“Can I pick you up after your shift tonight?”
Then he grabbed his keys and hurried out the door. He made it to practice with seconds to spare, hustling out onto the field. Everyone else was already there, tossing balls around. But the moment he stepped out, the coach blew the whistle, and everyone came closer for the day’s instructions.
“So, we’re going to go through the plays again today,” Coach Dean announced. He was a former quarterback and had been Janus’ mentor for years. Janus respected him, but even better, he liked him. Dean was a good man, who looked out for his players. There were other coaches who ignored problems as long as their players were winning. Sprains and torn ligaments weren’t their problem. If the player could walk, he could run and he could win.
Dean was different. He took a long term approach to football, telling his players that football was a short term career and they needed to take care of themselves, physically and financially. Coach Dean was the first person to step in when he saw that a player was doing something stupid, be it spending too much, gambling, drinking, or even dating toxic women . Which is why the players worked extra hard for Dean, wanting his respect.
“Hopefully, Meyers can keep his hands in front of his face today,” he called out, pausing as the rest of the teammates roared with laughter.
Janus acknowledged the shot with good grace, laughing along with the others. He’d been thinking about Stevie during the last half hour of yesterday’s practice and hadn’t seen the ball coming.
Still, last night had been…he still could feel the touch of her fingers on his back, on his chest, and…
“Wake up, Meyers!” Dean roared, punching Janus’ arm playfully.
Janus focused, seeing the amusement on his teammate’s faces. “I’m here, Coach,” he sighed. Well, he was now. For the rest of the practice, he focused on the game, on the plays that they’d been practicing over and over for the past week. The rule was to practice the plays until they got them right, then keep practicing until they never got them wrong.
Thankfully, it was a short practice, being the day before a game, so Janus finished up by noon. After showering and changing clothes, he headed for his car. For a long moment, he wondered what Stevie was doing today and if she’d like to have lunch with him. Maybe they could spend the afternoon together. Hell, he had no idea what they might do, but he’d like to spend the afternoon with her.
Then he remembered her saying something about lesson plans and that toothpick tower she’d been working on last night. He shouldn’t bother her if she had to work.
So, instead of calling her up, and probably interrupting her, he looked up at the grey skies and sighed with frustration. Instead, he should check on his businesses. Janus had rented out several floors of a building near the stadium. It was in a central location to the restaurants he’d bought, which made checking in with each place easier. He and his business manager were working on renovating several new ones, but they liked to check in to make sure the others were running smoothly.
Ten minutes later, he parked his car behind the building and walked up the stairs. Sure enough, his business manager, Ross Mendum, was hard at work in his office, doing something on the computer. “How are things going?”
“Good,” Ross replied, grabbing several pages from the printer. “Your ideas for food offerings and specialty cocktails are brilliant. Revenues are up at every site. But I need to know what your plans are for your latest acquisition.” He turned a paper around, spreading several reports out on the conference room table. “This piano bar is outside of our normal theme. What do you plan to do with it?”
Stretching his muscles, Janus considered various scenarios. There were several possibilities he could implement at the bar where Stevie worked that would increase sales. But the thought of changing things, of messing up the rhythm that the elderly regulars obviously enjoyed, made him uncomfortable.
So instead, he shook his head and said, “Nothing.”
Ross’s eyes widened. “Nothing? But…?” He leaned back in his chair. “The business is losing money every night.”
“Yeah, but…” Janus paused, not sure how to explain himself. “It’s a good place. It has an excellent location and a faithful clientele. Plus, the menus options are outstanding.”
Ross’s eyes narrowed. “Janus, this is…odd. It’s not like you to ignore a business that is losing money. You’re usually gung ho to dig into the details and figure out how to make the restaurant work more profitably. What gives?”
Janus rubbed a hand over his face, knowing that Ross was right. It was foolish to let a restaurant linger without improvements. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t stand the thought of changing anything that might affect Stevie’s life. “This one is different. At least for now.”
Ross wasn’t appeased. “But…I can give you…”
“No,” Janus replied with finality. “Just leave that one running as is for now.”
His business manager stared at Janus for a long moment, then shrugged. “Fine. Same rules?”
“Exactly. Be even more careful about this one.”
Ross nodded dutifully. “Got it. No one is to know you own it. As far as anyone else is concerned, you are not a partner in this or any business, and especially not on the piano bar.”
“Thanks. Regarding the other issues that you e-mailed about,” he began, then gave Ross a series of instructions. It took about three hours, but they finally finished working and
