But what would he be doing at a Rams team rally?
Something was definitely going on here… which was really none of my business. I turned around and headed back in the direction where Jaden was.Hewas my story, not shady characters in hoodies doing handoffs.
Allan would flip if he knew my full focus wasn’t on Jaden’s feature. I could hear his voice in my mind:This is a Massachusetts story. Jaden is from Massachusetts. Make me proud, Montgomery.
Yesterday evening, I spoke with him, and he outright told me, “Get this right, Montgomery, and you’ll be sitting pretty on the best stories like Walt.”
I wasn’t sure if he was just trying to sweeten me up, but that was what I wanted.
“I’m going to focus on what I came here to do,” I whispered as I power-walked back to my subject. But still, I glanced over my shoulder. What if I got a story not even my boss could deny was journalism gold?
I nibbled my lower lip, fighting that side of me that wanted to dig until I either found something or didn’t.
“Dammit, I’m going to dig.” Ineededto. Between shadowing Jaden, of course.
11
LINCOLN
“So, I threw her the ball, right? I mean a real throw. I put effort into it because she told me to. And she caught the damn thing!” Jaden shook his head. “Like a regular wide receiver. Then she pretended to score a goal and did this cute little dance. The guys went crazy. She’s freaking cool, man.”
I sat back in my office chair and listened to Jaden with mild annoyance. Hearing him sing praises about Ava was making me uncomfortable. Not that I minded him—or anyone else—taking a liking to her. Who wouldn’t? It was the fact that Iknewhow amazing she was. I didn’t need secondhand accounts of it.
Plus, a small part of me—an illogical part—was jealous. Ava was all smiles with Jaden and the team but practically snarled whenever she saw me. It irked me to the bone. I wanted to be the recipient of her sweet smile again. Fool that I was, I ruined that privilege a long time ago.
“You should have seen her,” he said.
I shrugged. “I couldn’t stick around. Sorry I missed it.”
“And her arm,” he whistled. “Straight cannon. She swears she doesn’t know football, but she dropped that spiral like she’sbeen training since middle school. I’m like—where did that even come from?”
My jaw tightened.Itaught her. We had some good times back in the day. Long before we got together romantically, Ava usually tagged along behind her brother and me. I taught her how to throw a football, how to change a car tire, how to check the oil in her car… We’d always been a part of each other’s lives, and now she fucking hated me. The more Jaden went on about how incredible Ava was, the more depressed I got.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I stopped him. “Jaden.”
He got quiet.
“Did you come here to go on about a journalist you like or to hear about that potential brand deal? Because I did it. You’re in.”
He jumped up from the chair he occupied in front of my desk and held out a hand. We did that handshake he’d gotten me into. “My man! I knew you’d see it through.” He sat back down. “But we’re talking about Ava right now.”
My jaw dropped. This brand deal was hard to get for someone so fresh on the scene. It was worth millions, and he wanted to keep talking about Ava…
“She’s low-key the real MVP, right?”
My eyebrows scrunched together. “You mean that literally…?”
“I mean, she’sfire. A certified baddie.”
I stared at him blankly. Conversing with some of my Gen Z clients could be challenging. Did they even speak English anymore?
“Is that a good thing?” I asked.
“Yeah, man! She’s gorgeous—wifey material. Right?”
“Erm… yeah... certified baddie, alright. I don’t know what this has to do with your brand deal,” I added, trying to swerve the topic to business.
Jaden threw his head back and groaned. “Geez,Linc. You’re not getting it. I’m trying to set you on, man. Ava isthatgirl. You should shoot your shot.” He smirked. “I tried, but she’s not into younger dudes.”
