Indulgent Pleasures

“Yes, well, thanks.” That came out lame but what else could she say? And really, she’d had no choice but to declare Justin as her steady boyfriend. It was the only way she could keep Caleb off her back.

“There’s a charity dinner going on this Saturday and I think we should go together.”

Stephanie turned to stare at him, her mouth dropping open in shock. “Um, didn’t you hear what I just said? I have a boyfriend yet you’re asking me out on a date?”

“It’s not a date, it’s for work. Surely Lover Boy can understand a work function. He can’t be that much of the jealous type. Or is he?”

“Why do you want me to go with you to a charity dinner?” She ignored Caleb’s jab. Come to think of it, she had no clue when Justin was back in town. Not that she was contemplating going to the dinner with Caleb. It sounded like her worst nightmare.

“Zoe suggested it actually. She wanted you to write an article observing me in action. She thought a glitzy charity ball would be the ideal place for you to see me work it.” He looked quite pleased with himself.

“You mean to tell me you’re going to try to get in someone’s pants at a function for charity?” The guy was at the top of her gross list.

“I suggested it to her, yeah. I wanted to show that it’s easy to get in a woman’s pants whether she’s broke or loaded. They all go for the same thing.” He smiled. “Charm, looks and persuasion. It’s as easy as that.”

“That’s positively vile.” She rolled her eyes.

“It’s the truth. Zoe wants you to accompany me though I don’t want you hanging too close since you’ll cramp my style.”

“Oh yes, heaven forbid that would happen. And why didn’t Zoe tell me this in the meeting?”

Caleb shrugged. “I don’t know but I’m not making this up, it’s what she wants. Go talk to her.”

“Oh trust me, I’m going to.” She couldn’t sit here and listen to another word Caleb said. Standing, she headed toward Zoe’s office, dread filling her with her every step.

Afraid she wasn’t going to like what Zoe had to say.

* * *

“So what’s this meeting about?” Justin smiled easily at the two men who sat across from him, his agent Curt McKay sitting silently to his right.

“Didn’t Curt tell you?”

Justin’s gaze slid toward his agent but Curt’s choirboy expression belied nothing. “No, actually he didn’t. So why don’t you two enlighten me?”

He had a feeling he knew exactly why two executives from the top sports network in the country wanted to talk to him but he wanted to hear them say it first.

And then he was going to beat Curt’s ass for not giving him the heads up. Isn’t that an agent’s job? Though ever since his accident, Curt hadn’t been around much. Not that Justin needed him but still.

He paid the guy the big bucks. Curt was on his payroll just like a few others. He should at least do his job and keep Justin informed.

“Well Justin, first off we wanted to offer our sincere regard for you as a pillar of both the baseball community and baseball history. You were a phenomenal player and we were both sad to see you retire before your time,” one of the suits started.

Yeah, yeah, he’d heard this before. He appreciated the kind words but he was beginning to hate how everyone felt the need to preface everything they said with them.

“You have a certain charisma that comes across the screen every time you speak. We’ve noticed it time and again when we see you on television. The ladies love you and the men respect you. Pardon my pun, but you tend to cover all bases with the national public.”

Chuckling sounded all around the table and Justin shifted in his chair, his muscles tight, his fucked up knee throbbing this morning more than usual.

He wished they’d just cut with the bullshit and get to it.

“We want to offer you a job, Justin,” the other suit said as he leaned across the table, his face a study in intensity. “We’d like you to be a commentator to finish out the season, specifically the playoffs and the World Series. What do you think?”

Justin was startled by the man’s blunt offer. They usually built it up more before they went in for the kill. “Would this be just for this season or would this continue beyond?”

“We’d like to give it a trial run for the remainder of the season, see what you think and what everyone else thinks. If it works, we’d be fully prepared to offer you a multi-year contract.”

When they named the dollar figure, Justin whistled. He was already taken care of for life but this job would be the icing on the cake. He wasn’t going to say yes though, not yet.