Hail Mary Baby: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (10 page)

T
he producer picked the restaurant
. A fancy Italian joint in the heart of Brooklyn. It was wonderful. We sat in a clean corner of the outside area and I couldn’t help but feel like I was right at home.

“So, you ready for your own show?” He asked me. He was a pudgy bald man with a thick nose. His eyes were round and full, and beads of sweat hung on his forehead like morning dew. He wasn’t my cup of tea, but he
was
the producer, so I had to play nice.

I leaned forward and made sure not to break eye contact. “Jacob, I’ve got my own show now. I imagine this will be something of the same, just with more content. Right?” His eyes left mine as he gazed at my tits. If this wasn’t an important business meeting, I would have slapped him for it. “Are you listening to me?” I asked him, getting annoyed by his silence.

“What? Oh yes!” He had regained his sense of self and replied, “Well, honey. It’s not
exactly
the same. This is another stepping stone for you. Yes, there will be more content. But with more content comes more responsibility. If you feel good about this, I feel good about this. Got it?”

“Well, I don’t feel good about this.” I said. He raised his eyebrows. “I feel
great
about this. We’re going to fucking kill this, Jacob. Don’t even worry. It’s all smooth sailing from here on out.” I said. He looked relieved. The real truth of the matter was that I had no idea if the show was going to be successful. But you had to dress it up for these guys or they wouldn’t take you seriously.

To the men of industry, women like me are just a pair of tits and a nice ass to sit on their faces. Well, I wasn’t going to be pigeonholed. This was my new show and I saw it as building my career. By the time I got to Jacob’s age, I would fucking run the company and I’d do it better than him or any other man could.

“Good, good.” He replied, gulping down his red wine. He grabbed a cigar from his pocket and lit it up. “Is this okay?”

“Do whatever you want. Make yourself comfy. This is your city, after all.” I said, smiling.

Moments later, the dinner came out. Fresh lasagna, a side of meatballs, and breaded chicken covered in delicious marinara. It wasn’t exactly the wine and dine type of dinner I was used to but I grabbed a small portion of each and dug in. I had a hard week and now it was time for some comfort food.

Inside, something caught my eye. A television was playing loudly and people were yelling at the screen practically every 30 seconds. “What the hell is going on in there?” I asked.

Jacob turned and gasped. “Ah shit! I forgot. Patriots are playing the Giants! I got 4,000 dollars riding on this damn game.”

I looked over his shoulder at the TV. I could barely make out the score. 21-14, Patriots lead. On the screen flashed Liam’s face. “Oh, God.” Jacob mumbled. “That asshole. You know, he’s a real prick. Cost me a lot of money.”

“That’s why you hate the guy? Because he cost you a lot of money?” I asked him, getting slightly defensive.

“Honey, it’s not just me. All of New York hates the guy. It’s like I said. He’s a real prick. You’ve seen him in interviews, right?”

I nodded, feeling my blood pressure rise. “Yeah. I’ve seen him.” I paused, trying to think of the right words to say.

“And what do you think?” He asked me, very concerned like.

“Ha, well. Let’s see. He’s sexy, powerful, an incredible player, and yes he’s a dick sometimes. But he’s one of the best the sport has seen. You can’t exactly argue against him.”

He looked surprised. A spaghetti noodle hung out his mouth. He burst out laughing. “Sweet-cheeks! You crack me up. You really do, you know that? I think we’re going to make a great team, you and I.” He laughed.

“Me too, Jacob. Hey, do you think we should have him on the show?” I asked, feeling daring.

“What? Who?” The customers inside roared with cheering as one of the Giants secured a first down.

“Liam Conway. I think he’d make a really good guest. We could have an interview. Maybe follow him on the street. We could call the segment ‘A day in the life of Liam Conway.”

He looked bored. “I’m serious!” I said. “Think about it, Jacob. It would be great. We could bring him out to Brooklyn. We’ll have him go to the
most
New York establishments and see how he interacts with business owners and people on the street.”

“It would be a disaster.” He said with a straight face.

“Exactly! Imagine the ratings bump. People either love or hate Liam. And no matter what side you’re on, you’d be watching my show. Right? Don’t try and tell me you wouldn’t be glued to your damn television, Jacob.”

On the television, the subtitles read: “And Conway does it again! He's brought the Patriots to victory! What a throw!”

“Well, I guess I’d tune in for that…” He mumbled. “I still don’t know if it’s such a good idea. Let’s see how the first few episodes do and then we’ll talk.”

“Aw, c’mon Jacob. Please? For me?” I pouted my lips, leaning over the table. He couldn’t resist my charm. He had to oblige.

I actually agreed with Jacob for the most part. It was kind of a stupid idea. But the ratings would be good enough for the networks to be cool with it and since I knew that Liam would come to New York or Los Angeles to talk about Alex regardless, I might as well make it more about business than anything else. I was still pissed as hell at him.

“I don't know, Laura. It's like I said, just wait a minute and see how the show does…” He mumbled.

I grabbed my phone from my purse and started dialing. “I'll tell you what, Jacob. Since you don't think it can be done, let’s ring him up and see if he's available. If he isn't, then we’ll throw the idea away. But if he is, let’s negotiate. If I can bring him down to a good number for you, what's the harm? It's just a guest.” I said. He still looked hesitant, but I brushed it off and dialed anyway.

The phone rang against my steady and patient ear. If I was forced to see Liam again, I might as well have some fun with it, right? Finally, after the 5
^th
ring, he answered. “Hey, sorry, I'm in the locker room. What's up? Did you watch the game?” He asked me. It was hard not to laugh, as I felt the wine warming up my face and body.

“Yeah, I kind of watched it. But I have bigger eggs to fry right now. Hey, so real quick, I have a question for you.” Jacob was shaking his head and wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead with his napkin. He began motioning for me to hang up. I put my hand out and clasped his, whispering “Stop it.”

“Alright, busy girl. What do you need from me? Anything for my babe.” He said. What an arrogant prick.

“First of all, I'm not your babe. Second of all, how would you like to be on my new show for half your asking price?” I smiled at Jacob who was now confused to high hell.

Liam coughed loudly. “Half? Sounds like a terrible deal. I'll take it.” He said.

“You'll do it? Great!” I yelled. Some of the guest turned to look at me.

“Yeah, of course I'll do it. Does this mean I've earned some points with you? Can I see my son yet?” He asked.

“Don't start with me, Liam.” I whispered, cupping my phone. I glanced at Jacob who now looked more bored than anything. “Thanks for doing this. I'll text you my address, can you be here in three days?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think I can work something out. We’ll have a couple days together.”

“Don't press issue.” I laughed and hung up the phone.

I turned and looked at Jacob. “So what’s for dessert?”

D
ays had passed
and the game was becoming easier and easier to play. All I had to do was channel my innermost desires and play as if they were on the line. Right now, Alex and Laura were the two things I would fight for. If I didn't have them, I had nothing. I truly believed that.

“You're crazy, man.” Jenkins told me over the phone one day. “She's just pussy. That's it. You don't think I've got kids around some of the cities we played in? Shit, I've got like three. I send the women checks and I get to keep my life intact.”

“Great. Sounds like you've got everything under control.” I said sarcastically. I shook my head, actually disgusted by the thought of that.

“Brother, it's what we do. We’re sports players. We don't live for the family life. We live for the game. That's it. You know, I’m actually starting to worry about you. You're playing good again, but maybe you need a rebound or some shit to get over this girl of yours.”

“You're wrong, Jenkins. I'm sorry, but it's not like that for me anymore. I love the game. But this woman comes first. And the baby, that's my flesh and blood, bro. You don’t understand. He needs me there. He needs me to take care of him.” It was hard to convince him and I understood why. But I wasn't like that anymore. I wasn't a hound dog, trying to fuck every chick in sight. That was the old Liam Conway.

That was the scope of the conversations I had about the situation. The
only
person who really gave a fuck and understood where I was coming from was Coach Stevens. Every time I saw him, he'd ask me for an update. And as things progressed in my life, I played better. I had more determination to succeed and I attributed it all to the two I loved most.

Well, I took a few days off to head to the city. The Big Apple, home of our rivals. I actually liked it out there though. It felt synthetic and real all at the same time. It was a lot different from Dallas, I'll say that much.

My driver dropped me off in the heart of Manhattan, right at Laura’s beautiful new home. She answered the door and ushered me in.

She was wearing a button down pink sun dress, and boy did she look hot as fire. I wanted to fall on my hands and knees, and crawl underneath the flowing cotton. I wanted to lap at her like a dog. I wanted to consume her core, until she felt wholly good inside and out. Instead, I kissed her cheek and said, “You look beautiful.”

“Shut up.” She smiled. “You're trying too hard now and it's not going to work.”

“I mean it. You're scorching right now. Like drop dead gorgeous.” I put my hand around her waist and felt the warmth of her body. Her face turned flush and she pushed me away lightly.

“Thank you. You look good too.” She said. I got it. She didn't want to let up too easy. I still had to earn her trust back. I was cool with that. Still, it was hard not to kiss her, touch her, and pull her in close to me. “Come on. The camera crew is in the other room.”

As we walked into the other room, I started to feel hesitant about all of this. “What exactly do you want me to do?” I asked her plainly.

She looked at me and said, “Honestly, nothing crazy. You owe me that interview. I'm just making you come through on your promise. I'm not going to exploit you, don't worry. I have too much respect for you to do that.”

I thought back to the day I met her. Me, being the prick I am, saying whatever the fuck I wanted to. I remembered how she hung her head when she realized I wasn't going to say something nice. That was when I knew I wanted her more than anything. There wasn't any logic to it. I just did. I promised her the interview of a lifetime and I was going to give her more than that.

“Liam, meet our producer, Jacob. Over here is the camera crew.”

From the moment I saw him, I hated him. He was too close with Laura, always rubbing his greasy hands on her shoulder, telling her what to do. I didn't like guys like him. He was the kind of guy who got picked on in high school, the kind of guy who got a taste of money and used it to prey on beautiful women. He was a disgusting piece of trash.

“Nice to meet ya.” I muttered. “So what's the plan?”

Jacob was eyeing me with a smile in his face. I could see the dollar signs flash in his pupils. I hated producers as much as I hated any kind of manager, agent or CEO. They were all suits to me, one in the same.

“We’ll start out with an interview. I think we should talk about your family life growing up. People love that kind of stuff. We’ll cut the scenes with you enjoying a day in New York City.”

“Sounds good, boss.” I said.

I sat down in the chair, feeling the burning hot light shine across my face. Laura sat down in front of me, crossing her legs. I wanted to pounce on her, right here. I needed her so fucking badly.

“Liam Conway, I'm extremely excited to have you on the show.”

“Thanks, Laura. It's great to be here.” I said.

Jacob jumped in and yelled, “Cut, cut, cut! Let's do it over.”

“What's the problem?” Laura asked him.

He looked over at me and smiled condescendingly. “Liam. What can I do for you to make you relax? You want a beer? Hey Samantha, get him a beer.” He called out to an assistant.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” I was already this close to socking him.

“Get him a damn beer, Samantha!” He yelled at his assistant again.

“Do not get me a beer, Samantha.” I said, clenching my jaw tight.

“Let up, Jacob.” Laura warned him.

But he wasn't letting up. He apparently wanted to get his nose broken in by me. “Liam, I apologize. I just want the interview to go well. I have a network to run and what we air needs a certain
umph
to it. It was an okay start, but why don't we get that Liam Conway personality out a bit more.” He said.

“I don't know what you're fucking talking about.” I said back at him, standing up now.

Jacob clapped his hands together loudly. “Yes! There it is! That attitude. It's you, Liam we need more of that. That's the Liam our audience knows and loves.” He was smiling directly at me. I was fuming.

“You don't know me, pal.” I said.

“Jacob, relax. I got this. The interview will be good. Can you just go home or something? You're making this kind of difficult.” Laura interjected. Her face was red with embarrassment. Now it was personal for me.

“Difficult? Laura, sweetie. What's difficult is pleasing the audience.” He walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. His fingers slid over, practically onto the top of her breasts. “How ‘bout you leave me to the decision making, honey. I'll steer this in the right direction. You trust me, don't you?”

I didn't even give her a chance to respond. “Don't touch her.” I said. It was an easy thing to understand. Apparently for him, it was rocket science.

“What?” He asked me.

“You don't touch a lady unless she asks you to.” I repeated.

“Why don't you mind your own business, jerkoff.” He said to me. That got me going.

I was on my feet, fists tightened with rage and fury. I swung back my arm as if I were about to throw the winning pass. Then, with the speed of a hundred horses, my knuckles came crashing down on his nose and jaw.
Crack!
I felt his cartilage shatter against my hand. Of course that little slimy man brought out the anger in me. It's what he wanted from me right? Well, he got it. He got it good.

“Liam!” Laura yelled, jumping toward Jacob. “Oh my God. Jacob, I am so sorry. I had no idea he would do this!” She looked at me as if I were the devil.

“Ah shit.” I muttered. “Look, I was just trying to protect the lady, okay? You understand right?” I helped him up. Blood was crusted on his jacket.

“My nose! I'll sue you, asshole! I'll sue the both of you! You'll never get any work in this town. That much I can promise you both! Fuck!” He yelled, stomping around the room like a child.

“I'll pay for the hospital bill and some. Just don't fucking touch people like that. They're not your objects, brother.” I was justified. I knew I was. The guy was a creep. I just did what others were too scared to do. He wouldn't sue me. They never did. I turned to Laura and said, “I'm really sorry.”

“Just. Leave.” She said with tears in her eyes. Her face was harsh, but she looked more heartbroken than angry.
Fuck, just when I was going to make it up to her,
I thought to myself.