Page 6 of Thoroughly Innocent Intent

Only Chase knows about my future plans, a precaution I’ve taken so the team doesn’t doubt my commitment to them this season, which means I shouldn’t answer her question. But the way she’s looking at me makes me want to.

“Coaching or commentating. I have too much knowledge of the game to switch fields entirely.” I give her a conspiratorial wink.

“Do you have any experience in those fields?” She arches an eyebrow. That’s fucking sexy.

“I’m a football player, I live in those fields.”

“You get coached, or you get interviewed. It’s not the same thing. What qualifications do you have for those fields?”

Damn, is this her way of getting back at me for not paying attention earlier, or does she really not follow how my day job translates to my next career? The possibility that she doesn’t enjoy my flirting crosses my mind, but I quickly dismiss it. Everyone likes my flirting.

“I’m gonna assume you can connect the dots between playing ball all my life and being qualified to coach.” I let the southern drawl women seem to love come out thick. Yeah, it's juvenile considering this is supposed to be a business meeting and I’m off dating for the season, but I can’t seem to stop myself from trying to get a reaction from her. “As for commentating, I have a journalism degree.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” she murmurs, pulling on her lip again, which I’m quickly learning means she’s deep in thought. I fight the urge to shift in my seat as I note yet another one of her sexy quirks. “Could you have graduated early, gone into the pros?”

“Could’ve, sure.” I nod.

“Why didn’t you?”

“I was on scholarship.”

“You could’ve gone back to school after football.”

“Could’ve.” I nod again, curious where she's going with this. “Assuming I stayed healthy and made enough playing ball to afford it.”

“So, getting that degree while you were already in college assures you a good future with or without football?”

“I s’pose so.”

“So, you’d recommend staying in school to get that degree? Since no one can predict how their career will look?” She scribbles something on her notepad.

“For the most part.”

“Explain that. Why for the most part?”

She’s on a roll, though damned if I know where she’s going with it. I’ll play along since it’s hot to see her in her element.

“Well, it depends on the athlete, their position. If you’re gonna get drafted in the first round, it might make sense to go while you’re in demand, make all the money you can early.”

“Doesn’t that assume you’ll be in the league long enough to be a top earner? That you don’t get injured in training camp and never make it to the field?” She pulls on her lip again, and lust shoots straight to my balls. I’m not sure what gets me more, that plump lip or her obvious intelligence.

“It does,” I drawl. “But it’s hard to convince a guy who can lift his family out of poverty not to take the money while he can.”

“Fair enough. But there’s still no guarantee leaving school early will pan out.” She laces her fingers together on top of her desk.

“True. But some guys barely got out of high school. If they don’t take a shot at the pros when they have it, chances are they’ll never amount to anything.”

“And isn’t that the problem? They put so little value on education they think the only way out of poverty is to be a famous athlete.” She purses her lips.

“For some of them, yeah.”

“But success stories are the exceptions, right? For most people, education is the ticket. You had the opportunity to do both and still chose to finish your education.” She inclines her head towards me.

I see what she did there. Clever. I like that.

“Even the longest football careers are relatively short. Only a rare few are still in the game past thirty-five.” I answer her unspoken question with a knowing smirk.

“Exactly. You knew you’d either have to make enough during your short career to set yourself up for life, or you’d need a backup plan. Whose idea was it for you to have that plan?” she asks as she writes something on her notepad.

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