Getting up, he went outside to text Rachel.
Jamie
Meet me later?
She answered quickly.
Rachel
9 too late? Work is crazy.
Jamie
You okay?
Rachel
Nothing that good company and a drink won’t cure.????
Jamie
Fortunately, I can provide both.
Meet me at Clancy’s? That way you get both me and Chris.
Rachel
Sure.
Jamie
That sounded enthusiastic.??
Rachel
It’s been a long week. ??
He went back in and rescued Chris from Lottie. They finished their drinks, and he walked her home.
Jamie spent the rest of the day thinking about Didier’s business idea in depth. Sitting down and meditating on it, it didn’t seem as far-fetched as he’d originally thought. He knew a lot of people who relied on his advice. It wouldn’t be a stretch to set himself up to do it professionally. His perspective on winning was in line with athletes—Lord knew the psychiatrists that were hired to help them didn’t always have a full scope—but he figured he could transfer that knowledge to anyone in any situation, professional to personal.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Over dinner, he got Didier and Erik’s thoughts on it. He was so into it that the time passed by quickly, and he needed to go meet Rachel at Clancy’s.
When he walked into the bar, Chris gave him a look. “Twice in one day?”
“I’m conducting all my dates here today,” he said as he sat on a stool.
Chris set a glass on the bar. “At least this time your whiskey is safe from anyone else drinking it.”
He smiled, remembering Lottie’s look of surprise when the MacNiven heat hit her throat. “She liked it.”
“She’s a great lady.” Chris poured a generous portion for him. “She helped my granddad raise me, you know.”
“Rachel vaguely mentioned it.Salute.” He lifted his glass. “Were your parents inabsentia like Rachel’s?”
“No, they didn’t pretend to care like Rachel’s parents did. My dad took off before I was born and my mom left before my first birthday.” He took a rag and began to polish the bar. “I pretty much grew up here at the bar, and at Lottie’s.”
Jamie may have had the complete opposite upbringing—he’d been surrounded by love—but a lot of his teammates had grown up in less than ideal situations at home so he’d seen the havoc wreaked by it. “You were lucky to have Lottie and your grandfather.”