He pulls his phone out of his pocket, tapping on the screen and unlocking it. He slides it toward me.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Something we all should’ve discussed when he got drafted—an NDA.”
Aunt Faye leans over me. “A what?”
“A non-disclosure agreement,” I grit out, remembering all the disgusted murmurs at my first and only brunch with the Knights’ WAGs when the quarterback’s wife said she was signing one after a “silly Miami fight.”
“He wants to shut me up. He wants to bury my story.”
Blake chuckles as his phone screen goes black. “Let’s not be dramatic. I just think this is what’s best for all parties involved.”
Uncle Kenny shakes his head. “I don’t understand. If you’re trying to say it never happened, then why would she even need to sign something? I don’t like where this is going.”
“Ken, what I’m saying is that some strangers are now privy to the intimate details of Lovie and AJ’s relationship, whether it’s on or off right now. What we want to do is stop anyone else from potentially getting involved.”
“So you’re confirming that youdidknow about the abuse and never thought to pick up the phone and call us?” Uncle Kenny asks. “Is that what you’re saying in so many words?”
There’s that ugly word again—abuse.
My mouth grows dry.
“I’m protecting your niece and future nephew-in-law from a media firestorm. I’m doing my job as AJ’s agent and getting ahead of whatever might come because my client and his fiancée are young and impulsive. How many times has Lovie saidthey’ve broken up only for them to get right back together? This shit should’ve been done a long time ago, man.”
Blake’s mask is slipping. That good ole’ wanna-be “southern boy” act melts right off of him.
He taps the dark screen on his phone and drags his finger until three signature lines appear—one for me, one for Uncle Kenny, and one for Aunt Faye.
“We…we can’t sign that without a lawyer or somebody here,” Aunt Faye says.
I yank my hand out of her hold. “I’m not signing that. I don’t care if a lawyer is here or not.”
Uncle Kenny buries his head in his hands. “This…this has gotten out of control.”
“It has,” Blake replies, nudging the phone. “And this is how you exert control, Ken. This is how you stay one step ahead of everybody else and protect your family. Remember, you told me that was the most important thing to you in that suite in Dallas? You said you were just a simple man—you just wanted to make sure the bills were paid and your wife and her niece were safe.”
Uncle Kenny looks up, swiping his bald head. “What if we don’t sign?”
Blake sits back in his seat, blowing out a breath. “Well…there’s a lot that can happen if you don’t. Shit, what’s already happened is enough. People are already talking. Like I said, I paid a visit to that little agency that bought Lovie her plane ticket home. I sat down with the girl who roped her into that place and convinced her that getting them involved was a good idea.”
He glances over at me and snorts. “Yesenia.”
“If you threatened to do anything to her, I swear?—”
“Oh, she didn’t even give me a chance to do or say anything beforeshethreatened me. She said she could ruin AJ’s career with one hot tip to WAG Watch.” He shakes his head. “Ken, if y’all don’t sign and Lovie decides she wants to go public withthese claims, it’s gonna be the world against Lovie. And Lovie is a sweet girl, but we both know she ain’t got the heart for internet trolls accusing her of lying, Knights’ fans blaming her for another damn lackluster season, or AJ’s robust legal team going after her for defamation. She won’t survive it, and I don’t think you and Faye will either. So she can sign this and keep what’s transpired between her and AJ close to the vest unless she wants some real deal legal trouble. Then she can get some therapy for whatever trauma she’s been carrying. Ultimately, this NDA is what’s best to protect Lovie from herself. She’s already shown a lapse in judgment by involving these outside folks, now look at the trickle-down effect.”
Uncle Kenny lets out a deep sigh while glancing at me as if I ruined something precious.
I want to scream, but I can’t. All of my words are caught in that bile in the back of my throat, and even if they come out, I don’t think they’ll change anything. All of it is futile—just like when I tried to hold Rich’s future inside of me. Nothing I have to say matters because they’re all talking for me.
“I…” Uncle Kenny sighs.
“We’re only here for the week, Ken. When I leave, this deal leaves too.”
“I don’t know about this, Blake. Faye is right. We need to talk about this first as a family and then get us a lawyer who can look this over. I don’t believe in signing nothing without reading it either.”
“Ken, look, AJ told me about the trouble you’re having at the gym—about the industrial AC unit you need and a few other odds and ends that need to be taken care of, like missing punching bags.” He waves his hand. “We can get all that to you and write it off under the AJ Boyd Foundation while the kids work through this tiff. No problem.”
