Page 26 of Too Far

None of the information we’ve gone over is new. No, this meeting has been nothing but an excruciating exercise in revealing the full extent of the invasion of privacy that’s about to occur in the name of marketing and promotion.

The SportsZone deal is all-consuming. They have unprecedented access to me, to the guys, to the house, to our lives.

Unprecedented.

And yet here we fucking are—establishing precedence.

“The right of first refusal clause outlined in 17.8.2 renews with each reprint,” one of my dad’s lawyers explains from the screen at the front of the room.

That’s how I’ve started to think of them.

Dad’s lawyers.

Not mine. Not ours.

His.

For the last few years, I’ve been resting on my laurels when I should have been taking a vested interest in the business dealings related to my career.

The goal has always been to hustle my ass off to secure NIL deals and to take the guys along with me for the ride. I’ve spent the last three and a half years actively pursuing every moneymaking opportunity available to me.

It has never been about money. Between my dad’s legacy, my own deals, and my mom’s estate, which I’m the sole beneficiary of, I’m set for life. I could walk away from football tomorrow and not have a single financial need if I made smart investments and lived conservatively.

But things are different for my boys.

Any time I could work Kendrick into a deal, I did.

When a local opportunity that wasn’t too physically demanding of Nicky arose, I insisted he be included, too.

I welcomed the deals. Sought them out, even.

Nicky won’t go pro. After this season, he’s done. The toll is too high, his pain too great. He’ll always be taken care of because he’s family, but I wanted to ensure he has cash available while he figures out what comes after football.

Kwillgo pro. We were supposed to enter the draft together.

That may change after the incident with the photographer. He’s always kept his image squeaky clean, but aggravated assault will be a big blight on his reputation. Lots of athletes who find themselves facing similar charges still get picked up by professional teams, but then some don’t. Only time will tell.

Regardless, he does a ton for his sisters, going so far as to pay their private school tuition. His father is well-known and highly admired in our community, but he’s not making bank as the sheriff of Lake Chapel. Kendrick contributes more financially to his family than he lets on.

I yawn to force my jaw to relax.

I need to get up and move. Stretch. Take a hot shower.

Check on the guys.

Check on my girl.

“It’s getting late,” I interject when there’s a lull in the conversation.

“Ah, that it is,” my dad replies from his box on the screen, as if he wasn’t fully aware of how long this session has been drawn out. “We’ve only got one more item on the agenda, so let’s move on to that.”

“Decker,” one of the lawyers begins—I don’t know his name, and I don’t care to learn it. “It was brought to our attention that one resident in your home does not have a nondisclosure on file.”

Crickets.

Silence.

Dazed, numb even, I’m lost in the ether of panic and protectiveness, paralyzed by fear, too scared to say the wrong thing or reveal too much.