Page 10 of Touchdowns and Temptations

And then he's gone!

4

Cara

I can't get Noah's immoral offer to trade a job for a date out of my head. I know that I should decline. What will I do if he bails on me? He gets the date and then he's over the hill and gets another agent. He seemed very certain when he said he didn’t want to work with me. In fact, he's not interested in working with me professionally at all. I can somewhat understand his skepticism. I'm twenty-two years old and I don't have the same professional experience as a thirty-year-old agent. I realize that, but he doesn't have the experience as a quarterback that my dad has, and yet the team and the club trust him. Young people need experience.

Maybe my comparison is a little flawed because my dad will never be able to do the physical things that Noah does today. Still, it wouldn't be fair to deny him a chance just because he's old.

No matter how I look at it, Noah won't work with me until I go out with him. That's a fucking problem.

What do I do if he keeps asking for more and more? One date for a job and another for a deal. God, I can spin this wheel over and over again. On the other hand, every date I go on secures another collaboration and my reputation as a consultant in the industry. It's not the worst business, but ... no. An agent doesn't date the first player she's assigned. Especially not the quarterback of the Boston Foxes.

My reputation in the business would be ruined. Going from ‘daddy’s girl’ to ‘NFL bitch’ who gets it on with the superstar.

Great career, Cara!

I should stop thinking about the fact that I really like Noah and instead gather the facts and my own resolutions: Never date a professional athlete!

Don't end up like your mom!

My parents have been together for over twenty years, and my mom loves my dad very much, but I know too well how often she felt lonely when he had to travel across the country.

That's not the life I want to live as a grown woman, much less the life I want my children to live. What if Noah is traded by the Foxes in a year? Will we move then? Does he expect his girlfriend to follow him wherever he goes?

My mind is going completely crazy. I haven't even agreed to a date with the guy and I'm already thinking about not moving for him. Wow.

I turn off the engine of my Ferrari and get out of the car. On my way to the front door, I hope my father isn't home and doesn't want to know about the current state of the negotiations. He won't be happy that I couldn't win Noah over right away. More importantly, he won't be happy that I couldn't get him to sign with Corse Sports Management. He is my father, and he loves me, but, of course, he is also a businessman and I am his employee.

As soon as I enter the villa, I hear him calling: “Cara?”

I sigh.

“Is that you?” he adds.

“Yes,” I reply, walking into the kitchen. He is standing at the kitchen island, stirring his espresso. He looks at me with a smile. “Hey Dad,” I greet him.

“Hello,” he says, and I can see in his eyes how eager he is to hear more about my meeting with Noah.

“How did it go with McCarter?” is his next question.

I bite my lower lip and consider for a second whether to tell him the truth. That it went rather badly, and that Noah is trying to blackmail me.

“Fine,” I lie instead and put on a smile. “It went really well ... we ... we got ... we discussed our collaboration thoroughly.”

I don't sound nearly as confident as I want to. My father raises his eyebrows and looks at me questioningly.

I sigh. “He was a little worried because I'm only twenty-two.”

“I didn't expect that from him. He doesn't seem like that at all,” he replies thoughtfully.

“Hm,” I mutter.

I raise my arms and shrug.

“But don't worry, Daddy,” I say, more to myself than to him. “I'll get him under contract. Just give me two more days.”

“Why two?”

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