The next day, I was at my agent's office.
He had the society pages of the morning newspaper in his hands, rolled up like he was about to swat a dog on the nose with it. He did, however, hit his desk with it, stood, and started to pace back and forth.
I watched for a beat. "Can I ask what's wrong?"
Rob finally unfurled the newspaper, showing the sports section. On the front page was, of course, the article about the party last night. Especially prominent was the photo of me with Eden, posing with some of the other guys from the team. I recognized myself with Eddie Newton, Tony Williams, and Andre White.
He unfolded the society section of the same newspaper, showing a photo of just me with Eden.
I looked up at Rob and said, "You have a point?"
Rob leaned his butt against his mahogany desk. "Yeah, I sure as hell do. Who the hell is this girl?"
"Her name is Eden Cherry."
"I read her name, thank you, Tyler. I meant, who is she?"
"Rob, you know her. I've introduced you to her."
"Yeah. I know. You guys look pretty cozy."
I said, "Yeah. And..."
"Just please, tell me you aren't getting ready to marry this girl?"
I looked at him. "Dude, one, what's wrong with her, and two, do you know me to be the marrying type?"
With a slow grin, Rob said, "No. I don't guess I do."
"Good. Now please tell me, what's wrong with Eden?"
Rob suddenly put the papers down, draped his arm around my shoulder, and led me to the door. "Never mind, Tyler. I've got a potential client coming in, so I'm afraid you have to go."
I said, "Okay."
Rob opened his door. "Just don't do anything crazy with this girl. And let me know if you need anything."
"Don't worry, I won't be getting married any time soon."
Rob said, "Better not," and closed the door.
)
