TATUM
Islid into the car’s back seat and Sam shoved a cup of coffee in my hand. Six o’clock was a painful start time, especially after my flight from Seattle had been delayed. Twice. We didn’t land in Rhode Island until three in the morning.
“Drink your go-go juice and put on a smile. First stop is the hospital, then we’ll go to the facility and sign your contract.”
I took a dutiful sip and grimaced.
“Sorry,” she said without a hint of contrition. “No sugar or cream. Don’t wanna throw your numbers off.” Her eyes never left her phone, fingers flying faster than a concert pianist.
One more reluctant swallow did it for me. I’d rather have a caffeine headache than chew literal coffee beans.
There was nothing glamorous about being traded, especially from a team I’d been with for six seasons.
But my old coaches wanted young blood from the draft, not a thirty-three-year-old receiver with a chip on his shoulder. So, I was released from training camp, traded, and put on a plane to the East Coast to play for Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Red Cocks.
My new mascot was a fucking chicken.
There were two upsides to the move and one downside. The problem was that the sole downside outweighed the upsides.
The first upside was that Gideon and Theo played for the Reds. If this might be my last season, I couldn’t think of a better unit to do it with. The second upside was that the Reds had put a hell of a lot of money on the table to get me on their roster. Sam made sure of that.
My nest egg was looking nice these days.
The downside of moving to Rhode Island: my parents lived within driving distance of the stadium. My dad—and unfortunate namesake—had retired from professional football decades ago and settled in Boston. Mostly so people would still recognize him on the street in his old age. I’d enjoyed living on the West Coast. Having an entire damn country between us was for the best.
Sam had met my folks a time or two, but her job mostly revolved around helping me make money and making sure that people remembered I wasn’t my father.
She slipped her phone into her blazer pocket and craned her neck to see which direction we were going.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. “How long does it take to get there?”
“Ten minutes. Don’t fall asleep.”
A yawn forced its way out of me. Sleep was imminent. “Nap after signing?” I mumbled.
Sam peered at me, the glow of her phone screen illuminating her frown. “If you’re good.”
“Just tell me what I have to do,” I said, yawning as I closed my eyes again.
“Don’t I always?”
Sam was a Jane of all trades. She was primarily my agent and negotiated my contracts alongside my legal counsel. She oversaw sponsorship and endorsement deals and acted as a personal assistant. I trusted her completely. So much so that I let her pick out and buy my house for me so I wouldn’t have to live in a hotel until I found a place.
She was compensated wildly for it.
“If your physical comes back clear, you’ll sign your contract. Mike Williams and Derek Tyson want a face-to-face. Someone will take you on a tour of the facility, then you’re free to get your beauty rest for a couple of hours.” She gave me a condescending sniff and wrinkled her nose. “You should take a shower, too. You smell like an airport.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You sure you don’t wanna marry me? You make my life a hell of a lot better.”
She snorted. “Even if we didn’t play for the same team, I’m way out of your league.”
“Good thing I don’t have to worry about you stealing the ladies from me anymore.”
Her surly demeanor dropped, and she let the faintest of smiles slip as she looked at the brand-new wedding band on her ring finger. “I didn’t know how Em was gonna feel about leaving Seattle, but I think she’s gonna like it out here.”
Sam and her wife, Emily, had tied the knot the week I was released from my old team. But that was life in professional football. Sam hauled ass to Rhode Island to prepare for the trade, and in return, I promised an all-expenses-paid vacation for them both as soon as they could get away. Apparently, Emily had her eye on the Maldives.