“I’m surprised you’re here, Elizabeth, being as cutting-edge as you are. I would think you knew all there was to know about agenting. Of course you have suffered a couple of setbacks recently, haven’t you? So maybe a refresher is in order.”
Prick. How she’d love to dig one of her stilettos deep into his balls. “Oh, I’ve more than made up for anything I might have allegedly lost, Don. But thank you for your concern.”
“Always need to stay on your toes. And look over your shoulder.”
She offered up a smug smile. “So should you.”
He gave her a condescending laugh. “I don’t have anything to worry about. I keep my clients happy.”
She patted his arm. “You keep thinking that, Don. Lovely talking to you, as always.”
She brushed past him, not interested in playing the game of one-upmanship with him. He’d taken more than enough of her time already, as well as her clients. He could be as smug as he wanted to be, but payback was a bitch and Elizabeth had a long memory for those who had screwed her over. Granted, Mick had fired her, and he had a right to select another agent. But did he have to go with the one person Elizabeth hated the most?
Mick had done that on purpose.
“Elizabeth!”
She heard her name and turned, searched across the crowded hotel lobby and waved at Victoria Baldwin, one of the few other female sports agents she knew. She waved at Tori and they headed toward each other.
“Ugh. This place is a nightmare of testosterone,” Tori said. “I’m barely surviving with my uterus intact.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. Do you have time for lunch?”
Tori pulled out her phone and punched a few buttons, checked her calendar, then lifted her gaze back to Elizabeth. “Yes. The next workshop I want to attend isn’t until one. I’m starving and my feet are killing me.” She looped her arm around Elizabeth’s. “What I wouldn’t give to do this conference in my sweatpants and bunny slippers.”
Elizabeth arched a brow. “Somehow I can’t see you trading in your Louboutins for pink bunny slippers.”
Since the lunch crowd hadn’t yet piled in, they were seated right away at a table. Tori fell into her chair and kicked off her shoes. “Oh, honey, you’d be surprised how schlumpy I am when I work at home. I was serious about the fluffy slippers. You, on the other hand, probably live in heels.”
Elizabeth offered a sly smile. “I do love my heels. Probably because I’m always on the defense and have to prove that I’m a woman.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Tori smoothed back tendrils of her mink brown hair and tucked them behind her ear.
The woman was absolutely gorgeous. In her early forties, she’d sacrificed a husband and family for her career. When she came on the scene as a green college graduate, Elizabeth had done her best to emulate Victoria Baldwin’s drive for success. Even though Tori worked for a competing agency, she’d taken Elizabeth under her wing and shared many secrets about being a woman working in a predominantly male field.
Elizabeth adored her.
“God forbid we should dress comfortably around these sharks. We have to work three times as hard as they do to be taken half as seriously. It’s a jungle and getting worse all the time. But in sports agenting and attracting the young up and comers, at least the boobs come in handy.”
Elizabeth snorted. “And you certainly have those.”
Tori accepted the glass of iced tea the waiter brought. They ordered their lunch, then Tori leaned forward. “Look, honey, I’ve got almost ten years on you, age wise, so I’ve got to use whatever is in my arsenal to secure the talent, you know?”
“Tori, you’re also one of the most savvy agents I know. You paved the way for women to get into this business. You showed us how to bully our way in and force the men to accept us, showed us that sports was a field we could master and that it wasn’t owned by the men.”
Tori shrugged. “Thanks, Liz, but it’s still a battle. A lot of the young guys still want to sign with a man.”
Elizabeth narrowed her gaze. “Oh, come on, Tori. You must need a nap because that’s the biggest line of bullshit there is, and you’re the one who taught me that. Athletes want to sign with an agent who’s going to get them the best deal. And we’ll get them the best deal. Besides, we’re prettier and we smell better. And then there are the boobs.”
Tori laughed. “You’re absolutely right. I’m just having a hellish day. I should be having a cocktail instead of an iced tea.”
“I can fix that.” Elizabeth signaled for the waiter, and they ordered martinis. “We’ll drink to women agents kicking ass. I’ve had a particularly hellish few months myself.”
“I heard that asshole Don Davis took some clients from you.”
“Well, one was my own damn fault because I was blind and stupid. The other followed because of Mick’s name, I’m pretty sure.”