“You will not win,” I said narrowing my eyes as I realized what he was doing.
“The hell I won’t,” Tony said with an ugly grin. “I’ve got a damn good lawyer and he says there are holes in that contract a mile wide.”
“You son of a bitch,” I growled.
“Gotta do what I gotta do, Boss,” he shrugged now openly smirking at me.
“Do your worst. I dare you,” I said, hiding the rage I was feeling with a smile that did not reach my eyes. “But I guarantee you are going to regret it.”
Tony smirked at me and then turned and walked out the door.
As soon as the door shut behind him, I grabbed a vase from the side table and turned it into a missile that hit the door and shattered scattering glass shards across the marble floor. I stood staring at the millions of tiny pieces until my secretary knocked on the door, cracked it open, and then closed it quickly. Fifteen minutes later, a cleaning crew silently opened the door and, without looking at me, swept up the mess, leaving behind no trace of what had transpired.
I picked up the phone and dialed Finn’s number. When he answered, I barked, “Meet me at Black Jack. Now.” I hung up before he could say anything.
I sat down at my desk and inhaled deeply, trying to calm the pounding rage I felt. It took a few minutes, but as soon as I was calm, I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door.
“Where are you going, Mr. Conner?” my secretary asked as I stalked past the desk.
“Out,” I said without elaborating. I needed a drink and somewhere to cool off.
#
When I arrived at the Black Jack Bar and Grill, I found Finn sitting at the bar sipping a glass of top shelf whiskey as he talked sports with the bartender.
“I’ll have what he’s having,” I said morosely as I slid onto the stool next to Finn and exhaled loudly.
“What’s up, man?” Finn asked as his fingers drummed the dark oak bar top. I shot him an annoyed look and he moved his hand down under the bar out of view. “Jeez, Dax, the fuck?”
“I fired Butler,” I said as the bartender brought me my drink. “The fucker is going to take me to court over his non-compete clause.”
“So? Who cares? He’s a shitty GM,” Finn replied. “Let him go fuck up someone else’s team.”
“It’s just one more bullshit detail I didn’t want to have to mess with,” I said picking up the glass and taking a sip before quickly tossing the contents back and swallowing.
“Easy, Dax,” Finn whistled. “That’s the good stuff, man.”
“I’m sick of this already, Finn,” I admitted. “I never wanted to run this damn team. I just wanted to see if I could land it and then build the stadium. I hope they win and all that, but I really don’t give a shit, you know?”
“I know, I know,” Finn nodded as he signaled for the bartender to bring us a second round.
Just then, the front door was slammed against the wall with such force the windows on either side of it shook. Everyone at the bar turned to see the lithe blonde who stomped her way to the bar and barked her order at the bartender. She was shiny in the way the wealthy society women shopping on Michigan Avenue were, but something about her seemed familiar. I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to what Finn was saying.
“Look, you’re just bored, man,” he continued. “You need a new challenge, and now that you’ve told me you canned that pansy ass Butler, I’ve got an idea rolling around in my head.”
“What’s that?” I moped, feeling sorry for myself and angry about the fact that I now had this albatross of a business hanging around my proverbial neck.
“Let’s see if you can stir up some controversy with the team,” Finn said. I looked over at him and noticed his eyes were lit in the way that happened only when he was about to propose a new bet.
“Oh no, no you don’t,” I said shaking my head. “It’s one thing to build the team, it’s an entirely different thing to tear it down.”
“Oh, I’m not suggesting you tear it down,” Finn said sounding shocked, and a little offended, that I’d suggest such a thing. “I’m suggesting you stir things up, my friend, and I’ve got just the bet for you!”
“You’re off your rocker, O’Brien,” I said as the bartender replaced my empty glass with a full one.
“No, I’ve got an idea that I think will increase the profile of the team and maybe even make us some money in the process,” he said giving me a wicked grin. “Or at the very least, it’ll increase the media profile and make you a hot commodity.”
“Is this another one of your harebrained schemes?” I asked as I cast a glance down the bar at the attractive blonde trying to figure out where I knew her. She was animatedly talking to the bartender, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.