Sacked (The Alpha Ballers#2)

Last night was amazing. If I could do that all over again every night with him, that would be just…perfect. Anything else was just gravy on top.

He didn’t leave his number, though, so I figured I’d never see him again. I knew that at some point soon I’d have time to sit down and think about that, and probably get really sad about it, but today was not that day. It was my first full day in a new part of the country, and coincidentally my first day on the biggest job of my life.

A boy had to come a distant second to that today, right? Right? Even a boy that sexy, that confident, and that good at making my body ache with lust? Yu-hup, even a boy like that.

I got on the bus a few minutes later, just narrowly getting on right as the doors were about to close. I grinned at the surly bus driver, who just motioned me toward the back. I paid, and sat down. If I had missed this bus there would have been no way to get to the facility on time. Everything was coming up Charlotte today!

Except, you know, waking up to an empty bed when just before it had Mr. Right in it. Oh well, more on that later. Happy thoughts!

By the time I got to the facility I was just in time for my first official meeting with the head of Athletic staff.

Mr. Morris pulled me into his office and I sat down. “Welcome to your first day, Miss Calloway.”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Morris, I’m really eager to get started.”

“That’s great to hear. We’ve assigned you to the quarterbacks’ staff for this season, just to see how you do.”

I didn’t know much about football, but I knew that quarterbacks were probably the single most important players on the team. Actually it was probably single most important position in all of professional sports. Commentators divided football teams into two groups - ones that had a good quarterback, and ones that were looking for a good quarterback.

“I can see by the look on your face that that’s unexpected.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d be working with quarterbacks right from the start.”

“I can understand the feeling. However, two things conspired against you in this situation, Miss Calloway.” He smiled. “We had a sudden opening on the QB training staff, and the New England Patriots have one hiring rule.”

“What’s that?”

“We hire the best,” Morris said with a flourish, “and then we make them prove they’re the best each and every day, right from the start.” He paused, clearly to let me take in the obvious double implication in that sentence.

“Well, sir, thank you very much for the vote of confidence. I will do my best.”

“See that you do, Miss Calloway.” He stood up, and I stood up after him. “Now, shall I take you to the quarterbacks’ training room so you can get situated?”

“Yes, please.”

We left Morris’ office and went down the hall and around some turns. The facility itself was huge, full of different wings for athletics, medical, game preparation, and offices for all the staff. There were even living quarters here!

It astounded me that there was all this infrastructure in place just to help big men run around in tight pants and hit each other while fighting over a ball every Sunday.

Of course, I knew that football was a big deal, and a huge multi-billion dollar business, but at the same time, at its core, it really was about the men in tight pants.

And now it was my job to make sure one man in tight pants, in particular, stayed healthy and was able to recover after each game and prepare for the next one. Yikes.

I didn’t know anything about the Patriots roster, who was on the team, or who I was going to be working with. All I knew is that teams usually didn’t have more than 2 or 3 QBs on the roster, so at most I’d be working with 2 or 3 men in tight pants.

I had enough trouble keeping track of one man out of tight pants, so more than 2 or 3 might have been a little much to ask, especially when the tight pants became part of the equation.

Yeah, I might have tight pants on the brain right now. Couldn’t be sure.

Finally, we arrived at the room labeled “QB Training/Recovery,” and went inside. There were all the familiar tools - ice baths, training table, massage table, all the gear I’d need to make sure the quarterbacks could play effectively. The rest was up to them.

“Why don’t you stay here and get acquainted with your equipment while I go find the guy you’ll be working with.”

“Sure, thanks, Mr. Morris, for the opportunity and the pep talk.”

“It was my pleasure, Miss Calloway, just make sure we did the right thing in hiring you.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Great. I’ll be back soon.” Morris left the room and I busied myself with looking around and checking things over, making sure everything was clean and well stocked.

I didn’t need to check, because the Patriots were very obviously a team that made fastidiousness into an art form, but I liked to know the details of the stuff I’d be working with.

A couple minutes later Morris came back in the room with someone.

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