“That’s not fair! The employment agency folded.”
“So did the gift shop and the dot-com. Did you ever think it’s more than coincidental that whatever business you attach yourself to goes bottom up? It’s because you deal in daydreams not in reality. Like that whole fantasy you had about being an actress.”
Annabelle sank lower in her seat. She’d been a decent actress, taking solid supporting roles in a couple of university productions and directing some studio plays. But by her junior year, she’d realized theater wasn’t her passion, just an escape into a world where she didn’t have to be Doug and Adam Granger’s incompetent little sister.
“And look what happened with Rob,” Kate went on. “Of all the—Well, never mind about that. The point is, you’ve bought into this New Age nonsense that all you have to do is want something badly enough, and you can get it. But life doesn’t work that way. It takes more than desire. Successful people are pragmatic. They make plans that are rooted in reality.”
“I don’t want to be an accountant!”
A long, disapproving silence followed this outburst. Annabelle knew exactly what her mother was thinking. That Annabelle was being Annabelle again, high-strung, overly dramatic, and impractical, the family’s lone failure. But no one could upset her like her mother.
Except her father.
And her brothers.
“Stop screwing around with your life, Spud, and settle on something practical,” Adam, the big-shot doctor, had written in his last e-mail, which he’d thoughtfully copied to the rest of the family plus two aunts and three cousins.
“You’re thirty-one,” Doug, the big-shot accountant, had noted on her recent birthday card. “I was making two hundred grand a year when I was thirty-one.”
Her father, the ex-big-shot surgeon, took a different approach. “Birdied number four yesterday. My putting game’s finally come together. And, Annabelle…It’s long past time you found yourself.”
Only Nana Myrna had offered support. “You’ll find yourself when the time is right, sweetheart.”
Annabelle missed Nana Myrna. She’d been a failure, too.
“The accounting field is wide open,” her mother said. “It’s growing by leaps and bounds.”
“So is my business,” Annabelle retorted in a mad act of self-destruction. “I’ve landed a very important client.”
“Who?”
“You know I can’t give you his name.”
“Is he under seventy?”
Annabelle told herself not to take the bait, but there was a reason she’d earned her reputation as the family screwup. “He’s thirty-four, a high-profile multimillionaire.”
“Why on earth has he hired you?”
Annabelle gritted her teeth. “Because I’m the best, that’s why.”
“We’ll see.” Her mother’s voice softened, driving the point of her maternal knife home. “I know I aggravate you, baby, but it’s only because I love you, and I want you to fulfill your potential.”
Annabelle sighed. “I know you do. I love you, too.”
The conversation finally ground to an end. Annabelle stowed her cell, slammed the door, and jabbed the key into the ignition. Maybe if there wasn’t so much truth behind her mother’s words, they wouldn’t sting so badly.
As she backed out of the parking place, she gazed into the rearview mirror and uttered little Jamison’s favorite word. Twice.
Chapter Two
Dean Robillard entered the club like a frigging movie star, a linen sports coat draped over his shoulders, diamond studs glittering in his earlobes, and a pair of Oakleys shading his Malibu blue eyes. With his sun-bronzed skin, rakish stubble, and blond, surfer-boy hair all shiny and gel-rumpled, he was L.A.’s gift to the city of Chicago. Heath grinned, glad for the distraction. The boy had style, and the Windy City had missed him.
“Do you know Dean?” The blonde trying to drape herself over Heath’s right arm watched as Robillard flashed the crowd his red carpet smile. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the crap music coming from the dance floor of Waterworks, the site of tonight’s private party. Although the Sox were playing in Cleveland and the Bulls hadn’t drifted back to town yet, the city’s other teams were well represented at the party, mainly players from the Stars and Bears, but also most of the Cubs outfield, a couple of Blackhawks, and a goalie for the Chicago Fire. Added to the mix were a few actors, a rock star, and women, dozens of them, each more beautiful than the next, the sexual plunder of the rich and famous.
“Sure he knows Dean.” The brunette on his other side gave the blonde a condescending look. “Heath knows every football player in town, doncha, lover?” As she spoke, she surreptitiously slid her hand around his inner thigh, but Heath ignored his hard-on, just as he’d been ignoring all his hard-ons since he’d gone into training for marriage.
Going into training for marriage was hell.
He reminded himself that he’d gotten where he was by sticking to a plan, and being married before he hit thirty-five was the next step. His wife would be the ultimate symbol of his accomplishments, the final proof that he’d left the Beau Vista Trailer Park behind him forever.
“I know him,” he said. He didn’t add that he hoped to know him a whole lot better.
As Robillard moved deeper into the room, the Waterworks crowd parted, making way for the former Southern Cal player who’d been tapped by the Stars to take over as the team’s first-string quarterback when Kevin Tucker hung up his spikes at the end of the upcoming season. A hint of mystery surrounded Dean Robillard’s family background, and the quarterback typically gave vague answers when anyone tried to pry. Heath had done a little digging on his own and unearthed some interesting rumors, but he kept them to himself. The Zagorski brothers, slobbering over a pair of brunettes at the other end of the bar, finally became aware of what was happening and shot to attention. Within seconds, they were stumbling over all four of their Prada loafers trying to be the first to get to him.
Heath took another sip of beer and left them to it. The Zagorskis’ interest in Robillard didn’t surprise him. The quarterback’s agent had died in a rock-climbing incident five days earlier, leaving him without representation, something the Zagorski brothers, and every other agent in the country, hoped to rectify. The Zagorskis ran Z-Group, the only Chicago sports management business that rivaled Heath’s. He hated their guts, mainly for their ethics, but also because they’d stolen a first-round draft pick from him five years ago when he’d needed it most. He’d retaliated by taking Rocco Jefferson from them, which hadn’t been all that hard to do. The Zagorskis were good at making big promises to their clients but not as good at delivering them.
Heath had no illusions about his profession. In the past ten years, the business of being a sports agent had grown more corrupt than a cockfight. In most states licensing was a joke. Any two-bit hustler could print up a business card, call himself a sports agent, and prey on gullible college athletes, especially the guys who’d grown up with nothing. These sleazeballs slipped them money under the table, promised cars and jewelry, hired hookers, and paid “bounties” to anybody who could deliver the signature of a high-profile athlete on a management contract. Some reputable agents had left the business because they didn’t believe they could be both honest and competitive, but Heath wouldn’t be driven away. Despite the sleaze factor, he loved what he did. He loved the adrenaline rush of signing a client, of making the deal. He loved seeing how far he could push the rules. That’s what he did best. He pushed the rules …but he didn’t break them. And he never cheated a client.
He watched Robillard bend his head to hear what the Zagorski boys were saying. Heath wasn’t worried. Robillard might be an L.A. glamour boy, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew every agent in the country was after him, and he wouldn’t be making any decisions tonight.
A sex kitten Heath had slept with a couple of times in his pre-training camp days zeroed in on him, hair swaying, nipples puckered like overripe cherries bene
ath her slinky top. “I’m taking a poll. If you could only have one kind of sex for the rest of your life, what would it be? So far the vote’s running three to one in favor of oral.”
“How about I just vote for heterosexual.”
All three of the women laughed uproariously, as if they’d never heard anything funnier. He was the king of stand-up comics, all right.
The party began to heat up, and a few of the women on the dance floor started running through the jets of water that gave Waterworks its name. Their clothes melted to their bodies, outlining every curve and hollow. He’d loved the club scene when he’d first come to town, the music and booze, the beautiful women and free sex, but by the time he’d hit thirty, he’d grown jaded. Still, making the scene, bullshit or not, was an important part of his business, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in bed alone at a decent hour.
“Heath, my man.”
He grinned as Sean Palmer approached. The Chicago Bears rookie was a great-looking kid, tall and muscular with a square jaw and mischievous brown eyes. The two of them executed one of a dozen or so tricky handshakes Heath had mastered over the years.
“How’s the Python doin’ tonight?” Sean asked.
“No complaints.” Heath had worked hard to recruit the Ohio State fullback, and when Sean had gone ninth to the Bears in the first round of last April’s draft, it had been one of those perfect moments that made up for all the crap. Sean was a hard worker, and he came from a great family. Heath intended to do everything he could to keep him out of trouble.
He signaled the women that he wanted some privacy, and Sean looked only momentarily disappointed as they faded away. Like everyone else in the club, he wanted to talk about Robillard. “Why aren’t you over there kissing Dean’s skinny white ass like everybody else?”
“I do my ass kissing in private.”
“Robillard’s one smart dude. He’s gonna take his time findin’ a new agent.”
“Can’t blame him. He’s got a great future.”
“You want me to put in a word with him?”
“Sure.” Heath hid a grin. Robillard wouldn’t give a damn about the recommendation of a rookie. The only person’s opinion Dean Robillard might care about would be Kevin Tucker’s, and even that wasn’t certain. Dean alternated between idolizing Kevin and resenting him because Kevin had stayed healthy last season, which kept Dean on the bench for one more year.
“So what’s this I been hearing about you givin’ up women? All the ladies tonight are talkin’ about it. They’re feeling neglected, you know what I’m sayin’?”
No use trying to explain to a twenty-two-year-old kid with freshly minted hundred-dollar bills stuffed into every pocket that the chase had gotten old. “I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for pussy?”
Sean looked so honestly dumbfounded that Heath laughed. And, face it, the kid had a point. Everywhere Heath looked, ripe breasts spilled from plunging necklines, and tiny skirts cupped soft, sweet asses. But he wanted more than sex. He wanted the ultimate prize. Someone polished, beautiful, and sweet. He imagined his silver spoon wife, lithe and lovely, the calm in the center of his storm. She’d always have his back, keep his rough edges smoothed down. She’d be the woman who’d finally make him feel as though he’d achieved everything he’d dreamed of. Except playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
He smiled at his boyhood fantasy. That one he’d had to let go of, right along with his teenage plan to nail a different porn star every night. He’d gone to the University of Illinois on a football scholarship and played first team all four years. But as a senior, he’d accepted the fact that he’d never be good enough to be more than a third-stringer for the pros. Even then he’d known he couldn’t dedicate his life to being anything but the best, so he’d turned his dreams in another direction. He’d gotten top marks on his LSATs, and an influential U of I alum had pulled the political strings that got him into Harvard. Heath had learned to utilize his brains, his street smarts, and his ability to camouflage himself so that he could fit in anywhere: a tenement, a locker room, the deck of a private yacht.
Although he made no secret of his country boy roots—flaunted them when he needed to—he didn’t let anybody see how much dirt still clung to those roots. He wore the best clothes, drove the best cars, lived at the best address. He knew wine, even if he seldom drank it; understood the fine arts academically, if not aesthetically; and didn’t need a reference book to identify a fish fork.
“I know what your problem is,” Sean said, mischief in his eyes. “Chicks here don’t have enough class for Mister Ivy League. You rich guys like your ladies with big fancy monograms tattooed on their asses.”
“Yeah, so they match up with that big, fancy Harvard H I’ve got tattooed on mine.”
Sean started laughing, and the women drifted back to see what was so funny. A few years ago, Heath would have enjoyed their predatory sexuality. From the time he was a kid, women had been attracted to him. When he was thirteen, he’d been worked over by one of his father’s girlfriends. Now he knew it had been sexual abuse, but at the time he hadn’t understood, and he’d been so panicky and guilt stricken that he’d thrown up for fear of the old man finding out. One more sordid episode in a childhood filled with them.
He’d put most of the remnants of that childhood behind him, and the rest would disappear when he found the right woman. Or when Portia Powers found her for him. After spending the past year looking on his own, he’d realized the woman of his dreams wouldn’t be hanging out in the clubs and sports bars where he spent his so-called leisure time. Still he’d never have thought of hiring a matchmaker if he hadn’t seen a glowing article about Powers in Chicago magazine. Her impressive connections and formidable track record were exactly what he needed.
Annabelle Granger, on the other hand, wasn’t. As a professional hard-ass, he didn’t usually let himself get suckered in, but all that desperate earnestness had gotten to him. He remembered her awful yellow suit, her big honey-colored eyes, those flushed round cheeks, and flyaway red hair. She’d looked as though she’d tumbled out of Santa’s bag after a bad sleigh ride.
He should have kept his mouth shut about his wife hunt around Kevin, but how could he have known his star client’s wife, Molly, would have a friend in the matchmaking business? As soon as Heath sat through the introduction he’d promised, Annabelle Granger and her screwball operation were history.
A little after one in the morning, Dean Robillard finally made his way to Heath’s side. Despite the club’s dim lighting, the boy still wore his Oakleys, but he’d ditched his sports coat, and his sleeveless white silk T-shirt showed off the Holy Grail of football shoulders—big, strong, and unmarred by arthroscopic surgery. Dean propped one hip on the empty bar stool that opened up next to Heath. As he extended his leg for balance, he revealed a tan leather cap-toe boot Heath had heard one of the women say was from Dolce & Gabbana.
“Okay, Champion, your turn to suck up.”
Heath set his elbow on the bar. “My condolences on your loss. McGruder was a good agent.”
“He hated your guts.”
“I hated his, too, but he was still a good agent, and there aren’t a whole lot of us left.” He studied the quarterback more closely. “Shit, Robillard, you been bleaching your hair?”
“Highlights. You like ’em?”
“If you were any prettier, I’d want to date you.”
Robillard grinned. “You’d have to stand in line.”
Both of them knew they weren’t talking about dating.
“I like you, Champion,” Robillard said, “so I’m going to tell you up front. You’re out of the running. I’d be stupid to sign with the agent who’s at the top of Phoebe Calebow’s shit list.”
“The only reason I’m on that list is because Phoebe’s cheap.” Not entirely true, but this wasn’t the time to go into the complexities of his relationship with the owner of the Chicago Stars. “Phoebe doesn’t like the fact that I won’t
roll over and play dead for her like everybody else. Why don’t you ask Kevin if he has any complaints?”
“Yeah, well, Kevin happens to be married to Phoebe’s sister and I don’t, so the situation isn’t exactly the same. The truth is, I already piss Mrs. Calebow off without even trying, and I’m not going to make it worse by hiring you.”
Once again, Heath’s dysfunctional relationship with Phoebe Calebow was getting in the way of what he wanted. No matter how hard he tried to fix things with her, his early mistakes kept coming back to bite him in the ass. He never let the pressure show and only shrugged. “You gotta do what you gotta do.”
“You guys are all bloodsuckers,” Dean said bitterly. “You take two, three percent off the top, and for doing what? For pushing a few papers around. Big fucking deal. How many two-a-days have you sweated through?”
“Not as many as you, that’s for damn sure. I was too busy getting As in my classes on contract law.”
Robillard smiled.
Heath smiled back. “And just so we’re straight…When it comes to those big endorsements I’ve been landing for my clients, I take a hell of a lot more than three percent off the top.”
Robillard didn’t blink. “The Zagorskis are guaranteeing me Nike. Can you do that?”
“I never guarantee what I don’t have in my pocket.” He took a sip of beer. “I don’t bullshit my clients, at least about anything important. I also don’t steal from them, lie to them, or disrespect them behind their backs. There’s no agent in the business who works harder than I do. Not a one. And that’s all I’ve got to offer.” He rose, pulled out his money clip, and slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the bar. “If you want to talk about it, you know where to find me.”
When Heath got home that night, he pulled the smudged invitation from his dresser drawer. He kept it lying around as a reminder of the gut-wrenching pain he’d felt when he’d first opened it. He’d been twenty-three.