Jackie chuckled softly. “PJ, don’t rehire me because Marilyn threatened you about the loss of funds. Or because of Antonio. Do it because you trust me to take care of your career. Do it because you think I’m the best person for the job.”
“You definitely are. You’re the only one who is gonna call me out on my shit. No cap. You’re tiny, but you really be popping off on people,” PJ mused.
Jackie laughed, the remaining iciness in her demeanor finally thawing. “I’ve been told that a time or two.” PeeWee ran over, rubbing his head against her leg. Somehow, he always knew when to come and comfort her, giving her some gentle reassurance. She pulled out a ball from her pocket and threw it for PeeWee, who went off to fetch it. “As for your dad,” Jackie began, “I don’t need to be part of any more gossip rags or causing any drama. Maybe we’re just meant to be friends.”
“Or you and my dad could just smash, like—”
“Ugh.” Jackie frowned. “Please don’t saysmashandmy dadin the same sentence. What is wrong with you?”
“Yeah, he told me we needed to work on boundaries,” PJ laughed, running his hand through his locs. “My bad.”
“By the way, if I’m going to be your agent, I’m going to need you to stay out of trouble. I can’t sell a Rookie of the Year candidate who does reckless shit. Got it? Use this suspension to really think about next steps. How you’re going to move forward.”
PJ shook his head. “I got it. Trust me. I’m heading down to spend time with my grandparents at their farm in Richmond for Christmas, since I’m missing the game. It was Dad’s idea, but coach said it was cool. I’ll get to know them better. They seem excited, especially my grandma, who kept asking me about my favorite foods. I’m probably gonna put on ten pounds. They’re even cutting the second half of their tour of African countries short for me. And I don’t even know them like that.”
“Well, when people love you—truly love you—they’ll move heaven and earth for you,” Jackie said. “I need you to remember that next time you find yourself in a sticky situation. You need to keep your head on a swivel, kid. You can’t trust everyone out here. You can’t party with everyone. That’s how you end up in situations with folks like India. But there are people who have your back. Feel me?”
“I know. Dad said the same thing. You know India is out here running her mouth to the blogs, trying to say I was wilding out, yelling when we were pulled over. How she was so scared.”
Jackie knew all about that. India Inkwell had been on a media blitz, capitalizing on her fifteen minutes of infamy. It was funny how she didn’t mention how she’d had enough Percocet on her to knock out an elephant, but Jackie knew that she was trying to spin a drama-filled story to boost herself up. Probably to land a spot on a reality television show. Jackie sighed. “I’m sure Dedrick will send her a cease-and-desist real soon. That’ll end all of that.”
“Oh, he’s on it. Thanks for hooking me up with him. He’s good peeps. He got my case reduced to community service, which is good. Gotta do some school appearances around drunk driving for the next eighteen months.”
Jackie smiled. “You’re welcome. Good people attract good people, usually.”
“Yeah, You good people, too, Jackie.” PJ gave Jackie a half-hug.
PeeWee ran over with the ball, wet and soggy in his mouth, placing it at Jackie’s feet.
“Yo, is that a CAU sweater he has on?” PJ bent down, rubbing PeeWee’s head. “That’s fly as hell!”
“Yeah,” Jackie said. “Custom-made. It is fly. So is the person who picked it out.”
PJ stopped rubbing PeeWee’s head. “Wait, don’t tell me…damn, that man really is down bad,” he chuckled. “You do know he’s allergic to dogs, right?”
“What?” In all their conversations about PeeWee, Antonio had never mentioned an allergy.
“When I asked him if he wanted to come to the dog park with me, he said no, he’s too allergic,” PJ looked at Jackie with a smile. “I was hoping he had a reason to make an exception. He would, you know.”
“He doesn’t have to do all of that.”
“Trust me,” PJ said. “Dad would do anything for you.”
Jackie thought about the relationships she’d had. So often, she’d had to shrink herself. She was too much—or sometimes not enough. With Katrice, she’d lost sight of who she was and literally lost her mind. With Antonio, she’d never once felt that way.
Maybe she could learn to make a few exceptions too.
Jackie took the last sip of her coffee. “In the meantime,” she began. “I’ll talk to these companies. Sort things out during your suspension.”
“Oh my God! Thank you, Jackie, for real.” PJ gave her a full hug this time, engulfing her in his long arms.
“You’re…choking…me,” Jackie said, laughing somewhere under PJ’s armpit. He quickly released her, checking her over to see if she was alright.
“My bad,” PJ said. “But will you talk to my dad?”
Jackie let out a breath in the chilly air. “When I find the right words to say, I will.”
“Promise?” PJ asked.
