Page 349 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5

I laughed and turned around but didn’t see him.

Another text: “Sorry, more like 4 o’clock.”

I turned my head but only saw a homeless man sitting on the bleachers. The homeless man proceeded to stand up and wave frantically at me.

I squinted at him. Yeah, the guy in the frumpy clothes was Tanner alright. With a big fake mustache. I couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded me of all the times Rob had tried to convince me that Tanner was great at disguises. That he walked around the city in fancy suits and a man bun. If Tanner’s current ensemble and the fuzzy caterpillar sitting on his upper lip was any indicator, he was freaking awful at disguises.

Tanner texted me again: “So we’re both set. Only one loose thread. Where is stupid Robert?”

Super clever burn.“I told him to be here a little before practice ended. He’ll be here soon.”

“Practice ends in 20 min. Cutting it close if you ask me. He has no respect for top secret missions.”

I shook my head and turned back to practice. Maybe Jefferson was still struggling because I couldn’t ever focus anymore. At the beginning of the season, I had been daydreaming about Penny all the time. Then I started worrying about Poppy and Mr. Pruitt. And now I was thinking about Kennedy all day. Which made no sense, because I was probably 20 minutes away from being killed by a hitwoman. Kennedy should have been the last person on my mind. She should have always been the last person on my mind inthatway. But seeing her again had been a breath of fresh air.

“Just kick the ball!” Smith yelled at Jefferson. “It’s not that hard.” Smith grabbed the football off the ground, placed it in the dirt, and then proceeded to kick a perfect field goal.

Fuck.I blew my whistle. “Sprints. Now.”

Smith turned to me. “But Coach…”

I blew my whistle again. I didn’t want to hear what smart remark he had. The last thing Jefferson needed right now was to feel even worse. Couldn’t Smith see that? “Everyone. Now.”

The whole team groaned. But they started to run back and forth on the field, because they knew if they didn’t, I’d just demand they do something even worse.

“What did the team do to deserve that?” Rob asked as he joined me on the sidelines.

“Roughing the kicker.”More or less.

Rob laughed. “That scrawny little guy? What the heck is he even doing on the team?”

I looked at Rob. Honestly, I had no idea what Jefferson was doing on the team. I had been trying to make his time at Empire High easier, but all I was doing was making it worse. All of that was suddenly in the back of my mind though because Rob was also dressed like a homeless guy.

“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked.

“A disguise.”

“I didn’t tell you to dress up.”

“Right. But it’s a top secret mission. Which always require disguises.” He scrutinized my sweatpants and Empire High t-shirt. “I guess we chose the same disguise.”

Why did everyone keep making fun of my coaching outfit? “I’m not dressed like a homeless guy.”

“Whatever you say.” He patted my back. “So what’s the plan? Is the hitwoman even here?”

“I haven’t seen her yet.”

“I guess I should go hide somewhere? Oh yeah, here’s the camera.” He pulled the camera out of a small case in his pocket. “Don’t break it.”

“I won’t. But um…how does it work?”

Rob laughed and peeled it out of the case. Yes, peeled it out, like a sticker. It was clear and he stuck it next to the Eagle emblem on my t-shirt. It was completely undetectable. I even knew where it was and I could hardly see it.

“I need your phone,” he said.

I handed it to him.

He pressed a few buttons and then handed it to me. “It’s all linked up now. The video feed is already rolling and it’s getting uploaded directly to your phone.”