Page 106 of Holding Penalty

“Damn right I worked hard! And I finally found you a big-money sponsorship, just like you wanted—and trust me, this is big money—and guess what? I’m your agent. I get a cut of the deals I broker for you. And I’m damn sure not missing out on my commission for this one, knowing how hard I worked for it.”

I take a deep breath, my own guilt rendering an inarguable judgment against me. Colson’s right. It’s gonna be a pain in the ass going through with all the shit I’m going to have to do, but I can’t back out now.

I sigh. “You’re right, Colson. I’m sorry.” I try to summon some enthusiasm. “Alright, talk to me about this deal.”

“It’s a highly visible endorsement deal.”

An eyebrow rises. Something inside me doesn’t like the sound of it. “Highly visible?”

“Billboards and a major social media ad campaign.”

“Well, what am I endorsing?”

I can almost hear Colson’s smile through the phone. “You’re gonna love this …”

Hoots and whistles from my teammates greet me when I approach them on the runway. We’re about to board our flight to the next away game.

“Turn around and let us get a look at that world-famous ass,” Hayden catcalls.

I glare at him and mutter under my breath, “Damn it, Colson.”

“I can’t believe they let that billboard go up on the highway,” Adriano piles on. “It’s guaranteed to cause some crashes by distracted drivers.”

“I won’t lie,” Cooper says. “You made those jeans look so good I bought myself a pair.”

“I thought I was the only one,” Noah joins in.

Vaughn would normally at least roll his eyes and grunt at everyone else’s ridiculousness, but he’s so distracted right now that he just stands apart, staring into blank space. I can’t imagine what’s been going through his mind the last couple weeks.

Having a five-year-old son you never even knew about, and the mother breaking the news at the exact same time she tells you she’s giving him up and he’s all yours to take care of now. I mean, fuck. No one blames him for how badly he’s played since that day.

Reflecting on it makes me forget my own problems for a moment.

But just for a moment, because when I take my first step up the stairway that leads to the jet, Adriano whistles behind me.

“Now there’s the butt that’s been seen by all of Austin.”

“All of the world,” Hayden adds, holding out his phone to show everyone the Instagram ad that just popped up on his feed.

I scowl as I’m confronted with a high-definition close-up photo of my own backside clad in a pair of Country Way blue jeans.

Country Way is a newly established clothing company trying to get a foothold in the market, and they’ve been advertising aggressively for the last couple years. They’re the company Colson landed me an endorsement deal with. And this is how they’re using me.

I can’t escape pictures of my ass in those jeans. On the internet, in print media around the city, on a giant billboard that dominates the highway. At least they’re not doing broadcast commercials.

And at least every time Piper sees them, she gets a little frisky.

If I were the kind of guy who finds it natural to call a glass half full, I’d focus on that aspect of it. But for now, having my ass plastered everywhere for the entire city to feast their eyes on still makes my stomach curl with embarrassment.

On the plane, I take a seat next to Vaughn. He’s still lost in thought, his gaze blunt and distant as he doesn’t even stare out the window, but into the backrest of the seat in front of him.

“How’s the new nanny working out?” I ask him.

When Vaughn told the team about Aiden, management immediately went to work hiring a nanny for him, on the team payroll.

The first one didn’t work out, because she ignored her phone too often and Vaughn couldn’t contact them at will. Fair enough. The guy’s a new dad and he’s freaking out.

Now we’re onto the second one. And by the look on Vaughn’s face as he shakes his head, I think we’ll be onto the third pretty soon.