Every single time she could, she would bitch about New York. She hated the weather, she hated the smog, she hated the people, and she hated my family. She. Hated. Everything.
When she got pregnant with Mia, she said she was leaving. She couldn’t stand being in New York, so I made the painful phone call to Erika and asked her to trade me. I cried like a fucking baby when she called me back and said Dallas was taking me. It was where Julianne wanted to go, and I wanted to make her happy. Happy wife, happy life, or at least that was what they said.
My father was my biggest supporter after Erika, who knew how much I hated moving. She was the one who called me almost every hour to make sure I was okay. When we moved here, Erika was the only friend I had. Nico, the team owner, was the best, and I knew Manning, Miller, and Ralph, who included me and helped me settle in, but Erika was the one I turned to for everything.
After Mia was born, it was all downhill. I dreaded being home. I dreaded even talking to Julianne, and I guess she felt the same since she had me served with divorce papers after I skated off the ice during practice four months ago.
Julianne refused to talk to me, and all communication had to be done through the lawyer. I didn’t know who was more pissed, Erika or me. Erika was out for blood. She had me hire the best divorce lawyer she could get. I honestly only wanted to make sure I had my girls when I was home. Because of my travel schedule, I made sure I had the girls when I was in town. Julianne tried to play hardball, but she underestimated me.
Our prenup was iron-clad, so she didn’t get anything extra. The house was to be sold, but I gave it to her and the girls. It was enough that their parents broke up. They didn’t have to suffer because of it. My main thing was that their routine stayed the same, and nothing changed on their end.
Pulling up to my lawyer's office building, I park in the underground parking garage. Getting out, I walk over to the waiting elevator. Pressing twelve, I look down at my phone when it pings, and I see that Erika sent me a text.
Erika: You got this.
I’m about to answer her when the elevator doors open, and I step out. The secretary is already standing. "Mr. Grant," she says, "right on time."
I nod at the woman and follow her down the hallway. She leads me to the same conference room that I was in when I first came here with Erika. My lawyer, Debra, sits at the table on her phone and looks up when she sees me. "Mr. Grant," she says, and I smile. "Are you ready?"
I clap my hands together. "Let’s do this."
Chapter 2
Erika
I send Cooper the text and put my phone down on the seat beside me. My stomach is a mess as I think about what he must be going through.
I put on my glasses and make my way to the office. The sports radio plays in the background, but I’m wondering if I should go over to the lawyer’s office anyway. I keep checking my phone as I stop at Starbucks to get my morning coffee and another one for my assistant.
Pulling up to my assigned parking spot, I always smile when I see my name, Erika Robinson. Getting out, I grab my black Chanel purse and make my way toward the door. The sound of my black Louboutins click. The sun is even at it’s peak yet, and I can tell it’s going to be hot as balls outside today.
The cold air hits me as soon as I walk across the marble floor toward the elevators. I smile at the security guards as I pass their desks. I press twenty-five and wait for the doors to close. The phone in my hand has not made a sound as I look at my reflection in the stainless-steel doors. My black pants fit me like a glove, and the white wraparound shirt with bell sleeves is tied around the side in a big bow, leaving the sashes hanging on the side.
The elevator pings, and when the doors open, I step out. The TRI Star Sports Agency logo decorates the wall right in front of the receptionist, who smiles at me. "Good morning, Erika," Marlene says in her usual chipper mood.
"Good morning," I smile, “You look lovely this morning." She just shrugs and smiles shyly. I know she has been working out for the past two months in the hopes of getting the UPS driver to ask her out.
Walking past her, I come to the open space where cubicles, ringing phones, and people's voices fill the room. I look over to the corner and see that Trevor's door is open, which means he’s in, and so is Francis’s. I note on my silver and gold Rolex that it’s exactly nine o’clock. Walking toward my office, I smile at everyone I make eye contact with on the way there.
Francis, Trevor, and Becca started this agency, and it’s grown to one of the best out there.
Francis and his team take care of the baseball and golf players. Trevor and his team take care of the football players. They also split the basketball players.
Becca used to take care of hockey until she stepped away from it and handed me her clients. She still works some, but she married the owner of the Dallas Oilers, and they have three children, so she is happiest at home. The staff here has grown to over two hundred, and it continues to increase every year.
"For you," I say as I hand one of the cups of coffee to my assistant, Shauna, who smiles at me. When I took over for Becca, she was just starting here, and I gave her the same shot Becca gave me. I can’t do anything without her by my side.
"You are too kind." She smiles at me, and I walk into the office and stop when I see the flowers in the middle of my desk. "They just arrived."
I put my coffee down on my desk and set my keys and purse on the corner. The huge bouquet of pink and white tulips sits in a glass vase with a card sticking out. Grabbing the white card, I sit down and slide the card out with my finger.
Erika,
If I forget to tell you. Thank you for being by my side.
Kid
I throw my head back and laugh, shaking my head. "Those from who I think they’re from?" Shauna asks, leaning against the doorframe.
"An inside joke," I say, slipping the card back inside and tucking it in my desk drawer. "Anything going on I should know about?"
Getting up, I carry the flowers over to the round table that I have to the side of my office. I look up and see the picture I took of Cooper the day he got drafted. When Becca handed me her clients, they were all established except for Cooper. He was my first buildup. He got drafted first, so there was nothing I could do about his salary, but the rest was all the two of us. He was ready to do whatever I recommended, and trust me, I suggested everything, including him being on The Bachelor in his spare time. None of my other clients holds a special place like Cooper does.
When I was in my last semester of college, I was recruited to do an internship here, and it was the best decision I ever made. I was at the top of my class to graduate with honors with a master's degree in marketing.
I knew I wanted to work in a fast-paced environment. On my first day here, I knew this was where I wanted to be. I fell in love with the hustle and bustle. Becca was the one who trained me. Being taken under her wing was everything. She was who I wanted to be, cutthroat and zero fucks given if you did anything to her clients. Her stepping down was a surprise to everyone. I thought I would have to fight more to keep her clients.
I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously. Hell, I had just turned twenty-three. I’d been here for a year, and even though they met with me and communicated through me, I still had the big dog behind me. But Becca had trust in me, which made them have trust in me.