Page 32 of Personal Foul (The San Diego Storm #3)

Colin

L ife had become fucking fantastic in December. The weather was warmer than usual, or so they said, and I took that as a good sign. Every day became better than the previous one, and I was terrified it would end.

After our weekend in New York, I finalized a new contract with the Storm.

I’d officially signed on with George as my legal representation.

Even though he wasn’t an agent, he was the one person I trusted to handle my legal affairs.

After the shit Leland pulled, I wasn’t sure I’d trust anyone else ever again.

“It’s pretty cut and dry,” George told me.

“If it were anyone other than William Carlisle, I might insist that you get specialized representation. It’s almost identical to Carson’s contract, except for the immigration clause, and them being tied to your visa.

He’s a good man, and he’s the reason we have you after all. ”

Every time he or Elizabeth referred to me in a familial way, my hope that this was real was renewed a little more. “That’s good to know. If you’re happy with it, so am I.”

George smiled at me across the computer screen. “Excellent. When do you meet with the Immigration attorney?”

“They were able to fit me in tomorrow. He’s going to file a change of status or something to revise it so I can get paid. I’ve opened accounts here for banking and investments, so hopefully that will go smoothly.”

He grinned. “It will. We’ll work on transferring your money from Australia unless you want to keep it there.”

“Is there anything left other than my apartment?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Everything that was frozen has been accounted for. As soon as my forensic accountant has finished going through everything, I’ll let you know.”

“Do you think that will be soon?”

George smiled, seemingly unconcerned. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. Richard has had the case since September. I’m trying not to pressure him.”

“Will moving the money here affect what he has to do?”

“It shouldn’t. He doesn’t need the money to be present, only the documents regarding where it went.”

I nodded, thinking about what to do. “Let’s move it here.”

“Okay. I’ll get right on the transfers. You’ll probably need to sign a few documents for the banks.”

“Gladly. Let me know what I need to do.”

“I will.”

Before he could hang up, there was one more issue. “George, you really have to let me pay you for everything you’re doing for me.”

He waved a hand in the air. “Yes, yes, I’ll send you a bill.”

He’d been saying that for a while, but nothing ever showed up. “I haven’t received one.”

“When this is all taken care of, we’ll talk about it again.”

I could accept that for now. He emailed me everything I needed, and ten days later, my funds were safely tucked away where Leland couldn’t reach them.

The following morning, I met with Jonah Lawson, the Immigration attorney Mr. Carlisle had recommended, clearing one more obstacle. He reviewed my documents and advised me on how to answer certain questions.

“You want to be confident in your responses. Visas for professional athletes aren’t difficult to obtain on our side if you have everything in order. Do you expect the NRL to deny your status as a professional player?”

“They shouldn’t,” I said. “I played for almost six years in the league before they suspended me.”

His brows furrowed. “May I ask why?”

“Repeated rough play. They made an example out of me, even though it’s exactly what the coach asked of us. I still don’t understand, but I guess it doesn’t matter any longer. I play with the brown ball now instead of the white one.”

He wrote what I’d said in his notes, then looked up at me. “Any other issues?”

God, I hated going into this.

“Well, my agent showed up here in September and created a problem in the parking lot. The Storm took care of it. Not me.”

John’s brow furrowed, then relaxed. “I read about that. If I remember correctly, the only mention about you was that he was your disgruntled former agent.”

“That’s correct. I’m done with him and ready for a long-term fresh start.”

Jonah looked over the paperwork while I sat nervously, awaiting his assessment. After what felt like hours, he looked up and smiled.

“Everything looks in order. You should be fine. If you have any concerns, let me know.”

He slid me a business card across the desk. “Keep this handy for the interview. If you have the opportunity to mention that you have legal counsel who has gone over your application, they might feel more confident in their decisions.”

I frowned, a little concerned about the process. “Are these difficult to secure? I was under the impression they were fairly simple when you had a team sponsor.”

He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “When everything is in order, as yours is, they are. Don’t worry. It will all be fine.”

When I left Jonah’s office, I called Carson.

“How did it go?” he asked instead of hello. He’d been anxious ever since we left practice.

“Good. He said it should go smoothly. Now I wait for the interview.”

He released a heavy breath. “Thank fuck.”

“I know,” I sighed.

“We’re one step closer to getting everything we want, babe. We should celebrate.”

I grinned as I beeped the locks on the car. “What did you have in mind?”

Carson’s voice dropped an octave. “Come home. And I’ll show you.”