Draft pick season i, p.14
Draft Pick Season I, page 14
Besides making a crap-ton of money playing, I had endorsements, modelin’ gigs, and investments. I also didn’t spend my money on stupid shit like some guys. I’m not worried about losing a paycheck.”
“What about your reputation?”
“What about it? Anyone who really knows me will expect me to defend my woman’s honor.”
“I don’t need you to defend my honor.”
“No, you don’t, but I need it.” His warm hands traveled up her back and he sank his digits into the hair at her nape. “No one, and I mean no one, causes a single unhappy tear to fall from your eyes without suffering any repercussions.
If it makes you feel better, I won’t beat their ass. I’ll just buy the company. Then I’ll fire all of them—including the dipshits in HR.”
“Carver!”
“What?”
“You can’t go around buying companies and firing people.”
“Who says? Actions have consequences. They’re never too old to learn.”
Alyssa couldn’t believe her ears. Carver was sitting on her couch casually suggesting buying a company simply to be able to fire the people who hurt her feelings. His ass is crazy. That was the only explanation. Normal people didn’t consider such drastic measures to exact revenge.
Hell…whoever said Carver was normal though? He’d been lauded for the freakish nature of his athletic ability for years. Normal wasn’t a word typically associated with him because he’d made his life on crushing norms.
Miraculously, he’d avoided many of the pitfalls that swallowed young professional athletes whole. The shiny baubles dangled before his face hadn’t tempted him down a path which would leave him penniless as they had a number of players. Still…buying a company was out there. One glance at his stubborn expression was enough to know that he was absolutely serious.
“Carver…Do you hear yourself? You’re suggesting making a major financial decision on a whim.”
“It’s not a whim. It’s an option. Consider it another investment. Casinos aren’t goin’ anywhere anytime soon. So, there’ll be a need for the games people like to shove their money into. Havin’ a company that caters to the needs of such a lucrative business is pretty smart if you ask me. You get the casino cash without the hassle of dealin’ with the people directly.”
That was incredibly insightful. If he hadn’t made his proposition in such an offhanded manner, she’d have no problem with it. But he hadn’t and she did.
“You can’t do that.”
“I can and I will. Unless…”
“I’m not giving you their names.”
“Then I guess I’m buying a company.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I—”
Alyssa’s sentence was interrupted by Carver’s ringing cellphone. Pulling it from his pocket, he held it up. Easily reading the screen, she saw Blake’s name on the display.
“What’s up, Blake?”
Alyssa heard the rumble of Blake’s voice on the other end of the call, but couldn’t make out the words.
“Ok. I’ll tell her.”
“Tell her what?” Alyssa asked before Carver could end the call.
Tapping the screen, he cut the conversation with the bodyguard
“Blake says there’s a Zaria Coleman outside. She says she’s not leaving until she sees you.”
“Oh shit!”
Scrambling from Carver’s lap, Alyssa stood and rushed to the front door. Zaria never showed up unannounced—no matter how much she threatened to do just that. Uncaring if he followed her, Alyssa slipped her feet into the flip flops she kept near the entrance and hurriedly opened the door.
Her friend stood in front of Blake’s hulking frame with her arms crossed, tapping her foot in agitation. That’s not good.
“Hey Zee!” Alyssa called out to her friend as she stepped onto her front porch. “Blake, please let her pass. She’s always welcome here.”
“Somebody better tell him.” Zaria huffed as she cut Blake severe side-eye while she walked past him.
“Since when do you have a bodyguard and why haven’t you answered my calls? I’ve been worried sick. I’ve called you no less than twelve times in the last two hours. What the hell is going on?”
By the time Zee finished her rant, she was standing before Alyssa on her small porch. Her normally smooth brow was wrinkled in concern which made Alyssa’s gut clench in remorse. After Carver showed up, she’d turned the ringer off on her phone and hadn’t checked it for hours.
“I’m sorry, Zee. I’ve been asleep for hours and when I got up, I didn’t think to check my phone.”
Turning to walk back into the house, she met Carver’s chest. Pushing lightly, she wordlessly asked him to move. Stepping backwards into the house, he moved to the side to allow both women to pass.
“Zaria, this is Carver Jamieson. Carver, this is Zaria—”
“Her best friend.” Zaria interrupted. Extending her hand, she finished introducing herself. “Zaria Coleman, Esquire; and you, sir, are a big bag of good-looking trouble.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Carver’s voice vacillated between laughter and surprise.
“You heard me. You’re pretty to look at, but you’re trouble.”
“Zaria!” Alyssa hissed.
“I know they say lawyers lie all the time, but I’m an advocate of truth telling. And, the truth is, since he showed up, you’ve been all over the internet.”
Dread once again crawled up Alyssa’s spine. “What do you mean?”
Walking into the living room, Zaria pulled her phone from her purse before dropping the bag on the nearest chair.
“I overheard one of the paralegals talking. Normally, I wouldn’t have stopped since I had a meeting, but I overheard his name.” Her eyes pointed to Carver before she returned her gaze to Alyssa.
“Since the two of you have been linked, when I heard his name, I slowed down. They were looking at a video on a cellphone. A video of you. Being chased by paparazzi. I immediately reversed course going to my office to call you and I’ve been calling you every fifteen minutes since then.
I finally decided to invoke the IMBD clause in our friendship and used my code to get into the gate.”
“IMBD?” Carver asked.
“I might be dead.” Alyssa supplied in a monotone.
Zaria didn’t have any family in the area. Although Alyssa had her two cousins, they weren’t close enough for them to check on her regularly. She and Zaria had come up with IMBD as a sort of insurance that someone would care enough to make sure they were still breathing.
It sounded hella morbid, but they filled a gap for each other. Alyssa felt even worse when she considered what was going through Zaria’s mind after seeing the video and not being able to get in contact with her. Closing the distance between them, she hugged her slightly shorter friend.
“I’m sorry, Zee. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Mhm…Don’t do that shit again. If something pops off and you want some alone time, at least give me a heads up. I know how to give people space.”
“I know. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Good.” Releasing Alyssa from the hug, Zaria turned to Carver. “So what do you plan to do about the shit storm you stirred up in my bestie’s life?”
“Zee!”
“What?”
“That’s not fair. This isn’t Carver’s fault.”
“Who says?”
“I do!”
Tugging her hand, Carver tucked her into his side wrapping his arm around her possessively. “Shh…Bit. She’s right. I brought the media frenzy into your life. It’s my job to protect you from it.”
Their Saturday night conversation came rushing back in a tidal wave. Fuck! She knew what was next and she didn’t like it.
Tipping her head, she glared up at him. “No.”
“Yes.” He bit out; his gaze just as fierce as hers.
“No, Carver. I mean it.”
“You promised, Bit. Are you going back on your word?”
“I didn’t promise. I agreed to five days. It hasn’t been five days.”
“That’s because it didn’t take five days for the vultures to circle.”
“Excuse me. What are you two talking about?” Zaria held up her hand like she was in class vying for the teacher’s attention.
“He thinks I need a security detail. I disagree.”
“It doesn’t matter if you agree. You need it. I told you. I won’t take chances when it comes to your safety, and I meant it. I’m calling Jasper.”
“Grrr!” Alyssa gritted her teeth in frustration. Today wasn’t the best day, but he was going overboard.
“Did you just growl at me?” The laughter hovering at the corners of his lips didn’t help the situation.
“You’re not being reasonable.” Folding her arms across her midsection, she stopped short of stomping her foot in protest. Just barely.
“Girl! What the hell is wrong with you? Of course you need security. At least one of you has some sense.”
Alyssa’s mouth hung open in shock. Zaria was her friend. She was supposed to have her back. Instead, Zaria directed a pointed look at Alyssa before looking at Carver.
“I guess I take back my original assessment. You do have a plan.”
“Umm…Thank you?” Carver replied.
“You should thank me. I’m gonna help you out.” Pulling on Alyssa’s folded arms, she tugged until she had Alyssa’s hand in hers.
“Come with me. We need to talk.” Assuring Carver that they’d return soon, Zaria hustled Alyssa from the room.
Entering Alyssa’s home office, Zaria closed the door behind them.
“Why are you acting like one of those ditzy characters from a rom-com on the romance channel? You know damn well if you’re going to be with a man in the public eye, you need someone to watch your back.”
Offended by her friend’s blatant statement of the facts Alyssa tried to ignore, she stood mutely. Arguing with Zaria wasn’t in anyone’s best interest. She’s an attorney. She made her living arguing.
“Uh-uh. You don’t get to do that. Don’t crawl inside your head and act like I’m picking on you for no reason. Number one, I’m not picking on you. Number two, if you weren’t so busy trying to keep your routine from being disrupted, you’d see this from our perspective.”
“Our?”
“Yes. In this case, Carver and I are on the same team. That man is richer than you realize, and he is not shy about letting people know how into you he is. He’s not denying you and he won’t. So, that makes you a target. Not just for paparazzi trying to get a story, but for some idiot trying to use you to get to him and his money.
Let’s not forget the delusional people who are fixated on him and might see you as the only thing standing between them and Carver declaring his undying love to their crazy ass.”
Alyssa didn’t bother to ask how Zaria knew Carver’s financial status. Having people investigated was part of the package for her work. She wouldn’t think twice about using it to help Alyssa. That’s how Alyssa knew Torrence didn’t have the money nor position he’d bragged about. She’d never let on that she knew the truth, because she didn’t seriously consider a future with him.
Zee was right though. Alyssa’s determination to maintain her independence was blinding her to the things Carver tried to explain when he brought up the security detail. Damn Zaria and her damn logic!
“Do you get it now?” Zaria asked softly. Alyssa’s only reply was a mute nod. Rubbing her arm, Zaria switched modes to offer understanding and encouragement.
“It’s hard to make such drastic changes in your life, but if you’re going to be with Carver, this is a concession you’ll have to make. At least for a little while.”
“I know. I don’t like it though.”
“We all do things we don’t like sometimes. I don’t like doing squats, but they help my ass sit up nice in my jeans. So, I do them.”
Bumping her hip against her friend’s, Alyssa laughed at the incomparable analogy. Having come to a realization that her life had to change, they left the room for her to concede. Although she was certain Carver was already on the phone with Jasper, she followed Zaria from the room ready to speak to the man who’d turned her world upside down in just three days.
Chapter Fourteen
DON’T PLAY DUMB WITH ME
It had been a solid week since Carver laid eyes on Alyssa in that restaurant. To say things had been up and down was an understatement. After the paparazzi/co-worker tornado of fuckery, he’d gotten on the phone with Jasper. Thankfully, her friend managed to get Alyssa on board; because Jasper’s stubborn ass still refused to send a team until he heard it from her personally.
It chapped Carver’s ass and he told Jasper as much. Not that Jasper cared, but it made Carver feel better to say it out loud. The next day, the three-member team showed up to introduce themselves to Alyssa, Carver and Michael. Carver considered switching services, but he’d established a rapport with Michael and Blake. No point in disrupting it. Besides, he knew Jasper was probably already working on recruiting them.
Carver stretched his legs out in front of him as he lounged in the oversized chair in Alyssa’s living room. The better part of the morning had been spent at the kitchen table going through emails and trying to stay on top of paperwork. Now, he was supposed to be looking at game film and studying the players he’d begin coaching over the next few weeks.
He’d only been back to his suite once to grab a some items. He’d placed an offer on the house, but it would take a few weeks for everything to be settled for him to move in. In the meantime, he didn’t want Alyssa alone and vulnerable. Sure, she had a security detail, but until she got adjusted, he wanted to be close to her. At least that was the excuse he was using.
Alyssa hadn’t been back in the office as of yet. She’d worked from home instead. Carver was happy it was an option since it saved them an argument. He had every intention of finding out the names of the co-workers who participated in the group chat.
Jasper had someone looking into them as well as the overzealous paparazzi who blocked Alyssa outside of the restaurant. Carver hadn’t forgotten about that fucker either. He wouldn’t escape the lesson of keeping his hands to himself and respecting boundaries.
The Human Resources Representative and Manager were already on his radar. Discovering their names had been easily accomplished by looking at the company’s webpage. Of course, Alyssa had no idea what he was doing. He’d done his detective routine while she worked and he was supposed to be at the team offices getting acclimated to his new digs.
His Business Manager, Michelle, had been given some background information on Secure Pull when he asked her to look into buying up shares. It really was a sound investment. So, Michelle didn’t balk at the request. Buying enough shares to gain controlling interest in the company would take little longer than he’d like, but it would be done before the season kicked off.
Dropping the remote in his hand, he picked up his cellphone from the side table when it rang. Checking the display, his father’s smiling face was on the screen.
“Hey, Pops. What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just telling your mama we hadn’t talked to you since you moved to the desert. I thought I’d give you a call to check in.”
While it was true Carver hadn’t talked to his parents in over a week, he was certain his father’s call wasn’t just to touch base.
“Are you sure, Pops? I told you it might take some time for me to get settled here. All the paperwork wasn’t finalized until earlier this month. So, I cut it a little close for when I actually had to show my face at the team office.”
“Yeah, yeah. I remember. How’s that going?”
Sitting back in the chair, Carver crossed his leg with one ankle on the opposite knee. “It’s going ok. I went in, met the other coaches and looked at the shoebox they gave me for an office. Everything’s good. We have some meetings lined up over the next couple of weeks with the coaching staff and players. We’re right on top of Spring training. So, my schedule will pick up pretty quick.”
“Oh. You can handle it. You’re a born leader. I’m sure it won’t take long before they’re offering you the Offensive Coordinator job.”
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, Pops. That job isn’t on the table. Besides, I’ve only been coaching for a little over five years.”
“Five years, five months, or five minutes. It doesn’t matter. The spot will be vacated and you’ll get an offer. I give it two years tops. McIntyre is ready to move on.
He’s been OC for three different teams. The Ravagers are his last stop in that seat. Besides, they’d be foolish not to see that you can do more than coach one position.”
Carver’s chest tightened listening to his father speak of his pending success with such absolute certainty. No matter how often his old man built him up, it still warmed his heart. Both of his parents had been super supportive when he wanted to seriously pursue sports instead of taking up farming, as was the tradition in his father’s family.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Pops. We’ll see how it plays out.”
“We sure will. Mark my words though.”
Carver chuckled instead of continuing to debate the subject.
“So…Jessie came by yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah?” Carver set the notebook he was holding on the small table next to the chair.
Now they were getting to the real reason for the call. Carver’s cousin Jessie was the family gossip. If she’d shown up in person instead of calling, she must have had what she thought was sensitive and juicy information.
“Yeah…You know how she is. She was talking to your mother about stuff going on at the church. I didn’t really pay her no mind until she asked if you were okay because she’d seen a video on the internet where you were getting physical with a man in a restaurant.”
His dad’s South Georgia accent came through so that the word ‘video’ came out as vid-ja. As he listened, Carver clenched his teeth. When was that damn video going to die? Since the incident happened in a public place there was no way to get it squashed. Besides, it had been out there too long.
