Traded by Lisa Suzanne
CHAPTER 21
It’s early afternoon when I realize I need to get a move on figuring out my plans for Shannon’s bachelorette party. I head toward Jack’s office, where I hear voices inside.
I knock on the door.
“Yeah?” Jack yells.
I open it and find Michelle sitting in the chair across from him. She’s wiping under her eyes, and Jack looks frustrated.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I can come back later,” I say, and I turn to leave when I hear his voice.
“It’s fine,” he says. “We’re done here.”
“No we aren’t,” Michelle protests.
“Uh, yeah, Michelle. We are. I have work to do.”
“Right,” she says. “For your little company.” She sniffles, and then she stands, and it’s like her entire demeanor completely shifts. Gone are the tears, replaced now with...I don’t even know what this is. She points a finger at him. “You better be there.”
He scoffs. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll get Daddy involved.”
He rolls his eyes. “Do what you have to do. Kia and I have some business to discuss, so close your door on the way out.”
It’s his not-so-gentle way of giving her the boot, and she huffs past me on her way out without so much as a glance in my direction.
“What was that about?” I ask once the door slams shut behind her.
He raises his brows and shakes his head as he keeps his eyes down on some paperwork in front of him. “Yet another emotional outburst.”
“Is everything okay?”
He shrugs. “Sure.” He pauses and looks up at me, and his expression is schooled as he gives me a smile. It’s not genuine, though. It doesn’t reach his eyes, and it looks like the one I’ve seen him use with the media after losing a game. “Everything’s great. Can’t wait to marry a master manipulator who brings her father into every argument we have.” He says the last part under his breath, but it’s still loud enough for me to catch.
I can’t tell if he’s just stewing over whatever fight he just had with her or if this is his way of letting me in, but I can’t let this chance get away from me. “Are you in love with her?”
I’m met with silence.
I wait for him to answer, and when I’ve counted to twenty and he still hasn’t, I press a little harder. “Or are you marrying her because you feel like you don’t have a choice?”
“I don’t have a choice,” he finally admits.
“There’s always a choice, Jack,” I say quietly. I tuck my bangs behind my ear. I’m trying to talk him out of doing the very thing Calvin is paying me to get him to do. I’m putting my own job security at risk.
But I need him to know he has an out. My job is to help him make better decisions, right?
Calvin wants me to keep him in check so Jack will marry his daughter and score touchdowns for his team. He’s not really paying me to get inside Jack’s head.
It is quite the love story, though, isn’t it? Quarterback marries the owner’s daughter. It’s the stuff of movies, except in the movie, the couple is actually in love.
“Not for me,” he grits out. “Not when my life has been planned for me.”
My brows dip. “What do you mean?”
He shakes his head. “First it was my own father, and now it’s her father.”
“Tell me more about your father,” I say.
His gaze moves to the window. “He died in October.”
“You mentioned that before,” I say softly. “And I’m so sorry. May I ask what happened?”
“Aneurism. He was here one minute, gone the next.” He snaps his fingers.
“That’s terrible. Is that why your mom moved out here?”
“Yeah.” He nods.
“Is that when your behavior started to change?” I ask, and his eyes dart back to mine in surprise. I tilt my head as I level my gaze at him. “Why does that question surprise you?”
He shrugs. “It’s rare to find someone willing to dig a little deeper. Once you mention a parent’s death, everyone wants to express their condolences and then move onto something else.”
I shrug. “Not me.”
He stares at me a long beat, and I can’t help but try to figure out what he’s thinking. I hope he knows I actually care about him. This isn’t about me being paid to dig a little deeper, as he said. It’s about truly coaching him to make the best choices for himself. “So is that when?” I ask again, trying to get to the bottom of when he started to transition from a dedicated and serious football player into a partying playboy.
“Not really, but it didn’t help.” He leaves it at that.
“Your brother mentioned the will at dinner when he was asking about Michelle. How are the two related?”
He’s frustratingly silent.
“Come on, Jack. Give me something to work with,” I beg.
“Look, Kia,” he says, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.” It’s his easy way of dismissing me, but I don’t budge from my chair. “You can go now.”
I clear my throat. “What kind of work does a football player do in the off season?”
“Real estate,” he says.
“Investing?” I ask.
He nods. “Among other responsibilities, yes. I own a real estate development company, so most of the year I delegate. But when I’m not playing, I sit in with the team I’ve built in my own company.”
“So you have learned to let some control go,” I say.
He chuckles. “To some degree, I guess. I try to put the right people in the right places, but there’s still a lot I need to do.”
I clear my throat and twist my hands in my lap, determined to get out my question before I leave this office. “I, um, I know you’re a busy guy, and since you didn’t give me access to your calendar...”
“Yes?” he asks, drawing out the word as he can see that I’m about to make a request.
“What are your plans Saturday night?” I blurt.
“I’m going out with my boys,” he says.
My chest tightens in disappointment. “Oh,” I say, nodding. “Okay. I’ll have to check with Calvin to see if someone can sit in for me then. Can’t have you running all over town unsupervised.”
“Why?” he asks. “Where will you be?”
“My best friend is getting married next weekend and this weekend is her bachelorette party. I’m a bridesmaid and I completely forgot to ask for the night off when Calvin hired me,” I admit.
“Is your friend a football fan?” he asks with a smirk.
I blow out a breath and decide to go for broke. “My friend is the one who pushed me in front of you on Halloween.”
His jaw slackens a little at that, and I can’t help a little smirk of my own. “She pushed you in front of me?”
I shrug. No sense in lying about it now. “She thought it would give me a shot with you.”
He lifts a brow, clearly a little impressed. “She wasn’t wrong.”
We both laugh, though the stark reminder of our night together sends another pulse between my legs.
“What about Kitty Kate?” he asks out of the blue.
My brows draw together in confusion.
“You know, like Kitty Cat? But with Kate instead.” He tilts his head and twists his lips. “I could go with Kitty Kia.”
“Kia is fine.” My eyes widen as I realize what I just said. “Shit! I mean Kate! My name is Kate!”
He grins at how totally flustered I am, and my cheeks redden with horror.
“Sure it is, Kia.” He nods and gives me a wink, and I just sink back into my chair, completely mortified.
