Only One Touch (Only One #4) - Natasha Madison Page 0,17
he says. “I know of him. I’ll give Martin a call.”
“I might have suggested that he can get two players for one of Graham,” I say. “Just in case.”
“I’ll let you know,” he says, and I call Graham back.
“Hey,” I say when he answers the phone. “I wanted to give you a heads-up that Nico is going to talk to Martin about you.”
“Dallas,” he says, and then I hear his voice go low. “They are doing okay except for last night they got killed in Buffalo.”
“Yeah, well, we all have off games,” I say. My other line rings, and I see it’s Nico.
“I’ll call you back,” I say. “But I think it’s safe to say you should pack your bags,” I say, going to the other line. “Hello?”
“He’s mine. I’m going to get him,” he says. “I’m in New York, so I’m going to hop over to Detroit.”
“What are the terms?” I ask.
“I’m buying the contract from him,” he says. “His cap space is at the top, and he can bring up some players from the farm team.”
“Then I guess we both win,” I say, and he laughs.
“I owe you, Becca,” he says, and his voice goes soft. “And it’s going to be a debt I want to pay off. I’ll call you when I’m back in town.” He hangs up without giving me a chance to say anything. I don’t even know what I would have said. He stunned me with the way his voice went soft when he said my name, and then dropped to almost a whisper.
I put my phone down on the desk, and my eyes don’t move from it. It buzzes, and I look down to see it’s from Graham.
Graham: I’m coming to Dallas. He promised me second line.
Me: Once he sees how you play, he’ll bump you up to the first line.
Graham: Fingers crossed. I’ll see you soon. I play New York tomorrow.
Me: I’ll be watching.
He sends me back a smiling emoji. My phone beeps again, and this time when I look down, my eyes blink more times than needed.
Nico: Keep Saturday free.
Chapter 8
Nico
Manning: Meeting at six. Hope you can make it.
Me: Send me the address, and I’ll be there.
The last text is from one of my oldest friends, Laurene. The two of us both come from wealthy families, so we would always hang out at forced gatherings.
Laurene: Hey, long time, no talk. Give me a shout.
I put my phone down and call for Lizzie. “You rang,” she says, coming into my home office. I look up at her. “If you called me in here to make you coffee, I’m going to …” We got home this morning and just decided to head home.
I put up my hand to stop her from telling me what she would do to said coffee. I learned a long time ago that she was my assistant, but she would never fetch me coffee. To prove her point, she would get the order wrong every time, or she served it scalding with no milk. It was just not going to happen. “I have a meeting at six.”
“Do I have to come?” she asks, and I shake my head. “Is it Manning?”
“Yes,” I say. Manning came over not too long ago to let me know that he’s leaving his wife. I wasn’t shocked in the least, and it was about time. I’ve worked with Murielle a couple of times, and all I wondered was how someone like Manning could be with her. She wasn’t horrible per se, but she wasn’t the nicest. Where Manning does not want to be recognized, she wants everyone to know what she is doing.
“I mean, I’m not going to say it’s about time,” Lizzie says, “but it’s about fucking time. That woman is horrible.” I look at her, pinching my eyebrows together. “I didn’t tell you, but once in the beginning, she thought I was going after Manning because I laughed at his joke. Called me a horny bitch and told me to stay away from her man.”
I look at her in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it was a non-issue,” she says, and I just shake my head. “Are you going to let her keep her position on the foundation?”
“As long as she acts respectfully, I don’t see why not,” I say, and she laughs.
“That lady wouldn’t know respect if it came to the house and knocked on her door,” Lizzie says. “I also have the press release ready for Manning.”