Appreciate it,” was the only response I offered as he awkwardly put his hand down. I glanced over at Aaron, and his face was beet red. Freedman gave me a look of confusion, but I planned to clear things up with him after dinner ended.
“And who is this beautiful angel you have with you? I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” Aaron stood to shake Lai’s hand. She gave him an odd look but accepted his hand.
“My name is Laikyn Morrows.”
“I’m Aaron Peterson.” The look came back as if she was stopping herself from saying something. Her eyes glanced to the left, and a smile appeared on her face.
“Roxy?” Laikyn addressed the woman at the table.
Aaron’s wife matched her excitement as she rose from her seat and the two of them hugged one another.
“Oh, I hadn’t realized the two of you had already met. We were planning to introduce you two yesterday, but things got busy for us,” Aaron stated with a perplexed expression on his face.
“Oh, yeah. We met yesterday when you left her to fix plates for you and your kids by herself. We’re friends now. Isn’t that right, Roxy?” Laikyn winked. It was then that I realized what she had been holding in.
“We sure are. Do you mean to tell me you were the woman I was supposed to meet? What a small world. I’m so happy it’s you and not some stuffy bi—” Roxy caught herself and giggled.
“I know, right? It must have been meant for us to meet,” Laikyn added.
It was interesting to see how Roxy’s energy shifted the moment she laid eyes on Laikyn. The two of them were communicating with their eyes, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Whatever Aaron did had landed him on my baby’s shit list, and I knew from experience it was a hard list to get off of.
I noticed ol’ boy kept his head down and didn’t bother to pull out Laikyn’s chair, which pissed me off. The tension between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and I was sure I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Laikyn and Roxy were laughing and giggling like old friends, and their men seemed equally uncomfortable, which confused me. I was under the impression they were supposed to meet, yet the two men seemed blindsided.
“Well, since everyone is here, we can get dinner started.” Aaron clasped his hands together, but I could tell there was more he wanted to say.
The chef came out, greeted us, and answered any questions we had about the menu.
I kept stealing glances at Laikyn, and I noticed she refused to do the same.
No one else probably noticed, but I did.
A part of me wondered if her soon-to-be ex had gotten in her ear and changed her mind about ending things with him.
I shook the thought away as quickly as it came because it didn’t even matter what she wanted.
I lost her the first time, but I wasn’t about to let her slip away from me again.
The food was surprisingly good, and by the time they came out with our main entree, I barely had much of an appetite.
Aaron spent most of dinner explaining why I would be a great ambassador for their sportswear line.
I could admit, he put on an impressive pitch and the merch was dope.
I bought plenty of workout gear from them and could attest to the quality and affordability.
The only thing I needed to know was how much they were offering, and Freedman was on the same type of time.
“Everything you’ve presented sounds wonderful, and Mr. Shoulders is very interested in the possibility of working with you all once we can come up with a reasonable payout,” Freedman stated.
“Oh, I’m already one step ahead of you. Kyon is one of the top wide receivers in the country, and we know securing him for our brand will be an incredible opportunity for both parties.
We wouldn’t dare bring you all this way and not offer an amount suitable for someone of his caliber.
” The fuck boy, Kalvin replied, passing Freedman a folder.
Freedman put on his glasses as he glanced over the documents.
We weren’t going to sign anything until my lawyers gave the official approval of the contract.
This meeting was simply to secure me as a client and then we would go from there.
When he passed the folder over to me and I saw the number, I wanted to smile, but I decided to maintain my poker face.
Twenty million dollars for a four-year exclusivity contract was a great deal, and I knew then I would be signing once I got the approval.
I passed it back to Freedman and nodded.
He knew me well enough to know I was onboard.
“It looks like we have a deal. Of course, our lawyers will review the contract to ensure all terms and conditions align with Mr. Shoulder’s standards and values.
Once they have done so, we will send you the final draft.
Other than the administrative formalities, we’re excited for this collaboration, and I believe it will be a great one. ”
I planned to give Freedman a nice bonus because he always came through and advocated for me. He was never afraid to push for more if he thought someone was trying to shortchange me, which happened to athletes often.
“Thank you so much. We are glad to have you be a part of the Boors Athletics team. We are certain you will find our contract fair and completely thorough. It is important to us that we uphold the values and integrity of our brand in all ways. We’ll ship a welcome package as a thank-you, and if you would like to have additional merch sent to family and friends, feel free to let us know.
Kalvin will be your point of contact, and he’s going to take very good care of you.
” Aaron sported a shit-eating grin on his face as he smiled from ear to ear.
The last part of his statement caught me off guard, and I knew I had to address it.
“Actually, would it be possible for me to make a small request?” I probed.
“Of course, you can. Name it and it’s yours,” Aaron replied.
“Could I have someone else as my point of contact?”