Chapter 18
THEO
Theo’s phone rang. He grabbed at it quickly — far more quickly than usual — and looked at the screen, aware of the fact that his heart was pounding and not really liking it.
Unknown number.
He clicked the button to silence the call and set the phone down with a sigh. Still nothing from Harper.
It had been days now, and he had to admit, he wasn’t enjoying the radio silence.
He was used to her pestering him regularly for wedding-related details, and now…
was she ever going to call him? There were things that still had to be worked out, after all, things they still had to decide together.
It didn’t make sense for her to ignore him.
He had even texted her a few times and had only gotten one-word answers from her.
He pulled up their text thread. The last text between them was yesterday morning. He’d sent her, Do we need to figure out the cake? and she had responded with a thumbs-up. That was it. Nothing more.
What was he supposed to take away from that?
They were going to have to get into a room together at some point, really sit down and go over these things. But until she decided to be more communicative, that wasn’t going to happen, and Theo was going to be stuck in this frustrating holding pattern.
The thought came to him unbidden — I’m sure this is how it was for her at first, trying to deal with me when I would hardly give her the time of day.
But that was different! At least, it was supposed to be different. He had thought things had changed between the two of them now. After all, they had agreed that they were going to take it easier on one another. They had spoken about it the morning after…
After we slept together.
Was that what all this was about? He had thought things were genuinely all right, that they were on the same page about what had happened and what it had meant to each of them.
Now he found himself wondering. What if he’d been wrong?
What if he had overstepped somehow — made her uncomfortable?
What if she regretted what had happened?
Well, for God’s sake, it’s not that big a deal. It was one night. If she has regrets, she can talk to me. I never took it seriously, and she told me she didn’t either, so we should be able to just put it behind us!
Yes, in theory. But what if that wasn’t true? What if she had taken things seriously? What if she was angry with him now?
Well, Theo couldn’t be held responsible if that was the way it was, he told himself firmly.
He had been abundantly clear with her about the fact that he didn’t want a serious relationship.
He had told her explicitly that he wasn’t interested in marriage, and she’d told him that she was, so of course the two of them were incompatible.
She was a smart woman. She understood that.
If she had feelings about it all, that was too bad, but it wasn’t Theo’s business.
She would manage those feelings on her own.
Anyway, he had work that he needed to focus on, so maybe it was for the best that Harper seemed to want to handle wedding details by herself for the moment. He opened a folder that had been on his desk when he had come in that morning.
Scouting Report: Jason Alamedes
The scouting report was really for the team manager, of course. Theo didn’t know enough about the intricacies of the team to know what they were looking for in a new player. But he liked to have all the available information at his disposal all the same.
Atop the stack of papers in the folder, the manager had affixed an adhesive note with a brief message — Love this guy! Let’s get him!
Theo flipped through the folder. Jason Alamedes was currently the star of his high school team and had led them in an undefeated season.
He was a shortstop with a glove like a magnet, who seemed able to scoop up any ball that dared to come within a twenty-foot radius of him.
There were still-shots of some of his most spectacular catches and a DVD that would have his highlight reel, letting Theo see him in action.
Theo set that aside for later. He wanted to watch it — he liked to watch every new player’s reel, just to feel like he was doing his part for the team — but it wasn’t as though he had to see it.
If the manager wanted this kid, that was good enough to persuade him.
The only thing that might make a difference to the final decision was money. This was a young player, so he might come cheap, but he was also talented, and if he’d had a lot of offers already, he would be more competitively priced.
The number at the back of the folder wasn’t exactly low, but it wasn’t prohibitive either. It was within the budget that Theo had planned on allocating for the new shortstop the team needed. That was enough to convince him. He picked up the phone.
As he dialed the number, a sour thought took root in his mind. See, Harper? I’m good at getting things organized. And having a budget is ninety percent of the battle. If I couldn’t afford this guy, it wouldn’t make any difference how good a shortstop he was. That would be irrelevant.
The phone was answered. “John Larson here.”
“Mr. Larson, this is Theo Davenport calling.”
“Davenport. With the Houston Stallions, isn’t that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“You’re calling me about .Jason Alamedes. I know you requested his reel.”
“That’s right, we did, and our team has reviewed it. We’re prepared to make a generous contract offer for Mr. Alamedes to come and join our program here.”
“He has an offer from Boston,” John Larson said. “He’s seriously considering accepting it. Can you offer better than what Boston is offering?”
“I don’t know. What are they offering?”
“It’s a closed contract.”
“If you can’t tell me the terms, how do I know if I’m able to match them?”
“Tell me what your offer is,” John Larson told him. “I’m just warning you that it had better be a good one if you want to compete with Boston.”
Theo smiled. This was where he was in his element.
His feelings about Harper, all the conflict and stress, faded away into the background, and he picked up a pen and twirled it confidently between his fingers.
“Mr. Larson, I’m not a man to be pushed into things,” he said.
“I’m happy for Alamedes to come and play for our club, and I think my offer is a generous one.
But if you think your client would prefer Boston over Houston, there probably isn’t anything I can say right now that would change your mind, and that’s all right.
He should do what’s going to make him happy.
Why don’t you have a talk with your client, and the two of you can decide what he wants for himself and from his career?
And once you’ve made that decision, give me a call back — if you think Houston is going to be the right place for him — and we can discuss the terms of the offer. ”
“Now, hang on a moment,” John Larson objected. “You called me.”
“I called you because I thought you were ready to deal. I’m not here to play these games,” Theo said.
“If you’re not sure whether or not my club is what you want for your client, then you and I don’t actually have anything to talk about, and I won’t waste any more of your time today. I’m ending this call now.”
“Hold on,” John Larson sighed.
Theo couldn’t suppress a smile. It was a good thing Larson couldn’t see him right now.
This was what he was best at, and he was crushing it, just like he always did.
It was the perfect way to take his mind off everything that was going on with Harper.
He wouldn’t have to spend any time thinking about her as long as he had his work to focus on.
I should never have allowed myself to get pulled away from work for such a prolonged amount of time.
I love work. Work is where I shine — not personal connections with random women who are helping me plan weddings.
I shouldn’t even be a part of planning this wedding!
What do I know about weddings? Not a damn thing, that’s what.
“Of course we want to do business with you,” John Larson said. “You know we do. That’s why we sent you the highlight reel in the first place.”
“Then don’t joke with me,” Theo said. “I’m a very busy man, and this is a great club. Your client should be grateful for the opportunity to come and play here.”
“Look, you’re a struggling program. You need someone like Alamedes. You’re not going to have a winning season without us.”
“Your client is not the only shortstop looking to make his name in the big leagues. I can find somebody else. And I’m sure Boston will be very happy to have him if that’s what you want.”
“All right, fine. You know how to dance. I’ll send you over a copy of the contract Boston is offering us, and you let me know if you can beat their offer.”
“Don’t bother,” Theo said. He had the measure of this man now. “I will send you my offer, and you make a decision with your client as to whether it’s something you’d like to accept. If not, no hard feelings, and you and I will go our separate ways.”
John Larson grumbled a little. “You’re a difficult man to deal with,” he said. “Do you know that?”
“I’m a very easy man to deal with,” Theo countered.
“I always say exactly what I mean. I don’t beat around the bush.
You don’t have to guess at what you’re getting when you deal with me.
When I send you over this contract, you will know exactly what to expect and what your client can count on when he signs with our club. ”
“You mean if he signs with your club.”
“I’m confident he will. The offer is a good one. You didn’t need to use these tactics to try to get the best deal out of me. I take care of my players. I care about everyone who’s a part of this system.”
John Larson didn’t seem to have anything to say to that.
“I’m sending the deal over now,” Theo said. “Take a look at it and get back to me once you’ve had a chance to make a decision.”
He hung up the phone and turned his attention to the papers on his desk.
At least, he tried to turn his attention there, but now that he didn’t have this deal to focus on, he found his mind wandering.
His thoughts returned to Harper and the night they had spent together.
The warmth of her body in his arms, the noises she had made…
he wouldn’t forget it anytime soon. He had been with many women in his life, but there was something special about her that seemed destined to stay with him.
It was beyond frustrating. This was supposed to be a job.
He was supposed to be planning his brother’s wedding, nothing more.
And when that was over, they would go their separate ways.
But now it seemed as though knowing Harper was going to leave an indelible impression on Theo’s life.
And he was beginning to fear that, no matter how far away from her he got, and no matter how much time passed, he would never fully be able to move on.