“I’m interested.” I say with a smile. I write my cell number down and hand him my Flirt business card. “Let me know.”
“You’re the CEO and founder of Flirt?”
“Yes. I wrote the initial algorithm the app is built on.”
“I like smart women.” He smiles. “I’ll be in touch and perhaps we can have dinner. The Prospectors are on the road this week. Maybe we can find a place to watch the game on Thursday night?”
I was thinking of flying down with Nate to meet up with a friend from college who enjoys the game, but that might be a bit overwhelming for a first date. “That sounds like a lot of fun,” I tell him.
“Great. I’ll get it set up.”
He waves and moves toward the door just as Nate and Lilly walk over.
“Well?” Lilly asks.
“We’re going to watch the Prospectors game on Thursday somewhere in town.”
Nate is all teeth. “He’s a good guy. I don’t think he’s a player. He gets hit on a lot, but I never see him with anyone.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s not a player,” I remind him. “It just means he doesn’t pee where he eats.”
“I like him for you,” Lilly says as she watches him walk out. “He’s got a great ass, too.”
“Hey,” Nate says, giving her a cocked eyebrow.
“I said for her. I’m not sharing you, so I have to find my friends boyfriends. That way you don’t mind when we go out.”
“I’ll still mind,” Nate pouts. “But I do like Axel. He’s not a typical agent. He’s laid back and definitely the coolest guy in the room. What do you think?” He raises his eyebrows at me.
“We’ll see.”
“He picked up the check for dinner at Birdsong. We were all blown away,” Lilly says.
I nod. When you make the top-money lists like Nate does, you tend to always be the one picking up the check.
As the last of my guests leave to take the party elsewhere, I gather my things. I can see I missed a call from my sister, Ava. It’s after three tomorrow afternoon in Shanghai, so I call her back as Peter drives me home.
“Hey you!” I say when she answers. “Are you just waking up?”
“I’m not a vampire. I just thought I’d call and hear how your launch went tonight.”
“Not bad, actually. They fooled me, and we had about four thousand people come—”
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
I blow out a breath of air. “We’ll see.”
“Did you meet anyone?” she presses.
“I don’t know. Maybe? I have a date on Thursday night.”
“Really? That sounds promising. Does he know who you are?”
“Well, he knows I’m the CEO and founder of Flirt.”
“When will you tell him who you really are?”
“I try to keep my secret Wonder Woman identity to myself. I’m going to enjoy it for a while.”
“You’re funny. I’m sorry that fucker, Justin, made you feel like you deserve less. Once this new guy realizes that despite being one of the top three richest women in the US, you have a magic vagina, and you’re an amazing person, too, he won’t know what hit him.”
“Magic vagina? I don’t have rabbits coming out of it,” I tease, a bit embarrassed.
“Well, you did something that kept Justin coming back.”
“I guess the magic must have worn off, because he dumped me.”
“You know it’s because he had imposter syndrome. I bet he had a little penis, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know.” I’m not about to admit I wasn’t exactly skilled in that area. I’ll never hear the end of it. “I don’t have your vast experience.”
“Meow!”
I giggle. “I miss you. When are you coming to visit?”
“I’m on tour for the next three months, but after that. I promise.” My sister went to China to learn Mandarin and met one of China’s wealthiest industrialists while singing karaoke. He propelled her into becoming a massive Chinese pop star. She gets hounded wherever she goes—even by people who live here.
“Okay, but I’m holding you to that,” I tell her.
“I miss you, too.”
Once Peter drops me at home, I walk upstairs and try to search for Axel online. I find over a dozen photos, each with a different model or cheerleader on his arm. There are also a few of him with his clients, accepting awards. He always looks professional—in a suit or at least business casual. He’s listed as one of the top fifty sports agents in the country, but I notice he only has ten or so clients. I also note that he’s negotiated more than five billion dollars in contracts over the last year alone. They’ll pay out over the next three to six years—with a ten-percent fee for him.
I blow out a deep breath. Wow. I’m impressed.
I see an article about him in Surfer magazine. He reps Marco Hammond, and the article notes that Axel was once on the surf tour. I search for older pictures of him, and I find a young version who’s not quite eighteen. I know if I’d met him at that time, I would have been just as smitten as I am today. I wonder if his stomach is still that toned… Those lines at his hips that point to his magic wand make me salivate.
A little while later, as I lie in bed, I try to think about what I’m going to wear for our date. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. Then I move immediately into worrying he may not call or text after all. Somehow I’m always setting myself up for disappointment.
Chapter 5
Axel
Mia handwrote her cell number on her business card. I turn it over in my hand, looking at it. I liked her self-deprecating humor as she addressed the crowd, and I was drawn to her right
