Page 107 of Ruthless Ambition
“That’s them.” I watched the smile play about her mouth as she kept her eyes closed.
“Who do you think it is?” I asked her softly. “Tell me who made it onto your list.”
“I had a list?” she asked as she opened one eye to look at me.
“I know you, Balan. There was definitely a list.”
“You. Cooper. Clark. Sasha.” Angel scrunched her nose up. “She may still be on the list,” she admitted. “I went through clients I never signed, but I came up empty.”
“I had Sasha too, Charlie’s looking into her.”
“I bet he is,” Angel muttered.
“You fire anyone? Gardener, maintenance guy, pool boy?”
Angel opened her eyes fully and turned onto her side to face me. “You’ve been to my house. Tell me, where was the pool in the — and I quote — shithole that I live in?”
“Hmm, good point. Gardener?”
“I mow my own lawn, Onyx. I do my own repairs.” She grinned. “I cook my own food.”
“Women the world over thank you for being a domestic goddess.”
Her laugh made me smile. “You’re a dick,” she whispered as she stared at me.
“Probably,” I admitted just as quietly. We lay there looking at each other, and I saw her eyes drop to my mouth several times. It was so tempting to lean forward and give her what she wanted. But I couldn’t; we’d crossed the boundaries too many times already. “No casual hookups that maybe wanted more?” I asked and cursed myself for being a fool for being so transparent.
Angel’s eyes widened in surprise before she looked away. “No. Only ever had one one-night stand, and you already checked him out.” She glanced at me with mischievousness. “I’m so boring,” she suddenly wailed. “I had a random guy talk to me in a hotel in Dallas, but it was purely innocent. He shared my table because the bar was busy. I don’tdoanything risky or rash! I’m not that person, that’s not the vibe I give off. Even with a stranger in a bar, it’s completely innocent.” Angel laughed in self-deprecation.
“What guy?” I asked her sharply. “Tell me everything.” When she was finished, I thought he was unlikely, but I would tell Cooper to look into him. “Who did you not sign that took it badly?”
Angel stared at me for a long moment before she rolled over onto her back. “None of them really. They were all kind of professional to be honest. Well, I had one guy, but he was troubled.”
“Troubled?” I propped up on my elbow as I looked down at her. “Describe troubled.”
“Fought a lot, on and off the field. Grades were passable but not by much, discipline was lacking. Faked two drug test results. The lab said each time they messed up, but you know, the doubt creeps in.”
“Doesn’t make him troubled.”
“No, I know, but he had a real attitude problem. Called me doll.” She rolled her eyes. “I just knew we wouldn’t work, and I doubted he’d make it to the first team.”
“What was his name?”
“Judd Christie,” she said as she stared at the ceiling.
“Who signed him?” I asked her.
“No one. He died,” she said quietly. “Overdosed.”
“Not so good.”
“No.” She smiled sadly.
“When did he die?”
“Um.” Angel thought about it. “I don’t remember the exact date last year in July.”
“Well, your guy’s not him,” I said, and she elbowed me in the side.
