I refrained from asking if he’d only shown interest after Knox mentioned who was pursuing him from Engelman Sports. I wondered for a second if Schilling even knew that AJ worked here now. As I concluded the answer was yeah, probably, I glanced across the table at AJ, my eyes running along the delicate profile of her face as she sat there calmly, her expression impassive.
But I knew how her lips normally rested, and this wasn’t it.
She was rattled, thinking about Schilling, what happened in college, and it had me suddenly fantasizing about all the ways I wanted to choke out that motherfucker out. But when AJ looked over at me, eyebrow slightly arched, I knew I’d been silent for too long.
Alright, get your shit together. Hers is, I told myself before returning my attention smoothly to Knox.
“The reality is that Schilling has a team of interns briefing him about who you even are before his every meeting with you.”
“Whereas you know everything about me?” Knox challenged.
“I do,” I replied with ease. “I know the ins and outs of your entire life and career, because I actually give a shit. Same goes for my assistant. She could run this whole meeting if she had to.”
Knox raised his eyebrows before turning from me to AJ.
“And you’re the assistant?” he asked, a different kind of smile spreading his lips. “Schilling told me all about you. Adrienne, right?”
AJ
I could feel the blood briefly drain from my face, and I knew Knox wasn’t lying—that Schilling had told him about me, because Schilling was the only person not named Mom, Dad or Emily who called me Adrienne.
And for the next few moments, I wondered if I was over-reading the amusement in Knox’s eye. If Schilling told Knox his version of the story. I knew it was unlikely he’d go into detail, but all that was needed in this world was a little lilt of the voice and a sly wag of the brows to say something about a woman. “Oh, Adrienne Tan? Oh, I’ve had the pleasure of working with her.”
It wasn’t fair. To have to feel even for a second like a fraud. Cut down to nothing with just a smirk.
So for all the horror churning in my stomach right now, I refused to let it affect me.
“Adrienne Tan, yes. But you’re welcome to call me AJ.”
Knox nodded with a look of exaggerated interest. “Well, AJ. Adam here says you know enough about me to run the whole meeting yourself, so…” Arms crossed, he leaned all the back. “Let’s give Adam the day off and see what you got.”
I stared, surprised enough that he laughed.
“And since you look like a very… nice girl,” he said in a way I forced myself not to over-read. “Let me just go ahead and say I’m not really into the whole sugarcoating thing, so if you could try to do without that, that’d be great. Alright?”
Oh…
Okay then.
Nodding, I finally gave Knox a smile—a real one, too, because without even looking at Adam, I could feel his delighted amusement. Like he was ready to go make himself a bag of popcorn.
Because he knew the match Knox just lit. Hell, he knew better than anyone that the best way to fire me up was to be patronizing. To doubt me based solely on the way I looked.
“So tell me then, Adrienne. Why shouldn’t I sign with RTA today?” Knox asked.
I answered without hesitation. “Because RTA is good for superstars. The absolute one percent of professional athletes.”
“And, what, I'm not a part of that one percent?” Knox asked.
”No," I said so bluntly he paused with surprise and bristled.
But he kept a smirk on his face as he asked, “Aren’t you trying to sell me right now?”
“Didn’t you ask me not to sugar-coat?”
“Touché.”
With a good-natured smile, I sat forward to give him the rundown of exactly who he was in this league.