Page 35
“And now you’re at my place of business.”
“I’ve got a tour of a house … with Coleman,” I tell her, not that I need to justify my presence.
A man enters the room. “That’s me.” He extends his hand and introduces himself. Then he says, “Marcus Delaney. I really didn’t know if it was you when we talked. I thought someone might be pretending just to get my goat. But … hey. I won’t be weird. I’ll treat you just like anybody else. You ready?”
“Way to not be weird, Coleman,” Cass says, smiling and shaking her head.
He smiles at her. “Yeah. Right?” Then he looks back at me. “Sorry. I’ll just grab the key. The owners don’t want a lock box. This one’s by appointment only.”
“No problem,” I tell him.
The woman at the reception desk still has her hand over her heart.
“He’s just a man,” Cass says to her. “Nothing special. He gets up and lies down like the rest of us.”
Then Cass introduces the woman to me. “This is Loretta, Marcus. She’s a big fan.”
Loretta drops her hand and waves. “My, you are tall aren’t you?”
“Six three,” Cass says under her breath. I don’t think she even meant to.
I shouldn’t feel special that she knows my height. She probably knows the height, weight, stats and performance strengths and issues of all ninety preseason players—even the ones not slated to continue into the regular season.
“Nice to meet you,” Loretta says. “Welcome to Hearthstone. We’re huge Thunder fans.”
“That’s good to hear,” I say.
“So, you work here?” I ask, turning toward Cass and wishing immediately that I had kept my mouth shut.
Coleman pops back out from down the hall right at that moment. “Cass holds the whole office together.”
He smiles warmly at Cass.
“She’s our office manager,” Loretta says proudly.
“Manager, huh?” I say. “Like … bossing people around?”
Cass narrows her eyes slightly. It’s barely noticeable. But I notice.
“Oh, she’s not bossy,” Loretta says. “She’s like glue. Like a mother hen. Always got her eyes on every living thing around her. Keeps up with it all.”
I nod. “Sounds like a quarterback.”
“Bossing people around?” Cass asks, a coy smirk on her face.
“The glue,” I answer her.
Coleman’s eyes dart between us. “Well, we can go whenever you’re ready Marcus. Mr. Delaney. Uhh …”
“Marcus is fine. Thanks, Coleman.”
He heads toward the door and I follow behind him, willing myself not to glance back at Cass one more time. Why I’d want to is beyond me. She’s messing with my head like a veteran safety on the opposing team.
And I know how to handle that kind of game play.
Don’t take the bait. Reset. Play the next snap.
And, right now, my next snap is to tour the home I’ve been drooling over for months.
