Sure Shot (Brooklyn #4)(39)

She flashes me a smile and then pushes the tissue paper out of the way to pull a throw pillow out of the bag. “Oh, pretty! I love it! And now I won’t get lost.” She’s looking at the pillow’s front—it depicts a very tasteful map of Brooklyn.

“Turn it over.”

She flips the pillow and then laughs. Because the reverse says, Brooklyn: Fuggedaboutit. “This is priceless. Thank you!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“I thought you hated shopping.”

“I hate it less when it’s for other people.”

Delilah smiles and shakes her head, like she can’t figure me out. But it’s true. Buying gifts for clients is easy. Shopping for myself always feels like a big commitment. It’s the same with giving out advice. Figuring out someone else’s bullshit is always easier than figuring out my own.

The rock star gives me another hug and then runs off to decide which of her new pieces of furniture deserves the pillow.

“Hey, boss. Want a slice?” Eric Bayer appears at my side.

“Maybe later,” I tell my business partner. “Did you just come in?”

“They sent me out to grab some more beer at the store.” He points at a stack of sixpacks. “Want one?”

“Sure,” I say with a sigh. “I’d love one.”

“Rough day?” He leads me to the windows and grabs a beer off one of the wide sills.

“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “The train was quiet. I got that proposal done. Anything happen while I was gone?”

He opens a beer and hands it to me. “I got a call that was a little weird. I was hoping you’d be here tonight so I could tell you about it.”

“A call?” I turn my body a few degrees so that I can’t possibly stare at Tank. “From who?”

“There’s this kid on a juniors team in Saskatchewan—a center with great foot speed and gaudy stats. He might go first round in the draft.”

“Saskatchewan.” I pull the name up from the depths of my memory. “Oistrok?”

“Damn.” Eric blinks. “Good memory. That’s the kid. He’s a client of Henry Kassman’s.”

My heart aches a little just at the mention of Henry’s name. “Yeah?”

“That’s the weird thing. This kid called to ask me to represent him. Furthermore, he said it was Kassman’s idea. What do you make of that?”

I can’t help it. My eyes fill immediately with tears.

“Whoa, boss.” Eric throws an arm around me. “What’s wrong?”

“Henry is ill.” I sniffle, swiping at my eyes. “It’s serious. And I’m afraid we’re going to get more of those calls. He’s slowly shutting down his shop.”

“Oh, hell.” Eric grabs a napkin from a nearby coffee table and hands it to me. “I’m sorry. I know you two are close.”

“I only found out this week.” I blow my nose into the napkin. “Eric, you’re going to get some clients. Be ready.”

“Christ.” He swigs his beer. “That’s not how I wanted to recruit players.”

“No kidding. But Henry feels strongly about his athletes having exactly the person they need. He wouldn’t send you anyone if he didn’t think it was a good fit.”

“I barely know Henry Kassman,” Eric points out. “I met him once before Clove died.”

“Oh, but he knows me.” I wave a dismissive hand. “And I talked you up the other day when I went to see him. I was so upset by how ill he looked that I couldn’t shut up. Besides, he loves gossip. So I was telling him all the news from Brooklyn.”

“Okay.” Eric frowns. “Of course I’ll help out this kid from Saskatoon.”

“Where did you leave it with him?”

“First, I just asked to hear his story. I thought if I got him talking, the call might make more sense. It didn’t, but I got to hear all about juniors hockey. The kid is smart. He’s not very well-spoken, but he has a mature view of his own game.”

“Well, that’s something.”

“Yeah, it’s a start. I said I’d call him back tomorrow.”

“Send him a contract in the morning. And then get right on a plane to go see him.”

“Wow, okay. Of course.” He sighs. “Have some pizza, Bess. Come on. Hang in there.”

But Tank is standing near all the pizza, and I’m not even hungry. I just feel wrecked inside. My mentor is going to die before his time, and I’m hung up on a man I can’t have.

I don’t want Eric to know. I don’t want anyone to know. I’m starting to realize that it’s not really about my career. It’s about my heart. If nobody knows how I feel, it might hurt less while I struggle to get over him.

And I have to get over him. It’s the only thing to do.





Seventeen





We Tried





Tank





I bite into an excellent slice of pepperoni pizza and try not to stare at Bess. It isn’t easy. She’s giving me the brushoff this week, and I don’t like it.

It’s not like I don’t understand where she’s coming from. My life is a train wreck. If you look up “bitter man” in the dictionary, you’ll probably find my picture.