Page 34 of Only for Me

“You did but you can still make it right. Start by apologizing and ask her what she needs instead of deciding for her.”

“You got a kid somewhere I don’t know about?”

He frowned hard. “Hell nah but you’re a QB. Women throw pussy at you just because of your position on the field. You don’t have to work for it. I do, so I invest in learning about women. I know how they think. I’ll school you when you’re ready.”

“You can’t tell me shit.”

“Muthafucker, I’ve been dropping knowledge since you sat your ass down. The fuck?”

I chuckled and brushed a hand over my head again. “Things are weird between us. Once I figure that out, I’ll be straight. She isn’t scared to call me out about my shit.”

“You’re used to the ones who open their legs when you snap your fingers. Getting pussy is easy, gaining respect from a woman is an entirely different beast.”

“Most women want something from me. Status, money, connections. All she wants is for me to leave her the hell alone.”

“And you love that shit.”

I did. It was attractive as hell to know she didn’t give a damn about anything I could offer her.

“I like that she’s not trying to play me or get in my pockets.”

“You also don’t like that she’s not trying to hop on your dick.”

“I can fuck her if I want to.”

The problem was what the hell would happen after that because I’d want more.

“Focus on your daughter, O. Anything else is gonna have you fucked and that’s the last thing you need.”

Too late for that, I was already fucked because Makari held all the cards.

Chapter 7

Makari

Isat cross-legged on the sofa balancing my laptop on my knees while Avi kept herself entertained with the plush toys attached to her bouncer activity station. I was grateful for the temporary distraction because I needed to take a video call with Brenden Kelsey, a rising Crescent Falls Royals star. The call wasn’t going as smoothly as I hoped but I refused to let this man stress me out.

“I need you to understand that your comment was out of line. You can’t make blunt statements about reporters’ appearances. It’s inappropriate. Focus on the questions they ask and that’s all.”

I was working to keep my tone professional while hoping Avi’s babbling didn’t get any louder.

“It wasn’t that deep. I was giving shorty a compliment.” His brows pinched like he was annoyed and didn’t see the problem. “Shit, all I said was she was too pretty to be aggravating people with bullshit questions.”

I briefly closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. “That’s my point. You demeaned her ability to do her job by focusing on her looks. She’s a professional journalist andthejournalist whocovers the Royals. She can make or break your career. Don’t you see how that poses a problem?”

“I hear you but I didn’t mean shit by it. Not like they’re trying to present it and she is pretty as hell. Damn, just take the compliment, shorty.”

He truly didn’t get it and that was going to make fixing this much harder. “The intent truly doesn’t matter. It’s the nature of how what you said was interpreted. Fans are labeling you as sexist. Your team’s PR department is flooded with calls demanding that you be held accountable, and when the season starts, you might as well be prepared to be bypassed for media coverage.”

Avi squealed in the background and Brenden grinned big as hell. “That’s your lil shorty?”

“Yes, sorry, she’s having a little too much fun right now.”

“It’s cool, I get it.”

“Let’s get focused. We have to make sure we get the right apology out there before this gets worse.”

“Why the hell I gotta apologize for giving her a compliment? That’s bullshit.”