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“Kate did say you’d be calling,” I tell him, shaking off the stunned feeling. People are really going that crazy right now? I take a breath and level with Chance. “I need you to know, Cass and I are not dating. We can barely stand one another.”
“Okay. Fine. Now, I want to talk to you about some offers.”
“Did you hear me, Chance?”
“I heard you. That really doesn’t matter. The fact is you’re a hot commodity right now. Whether it’s real news or fake news, you’re going to take this ride for what it's worth.”
I sigh.
“Look, Marcus. I’m a good agent.”
“The best.”
“Yeah, well, on my best day, I can't make these sorts of things happen for a player. It's what I want for every man I represent." He pauses. "Almost every man. Anyway ... for you, Marcus, this is your moment. You went from brands shying away after the playoffs to me getting more calls for you in a morning than I have for all my other clients combined in this past week.
“This kind of publicity has a long tail. When your elbow gives out, or you've had enough of the game and you're still too young to be a grandpa? That's when people start asking, ‘What's next for this player?’ And your answer will be written in stone. You want to know what that answer will be?”
I humor him. “What? What will it be?”
“It will be whatever Marcus Delaney wants. He's Marcus Delaney. You want to be the kind of name that goes on long after your cleats hit the turf? You take this opportunity and run it into the end zone.”
Thunder Tea
Jaxon: What’d I tell you, Delaney? You and O’Connell might be brothers one day.
Me: Get a hobby, Pierce.
Jaxon: I have a hobby.
Me: Really?
Jaxon: Messing with you. That’s my hobby.
Treyvon: Walked right into that one, QB.
Me: True. True.
Me: Who renamed the text thread?
Trey: Not me.
Jaxon: It was Trey.
Me: No tea to spill.
Trey: I’ll be the judge of that.
Lincoln: Shanay cannot stop talking about your girl, Delaney. She’s got a girl-crush on her. And she’s stalking all the photos of the two of you online.
Me: Yeah. Cass and Shanay seemed to get along.
Treyvon: So, she is your girl?
Me: Hobbies, gentlemen. Hobbies.
Lincoln: Despite my almost single-minded focus on our upcoming season, my show is on.
Me: What show?
