Page 32 of Small Town CEO Grump

“Well, they absolutely loved it. And they are going to be running it on next week’s paper. On the front page!”

“Oh my goodness,” Ryan said. He jumped up out of his chair and came over and hugged me. “That is wonderful news, congratulations!”

“Thank you," I said. “I am so glad that you let me do the article about you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for,” Ryan said.” You’re obviously an exceptional writer.”

I took a deep breath, unsure of how he would react to the next part of what I had to tell him. But I also knew that I had to tell him.

“That’s not all,” I said.

“There’s more?” he asked.” Do you have more to tell me than that your story is going to be on the front page of the newspaper?”

I nodded. “Yes! The editor has also been in touch with a book publisher, and they want me to expand this article into a full book. They want me to expand on the story about you a bit, but that would be just one chapter in a bigger book, focusing on other former athletes who have since retired from the game and found success in other careers.”

Ryan’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness,” he said. “That is fantastic! What a wonderful opportunity for you!”

“Thank you,” I said. “Of course everything is contingent on people agreeing to be in the book, so if you don’t want your information in there, I would respect that. They want me to cover a total of 15 different people.”

Ryan smiled, and I could see that he was genuinely thrilled for me.

“Of course, you can use the information about me,” he said, softly. “And if you would like, I know some other former athletes who are now in the corporate world. I know of one other who is also in real estate, but then I have several other connections in Manhattan. A couple are former baseball players, but then I know some former football and basketball players as well.”

“Are you serious?” I said. “That would be amazing! I’m so excited about this opportunity, but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about meeting these different athletes. This would be a huge help.”

“Of course,” he answered. “I am more than happy to help you.”

Just then I heard somebody knock on Ryan’s door, and I glanced up and was startled to see one of the junior agents standing there with an absolutely beautiful woman.

Ryan glanced at his watch, and I could see a look of annoyance flash across his face.

“Are you expecting somebody?” I asked.

Ryan sighed.

“Well, 40 minutes ago I was expecting someone who never showed up. And I am also expecting someone 20 minutes from now. So either this person is very late or very early. Either way, I wasn’t planning on meeting with somebody exactly at this moment because I am talking with you, but I guess we’ll have to finish our conversation later.”

I couldn’t help but smirk as I heard the sarcastic tone in his voice. He was never harsh or short with me, but every once in a while I would see glimpses of why a lot of people tried to keep their distance from him.

I smiled and stood up from the chair, hoping to help him feel a bit less annoyed.

“Well, then, I will let you deal with this lady. We can talk about the book more later.”

“Yes, for sure! But again, congratulations,” he said, warmly.

“Thank you,” I said.

As I opened the door and faced the woman who was in the hallway, I could see immediately that she had no intention of being introduced to me. Instead, she sauntered up to Ryan and placed her perfectly manicured hand on his arm, apologizing for her lateness.

I wasn’t surprised that she wanted nothing to do with me. It happened often in the business, and especially around Ryan. Women were drawn to him, and when he was around nothing else mattered.

I glanced back one more time as I left the office, and felt a twinge of jealousy at the way she was leaning towards him, clearly flirting with him. I also also felt relieved that he didn’t seem to be flirting back, and that he was clenching his jaw, which I had come to know to be a sign that he was truly annoyed.

I shook my head, and headed back to my desk.

Chapter 13

Ryan

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