Page 33 of Single Dad Dilemma
“He keeps rushing out of the pocket instead of letting the plays develop,” she said. “He’s good, but he’s impatient. You don’t like it when people change the plan on you.”
I raised a brow. “Should I be adding you to the coaching staff?”
“Would it come with a raise and less hours?”
For a second, I mulled that over. “Yes to the first. No to the second.”
“You know, I already deal with enough men in my life. I think I’ll pass.”
“Wise move,” I murmured.
“What are you going to say to him?” she asked.
“Still trying to figure that out. It’s not even about the rushed plays,” I admitted. “Though that is a problem. It’s everything. He doesn’t want to be coached. Doesn’t want to prepare the way he should.”
“That’s what makes the great ones great.” She folded her arms. “I remember your rookie year. You were always the first player in the building. Every single day.”
I gave her a wry look. “I was not one of the ‘great ones.’ My knee blew out too soon to even come close to that conversation.”
“Maybe not,” Bridget conceded, “but every single person in that building trusted you. Archer doesn’t have that.”
Another reminder for the concert popped up on my phone, and Bridget smothered a smile when I tapped the screen far harder than necessary. “Yeah, it’s nice when people trust you to remember things, isn’t it?”
Instead of leaving my office, Bridget gave me an appraising look. “Speaking of Lily, how’s it going there? She hasn’t murdered you or quit—I was expecting one or both by the end of the first week.”
I’d expected the same, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Plus,” Bridget continued, “my text thread with Maggie has been conspicuously quiet, which would worry me under normal circumstances. But you haven’t had to sprint out of the office in search of your children, so it seems like a step in the right direction.”
Was I ready for this conversation? Bridget knew me better than just about anyone, something she loved to rub in my face on a weekly basis. Which meant it was pointless to lie.
I carefully closed my laptop, sat back in my chair, and laid my folded hands over my stomach while I stared at her.
She nodded seriously. “That bad.”
Long ago, I’d learned that yelling and cursing when you’re upset does absolutely nothing. It doesn’t lessen your pain, it doesn’t make the situation disappear. Creating the energy I wanted around me was paramount to my coaching strategy—to my parenting strategy too.Used to drive Rachel insane. She wanted me to fight with her. Fight and yell and get upset when she pulled shit on me. And I never did. Not with my team either. I wasn’t the guy screaming in their faces, but they knew exactly what I demanded of them, even when I remained quiet.
And if I could harness that tone when discussingLily, then I could manage it anywhere else.
“She drives me insane,” I said in an even tone.
“Does she?” Bridget folded her arms. “In what way?”
“Pretty much every way that exists. She doesn’t listen to me. Doesn’t follow my rules. She’s constantly trying to push my buttons.”
If I thought too hard about thefifteen minutecomment, I’d lose my tenuous grip on my emotions. I almost had when she’d said it. I was too tired to think too much on the sex I wasn’t having, and hadn’t had in the couple years since Rachel and I last ... tried. Leave it tothiswoman to make me think about it.
“So,” Bridget drawled, “your quarterback and your nanny are putting you in the same corner, it seems.”
My eye twitched. “Apparently.”
She grinned. “How’s that feel, boss?”
“About as great as you can imagine.”
Bridget laughed. “Oh, come on, she cannot be that bad.”
I let out a weary exhale. “She is. But my children adore her, so I just have to ... deal with it. With her.”
