Senior Year Box Set

“The sad part is people seem to care. If I was some regular guy, I could be getting all the tail I wanted, and it wouldn’t get splashed all over the Internet.”

“Don’t start whining to me. You wouldn’t trade what you have for anything. Just own it and start making better decisions,” Ashley coached.

She and Uncle John would make a formidable team. I probably needed to hang out with her more and maybe listen to her advice.

“Okay. I promise not to get into any more threesomes for the rest of the trip.”

Ashley shook her head in wonder at my greatness.

“You would make a fantastic lawyer with that example of BS.”

“You do remember who my mother is, right? I don’t plan on having you able to use my words against me for eternity,” I explained.

“Fair enough. But know that if you teach my boys that little technique, you and I will have words.”

More likely, they would learn it out of self-defense, like I had. Then Ashley changed the subject.

“I got an interesting call today.”

“Am I supposed to guess?” I asked.

“Poker Hack called. They want to sponsor me.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked.

Poker Hack was an online poker school that had recently popped up. They’d filled my spam folder with offers to teach me to be a better player.

“The way it was explained to me is they’re looking for five up-and-coming poker players to represent them. The woman I talked to saw footage of me playing last weekend. She liked my style of play and said I was someone they wanted to help support. Poker Hack wants to pay me to enter televised tournaments, wear their gear, and do some teaching videos for their online poker school.

“Basically, they would pay my entry fees, provide hotels, and give me some pocket money for the summer,” she explained.

I could see the allure of having someone pay me to play poker for the summer.

“Are you thinking about doing it?” I asked.

“I don’t know. There’s a lot to work out. I have to think about Allen and Dawson. Do you realize that this week has been the first time I’ve been away from them since they were born?”

“Mom said they’re doing well. They have all their siblings to keep them entertained, and Duke loves them.”

She gave me a strange look.

“I guess I should’ve realized you’d be keeping tabs on them.”

I laughed.

“Remember, I am their dad. I do check in on them,” I said to defend myself.

“My bad. If I’d thought about it, I would have known that. Sorry.”

“Ashley, take our boys out of the equation. Everyone is moving to Malibu this summer, and there will be plenty of help to take care of them. All the little ones will be together with plenty of mommies to love them and distract them while you play cards. This might be a good time to see how good you really are. Try it for a few weekends. It’s not like you wouldn’t be home during the week,” I reasoned.

“You think I should tell them yes?”

“I saw you play and how you handled yourself at the table. I would put you up against any of the pros I saw. If you can stand up to the abuse Harry Smyth was dishing out and prevail, I’m confident you can do this. You created a buzz because everyone was trying to figure out who you were. I overheard the commentators and other poker players say good stuff about you and your game. I’m sure that’s what Poker Hack saw. They want to help you find out how good you can be, and then they can claim your success is partially due to them,” I said.

“Thanks, David. I’m glad we talked about this. I was going to turn them down, but now I’m starting to think it can work out. At least I can do it a few times and see what happens. If the boys have a meltdown, I can forget it for now,” Ashley said.

“Something to keep in mind: if they want you to sign a contract or anything, get it to Scarlet and let her send it to Ms. Dixon. Her firm has entertainment lawyers that can protect your interests.”

Ashley smiled and nodded.

“I’ll do that.”

“We good?” I asked.

She nodded. I looked at my group and saw the telltale signs of jet lag.

“I suggest we call it a night,” I announced.

Everyone agreed.

◊◊◊

Chapter 14 – You Try to be Helpful Saturday April 1

My cab dropped me off at Adrienne’s building, where I discovered she’d left the apartment key for me with the doorman and that Paul had dropped off my bags. I must still have been partially on Eastern European time because I was awake at four in the morning. I forced myself to go to sleep but only made it to six. With so little sleep, I had no doubt that I would adjust to the time change quickly.

I slipped out of the condo so I wouldn’t wake anyone, walked downstairs, and stretched in the lobby before going for my run. Once out on the sidewalk, I set a brisk pace with the intention of doing a quick run. The city was waking up, and I saw a mix of people out, either getting their morning coffee or headed to work. It looked like it would be a beautiful day. I couldn’t imagine going to the office on a Saturday when you could be outside in the spring weather.