Page 6 of In the Safety's Zone
I chuckled at her words because I understood why I’d been targeted. “Somebody like me.”
She sucked her teeth over the line and I only smiled bigger because I knew she was going to fuss at me. “They thought somebody like you. But they were wrong.”
“I mean I ain’t swimming in money.” I wasn’t but I was doing infinitely better than I had been in recent years.
“I’m not even going to argue with you about your bank account since that figure is going to rise exponentially this year. How much did they offer you in the letter?”
I opened the letter back up real quick and glanced back down at the number. “Seventy-three thousand dollars.”
“Oh, damn they’re really trying to get yours.” She sounded shocked at the number and now I was more curious than I had been before.
I was surprised that she wasn’t trying to talk me into taking it. “What you mean?”
“The highest I’d seen before this was in the high forties. They must know that you aren’t going to be moved by something below fifty thousand.”
“‘Twan’s ass protecting me again.” I grinned at the thought of my brother truly being my keeper even when he wasn’t trying to be. I felt a mild twinge of guilt but Billy talking brought me out of my sadness.
“No, your talent protecting you. They know that this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”
“What you mean?” I felt like a broken record asking her this shit every time she spoke but I couldn’t help it.
“You needed last season to get a few plays under your belt and to work with the NFL program on the practice squad. And now you’re going to be golden. Watch what happens during camp. Hell, probably before that. You’ve been invited back for training, right?”
“Well, yeah. But I can’t imagine much will change and I’m good with that. I make more money than most people do and Rye’s ass ain’t playing about me investing and saving. But yeah, they asked me to come back and train. I thought it was something they did for every practice squad member.”
Billy’s talking was doing the thing I didn’t need. It gave me hope. The possibility that my dreams were still there in alarger capacity than I’d already achieved them. Of course, that had been the goal all along, but its potentially being a reality lit something inside of me.
“Yeah, when it gets closer to the season. But your being asked right after the season ends means something. And with Rye, she’s like that with everybody. She doesn’t play that shit with her athletes being broke five years post-retirement. That wouldn’t do anything but make her and her business look bad. You’re also her brother so she was going to make sure you were good no matter what happened. As far as this letter is concerned, you need to understand if someone will give you that much, you’re probably worth about four or five times that.”
“Damn, you serious?”
“Yep. At a minimum, you could be looking at somewhere close to half a million dollars.”
“Excuse me?” I knew she had to be exaggerating that figure now.
“Yeah, I think you forget how much money this really is. And also how popular you were. Your stats weren’t anything to sneeze at and you made major plays that had you on every sports network. Stew will tell you that you were high on draft boards and think of how often you were used for community outreach and the face of the team. All that is worth something. Now of course they’d probably try to convince you to take an annuity and that’s something you’d need to discuss with Rye. There are a lot of pros and cons with each but the biggest thing you need to remember is to wait it out. That windfall will be good, but I think you’re getting a salary increase this year.”
“Spoken like a true agent.”
“Speaking of which, I need you to come into my office next week.”
I sat up straight because her tone had gotten serious. “I do something wrong?”
“Only if you say no.”
I laughed again and nodded my head even though she couldn’t see me. This was the Billy that she always was; I was just more receptive to it now. My eyes went to the pool in the backyard and I wanted to walk over and stick my feet in despite it being January. It was mild as hell in Texas this time of year but I was sure the water was freezing since the heaters hadn’t been cut on.
“It sounds like you know something I don’t.”
She laughed but I knew she wasn’t giving up any additional information. “Potentially. Just do like I’ve asked please and thank you.”
“As if I had a choice or would want to disobey.”
Her laugh was louder and I completely relaxed since she didn’t sound like she was going to kill my ass. “See, now if only all the other guys could be so easy to get on with. I’ve got one guy who called me up about a fifteen thousand dollar settlement. He said, if he thought he’d get more I should front him the money and then I can take the settlement when it happens.”
“Not him trying to make a deal with you.”
“Right? Like I don’t do this for a living! Could you imagine the way they’d have my ass for taking advantage of somebody like that? But anyway, you’ll be good, ignore everything they send to the house. I’m pissed they could find your information but it is what it is.”
