Winning the Super Bowl is going to take 110% of my focus and attention.
“Thanks, Kennedy,” I say as he walks over to another section of the room, and I let myself process everything he said.
No doubt it feels good to have told someone else. I was starting to go a little nuts just carrying that shit around. And I feel a little more at ease about the whole figuring-it-out thing.
What I didn’t mention to Chase was that the “random girl” I hooked up with and got pregnant now works for the team, partially owns the team, is in charge of my PR, and…oh right.
I’m completely fucking crazy about her.
Twelve
Ellie
Fridays. They really do come every single week, don’t they? This is officially the longest I’ve ever been living in the same place as my family since high school, and as much as I love my brothers and my parents, I sort of feel like I’m under a microscope at these weekly dinners.
I like to tell myself it’s because I’m the youngest. And the only daughter. And it has nothing to do with the fact I’m carrying the baby of, to them, a mystery man, and I feel like there’s a stamp on my forehead that reads Family Slut.
“Elizabeth.” My dad says my name over the low hum of chewing and forks tapping on salad plates.
I swallow and force myself to look up at him and remain strong and unfazed. “Yes?”
He sips a glass of gin and swirls it around. “How’s it going working with the team? Making some good strides?” In classic Christopher Vice fashion, he keeps talking before I have a chance to actually answer the questions. “Super Bowl is…what? A month away now? There’s a lot at stake here. Our first chance to prove ourselves as owners, and it’s a big one.”
“I know,” I jump in, knowing that if I don’t open my mouth and start talking, he’ll just keep piling on the pressure. “And it’s going really well.” I glance at Noah, sitting across from me, and telepathically beg for backup.
“It is,” he says, nodding and dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “Ellie’s been diving in headfirst on the marketing and branding of the quarterback.”
“Mmm. McKenzie, yeah. He’s still young. Needs to grow. But he’s got a hell of an arm.”
“He does,” I agree, willfully silencing the swarm of butterflies and nerves that race through me because of this particular topic of conversation. “I went to the playoff game at home last Sunday to really get a feel for who he is on the field and to the team. I want to use social media, sports outlets, and a personal appeal to get the fans to rally behind him and not see him as the backup for Chase anymore.”
“Sunday’s game?” my mom chimes in, frowning in confusion. “You weren’t in the executive suite.”
Ethan cuts a bite of salmon and narrows his eyes. “Yeah, we were at that game.”
“I actually sat in the family box, with the players’ wives and kids and all that.”
“Shit, seriously?” Clay asks on a soft laugh. “Why?”
Oh, funny you should ask. Because Matt the Quarterback gave me the tickets when I went to his apartment at one in the morning to talk about the fact that we’re having a baby together…and I also kissed him a lot.
“Like I said.” I straighten my back. “I’m approaching it from a very personal perspective.” I clear my throat. “Not just for Matt, but for the whole team. I want to know their families and personalities and who they are on and off the field.”
I pause for a second and feel every powerful, brilliant, and sometimes intimidating set of eyes on me.
“There’s a lot of great quarterbacks in the NFL,” I continue. “Any player at all, even fourth string, is going to be a hell of an athlete to have made it to that point. Matt is a good football player, but that’s not what sets him apart. So I wanted to find what about him could appeal to fans on a personal level and then get that side of him in front of them with Twitter and Instagram and ESPN features, etc.”
“Huh.” My dad sips his drink and leans back. “That’s very good, Ellie.”
Jayson, sitting next to me, laughs. “Under all the ripped muscles and football pads, they have feelings, too,” he coos in a teasing voice.
I snort and shove him playfully. “Sort of. It’s more that I want to show the public who