“What’s this about?” I demand from Jack. Lincoln grabs a chair from the circular table in the corner where I signed my paperwork when I was traded to this team and pulls it over so he’s sitting next to me.
Jack studies me for a few beats. He steeples his hands in front of his mouth, leaning forward a bit, and then he leans back in his chair. “When I was first traded to the Vegas Aces from Denver, I didn’t want to be here. It was the one place in the world I didn’t want to be. Calvin Bennett owned the team at that time, and I’d gotten his daughter pregnant. I knew the main reason he wanted me here, aside from my skillset, was so he could push me closer to his daughter. And so he hired me a babysitter when I got to town. I’ll be honest. I hated the very idea of it. He called it a behavioral coach, but I knew it for what it was. A way for him to keep his thumb on me. He threatened me with bench time if I didn’t do things his way. I hated his very guts for the way he treated me.”
“And now you’re doing the same thing to me?” I guess. Why the speech telling me how much he hated it if he’s going to do the same thing to me?
He huffs out a chuckle. “Not exactly. I’m not siccing a babysitter on you to keep you under my thumb. I’m helping you rebrand because the Vegas Aces are in desperate need of a strong leader. Hudson, Fletcher…they’re great guys, but we needyou. As the starting quarterback, there’s a hell of a lot that rests on your shoulders. You haven’t bonded with your teammates. You haven’t bothered getting to know anyone in this town. You’ve spent the last two weeks holed up in your condo, treating Robbie like shit while he was there and exiting once to go on a tirade about a teammate.”
“Dex had it coming after what he did to me,” I hiss.
He raises his hand. “And he’s gotten his own punishment for his part. That’s not what this is about. What I need from you is a change. I need you to rethink your brand, the image you’re projecting to the world. The legacy you want to leave behind. Because right now, people see Maverick Jennings and they think, wow, his stats are great, but what kind of mark is he leaving behind? Numbers are important, and right now, to you at least, they might be everything. But there’s life beyond this game, too. And once you’re unable to continue playing, what will that life consist of?”
“So you’re doing all this to set me up for retirement?” I ask bluntly.
Jack sighs and shakes his head. “No, Mav. I’m doing this for you. For your teammates. For you to get involved in this community. For you to figure out what your core message is and what campaigns we need to execute to help deliver that message. And that’s what Everleigh is here for. She’ll essentially be your shadow for the next year, assisting with engagements, speaking on your behalf for press releases, creating a social media strategy, connecting with your agent on partnerships and collaborations, that sort of thing.”
“I have a publicist who does that already,” I protest.
“Consider a pay reduction for that person, then, because they’re not doing a great job,” Jack mutters.
“Look, Mav,” Lincoln says, stepping in. “One of the most important tenets of our team is character. Accountability, discipline, preparation. Ranting about your teammate doesn’t fit into that. Volunteering in the community? That does. Attending charity events? Yes, absolutely. Is it okay to get into a little trouble every now and then? I wouldn’t condone it, but it happens. Is it okay to act the way you have been? Not in the least. If you decide you don’t want to cooperate, we’ll have no choice but suspension.”
I sit back in my chair. Suddenly, my ribs feel like they’re aching. My head is throbbing.
I don’t want any part of any of this, but one thing Jack said keeps pulsing in my brain.
There’s life beyond the game.
I’ve never considered that. I’ve spent my entire life putting my all into football. In the back of my mind, I know that this career is fleeting. It’s finite. It has an end date stamped upon it even if I don’t know what that end date is just yet.
And what mark am I leaving?
I have a terrible reputation.
But I like it that way. It lets me do my fucking job. It encourages people to leave me alone.
I wasn’t always like this, but I am now.
The last thing I need is some gorgeous woman following me around.
“On that note,” Jack says, “I’ll have Lily ask you each a few questions and draft a schedule. I’ll need you working together on a daily basis starting today so Everleigh can get to know you and start drafting out the brand rebuild.”
I press my lips together. It feels like everything is spinning out of my control.
“She hit on me the other night,” I say, tossing a thumb in her direction.
She gasps as her jaw drops. “I did no such thing!”
“Have you two met before?” Jack asks.
She nods. “Yes, we were at the same casino the other night, and I thought it was him, so I said hello.”
“She shot her shot,” I say, my lips curling. “But I walked away.”
Her face flushes, and Jesus, she’s pretty.
“He’s fabricating a story so he can get out of this,” she says, pursing her lips at me. She looks back at Jack. “We talked for all of thirty seconds, and I must have left an impression ifhe recognized me since it was a quick chat. He got up and walked away when I asked him how he felt about being in Vegas.”
Lincoln’s brows rise. “Sounds to me like it was innocent enough.”
