Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
I grin. “Is your handle atBigCock6969?”
“No. It’s just a common fact,” he mutters. “The difference between what those guys have said about them and what’s being said about me is that’s smack talk. They’re actually attacking me for who I am—for my identity.”
“Actually, my point here was supposed to be that even without the queer element, toxic masculinity is still prevalent in sports. Humans can be trash, and we need to think of the internet like a landfill. It’s where all trash go to express their unwanted opinions. Sure, if you go digging around, you might find something nice, but wading through the dumpster fire to get there isn’t worth it. Which is why Damon put an internet ban on you.”
Kelley deflates. I think I’m getting through to him. Maybe.
“I spent my entire time in the minors being good and holding back who I was so I would be accepted. Now I have my dream of playing major league baseball, and I want to share that high with someone. But it’s shrouded in hateful comments.”
“You have to remember there’s a lot of support out there too,” I say. “It’s easy to focus on the negative because the trauma of it sticks in your mind, but there are people who are on your side. The league, your whole management team, your teammates. Fuck the haters. Fuck the trash.”
Kelley finally manages a bright smile. “I’d rather not fuck them, but I get what you’re saying. You’re really good at this, you know.”
“What?”
“Reassuring me. You did it at the photoshoot, and now here, and … I think I want to ask Damon for you to take over as my main contact at King Sports.”
“Y-you … you want me to be your agent?”
He nods. “I know you’re only an intern, so your uncle might not let it happen—”
“I have another client. A football player. I’m in charge of his account, but I have to get any decisions signed off by a senior agent.”
“Then it’s settled. I want you to work for me.”
Prescott and Kit visiting, adding a new client to my roster … This might be the best damn work trip ever.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
kit
Brady doesn’t know it, but we heard everything he said to Kelley Afton. Prescott and I went to find food when we saw Brady storming out of his cabin after someone.
I’m not gonna lie, I was both impressed and taken aback at how in control he was. It also made me realize that outside of what he does for a living, who his family is, Prescott and I don’t really know the ins and outs of Brady’s real life.
Which is why, when he finally makes his escape and finds Prescott and me on the porch of the cabin overlooking a small lake, instead of taking him inside and back to bed, we invite him to sit with us.
He glances between Pres, who’s got about ten blankets piled on top of him, and me, who has no blankets, and he climbs into my lap.
“Hey, why’d he get your body warmth?” Prescott complains.
“He looks like he needs it more than you do with how you’re buried under a pile of blankets. Why is Kit torturing you anyway?”
I smile. “I’m making him breathe in the fresh cold air. It’s so beautiful and peaceful out here.” The moon is high, and it’s close to complete silence. The air is so crisp it stings my lungs. In a good way.
Brady settles in my arms. “Definitely more peaceful out here than back in my cabin, that’s for sure. I’m getting the impression my uncle sent Thad out here with me as punishment instead of help.”
“Why would he punish you?” I ask.
“Maybe not punish. More like sent Thad as a babysitter, but it’s totally the other way around. They keep sniping at each other, and I’m in the middle.”
“I thought you liked being in the middle?” Prescott waggles his eyebrows.
“Of you two, yeah.”
That fills me with more warmth than the heat his body’s radiating.
“What made you want to become a sports agent?” I ask. “Was it always the plan?”
Brady laughs. “Fuck no. I love football. I loved playing as a kid and back in high school, but I remember the exact moment I decided to give it up.” He stares out at the water and licks his lips. “You know who our dads are, and they wanted us to be like them. From the minute we were born, all they ever talked about was us playing in the NFL together like they did. So, we trained. A lot. But it wasn’t that easy. Our coaches always compared us to our dads, and this one day, I was over it. Coach had literally said out loud in front of the entire team that maybe Peyton didn’t have Talon DNA after all because there’s no way a Talon could play that sloppy.”