CHAPTER 34
Antonio had been staring at his tablet for nearly an hour, trying to figure out this contract for his newest client, a snowboard phenom named Rakim Riley.
Riley was an anomaly in the sport—a young Black guy from Harlem who got into snowboarding on a whim as a Fresh Air Fund kid, when a host family invited him on a ski trip.
After a few lessons, he was hooked. And the rest, as they say, was history.
He’d been dominating the X-Games ever since he turned pro at nineteen.
But this potential sponsorship contract with a board manufacturer was making absolutely no sense and seemed extremely restrictive. Antonio needed a second pair of eyes on it. He needed the one person who could rip apart a contract while understanding it inside and out. He needed Jackie.
Antonio glanced at his laptop to see that she was online—but naturally, her status was set to busy.
He knew that it was her attempt to ward off everybody in the office.
He wasn’t everybody, though. Fuck it, he said to himself.
He grabbed his laptop and headed down the hallway to see if she was free.
When he turned the corner, Calvin popped up from his desk.
“Listen, if you’re trying to go in there for a little, uhm, alone time, I don’t think she’d be receptive. She’s…pissed. She’s just been banging stuff around for the past fifteen minutes.”
Antonio heard a crashing sound. He looked at Jackie’s office door, then back at Calvin. “Why is she so pissed?”
Calvin sighed. “For starters, her voice isn’t back, at least not consistently.
And secondly, the only day that Guzman can meet is the same day as PJ’s interview with WWSN.
It’s the only time he can meet because Thanksgiving is soon, and he’ll be unavailable for a minute.
She can’t reschedule either, so she’s freaking out. ”
“That’s it?” Antonio adjusted his cufflinks. “Let me talk to her.”
“Okay. You might want to watch out for flying objects.” Calvin stepped aside as Antonio knocked on the door.
“Luck—I mean, Jackie. It’s Antonio. Can I come in?”
Antonio waited a few beats until Jackie snatched open her office door. Her angry face softened when she saw his face. She stepped aside to let him in.
Antonio leaned against her desk, arms folded, and watched Jackie pace. “Now, why are you in here scaring poor Calvin? You know you terrify him enough.”
Jackie stopped pacing. She grabbed her phone to type. “Because this is messed up! I can’t reschedule this meeting with Guzman, but if I go to Miami to meet with him, I won’t get back in time for PJ’s interview. What am I supposed to do?”
Antonio was getting used to Jackie’s voice app, but it just wasn’t same. In this moment, the artificial voice certainly couldn’t convey the panic he knew Jackie was feeling. “Try to calm down, Jackie. Breathe, baby girl. When is all this happening?” Antonio asked.
Jackie took a few deep inhales and let out a long exhale, before replying, “Next Thursday.”
Antonio pulled out his phone and looked at his calendar. “What time is PJ’s interview with Sara?”
Jackie showed him her own calendar. The interview was scheduled for 3:00 p.m., with a 1:00 p.m. call time at the studio.
“I can go. I have a potential sponsor meeting early that morning, and then I’m free.”
Jackie frantically shook her head in objection.
“Jackie, it’s no big deal. Besides, I’ve been working with PJ on interview prep.”
“Oh?” Jackie was surprised.
Antonio and PJ had been working for weeks on techniques to stay calm and engaging during interviews. PJ was still bit skittish, but overall, he’d made vast improvements.
“I promised you I would. Trust me, he’s gotten better. I think he’ll be fine.”
Jackie bit the pad of her thumb as she thought. Antonio kinda liked when she did that. Besides smoothing down her hair at her nape, this was her only tell that she was nervous about something. Jackie wasn’t one to let people see her sweat.
“We’ve been over this. It kills you to accept help,” Antonio moved closer to her, gently prying her thumb from her lips.
He held her hand, her wet thumb pressing against his palm.
It was oddly comforting. “Chill, Jackie. I got it. I’ll go to the interview with PJ. You handle your meeting with Guzman.”
Jackie’s brows bunched together.
“No buts, Jackie. Let me be there for you. Most of all, let me be there for my son.”
Jackie finally nodded yes.
Antonio smiled. “If anything goes south, I’ll let you know. You’ll be on a flight back to Atlanta in a heartbeat. I love how you ride for your clients like that. I especially appreciate that for PJ.” He kissed the back of her hand, and she blushed. He loved making her do that.
Jackie smirked as she typed. “You do know I’d do that for any of my clients. Not just the ones who have hot dads.”
Antonio let out a laugh. “You think I’m hot? Am I a DILF?”
Jackie chuckled, shaking her head as she typed. “First of all, you know you’re fine. And please never say that again.”
It felt so good to laugh with her. It was like putting on a coat in the middle of winter, all warm and fuzzy.
Once the laughter died down, Jackie moved to her desk. Her fingers hovered over her phone screen before she finally began typing. “I guess I’ll need to thank you for stepping in for me.”
“For you, Lucky, I’ll do anything.”
Jackie shook her head. “It makes it hard for me to hate you when you say things like that,” she typed.
“Why waste your time hating me, when you can love me instead?”
Shit.
Antonio didn’t know why he’d said that. It just came out. Jackie stared at him, her brown eyes wide. Damn, why did he have to go and make shit awkward?
“I-I—” Antonio stammered. “You know what I mean.”
Jackie ran her hand down her nape.
“And like I said, no need to thank me.”
Jackie bumped his shoulder before typing, “Maybe I want to, Steele. Let me thank you.”
“Well…” Antonio looked at Jackie. “Alright. I’d love for you to thank me.
” His eyes trailed down the length of her curvy frame.
Today, she’d had the nerve to wear a tight black pinstriped skirt, and those legs of hers were on full display in a pair of sky-high black heels.
Louboutin, of course. The thought of those heels and her legs draped over his shoulders was making Antonio wildly uncomfortable in his boxers.
When his eyes trailed back up Jackie, her eyes were staring right into his.
“Eyes up here, Steele,” Jackie’s app parroted his favorite line.
Antonio chuckled, trying to pull himself together. “Seriously, I do have a way you can thank me. Can you look over the contract for this snowboarding deal? Shit is all fuzzy to me.”
Jackie quickly typed, “Yeah, I heard you signed Rakim. I got you, no problem. Just email it to me.” No sooner had the app finished relaying her message, than her phone began to buzz. She sighed, shaking it to indicate that she had to take the call.
Antonio took that as his cue to leave. “Cool.” But then he leaned over, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll let you thank me all you want when you get back from Miami.”
Jackie pulled him gently by his chin, tugging at his goatee until they were eye-level. She returned his kiss, hers a lot hungrier than his chaste peck.
Antonio could feel himself getting brick-hard as she tugged his beard.
He didn’t know what it was about pain that turned him on so much.
It probably had to do with the adrenaline rush of getting hit on the field.
He probably needed to see a therapist about that.
But right now, he was enjoying it too much.
Jackie finally released his chin and winked at him. Her phone buzzed again, and she refocused her attention.
Antonio stood there, a bit stupefied. Fuck. This woman. She was going to be his undoing. Antonio adjusted himself before heading out of her office. He looked up to see Calvin staring at him, a hint of judgement in his eyes.
“I see Ms. Miles is calmer after your visit,” Calvin remarked, looking up from his computer with a smirk. “You must have the magic touch.”
If only you knew, thought Antonio.