BY THE TIME I grab a few of my things and get to Trent’s, I’m exhausted. It’s only two in the afternoon, but all I want to do is collapse onto a bed and sleep for the next week. However, in honor of being a decent house guest, I force myself to stay awake as Trent and I sit in the living room and drink a beer.
He tells me more about the school he teaches at, Haven Grace Prep. To be honest, it sounds like my own personal hell: a place filled with spoiled brats who think that because their parents are rich, it means they have some kind of upper hand. I’ve met a few trust-fund kids in my time, and the worst thing about them is that there is nothing you can say to pop their false security bubble. Not a single one of them is prepared for the real world, and it’s bound to eat them alive.
“I don’t know how you do it,” I tell him. “You couldn’t pay me enough to deal with all that nonsense.”
He chuckles and takes a swig of his beer. “They’re not all bad. At least the son of the district attorney graduated this past June. He was a handful.”
“God, I can only imagine. Rich and powerful. A lethal mix in someone who, for all intents and purposes, is a child.”
“Hey, I seem to remember a certain someone going through a power trip at the age of twenty-two.”
I throw my head back laughing. “Could you blame me? I became a starting quarterback in the NFL. Shit, I was on top of the fucking world. It felt like nothing could bring me down.”
Those were the good times, before two players with a vendetta knocked me on my ass and ruined my life in the process. I swear, if I ever get a minute alone with one of them, there’s no telling what I’ll do, but I know it won’t be pretty.
Trent and I use the rest of the day to catch up and watch recordings of our high school football games. It’s bittersweet, but doesn’t sting nearly as much as I thought it would. I might even consider it fun, taking that trip down memory lane. One things for sure, this is definitely where I need to be right now.
THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS are spent doing everything and nothing all at the same time, and I’ve never felt more relaxed. Between lounging around the pool and eating all the things I was never allowed before without consequences, it’s the closest I’m getting to happiness. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
An incessant knocking on the door forces me to open it, being as Trent’s in the shower. However, the second I do, I wish I hadn’t. Standing on the other side is Blaire—my publicist—and if looks could kill, I’d be dead on the floor.
“Asher,” she says with a glare.
I roll my eyes and open the door further to let her inside. “Blaire. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
“Cut the shit, Hawthorne. Flattery will get you nowhere.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I smirk. “A lot of women would beg to differ.”
Her expression suggests she’s anything but amused by my antics. “You’re a difficult man to find these days.”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry.” I quickly come up with a lie. “I turned my phone off when I got here. I just needed some time away.”
“Oh, really?” She raises one brow, taking out her phone and pressing a button before putting it to her ear.
I drop my head and let out a breathy laugh as mine starts to ring in my pocket. “All right, you caught me. Why don’t we cut the shit and you just tell me what you’re doing here so you can fuck back off to whatever hell you came from?”
It may be rude but Blaire is nothing but a thorn in my side. She was hired by my ex while we were still together, and I was too busy to have any say in the matter. Everything was happening so fast, and all we knew was that I needed one. The only reason I haven’t fired her ass is because she’s damn good at her job.
“Your disappearance has caused an uproar,” she snaps. “What did you think, that you can just vanish at a monumental point in your life and no one will care? Your fans need to hear from you. They need to know you’re okay.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Why? They’re just going to move on to the next guy with a good arm and even better aim.”
She rolls her eyes. “Wow, Colby wasn’t kidding. You really are throwing the world’s biggest pity party.”
“Screw you.”
The corner of her lip raises in a scowl. “No thanks. I don’t get in bed with guys who have slept with more woman than their IQ.”
She thinks she’s hit me where it hurts, but I only smile. “Now who’s lying? You think Colby didn’t tell me about the two of you at that party a few months back?”
Her cheeks pink, and she instantly becomes flustered. “Can we get back to the point, please?”
“By all means.”
“You need to be doing something that your fans can admire. Something that gives them the opportunity to see what you’re up to and that you’re giving back. Otherwise, if you ever get the chance to go back to playing professional football, they really will be too focused on the next guy with a good arm and better aim. They won’t even give you a second look.”
I groan, sitting on the arm of the couch. “And what is it you suppose I do?”
The smug look on her face makes me fear the next words to come out of her mouth. “You’re going to coach the team at your friend’s little school, Haven Grace Prep.”
3
ASHER
I glare at the brick building in front of me like it’s personally played a major part in ruining my life. If it weren’t for Blaire on one side and Trent on the other, I’d run so fast in the opposite direction. I don’t like kids, let alone want to teach a bunch of we-know-it-all brats the right way to play football. All the money in their parents’ bank accounts can’t buy them the skills they need. It takes practice, dedication, and effort—and something tells me these kids have never worked for anything in their spoiled little lives.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I grumble.
Trent sighs and puts his hand on my shoulder. “It won’t be that bad.”
I shake him off me. “Don’t talk to me, traitor.”
“Me?” he asks in disbelief. “What about her?”
Blaire stands there with an arrogant look on her face, which only pisses me off more, but I can’t be bothered with her right now. Instead, I narrow my eyes on Trent.
“I pay her to be all involved in my business and make me do things I don’t necessarily want to do. You involved yourself, and did it behind my back.”
“Oh, come on!” He throws his hands up. “I told you. She called me.”
I shake my head and turn to Blaire. “How did you get his number, anyway?”
“Phone records, Babycakes. Apparently, you never changed the password after you and Nicole split.”
My stomach drops at the mention of my ex’s name. “You went to Nikki?”
She doesn’t look up from her phone as she shrugs like it’s no big deal. “You disappeared without saying a word. It left me with no other choice.”
Even the concept of her knowing any of my business is enough to make me see red. It was two years ago when we split, and it wasn’t exactly on the best of terms. How could it be after I walked into the house I bought for us, only to find her fucking some other guy in our bed? She screamed, he tried to jump out the window, and I put my fist through the wall. Eight years and two hundred grand on a spring wedding down the drain, but at least I found out when I did. It saved me from a pricey divorce, I’m sure.