Free Deadly Sexy by Beverly Jenkins Page A

distant. “Mad enough to hang up unless this is official business.”
    “That mad, huh? Then consider this an official request to have dinner with me.”
    She shook her head. “This has to be league official business, Mr. Anthony. For the record, Marquise Chambers is no longer my client, so all subsequent issues pertaining to him should be directed to whomever his new agent turns out to be.”
    “Duly noted. Now, back to dinner.”
    “There isn’t going to be a dinner.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re with the commissioner’s office, Mr. Anthony, and that makes you the enemy.”
    “Suppose I send over more cherries?”
    “Now you’re offering me bribes?”
    “Baby, I’ll offer you the Great Wall of China if that’s what it’ll take to see you again.”
    Her heart skipped and her knees wobbled. “You saw me in Philly.”
    “And it wasn’t long enough.”
    Another skip. “You’re good.”
    “Hoped you’d like it. Besides, I want to apologize in person.”
    JT was having trouble maintaining her distance from him on the phone; seeing him in person would be infinitely harder. “Okay. Next time you’re in California, maybe we can work something out.”
    “I’m in L.A. now.”
    She blinked and her blood rushed madly.
    “Working on something for Commissioner McNair.”
    She toyed with the idea of lying to him about leaving town in the morning for a month-long mythical meeting somewhere on the other side of the world, but the woman inside her who wanted to see him again, damn the torpedoes, wouldn’t allow it. “I can’t have a relationship with a man tied to the league office.”
    “Is that what we’re starting here—a relationship?”
    “No!” she countered quickly. Appalled by her choice of words, she grabbed hold of herself. “All we’re doing is dinner and your apology.”
    He chuckled softly. “You sure?”
    “Positive.”
    “Okay, then how about I come up Friday afternoon? I’ll meet you at your office and we can take it from there.”
    Having never been so flustered by a man before, she tried for nonchalance. “Fine. See you then.” And hung up.
    She stood with her back against the edge of her brown granite counter thinking about the conversation for such a long time the smoke alarm went off. Her dinner was burning! Cursing, she snatched up a pot holder and grabbed the handle of the skillet with its blackened veggies and shrimp. Stepping quickly to the sink, she doused the mess. Fanning the smoke, she opened up the patio door, blaming Reese Anthony for making her so mindless she couldn’t even cook dinner.
     
     
     
    Bobby Garrett ended the late night call from Marquise Chambers and thanked the gods. Chambers had fired Bitch Blake and wanted to be represented by BG3. Chambers was big-time. He’d only been in the league a few years, which meant he’d be a cash cow for some time to come. Bobby couldn’t be happier. He’d been waiting for her clients to wake up. With any luck, Quise would be the first of many to ask themselves what kind of man sent a bitch to handle his business. Who cared if she graduated near the top of her class in both undergrad and law school? A real man wanted a man guarding his back, not a pair of tits, and he planned to step into the breach. When he first formed his agency he’d tried to raid her clients, but they were loyal to her, to a man. In the years since, he’d managed to corner some of the second tier athletes coming out of college, but he didn’t want to be second best. He wanted the cream.
    Last year he’d snatched the Heisman Trophy winner right out from under her nose. By treating the much heralded University of Miami quarterback to all the women he could fuck, a shiny BMW, and a big new house for his babymama, Bobby made it next to impossible for the QB to say no, and he hadn’t. The player signed with his agency on the day before the draft. Per his reputation, in order to squeeze every last cent out of the team during contract