Page 14 of Masters of the Game: Colton

“I do. My dad had a heart attack when I was in college because he didn’t take care of himself. Luckily, he survived and was forced to change his eating habits. Mom, Tez, Cobra, and I did so, as well. We decided to take better care of ourselves.”

“My mom is into physical fitness, too,” she said. “I go to the fitness center near my apartment whenever I can. It’s not at the top of my list, though. I never seem to find the time.”

“It’s one of those things that you need to make time for, Kelly. One of the first things I plan to do when I buy a house is to make sure I have space for a fitness room.”

“You’re thinking of buying a house?”

“Yes, another one. I purchased one already in Savannah a couple of years ago. It’s a fixer-upper that I renovate whenever I go home.” There was no need to tell her that working on that house had pretty much kept him busy so thoughts of her couldn’t dominate his mind.

“However,” he continued, “I don’t plan on living in the executive suite at the St. Laurent--Boston forever. It’s nice, but I enjoy having my space and privacy. You don’t get that when your neighbors are your employees or business associates. So I’m looking at places nearby.”

She closed her menu. “I can understand your position. And, to answer your question, one thing you probably don’t know about me is that I’ll be apartment shopping the first of the year.”

That wasn’t the kind of information he sought, but he would take anything she wanted to share. “Why?”

“Right now, I have a one-bedroom, which is okay. However, I want a bigger space, with a second bedroom I can convert into an office.”

“You work at home, too?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Yes. Remember when I mentioned the rules? Lake and I both prefer our employees not to make it a habit of working past office hours. You truly do need to learn how to incorporate more downtime into your life.”

“I’ve heard that before from all three of my siblings. Hanson can’t talk since he always brings work home. You never know when he’s operating as an undercover agent or something. So, it’s best never to just drop in.”

Colton chuckled. “I heard that.”

The waitress returned to take their order. When that was done, he said, “Regarding our meeting at two, I intend to let you take the lead, of course. My main interest is finding locations suitable for our needs and future expansion.”

“Would you consider Harlem?” she asked.

“Most definitely.”

“Good. I’ve already checked out some real estate that I think would be advantageous.”

He nodded, then asked, “What are your plans for later?”

She tilted her head to glance at him, seemingly confused by his question. “My plans for later?”

“Yes, later. Like dinner.”

“To provide my thoughts on today’s meeting?” she inquired.

“No, to fill your body with nourishment. I’m inviting you to dine with me at seven and then join me in seeing a Broadway show at nine.

” And because he didn’t want her to consider it a date, he said, “I invited Cobra to join us, but he’s already made other plans.

He did say he would try to hook up with us at some point in time while we’re here, and asked that we keep Wednesday evening free. ”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she asked, “What’s the show?”

“Aladdin.”

Her face lit up. “I heard it was back, and I do want to see it.”

“Then will you join me?”

She paused, as if she was giving his request some thought. “I was planning on ordering room service and then later walking around Times Square. But your plans for the evening sound better.” Giving him a radiant smile, one that he felt to the bones, she said, “I would love to join you, Colton.”

**

“Hey, Eric. What’s going on? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Eric Venters slid into the chair behind his desk. “I need a favor, John.” John Pauley was a college friend and frat brother.

“I don’t do favors anymore, Eric, but I can bring you on as a paying client.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You still have your private investigative agency in New York and LA?”

“I still have them in six major cities, including Harlem and LA. What of it?”

“I want someone put under surveillance.”

A short while later, Eric hung up the phone.

During last night’s phone conversation, Sherelle claimed there was no other information she could give him regarding Colton Masters and Kelly Perkins since they’d left Boston for New York and LA, and she was returning to Orlando.

She’d even had the nerve to suggest that he just let it go.

But that only showed how little she really knew him.

He was convinced Colton Masters had interfered with his winning that consulting contract.

And it pissed him off that Sherelle had allowed it to happen.

If she had as much clout in the company as she claimed she’d had when they first met, she could have done more to work things in his favor.

Little did she guess that the only reason he’d become involved with her in the first place was because of her connection to Masters Unlimited.

Since she’d been no help in getting what he wanted, he intended to dump her--soon.

The lies he’d told her about marriage had merely been to string her along.

He stood and walked over to the window in his office.

For the past three years, his consulting firm had been struggling.

Then out of the blue, this KP Consulting firm showed up and snatched all his potential clients, even those he’d worked for years to win.

Getting his foot in the door at Masters Unlimited would have opened all kinds of opportunities for him with other major corporations.

And it would have happened — he was convinced of it.

If Kelly Perkins’ firm had been hired because of some romantic connection she had with Colton Masters, it was wrong. It was unethical.

And he was not going to let them get away with it.