“Everyone has their off-days, Jim,” I replied.
“It seems it’s been more of an off-season. The kid threw three interceptions this game alone. If he keeps this up, he won’t be on the roster next season.”
He was right; this was a rough situation that Jake got himself into. His numbers were really low, and it was going to set me into a difficult position for negotiating his contract for next season.
Monica was here watching as well; I use the word watching very loosely because she preferred to spend her time nursing a glass of wine and talking to the other wives.
She was quite gorgeous, slim-figured and tiny; just the way Jake seemed to like them. I never really cared, quite honestly. She was the kind of girl I avoided; easy to look at and hard to please. The only real conversation we had was about money, and how much her boyfriend was going to make her.
They were talking so loud that I couldn’t help but overhear a bit of their conversation.
“He’s making good money, are you going to make him put a ring on it?”
Monica replied, “There’s only one sure way to get him to ask me, and I don’t know if I should talk to him about it, or just surprise him.”
“You’re not thinking about having kids, already.”
“I always wanted a family, and I don’t want to have to wait to start one. He’s taking his sweet time proposing. I thought maybe if I had a bun in the oven he might man up and ask.”
“You’re terrible, Monica.”
Monica giggled along with her friends. I couldn’t figure out how someone could talk about having kids in such a cavalier attitude.
I tossed back the rest of the scotch in my glass and made for the bar nearby. This game was beginning to look like another loss, and I knew that my boss would probably be ready to yell at me on Monday, and I didn’t want to be sober for that.
Monica gave me looks as I walked by, and I could feel the disgust coming from her friends as well. It seemed like they’d never seen a hard working black woman before; as though all they wanted me to do was bring them a serving tray.
“Another Scotch, Angie?” asked Devlin, the barman.
I nodded, and he poured me another.
“You better make that a double, Devlin. It’s going to be a long night.”
He added more caramel liquor to the glass while I reached for my wallet.
“I think this one is on the house. Maybe it’s high time to start buying something to eat before you make yourself sick.”
“Thanks, Dev. It’s going to be another one of those nights. Are you going to be working tonight, again? I can swing by and give you a hefty tip.”
He smiled.
“If you’re drinking then I know I won’t starve for the next month. I got a few rumors flying around, though.”
“What have you heard, Dev,” I asked.
He leaned over the bar to whisper.
“Some of the players are planning a night out. A couple of ‘em just fired their agents, and might be on the market; If you come with a straight head, then you might just bag one.”
I pulled out a large tip and shoved it into Devlin’s hand. He tipped his hat, and I returned to the game.
There was almost no shock at all from me when I noticed that we were behind in the scoreboard. I plopped down in my chair and nursed my drink. It was going to be a long afternoon.
2.
I’m a classy dresser when I want to be, and for a night on the town, it was rare. If you’re going to be dropping it on the bedroom floor anyway, it’s best just to dress light and wear as little as possible.
I didn’t have that intention tonight, but I still wanted to drink to forget Jake’s abysmal performance today. Devlin was right, though, it would be a great opportunity to cheer my boss up by signing a new client.
Working with athletes and spending so much time around attractive people was an amazing inspiration to eat right and exercise regularly. The last thing you want to be is the ugly person in the corner trying to sign a new client.
Still, no amount of exercise will cure genetics. And, as it was, I was stuck being curvier than most. I did enjoy the compliments from men that I slept with. They said I had nice breasts, not too big, not too small. But, I always thought my best feature was my legs, they were long and toned. To compliment my figure, I wore a long black gown that scooped low in the back and showed off my small amount of muscle.
Upon arriving at the trendy little club I made sure to tip the bouncer well, he always let me in when I came by, now.
You can get anything in life if you’re willing to spend the right amount of money. But, sometimes, a friendly smile is worth more. I walked towards the bar after I got in, and I could already see a couple of players that I recognized from today’s game. One of the players was celebrating victory over our local team with some women of the evening. I rolled my eyes at how easy some of these players were.