Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(45)

“She’s meeting you in Nashville, remember?” Alicia reminded him. “I’ve been talking to her and I know she still loves you, it’s just hard on her here trying to take care of the twins on her own.”

“I hired a nanny, hell, I would have hired ten nannies to help her out,” Trent spat, frustrated.

“It’s not about that,” Alicia said quietly. “you don’t know how hard it is without family, Trent. I have a nanny but she’s not the same as my mom or X’s mom. We’re lucky they live close and are really involved in the kids’ lives.”

“Well, I’m sorry I don’t have a mom to get involved,” Trent complained bitterly.

Alicia rolled her eyes and chastised him. “Don’t do this again, Trent. Don’t. She loves you, she just needs family around and living out here is not working for her.”

“Right.” Trent pushed away from the table. “I’m getting another beer.” He stalked off toward the house and slammed the door behind him.

“How long as he been like this,” Ameryst asked.

“Since Monica left,” Xander answered, watching for Trent to return. “He’s drunk more than he’s sober. I think he’s the first one to leave and the last one to arrive every day.”

“What are we gonna do?” Jared asked, he had no idea it was this bad and he only had part of the story.

“Get him through to Nashville, try to talk to Monica.” Xander shrugged. “Alicia talks to her about once a week but she’s happy there and it really doesn’t sound like she wants to come back.”

“Can he get traded?” Jared asked Ameryst.

“I don’t know. He’d have to be a part of a package deal with the numbers he put up last night. As a tight end he’s not enough of a commodity on his own, not to any teams right now,” Ameryst replied thoughtfully. “I just don’t know. I can see what I can do but I had no idea it was this bad. He’s really falling apart.”

“What if he had a commodity to be traded with?” Jared asked, an idea taking form in his mind.

Xander’s head snapped over to him. “You aren’t serious?”

“What?” Ameryst asked, missing the idea.

“Represent me then trade me to Nashville as a package deal with Trent,” Jared suggested.

“You want to go to Nashville?” Ameryst looked confused.

“Sure, why not?” Jared shrugged. “I could go for a change of scenery, especially after what I’m going to do to Derek.”

“I can see if there is some interest but I can’t make any promises,” Ameryst agreed, still not quite sure about Jared’s motivation.

“That’s all I ask of you, Ameryst.” Jared grinned, the genuine one. “Now what do I have to do to sign with you?”

“I’ve got the paperwork in my bag.” Ameryst gestured toward the house. “Of course, nothing is legit until you fire Derek, so keep that in mind.”

“Fair enough. I’ll handle that tomorrow and you can start tomorrow evening, deal?” Jared asked.

“Sounds good to me.” Ameryst smiled, wide enough to reach her eyes.

“Great!” Jared exclaimed. “Now let’s try to have some fun, especially since Xander and Alicia have a babysitter for the night.”

“Here, here!” Alicia cheered and raised her glass for a toast. “To new beginnings!”

**

Jared woke to his phone buzzing. So much for the vibrate function being less disruptive to his sleep. He fumbled for the phone and flipped it open to a text from A.J. Jared bolted upright, the room spun for a second but then righted itself so he could read the short communication.

“Got your letter, will be at game.”

That’s it. No more, no less. It didn’t matter to Jared, those seven words made everything he was about to do that much more important. Maybe she would see and understand what he was trying to do. Regardless, she would be at the game. He already knew Rick and his whole family would be there and they were already working on the other part of his plan.

Jared rolled out of bed and dressed quickly. He double checked his reflection, clean-shaven, his hair curling wildly around his head and tickling the nape of his neck. Breakfast consisted of a protein shake while watching the fallout of his Sunday Night Football appearance. Glover had some choice words for the press regarding his thoughts on Jared’s commentary. Jared had to admit it made for great TV and set the stage for his own press conference today.

Driving to Panther Stadium, Jared blared his music, enjoying the solitude of the drive while imagining his reunion with A.J. All he needed to do was get through the next few weeks. He tapped the steering wheel in a haphazard beat, not even close to what poured through his speakers. He recalled a memory of A.J. mocking his lack of rhythm and how it devolved into an amazing make-out session. Soon, you’ll be teasing me again soon.

Jared sauntered into the Panther’s facility and headed straight for the media room in hopes of avoiding the PR people who would only want to advise him on what to say; as if he didn’t already know how to handle the press. Jared pushed open the door and stepped right into the room, already loaded with reporters and cameras just waiting on him.

“Hey everybody!” Jared addressed the room cheerfully as he stepped up on the platform and took the only chair at the table.