TACKLED BY FATE

Chapter 6 -Fool-Proof Plan

Ezra POV

The angel's name was Rebecca Joleen Alves, and she was gorgeous. Her caramel skin and amber-green eyes were captivating. I could look at her every single day of my life and not get tired of it… Damn!

I made my way to the elevator with a smirk on my face, and when the elevator stopped on the 10th floor, the door opened and, coincidentally, Teddy was on it. “Come on! I saw you coming up with the beauty… did you last that little?” He joked and I chuckled…

“She went over a bit with her drinks… I would never try to make a move on a drunk woman… you know me better…” I said, and he gave me a soft nod… then I smirked “But I got her number…” I fanned my phone in front of his face.

“Really?” he lifted his eyebrows, and I slowly nodded.

“Rebecca Joleen Alves…” I said and he chuckled…

“Somehow now I am singing Dolly's song Joleen…” He joked and I laughed,

“Yeah, that's why I decided to call her Joy, and she agreed with that…” I said, and he elbowed my ribs playfully….

“So, now we are giving each other's pets names…” He teased and I shrugged my shoulders… Nothing he could do tonight would sour my mood… Not a f*****g thing…

The elevator stopped on our floor. We were on the 20th floor. We walked to our suites and said good night. We had a message from Scott letting us know to meet him at 8 am sharp for breakfast, and then we had a couple of interviews, and two more meetings with brands that want to work with us. Then we will have free time until 5, then we have the jersey presentation, and we will be free until Sunday.

I sighed… I wished I could see her during the day, but with the tight schedule we have tomorrow, I guess dinner will have to be…

I picked up my phone, and I didn't want to seem eager, but also I didn't want her to slip away, weighting my chances and risks, I decided to send her a text… leave the ball on her court and see if she would reply later…

I opened the messaging app, and looked up her contact… I started typing… and deleting it… and then again, and again… After about ten trials of sending her a decent message, I decided that I sucked at this s**t and ended up quitting my efforts…

“Let's sleep on it, and tomorrow I will come up with something…” I muttered to myself before falling asleep.

The next morning, everything was a haze. Scott got a bit pissed off because I woke up a bit late… I mean, I arrived 10 minutes late for our meeting. It shouldn't have been a big deal, unless… yeah, I was late, and Scott was a sucker for punctuality.

“So, I saw you leaving the event with a woman…” Scott, of Uncle Scott as I prefer to call him, pointed out… I sighed, not wanting to give him any explanation of my actions…

“I pray you are being careful son… an unwanted pregnancy, a forced marriage or any kind of scandal won't do you any good…” He said, and my eyes snapped open…

“What? No!... I slept alone… if that is what worries you…” I said defensively… while he and Teddy chuckled…

I sighed, somehow now I wanted to explain a bit better… after all, I didn't want them to think she was an easy woman… I felt responsible for protecting her reputation.

“Alright… I liked her… a lot…” I paused, and Uncle Scott nodded, I guess I was not subtle about that one… “Her name is Rebecca Joleen Alves, and she works somehow with the Dragons…” I paused, and my uncle nodded, encouraging me to continue… “She was dizzy and a bit drunk, so I helped her up to her room, exchanged numbers, and that is about it…” I said and he chuckled…

“You know that it is highly uncommon for a guy at this convention to pass on an opportunity like that… you know lots of people go by the motto ´What happens in Vegas…´” He paused, and I shook my head…

“Nah! You know me better and so far this whole shine and glitz thing hasn't gone to my head…” I joked and he nodded…

“Also, it helps that you are not an asshole… your dad raised you well…” Teddy patted my back. I chuckled because I was half-raised by Teddy's family. My dad did his best, but most of my afternoons I was hanging around Teddy's place. I love Teddy's mom as if she were mine…. I was like an adoptive son to the Martinez, and it was because of them that I was able to go to tournaments and training… Dad was busy trying to keep us afloat, without help.

“Well, I was raised by the best… Mr. Anderson and your folks…” I shrugged my shoulders, making Uncle Scott chuckle.

“Anyway, stay out of trouble… you two,” Scott patted my back and stared at Teddy.

“Yes, Sir…” we chorused.

“Finish eating, we have a long morning…” He said. I nodded and then took a minute between bites to look around the packed restaurant… I saw some of the Dragons, with Rusty Schwarz heading the group… I spotted in a lonely booth the woman with massive blonde hair, Georgette Pratt… she was silent and fumbling with her food, when Donovan Price sat next to her… she cheered up, and then they talked business… somehow the interaction raised a big red flag, but I dismissed it. She has no relation to me whatsoever and whatever they are dealing with is none of my concern.

Osvaldo and Pam walked towards our table… “Hey guys, Scott…” Osvaldo greeted us. “Are you ready for the big jersey reveal? And your very first press conference?” He said, and I swallowed a lump in my throat… I hated public speaking and all this was too foreign for me.

I gave him a weak smile… “Oh! Don't make him nervous!...” Pam playfully slapped her husband's shoulder… “Just picture everyone naked…” She said, making all of us laugh... She was funny, and I liked her in a motherly way… she made us feel welcome and at home.

The other players walked to our table, and the ladies all started making plans for the day… Something about shopping, and then later a bar and a show… When the name ´Magic Mike´ was mentioned, all the guys protested… Unfortunately, I zoned out of the conversation, my mind drifting back to room 1032 and the woman residing in it.

After a moment of bantering, Uncle Scott patted my back, bringing me back from my thoughts… “Alright guys, I understand that you want to bond with the new Panthers here, but we have a series of meetings this morning… you know how this works…” He looked at the guys and they all nodded… “Later you can go and have a beer, go to a strip joint of something… whatever you fancy…” He suggested and the women protested. He was smart, he was giving the men some leverage to negotiate no strip shows for either side…

He stood up, “Now, you two… go to your suites, freshen up and meet me here in 10 minutes… we don't want to be late for our first meeting…” He said and quickly Teddy and I complied.

The day passed by in a blur. We made it to our first meeting on time. Scott scheduled a couple of interviews with the most popular morning shows in the country. Being interviewed by the hottest anchors in the country. They were transmitting live from the convention center, and that was even more imposing. The only thing helping with my nerves was that I was not alone. Teddy was next to me…

The first interview was a bit awkward, but the second one was a lot of fun… I was getting the hang of things, and Scott gave us a pat on our backs when we were done. Then he rushed us to a conference room where our first meeting with a branded representative would be held… It took them longer than expected to get their point across, and Teddy and I had lots of questions about the deal and contract… that didn't help with our timing.

Scott quickly finished the meeting and told them that we would review their proposal… As soon as they left, another group of people walked in… Another meeting, another business proposal… another thing to think about… it would have been great if only the woman in room 1032 wouldn't have lodged herself permanently in my head… Or she lodged herself in my heart? Maybe on both.

We had a quiet lunch. I was fed up with all the people staring at us, so I decided to have room service. Teddy agreed with that, and so we perched in my suit. We had a bit of time before our last commitment of the day. “How about we watch a movie or play some video games?” Teddy suggested and I nodded. Whatever took my mind out of calling her and making a fool out of me, was appreciated.

“So what do you plan to do about Rebecca?” Teddy asked, and I sighed…

“I haven't been able to send her a f*****g text… nothing sounds right…” I sighed. I didn't want to appear eager, less a stalker…

“How about you showing up to her room, just checking on her hangover?” Teddy suggested… “I mean, bring her some Gatorade, Advil, and some munchies?” He said, and suddenly the idea seemed like a good one. I haven't seen her around and most likely she was feeling like s**t all alone in her room…

“Would you come with me?” I asked him and he nodded… I was thankful for having such a good friend in my corner.

“Alright, we have a power play... Now let's get it done…” he said and I smirked… I would be seeing her soon, my mind would be back on the game and, hopefully, after this little rendez-vouz… I would be able to ask her for dinner… It is a fool-proof plan, nothing can go wrong, right?