Page 2 of Play of Love
“Amy, so sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Zelda.” Zelda put out her hand to shake mine. I stood up and shook it with a cheerful smile that I hoped hid my nerves. I wasn’t nervous about doing the job itself. It was everything else. Mainly the significance I placed on it.
“That’s okay. I’ve just been admiring your office.” That was a lie, but my nerves were making it a little difficult for me to focus on conversation starters.
“Admiring? Geez, you’re too nice.” Zelda narrowed her bright green eyes and laughed. “This is my husband’s atrocious attempt at ambiance. I’m not usually so accepting but it would hurt him to no end if I told him the truth.”
That explained it.
“Oh.” I offered a smile and sat back down when Zelda lowered into her chair neatly positioned behind the immaculate, well-organized desk before us.
“So, thank you for stopping by. We don’t usually do this sort of meeting but I had to warn you that Mr. Mancini is a very special case.” Zelda sat back in her chair and sighed with a slight edge. “A special case that has to be handled with…tact and care, if you will.”
Orbit Consultancy was a Sports PR company who represented the L.A. Gladiators, L.A.’s superstar football team.
Teddy had made this opportunity possible for me. Even though it wasn’t fashion related, it was a route, if I could hack it, to take care of my current family situation and still have a hand in accomplishing my dreams. L.A. was where I needed to be to continue my designer application for Dior and—fingers crossed—work for them. I’d planned to move here the minute I got the okay that my application had been successfully accepted . But more importantly, taking this job would provide the funds I desperately needed to take care of my mother.
When Teddy had told me about the job I started researching straightaway and did all my ground work on Mr. Mancini. From what I read I knew that the poor guy had been through a lot.
“I understand and I will definitely be sensitive to his needs,” I said with confidence. Minus the fashion side of things, being the PA to a star athlete couldn’t have been that different to being Teddy’s PA. Sure I imagined there would be some notable differences, but the basic processes to carry out the role had to be the same.
Joshua Mancini was the star linebacker for the Gladiators. He’d played football all his life. Tragedy had however struck last year at the start of the season when his mother and sister were killed in a car crash. Understandably, he was unable to continue with the season and was left devastated at the news. I’d read all about the incident, and other things about him during the week I’d spent here in the dreadful hovel of an apartment I’d managed to get on my budget.
My job was to help him get ready for the upcoming season in six months. I imagined it to be the standard paperwork filing and sorting, organizing events, doing emails, and just offering support.
Surely it was that simple.
“That’s exactly what I was worried about.” Zelda sighed again. “Amy, I’ll be honest with you.”
I leaned forward, my curiosity piqued from the tentative tone Zelda’s voice took on. I would have thought that my sensitivity was exactly what was needed here, given what had happened to the poor man. I just assumed that Mr. Mancini needed someone to get on with the work and handle his affairs.
Zelda brought her hands together and knitted her perfectly manicured fingers. “This job is going to be difficult.” She bit the inside of her lips. “Teddy is a dear friend of mine and he spoke very highly of you. His word alone was sufficient for me to offer you the job.” Zelda smiled.
I really appreciated that. It was the first job I’d ever had where I didn’t have to go through the standard interviews and assessments process. I’d been lucky to have met someone like Teddy. He’d always looked out for me and was the kind of person that helped because he cared and wanted me to do well. He’d helped me to no end when I worked for him and he was still helping me out now.
“However,” Zelda pulled in a breath. “That is the same reason why I wanted to meet with you today before you started. I wanted to give you a full brief and heads up. Mr. Mancini is like your standard athlete with the super ego.”
Oh, that was what this was about. It hadn’t escaped me that Joshua Mancini was incredibly handsome and a masterpiece of a man. I’d seen the pictures and I guessed Zelda was going to tell me that I’d have to deal with his fans and football groupies.
“I’m used to working with celebrities,” I stated with a confident nod. I’d worked with a number of them on photo shoots and other fashion-related events. I’d long since lost that starry-eyed craze and knew how to handle myself.
I assumed that was why this job came with such an attractive salary. A salary that only an idiot would refuse. The role was full time and permanent, but I’d get fifty thousand dollars at the end of the first six months if I could get Mr. Mancini ready to play for the season, which started in September.
To make the deal even sweeter, I was promised twenty thousand dollars as an extra bonus in three weeks if I could sort out all the backlog work from the previous PA and get him to the first scheduled TV appearance with ESPN. That was the first hurdle I had to jump over, which was my trial run. I planned to use that twenty thousand as a deposit for Mom’s surgery. The doctors had agreed to start treatment with a deposit and a subsequent installment plan. The price I was quoted was fifty-five thousand dollars, so by the time I was fully paid she’d have more than enough money for everything.
I was ready for this and failure was not an option. Mom’s life depended on it.
“I wish it was that simple.” Zelda sighed, raising fine, arched brows. “As a PR company we’ve managed to keep a lot of the truth out of the media. What happened to Mr. Mancini was truly terrible, but I’m afraid it affected him a great deal and made him worse than he already was.”
It was the way she put it that held my attention.Worse than he already was?What did she mean by that?
“Really?” I widened my eyes and bit the inside of my bottom lip.
“Yes. I have to be frank with you because, aside from coming from Teddy, you seem like a nice person and I can only imagine that the attractive salary is what interested you.”
“Well, it is rather large.” It was a hell of a lot of money. More than what I’d made at Style in any year, and the fact that I’d get it in lump sums was even better for my situation.
“There’s a reason for that. I’m sure you must have done your research, but what the internet won’t tell you is that Joshua Mancini is a raging alcoholic suffering from deep depression and bereavement. He lost complete control when his mother and sister died, and all I know is that we’ve had ten PAs leave him in the last four months. I won’t scare you with the details but, put simply, before the accident he was a womanizing, self-righteous jerk and now he’s an uber-womanizing, self-righteous jerk with alcohol and mental issues. That’s the part you didn’t read about.” She pressed her mouth together in a tight-lipped smile. “Also, he tends to get overly sexual when under the influence, and you’re blonde and beautiful. His favorite type.” Her eyes clung to mine, analyzing my reaction.
Zelda’s bluntness shocked me . I wasn’t expecting that at all. I definitely wasn’t.
