Page 33 of Winning Brynn

Leo:Hey, Brynn. Something's come up and I need you to watch Salem for me.

Brynn:Sorry, Daddio, but no can do.

Leo:It's really important.

Brynn:Would if I could, but I'm busy.

Leo:Come on, Brynn. My agent has scheduled a last-minute call with Adidas about a sponsorship. We've been trying to land this deal for months.

Leo:Please.

Leo:I'm actually begging you now. Goddamit, you know how hard that is for me.

Brynn:On a Saturday?

Brynn:I really am busy, hotshot.

Brynn:Congrats on the potential endorsement, though!

Leo:Yeah, well I’ve lost it now, thanks to you.

Chapter Eleven

Leo

"Jesus Christ, dude," Alexsays, eyes wide at my thunderous expression as he holds the door open to his apartment. "Who pissed in your Cornflakes?"

“Your fucking sister.”

Plopping Salem on the tiled floor, I watch as she crawls through to the main living area, following closely behind her.

“Ah fuck, what’s she done now?”

I grit my teeth, my hands clenched at my sides as I lean back against the kitchen island. "Made me miss a call with Adidas about an endorsement deal."

I needed this deal.

Not for me, but for my daughter.

As I stare down the barrel of my thirtieth birthday, I can feel each passing tick of the seconds slipping away like a doomsday clock in my soul. The average soccer player retires at the age of thirty-five. That gives me just five years left in the game, maybe a couple more if I'm lucky.

But what happens then? When I no longer have a guaranteed salary to rely on and a child who's in elementary school. How do I sustain the lifestyle we have if I can no longer play the game that has given it to us?

This deal would have been an investment in our future.Salem'sfuture. It would have eased the endless anxiety in my gut that one day everything we have will be gone.

Alex grimaces, his eyes hazed with apology. "Damn, that sucks."

"Yep."

"Why'd Brynn make you miss it?"

I shake my head, another wave of anger washing through. "I needed her to watch Salem so I could take the call. She didn’t, so…”

His brow crinkles. "I'm confused. Was this yesterday?"

"Today."

"On a Saturday?"

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