I felt a little worried, though, based on his tone. Clearly something bad was going on, and not just the loss of an important figure in the department.
“Of course,” I said. “Owen Rack is going to be a huge asset to the team.”
“He really is. But he’s also very, very expensive, and that means every department has to make sure that it’s running as lean as possible.”
I felt my heart skip a beat.
Was I getting fired already? I’d only been here for a month. If they were cutting people, it made sense to cut the new girl. I wasn’t worth anything to anyone, and I wasn’t even working with any players.
“I understand,” I said softly.
“Which is why we’re not going to be hiring a replacement at this time for Lucy. We’ll be rotating some people around to pick up her players, and we’re going to give you an assignment.”
I felt surprised. “You’re going to assign me a player?”
He nodded. “Like I said, Lucy is very impressed with you. We’re only assigning you one person, but he’s very important. We’ll want you to give him every ounce of attention you can.”
I could feel my heart racing in my chest. I never thought I’d actually be working with players this soon, let alone have someone important assigned to me already. It was unusual for an apprentice to get involved in the treatment rotation so early, but it was not entirely unheard of in tight situations like this one.
“Who?” I asked.
“Owen Rack himself,” Jeff said, smiling.
I blinked. “Really?”
“Really. Like I said, Lucy thinks you can handle it. We also suspect that Mister Rack won’t be taking on the full starting position just yet, at least not while Raylon is still available.”
Raylon Rogers was the veteran running back, and he had been with the Eagles for years. He was clearly going to be the main back, and Owen was meant to act as an understudy for a year or two until he was ready to take over.
But still, getting assigned Owen was massive. I couldn’t imagine what Lucy had said to Jeff about me, but it must have been incredibly positive if they were going to trust me with him. Rack was supposed to be the future of the team.
“Do you think you can handle this responsibility?” Jeff asked me. “Please, tell me no if you’re not ready. I won’t hold it against you. There are other players we can assign you to.”
“I can handle it,” I said quickly, though I wasn’t totally sure I could. “I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that. We’re hoping you and Owen will have a long working relationship together.”
I smiled. “Me too. Thank you again. I can’t express how excited I am to help the team.”
“We’re excited too. I’ll send you an email with more information soon, but for now, head on back to your department.”
“Thank you again,” I said, standing. We shook hands and I quickly left, walking back toward my desk before he could change his mind.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I’d seen Owen Rack on TV countless times, and I’d always been really impressed with him. The man was a monster, a hulking presence on the field. He was handsome, muscular, and covered in tattoos, exactly the kind of guy I’d always stayed away from.
But now I’d be working with him up close and personal. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited to find out.
This was an enormous opportunity. If things went well between Owen and me, I’d be with the team for as long as he was. This could make my career.
All I had to do was remain professional and not screw anything up.
How hard could that be?
2
Owen
I was never nervous on the football field. I never needed to feel nervous. When I ran through the offensive lineman and burst out into the open lanes, I felt more fucking alive than I ever could anywhere else.
Then there was the crunch of body against body, the smash of pads, the bruising burst. I loved getting tackled, and I loved breaking through tackles even more. I loved the taste of grass as my face got smashed into the turf, and I loved the sound of men grunting as they were unable to pull me down.
I’d had a damn good college career. Broke a few records, led my team to a championship my senior year, and even won the damn Heisman.
But none of that compared to getting picked in the first round of the draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
I was a Texas boy. I’d gone to the University of Texas and I grew up in Texas. I didn’t know a damn thing about fucking Philadelphia, but I didn’t give a shit. All I wanted was to get out of Texas and join the big show.
I didn’t have it easy in Texas. Sure, I was a fucking football star and girls threw themselves at me, but before all that, I worked my ass off to get any recognition. My parents died when I was young, my mom in a car crash when she drove drunk, and my dad from an overdose of heroin. My grandmother raised me, helped me to become the man I am. Without her, I’d be rotting in the foster system, probably out stealing cars or part of a gang or some shit.
Instead, I’d gone to high school, joined the football team, and never looked back. Getting on that field gave me the outlet for my aggression that I fucking needed. I was angry at the world for giving me a shit situation, for making my life harder than it had to be, and I wanted to take that anger out on someone. Football was the right place for that.
So I smashed bodies and broke bones. I loved it, and I was damn good at it.
I wasn’t perfect. I drank and smoked and fucked as much as I wanted, and I got away with it because I was so damn good. Nobody said shit to me, because I was their star fucking running back. But my body had problems; my knees were a constant source of worry, and I hadn’t woken up without a backache in years.
That was fine with me. The game took a toll on your body, and that was the price you paid. I got money and fame in exchange, and that was good with me.
There were other things in my past I wasn’t proud of. I didn’t have money growing up and never had any real opportunities. I’d had to do things I wasn’t fucking proud of, things that were still following me around.
The sort of shit that could destroy my career.
I wasn’t perfect. But I was good at football, and so far that’d been enough.
I was drenched in sweat, my knees aching like fuck the first time I saw her.
She was standing on the sidelines of the practice field, looking uncomfortable. I didn’t normally notice the medicine staff standing around, since there were so fucking many of them and they all wore the same damn outfit, but she stood out. I couldn’t say what it was about her that drew my eye, but as I walked over to the sidelines to grab some water, I couldn’t help but stare.
She was fucking gorgeous. I realized it immediately. She wasn’t like the other frumpy therapists. She had thick, long dark hair, full red lips, beautiful, smooth skin, and deep green eyes. I wanted to drag her back into the fucking locker room and slowly strip that polo shirt from her body.
She looked at me, and I smiled. She smiled back, a little uncomfortable, and I felt my cock stir. As I grabbed my water and downed it, someone came up beside me.
“Owen,” the man said. I looked over. The head of the medicine people, some guy named Jeff, smiled at me. “How’s it going?”
“Fine,” I grunted.
“Listen, I want you to meet someone.”
I nodded. “Sure.” I was exhausted, but these people were important. They kept my fucking knees from giving out every damn day.
Jeff steered me over to the side and we stopped right in front of her. She gave me this shy smile before reaching out to shake my hand.
“Owen, this is Taylor Jones. She’s going to be your personal therapist for the remainder of the season.”
I took her hand, soft but firm, and grinned at her. “Nice to meet you, Taylor,” I said.
“Same. I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working you, too,” I said, still grinning.
There was a pause, and I knew she’d heard what I had said.
“Well,” Jeff said, “since Lucy is on her maternity leave, I’m giving you to Taylor. She’s young, but she’s very, very good. I think you’re in great hands.”
“I’m sure I am,” I said.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to it.” Jeff gave me his best smile, but I was too busy staring at Taylor to give a shit.
“I’ll see you after practice,” she said.
I nodded. “You will.” I turned and headed back onto the field, feeling pretty damn good.
I couldn’t get her out of my mind the remainder of the day. Despite the heat and the hard work, I just kept thinking about her standing over there on the sidelines, watching me. She was staring at my body, my sweating body, and all I wanted to do was to make her sweat along with me.
Maybe that was stupid. She was supposed to be my physical trainer after all. People always liked to say that you shouldn’t get involved with someone you worked with.
But who fucking cared what people said? I was never the type to bother with that shit. If I wanted something, I found a way to take it. I never asked for permission for anything in my life. If I wanted to fuck a girl, I’d let her know, and I’d find a way to get it. I was never kept waiting for long.