Huddle With Me Tonight by Farrah Rochon Read Free Book Online

turn-on.
    He pulled into the underground garage below the North Manhattan Medical Family building where Latoya Stokes practiced. He got out of the car and walked over to Theo’s Lexus LX that had pulled into a slot two spots down from him.
    Theo was still on the phone as he climbed out of the luxury SUV. He laughed at whatever was said on the other line. “That’s why I pay you fifteen percent. I’ll catch you later.” He nodded at Torrian. “How’d it go, Dawg?” Theo asked, pocketing his phone.
    “Let’s just say I hope your call went better than mine,” he said as they headed for the elevator.
    “Unless Paige Turner offered to strip naked for you, I’d say I had the better call.”
    Torrian reached over and slapped palms with Theo, bringing him in for a one-arm hug. “The network made an offer for the anchor position?”
    “Two million a year.”
    “That’s even more than I’d expected.”
    “My agent asked for three, but we knew that was a pie-in-the-sky number. We were ready to settle at one point five mil.”
    “You’re really going to retire?”
    Theo shook his head. “I don’t know, Wood. It’s tempting as hell. No more training camp. No more getting pounded on the field. It’s hard to pass up.”
    “I didn’t think you were serious,” Torrian admitted. “But you know I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
    If only his call could have gone a tenth as well as Theo’s, Torrian would be satisfied. The longer his responses to Paige Turner remained on that blog, the more he looked like a jerk who had verbally attacked a woman—not just any woman, but New York’s entertainment guru. As far as his image was concerned he may as well have slapped her across the face.
    The elevator dinged their arrival to the fifth floor. Torrian’s first visit to this office had been two years ago, when he’d first noticed that he couldn’t see as far out of the corner of his left eye. He’d immediately thought of his grandfather who’d eventually gone blind because of some eye disease.
    Torrian had been scared out of his mind. When he finally confessed to Theo, his teammate had made an appointment with his sister. Torrian had been ready to kill him. His biggest fear, even more than the gradually darkening spots, was the idea of the Sabers’ medical staff finding out about the trouble with his vision. He was a wide receiver; hand/eye coordination was the most important aspect of his job. News of his deteriorating vision was equivalent to throwing a contract renewal into a bonfire.
    But Theo promised that Latoya would be discreet. And she had been. Torrian had been to Latoya’s office over a dozen times over the past two years, and they had managed to keep his condition off the front page of the New York Post .
    “Hi, there, honey,” Latoya greeted, walking straight to Torrian and enveloping him in a hug. Her short, natural locks were bound by a red, yellow and white headband that hugged her hairline. “What’s with the face?” she asked.
    “He just got off the phone with Paige Turner,” Theo provided.
    “Ah.” Latoya nodded. “How’d that work out for you?”
    “I had good intentions.” Torrian shrugged a shoulder.
    “Just bad execution?”
    “Horrible execution,” Torrian agreed. “She hung up in my face.”
    “Ouch.” Latoya laughed. “Let’s get started. We won’t have this place to ourselves for very long.”
    For two years Latoya had scheduled his appointments around her partner’s off days and the receptionist’s lunch hour. There wasn’t enough money in the world to pay back his gratitude for her unwavering dedication and discretion.
    Theo’s cell phone started blasting old-school Snoop Dogg. “It’s my agent,” he said. “I’ll take this outside.” He pointed to Torrian. “Try not to piss Paige Turner off while I’m away.”
    Latoya guided Torrian to a massive piece of machinery and he fitted his chin in the concaved chin rest.
    “Tilt your head down just a