She took a deep breath. "I'm thinking about it."
"That rocks, babe. Teams will take you way more seriously if you're also repping Dominic. Even if your daddy-O gave him the boot 'cause he's ancient," he added tactlessly.
Dominic didn't feel the need to defend himself to someone who'd ridden a wave of luck into the pros, rather than skill. He'd already dug his own grave.
But if JP was screwed, so was Melissa. Somehow, he'd have to figure out a way to help JP for Melissa's sake.
"I've heard enough from both of you right now." She pointed a finger at JP. "You may call me Melissa, or Ms. McKnight. Not 'babe.' " Then she got up and stood in front of Dominic, anger etched into her face. "I don't appreciate what you just did," she said in a low voice. "Not at all. But I intend to do my job, and my father already marked the event on my calendar. As his assistant—not your agent."
Chapter Thirteen
Concentrating on putting together a spreadsheet of teams that might be interested in JP, Melissa was taken by surprise when her father entered her cubicle and sat down on the edge of her desk. "How are things going with JP?" She gestured to the growing stack of papers beside her computer. "We've had a preliminary meeting, and I'm researching the best teams for him. I need to watch some game tapes and get a better feel for his playing style. We're meeting again tomorrow morning to discuss immediate, short-, and long-range plans for his career. I'll probably set up a showcase once we've worked through his issues."
"I see." He paused before going into the real reason he'd stopped by. "I still find it hard to believe that Dominic is interested in working with you. Why the hell would he make a choice like that? Especially since it's been perfectly obvious for years that you have a crush on him. I wonder if he feels sorry for you?"
Melissa had never been so insulted. She narrowed her eyes, more than happy to fight back. "Maybe he caught wind of the fact that you think he's an old hack."
Two red splotches rose on her father's cheeks. "You repeated our private conversation to one of my clients?"
"Of course not," she hissed, mad as hell. "But he's a pretty perceptive guy. It wouldn't take much for him to figure out that your attention has waned."
Tom raised one eyebrow, as arrogant as she'd ever seen him. "Do you actually believe you can do his career justice?"
Dominic had been right when he'd said she was green. But she was smart and capable and willing to work her ass off for her clients.
"That's exactly what I intend to do," she stated, more serious than she'd ever been. She was going to rep Dominic. And not only would she do his career justice, she'd get some justice of her own. This time next year, when she was the top-earning agent at the McKnight Agency, her father would be eating crow. Logging off her computer, she picked up her purse and stood. "If you'll excuse me, I have an event to attend on behalf of one of my clients."
She'd never walked out on her father; never had the last word. Until now. Cod, how she wanted to look back to see if his mouth was hanging open.
Outside, she leaned against the stone wall, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths.
Baby steps. She'd just stood up to her father and lightning hadn't struck. She opened her eyes. Not only was she fine, she felt better than ever.
A wave of giddiness swept over her. She was an agent with two high-profile clients! Yes, she was scared, but she'd been doing an agent's job for the past couple of years. She knew what the job entailed. Now she just needed to do it.
Stepping out to the curb, she hailed a cab. "DiMarco Stadium, please. Inner Sunset."
The Dominator was now officially her client. Her very own heartbreaking, orgasm-inducing, bad boy of football.
Dominic resisted the urge to scan the parking lot again for Melissa. He'd done events like this a million times; he didn't need an agent to hold his hand. Hell, he shouldn't want to see her this badly—it had been only a few hours since he'd had sex with her. No other woman had ever insinuated herself into his head—and body—this badly or this quickly.
He was proud of what his success and money had accomplished in the Inner Sunset district of San Fran cisco. These kids didn't have football teams in their schools because the district didn't have the money for fields, lights, uniforms, or coaches. DiMarco Stadium was just the beginning. He headed up a board made up of some of the biggest local players in the business, along with several dot-com billionaires he'd befriended over the years. Yet his achievement suddenly felt empty.
He was listening to a teacher tell him how excited the kids were about meeting him, when his skin started buzzing. Melissa had arrived. Excusing himself from the conversation, he turned and went to her.
She looked straight at him. There was something different about her.
She looked incredibly confident, almost fierce. And even more beautiful, if such a thing could be possible.
He was tempted to pull her into the new locker room and take her against the bright red metal lockers.
Shit. He needed to shake off the fantasy. But he couldn't get his thoughts straight, couldn't figure out how he would normally have greeted her before they'd starting sleeping together. Not when she smelled so good and looked so amazing.
She broke the silence, saving his ass. "Congratulations on the stadium, Dominic," she said as she looked around at the bright green Astroturf, the gleaming wood stands, the professional lighting. "You're really doing a great thing for these kids. I'll bet we see some great college players come out of here."
God, she was incredible. How long had he searched for a woman who understood his passion for the game? Melissa was so involved in every aspect of football. She had to be, to do her job right. But it was more than that. She was truly interested in doing good with it, too—unlike some agents, who were in it only for a quick buck and would sell a player out to the highest bidder regardless of the reason.
She really did deserve better than him. She deserved the suburban house and the white picket fence. She deserved a guy who came from a solid background like hers.