Page 23 of Roughing the Player
After a minute or two, he raises his head and laser gazes me. The light shining in his eyes gives me hope. Maybe he’s found a way out of this mess.
“Who knows we rented that apartment for Brock?” he asks.
“No one. I handled the arrangements. As usual, I used the agency’s name to book the moving company and lease the condo. And I didn’t pass on the information as to who’s going to be living there to anyone, not even my assistant. Although seeing how we represent Brock and he just transferred to the Outlaws, it won’t take her but two seconds to figure it out.”
“At the condo building, where were you?”
“In the lobby. I sent my assistant to the condo itself.”
“So everybody thinks you’re the one moving in?”
“I guess.” A bad feeling crawls over me.
He relaxes into his chair again. “Well, there you have it, problem solved.”
“How do you figure that, Marty?” I truly have no idea how he came to that conclusion.
“The residents think you’re the tenant.” He grins. “You’ll need to move in, of course. At least for a little while until we find Brock another place to live.” He temples his hands over his middle like he’s come up with a brilliant solution.
Like heck he has! “I can’t move in, Marty. I have a house. A daughter,” I say. “Her birthday party’s this weekend!”
He waves a hand in the air, dismissing my objection. “So do the birthday party and move in on Monday.”
“I can’t live there!” Brock will be done with training camp in another week which means we would be sharing the same space, breathing the same air. At night. I can’t do that.
His brow scrunches. “Why not?”
Do I really have to explain this to him? “Brock will be living there!”
“That place has two bedrooms, doesn’t it? It shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, it’ll only be for a couple of weeks. A month tops.” He stabs his pen in my direction. “And while you’re there, you can keep an eye on him.”
“What?”
“To make sure he stays out of trouble, if you know what I mean.”
Yes, I know exactly what he means. “But. But.” I sputter.
He glances at me over his half-frame reading glasses. “It would mean a lot, Eleanor. You play along, and I’ll make sure you get a big, fat bonus check at the end of the year.”
That offer shouldn’t tempt me, yet it does. I certainly could use the money, not only for my student loans, but for expenses associated with the house. The hot water heater is acting up, and the roof needs replacing before winter sets in. And like he says, it’s only for a little while. Surely I can handle the living arrangements for a couple of weeks. I shape my lips into what must look like a pained smile. “Well, when you put it that way. All right. But only Monday through Friday. Weekends I go home to my daughter.”
“Fine.” He returns to whatever he was reading when I walked in, a clear sign of dismissal.
I walk out of his office, my mind swirling with what I’ll have to do to pull this off. My first call will be to my mother since I’ll need her to stay with Kaylee during the week. I hate to do it, but what choice do I have? This job is too important to me. And then I’ll have to explain my absence to Kaylee. I can’t tell her I’ll be living in Brock Parker’s place. She would never understand no matter how I justified it. Which means, God help me, I’ll have to lie.
