‘He’s giving me moral support.’ I stroked the donkey’s soft head like it was a cat.
‘You’re so fucking-‘
‘Charming, funny, dashing, irresistible?’ I supplied.
‘Insufferable.’ She shot me a wan smile and sat on the end of the bed, tucking her legs underneath her, laptop settled on a pillow in front of her.
‘The obvious theme to the book will be football, but it’s not enough to keep people interested,’ she started.
‘Ouch.’ I pressed a hand to my chest in mock hurt. ‘That’s my one true love you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, don’t be precious. You know I’m right.’ She typed something on her screen. ‘Things we’ll need to cover will obviously be how you started and your mentors and such.’
Mentors. The word soured in my stomach.
‘Then, we’ll need to cover your signing to the club and how things started to go uh- downhill?’ It was her attempt at being delicate.
I ripped off the bandaid. ‘You mean the drug addiction allegations and the tendency towards violent outbursts?’
My blunt delivery stunned her for a moment. She composed herself and tapped a frustrated finger on the trackpad. I frowned. I could never anticipate this woman’s reactions. When faced with that statement, most people would either pepper me with questions to try and get me to open up, or backtrack and move the conversation onto safer topics. Fallon, however, seemed aggravated by my facetiousness. Her round face was scrunched up in concentration.
‘I think the best way to set the book up is chronologically. So from your earliest memory of football to now.’ She didn’t look up at me. I stared at her, trying to figure out why she was once again upset with me… or if she evenwasupset.
She typed something, fingers pressing far too violently on the keypad for hernotto be upset.
‘Sure.’
‘Good,’ she said in a clipped voice that sounded like one of my old primary school teachers. ‘I’ll need your father’s and brothers’ numbers so I can call them to verify some stories and maybe get a commentary. Family should be a big draw. Reformed playboy goes back to his roots, that kinda thing.’
I shook my head firmly. ‘You’re not speaking to my family.’
At this, Fallon popped her head up from the screen. ‘Why not? They’ll need to be in the book. You can hardly talk about your life and leave your family out of it.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘Well, you’re gonna have to try a bit harder then.’
She gave a disbelieving laugh. When she saw I wasn’t kidding, her smile dropped. ‘You’re serious.’
‘Only when I need to be.’
Fallon took a deep breath, clearly preparing to launch into a speech about why my family was integral to this process. But I would be damned if my life choices would bring my dad and brother more pain. They’ve been through enough. I held up my hand to cut her off.
‘Either leave them out of it, or we’re done.’ I swung my legs off the bed and stood up, tossing the donkey unceremoniously on the floor.
Fallon slammed her laptop closed. Eyes blazing with fury. I knew she wanted to reach down and pick up the stuffed toy, but she tempered the urge and focused her ire on me instead.
‘That’s not how this works. This whole thing wasmyidea foryourbenefit. All I’m asking for is that you cooperate a little.’
My lips curled in a cruel smile. ‘Don’t pretend you’re doing me some grand favour. Your interest in writing this book is entirely self-serving.’
She opened her mouth to object, but I carried on. I had never been able to stop myself when something got under my skin, hence why I was even in this position in the first place.
‘If you can’t find a way to leave my family out of it, I’ll find someone who can. And they’ll at least have more experience than an unstable employee who can’t take being fired with an ounce of grace.’
Fallon reared back like she’d been slapped.
Regret immediately slammed into me. She tensed, jutting her chin in the air.
Her lips thinned, voice turning to ice. ‘Fine.’
