“If you’re messing with that arm again, I’ll call your fiancée and inform her you require supervision. Something tells me she’s quite the disciplinarian.”
“Don’t bother her unless I’m dead,” I snapped. “The arm’s fine. Just pushed it a bit too far.”
“You’re going to push yourself right out of another Super Bowl ring if you’re not careful.”
I dropped into a plank rather than argue with him.
“We’ll talk later this week,” Jakobi said. “Before I let you go—what’s the story with the sister? Ines. She’s lovely—and fascinating. Brilliant. She’s the engineer who needed the summer gig, yes?”
I dropped my head between my arms and groaned. “She’s twenty-two.”
“I figured as much.” He murmured to himself. Probably justifying a twelve-year age gap with something about women maturing more quickly. They certainly matured more quickly than former NFL running backs. “Would it be a problem if I?—”
“She’s Gary Rockwell’s daughter.”
“Well, fuck.” He huffed out a laugh. Gary was a nice guy but he was a fucking train wreck. It was one of the worst kept secrets in pro sports. “You always know when he’s in big trouble with a bookie because he starts showing up on all the networks for color commentary.”
I sat back on my knees for a moment before starting the next plank. “He’s not around much but I’ve heard he’s protective of Ines.”
“Not nearly enough if he let his daughter live in that moldy attic your fiancée called an apartment.”
“Now do you understand why I wanted to buy the building?”
After a moment, he asked, “Are you seriously warning me off from her?”
I stared at the mat as I counted to sixty. Jakobi could wait for his answer. “I’m warning you to be on your best behavior. Ines is—special.”
“You don’t think I noticed that?”
“Listen, man, a lot of things happened today. I’m not making assumptions about a fuckin’ thing. I’m just trying to keep my head above water.” I blew out a rough breath as I settled in for another sixty seconds. “She’s also trained in the art of kung fu so I might not have to kick your ass if you fuck it up. She’ll do it for me.”
A deep laugh rumbled across the line. “I’d savor the opportunity.”
Before I could think better of it, I added, “She wants to learn to play the harp.”
“Interesting. I can work with that.” I heard the shuffle of papers and then, “Just look at us. Teammates yesterday, business partners today, brothers-in-law tomorrow.”
“Are you drunk or high?” I sat back on my knees. “You met her today. You talked to her for a maximum of fifteen minutes.It’s early to lose your head. Find out if she’s remotely interested first.”
“Ah, but that’s where you and I differ.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t think I care but what the fuck are you talking about?”
“I see what I want and I go for it. I see the win before the game even starts and I put everything into clinching it,” he said. “You see what you want and spend fifteen years running down the clock. You wait until the win is in sight.”
“A win is a win,” I said, annoyed to find any shred of accuracy in his words.
“Come on, now. We both know that’s not true.”
I didn’t say anything. I just knew I’d do anything for that win.
chapter eighteen
Emme
Today’s Learning Objective:
Students will keep the wheels turning.
