Ballers: His Game (Ballers Series Book 1)(57)

“You have got to be f*cking kidding. First they f*ck with Tam’s clients now this,” Ellerie growls causing me to almost choke on my water.

“What? What the hell did you just say,” I hiss.

“Shit,” Ellerie draws a hand down his face. “Listen, she didn’t want to distract you from the game. She has been working to get things in order, but it has been taking its toll. The whole shit is pissing me off. The way they have been treating her at games, her losing clients that have been loyal for years.

“Tam is strong, but this is just some bullshit. I only found out by accident. They stepped to a friend of ours that wasn’t willing to bend and he came to me about the situation. She is my baby sister and I have been wanting to hurt someone over this, but she made me promise to let her handle it.”

“Wait, how long has this been going on? I can’t believe this, she is pregnant. She doesn’t need this type of stress,” I fume.

“I knew it,” Ellerie says with a slight smile.

“Yeah, well I wish I knew what was going on with Tam. I have been asking her for weeks what is going on with her. This is total bullshit.”

“I hear you Brad, but understand this, she is not doing it to hurt you or because she doesn’t trust you. To Tam she sees two men she loves on the verge of greatness and she doesn’t want to get in the way of that. I told her that she is more important to both of us than a ring but she is determined to figure this out,” he says in explanation.

“That’s not going to cut it for me. I was away from my family for five years, Eli. Tam has to start opening up to me. Last time she shut me out it cost me five years with her and four with my daughter,” I demand.

“I didn’t say I agree with her. Listen, I have never told anyone this but there was a time when playing the game was the most important thing to me. I thought I had time for the rest.

“Boy was I wrong. I don’t have to tell you what it is like to see another man with his arms around your woman. I saw your face when Mike showed up at that party. Well I have watched more than one man hold the woman I gave up because I have been chasing my career,” Ellerie snorts. “Not even a career but a ring that is never promised to any of us. Watching you and Tam just showed me what I have given up.

“It may or may not be too late for me but I am here to make sure you and Tam don’t lose sight of that. So whatever you want to do from here I am with you. At this point a win would be bittersweet anyhow. I don’t want my ring to come at the cost of my sister’s happiness.”

“I’m glad to hear that because your sister is about to learn just how important she is to me,” I grumble.

B

“Tamara, I had my reasons for wanting to meet the boy. I needed to know he had integrity. I believe we should let him know what is going on here,” my boss Cyrus says.

“I appreciate your concern Cyrus, but Brad has a team and championship to think about,” I sigh.

I have been on the phone for over an hour with my boss now. My client roster is at least half of what it used to be. Lucky Cyrus had foresight to put a clause in a lot of the contracts. So while a couple of clients have left the firm altogether others were just reassigned, as the clause wouldn’t allow them to leave just yet. This includes both some of my bigger clients and some of my smaller accounts.

I have worked too hard to be going through this. I have wanted nothing more than to be a lawyer like my father since I was a little girl. Then when Ellerie got into sports, sports became my other passion. It just made sense to combine the two, but now I just think my heart isn’t in it. With each passing day I wonder if this is what I want or have I become what I thought everyone would expect of me, what would help me fit in with the guys.

I still love being a lawyer but I don’t think I would miss the over inflated egos of some of my clients. I have even toyed with the idea of being an agent although I don’t think that would fix my current problem.

Cyrus sighs heavily into the phone. “Well, I have said this a million times. I am here to help. I have set up a few meetings to get to the bottom of this. They’re not the only ones that can throw some weight around.”

“Cyrus,” I say curiously into the phone.

“Yes Tam,” he says in a soft fatherly voice.

“Why? Why do you want to help me so much? I get that you and daddy are close old friends but I get the sense it is bigger than that,” I inquire.

There is a pause on the other end for a moment. “You know when we enter interracial relationships we do it for love. Not often do we think of what our children will look like or what their lives will be like. My first wife,” his voice becomes thick with emotion.”

“God I loved her and she was the most beautiful woman in the world to me. When I looked at her I didn’t see color or race. What I saw was a beautiful chocolate goddess that I was madly in love with. She was intelligent, fierce, loving and the warmest person you could know.

“I lost her to cancer, but not before we had three beautiful children, Tommy, Carey and Stephanie my youngest girl. Things became strained when we lost their mother. Stephanie, she can be sensitive. She is also the most ethnic looking of my three.

“I didn’t always handle her right. When she went off to college she fell head over heels for a young man on the basketball team. He was a nice enough young man, but after going pro the pressure got to him. I saw it happening and I tried to warn Stephanie. She just thought I didn’t want them together. As if I, her white father had a problem with her dating a white man.