Head Over Heels (2 page)

Kari peered down at her attire again, this time catching a glimpse at her exposed cleavage. “I thought I looked professional.” She pulled the top of her dress together.

“If you truly did, you wouldn’t have adjusted your dress.” Elizabeth lowered her voice. “You might be seeing a male client, but you need to look like a professional woman. Don’t think you can snare him with your looks. You’re smart. I can tell that from our short conversation. Show him you care about propelling his career and he’ll be happy to sign. Don’t expect him to do it because he’s attracted to you or because you’re attracted to him.”

Kari shook her head. “I was planning on winning this guy over by spouting his stats. Nothing else.”

“Do you have any contacts yet?”

Kari remained quiet. She’d made some connections with minor league teams, but nothing on the level of a major league team. Her silence must have answered Elizabeth’s question.

“The meet-and-greet may happen, but you may not get him to take you seriously now. Maybe in a few years.” Elizabeth put her hand on Kari’s shoulder. “But I do like you. I wish you all the best. I’m sure you’re going to do great things in the future.”

Too stunned to talk, Kari remained quiet as Elizabeth walked out of the bathroom. Great. Now she felt self-conscious about everything—her look, her approach, her pitch. She grabbed a paper towel and scrubbed the abrasive gray material over her lips to remove some of the lipstick.

Although Elizabeth had talked to Kari like a mother, Kari appreciated the words of wisdom. Kari hadn’t realized she had dressed more like a bar hopper than an agent. Since she didn’t plan on staying overnight, she hadn’t brought extra clothes. She pulled her dress together even more to cut down on the view of her cleavage, and she cinched the belt tighter. Then she stopped.

She’d come to New York on a head full of steam and her nerve. Her grandfather believed in her. She had done all of this for her and Michael’s future. She couldn’t let the words of a stranger make her doubt herself.

Kari reapplied her lipstick, fluffed up her hair, and marched out of the bathroom. Confidence would get her through this moment. So far, her nerve had gotten her to a city she’d never been, to meet a man she’d never met and make a proposition to catapult her career.

The silence of the bathroom had shielded her from the noise and activity in the hotel lobby. Guests and employees strolled by her. Working on instincts, she walked down a hallway that led to several conference rooms. She stopped when she spotted Thane standing at the end of a hallway.

Even in jeans, a collared shirt, and sneakers, he didn’t come off as a kid. Maybe it had something to do with his height or his slightly muscular frame. He had his back to her for a moment in the empty corridor. When he turned around and spotted her, he froze. He stared at her before a smile rose.

Kari’s heart pounded. The words of a stranger echoed in her head. She had to go into this with business on her mind and forget that even from several feet away, his incredible eyes pierced right through to her soul.

Thane took a step toward her, but a couple of men, coming from a nearby conference room halted his movements. They spoke to him simultaneously as they guided him into the room and closed the door.

“Damn.” Kari marched back and forth in a tight three-foot area. She couldn’t just barge in and interrupt the meeting. She wanted a chance to talk to Thane first.

“Ma’am, are you a guest of the hotel?”

Kari felt the hand on her shoulder before she heard the question. She turned to see a hotel security guard standing behind her.

“No, I’m not a guest,” Kari answered honestly. When she saw the guard gearing up to boot her out, she continued. “I’m with the Yankees talking to a recruit. They have Thane Wells in the room down there.” Part of her statement held some truth.

The guard held up his hand. “I apologize. Let me know if there’s anything I can get you.”

“Bottle of water would be great.” She might as well play this up for all she could.

“Of course.” He walked away.

As she waited for Thane to reemerge, she thought of all the arguments she would make to get him to take a chance on her as a new, untried, untested agent. She paced around and caught sight of a couple of businessmen sitting in the lobby. As she stared at them, she recognized one. Legendary sports agent Alec Fogel had made a trip all the way to New York for Thane. She knew it.

She didn’t recognize the man beside him. It didn’t matter. The fact that she’d spotted talent that had attracted a monumental agent like Alec Fogel made her want to pat herself on the back. She heard the conference room door open and laughter coming from down the hallway.

Kari brought her attention back to that area. She saw Thane emerging with one of the Yankees’ coaches. She started to approach them when she stopped in her tracks again. This time, Thane’s great looks had nothing to do with her hesitation. Someone else strolled out of the room that she’d never expected she would see. The woman Kari had had a conversation with in the bathroom followed the duo and stood next to Thane. Was she another agent?

No, she’d given Kari advice and wished her luck. Or maybe she’d done that to get into Kari’s head. Only one way to find out. Kari started down the hallway when she felt a vise-like grip around her upper arm. She turned to see the security guard again and another employee.

“All the Yankees’ employees have been checked in already. Nice try, lady,” the employee said. “Please escort her out of the hotel.”

“Wait. No. You don’t understand.” Kari attempted to dig her heels into the sandy-colored ceramic tile floor. “I need to talk to Thane Wells. If I can do that, I’ll leave.”

“Honey, I’m sure someone in your business would love to talk to some clients. You’re not doing that in here.” The security guard pulled her roughly toward the door.

“Stop. I’m not who you think I am. I’m a sports agent.” She managed to crane her head around the guard to see Thane, Elizabeth, and the real Yankees staff members walking out into the lobby. This would be her only chance to make an impression. “Thane! Thane!” She waited for him to look at her before she could be thrown out into the street. “Finish college and then sign with a team. Get with a good farm team. With your pitching stats, you can get top dollar.”

“Be quiet and leave the premises,” the guard spoke between gritted teeth.

Kari ignored him and made one final plea. “You would be worth every penny. Sign with me, and I can take you far.”

Before she could see if she made an impact, she got pushed outside the door, nearly toppling to the ground. Kari managed to keep her balance. She wouldn’t be caught flailing even though she had failed.

“And stay out.” The guard pointed at her and turned back into the hotel.

Kari stood on the sidewalk and tried peering into the glass doors to see if her words had gotten through to Thane. Had he heard her and, more importantly, did he believe her?

After waiting an hour in front of the hotel, Kari chalked up her stunt as a disaster. Thane had probably heard her pleas, but apparently her words hadn’t made any impact. Or maybe they had, and whoever this Elizabeth woman was to him had convinced him that Kari couldn’t represent him or his career.

She glanced at her watch. If she hurried, she could make it down to Penn Station and get home to tuck her baby into bed.

Kari started to head down the street when she heard a voice behind her.

“Hey!”

She turned, hoping to see Thane calling for her. Instead, she saw the other businessman who had been sitting with Alec Fogel. Out of curiosity, she waited as he walked up to her.

“Do I know you?” Kari asked as she held on to the strap of her purse.

“No. And I don’t know you, but I’d like to.” The statuesque older man ran his hand over his silver hair. “My name is Frank Milliner. I’m the owner of the Winning Edge Agency. I heard what you said in there to Thane Wells. What agency do you work at now?”

Kari regarded him for a moment before speaking. “I don’t. I was hoping to sign him up as my client.”

“Wait. You don’t work at an agency? How did you even know about him?”

Great. Another man who probably underestimated her passion for sports and her drive for a career. She would have to correct that perception right now.

“I review high school teams and watch players like a scout. Thane came up on my radar when he threw that no-hitter during his senior year of high school. He’s only gotten better in college. He’s going to be a beast on the field. I’m guessing Elizabeth knew that.”

Frank furrowed his eyebrows. “Who’s Elizabeth?”

“That woman who was with him.” She pointed into the hotel.

He chuckled. “That’s Elizabeth Sommerville, Thane Wells’s mother. She adopted him and his two brothers.”

“I know about Gunnar and Gideon Wells. I had no idea they were adopted. But I’ve focused on Thane.”
With good reason
, she wanted to say.

Gunnar had already become an MMA champion by the time Kari had found out she would be a mother at the age of sixteen. Gideon began his career as an NFL quarterback during her freshman year of college.

Now she understood Elizabeth’s motherly advice. She hadn’t been trying to steer Kari clear of Thane because she wanted his business. She’d been protecting her son from a potential gold digger or worse. Of course, it would have been nice if Elizabeth had told Kari of her relationship to Thane. Then again, if she had, it would have made Kari even more nervous.

“I could use someone like you in my company. I’m assuming you’ve finished school.” Frank crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her.

“Just graduated.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Yes, you are exactly what I need for my business. We should talk.” He tried to guide her back into the hotel.

Kari stayed cemented to the cracked walkway. “I’m not exactly welcome back in there. Can we meet somewhere else?”

Frank smiled. “Of course.”

Although she’d missed one opportunity, she hoped this one would turn out to be a winner. That didn’t mean she would be giving up on Thane Wells. He wouldn’t be the one who got away.

Present time

“I shouldn’t do this.” Thane Wells stared at his reflection in his hotel room’s bathroom mirror.

He braced his hands on the granite countertop as he gathered himself. The slight pain in his abdomen still throbbed. Thane took a couple of deep breaths and hoped that it would help ease the gut-wrenching feeling.

He grabbed a bottle of a pink, thick fluid. He downed a couple of gulps and waited for it to make it to his stomach before he followed it with some mouthwash. He spat out the minty, green liquid and took another cleansing breath before he left the bathroom.

The Carolina Wrens spared no expense for his comfort. His shoes clicked against the marble floor with its dark, soothing brown tones. The opulence of this hotel matched the great season the baseball team had had and would have this coming year.

He combed his hair back and added a slight part on the side. Thank God, he’d gotten a trim before his meeting that night. He didn’t want to be labeled as a disheveled athlete.

He did leave his face stubbly though. Between keeping himself clean shaven and looking like he’d been partying all night, he found women approached him more when he resembled a bad boy. For this meeting tonight, he needed an ally.

Of course, his mother, dear Queen Elizabeth Sommerville, would hate his appearance despite his crisp white button-down shirt and complementing midnight-blue jacket and pants, courtesy of some designer who wanted Thane to model his clothing.

Thane hadn’t given the designer his answer yet. He still had to figure out a polite way to say no. His main opposition to being the label’s spokesman had to do with the quality of the clothing. The stitching didn’t meet his standards. Each time he’d gotten a shirt from this designer, he had to let it out in the chest area. He couldn’t trust a tailor with the work, not when he knew his body better than anyone else, and he could do the work better than most.

He pulled his shirt sleeve down under her jacket and straightened his belt. To finish off his look, he sprayed some cologne over his neck and chest. The musky scent added a nice aroma. For what he hoped would be a brief encounter, he wanted to appear pleasant, approachable.

Thane snickered when he recalled the few times he had been out while wearing the scent. Even in crowded clubs, he managed to get noticed among other men. He would have to work hard for attention down in Florida.

“I guess this will have to do.”

When his cell phone rang, he assumed the call came from the reporter he needed to meet. He saw the number, and even without it being saved in his list of contacts as one of his friends or associates, he knew the caller. He could be delayed from his meeting a bit to have this quick conversation.

He tried hard not to smile before he answered it. “Good evening.”

“Hello, Mr. Wells. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Thane took a deep breath and exhaled loud enough for the persistent agent to hear him. “Does that ever matter to you, Ms. Meyers?”

“Of course it matters. I not only care about your representation, I also am concerned about you as a person.”

He laughed. “I needed that. That’s one thing about you. You can make me laugh.”

“Not everything I do or say is funny.” Her tone became serious. “I would like to represent you.”

For as long as he could remember, Kari Meyers had been after him for his business. Her daily calls during his first year at the Carolina Wren farm had flattered him at first. After he’d signed on with another agent, he assumed the calls would stop. They didn’t. She continued to sell herself. Too bad he didn’t need to make a switch.

“So why did you stop calling me daily? I think you’re down to once or twice a month now.” Not that Thane cared.

“Believe it or not, I’m trying not to be a total pest. I feel that I’m the best person to represent you.” She lowered her voice but still kept it strong.

Her husky tone had a strange affect on Thane. His gut-wrenching ache went away. He didn’t think about baseball or his brothers. He often wondered what this woman looked like.