want.”
Pissed, she grabbed the stuffed bear and threw it at his face. He caught it fast, just like the way he’d catch a ball. “You can’t bribe me. Didn’t your coach tell you that I don’t need your money?”
“What about if it isn’t money?” he asked, handing her back the bear.
“So what else can you give me aside from your money?”
“Hmm.” He stroked his chin, thinking. “There is one, but I still have to think about it.”
“What? Your dick?”
His eyes were wide in shock.
“Your coach told me,” she said to answer his obvious question. “He said you only have two things—your money and your seasoned dick.”
“Seasoned?”
“With varieties of vagina creams sprinkled with herpes virus or… other stuff. Maybe that’s what your uncle meant to say.”
“Ugh.” He cringed. “I’ve made it a habit to wrap my dick well with an elastic, water proof, air tight and vanilla flavored rubber so as not to get in contact with any cream, for your information.”
“You tell that to your uncle. I was just relaying his words to you.”
“Alright.” He threw his hands in the air. “I’ll let that pass. So what terms have you come up with my uncle?”
She rolled her eyes and tossed the bear on the table. “Don’t count on it. I’m determined to settle this in court.”
“And put me in jail for a year?”
“Longer.”
“Come on, Miss Graham.”
“Don’t call me Miss Graham. My name’s Zoey.”
“Alright, Zoey. You know I’ve got a career. I can’t abandon my team.”
“That’s exactly what I want. You go to jail. The Patriots lose. The Jets go all the way to the Superbowl.”
“Did the Jets put that idea in your head?”
“Oh, come on. You sound just like your uncle. None of the Jets told me that. None of them paid me to turn down your offer, as well. I’m just a Jets fan, and I’d do anything to help them win, including putting you in jail.”
“It’s just a game, Zoey. Why do you have to make this personal?”
“To Jets fans like me, anything that has something to do with the Patriots is personal.”
Troy sighed and turned to the door. “Alright, I’m getting back those Barbie dolls that I bought for your kid.”
“Hey!” She tried to grab him back, but he was already out of her reach. “Don’t do that to her. She’ll cry. Deduct them from your obligation to me instead.”
He stopped and turned back to her. “As of now, the court has not imposed any obligations on me yet. All of these I’m doing out of kindness. I do hope you can see that.”
“Fuck your kindness. You think I’m too dumb not to see that this was another of you and your uncle’s trick to get me to cooperate? You won’t get it. Period.”
“Okay.” He shrugged and headed to the door. “By the way, my mother will come get your little girl at five.”
“Who gave you permission to?”
“Just be glad someone else is willing to take care of your child while you’re here.”
He disappeared out of the door, leaving her alone.
She forced air out of her nostrils. That man was as arrogant as how she’d heard from people. He could be the most beautiful man on earth, he could have beaten her Mason Wayne on those surveys, but he would always be a pompous prickhead in her eyes.
Chapter 6
Zoey waved as Bessie ran to her school. After two weeks in the hospital, she was finally discharged. They’d relieved her leg of the hard plaster, but she still had to use crutches to walk. Worse, she had to wear a very long skirt, not only because it was difficult to wear jeans, but to hide her bandaged leg, as well.
She cringed as streaks of pain shot through her leg. She had just taken her pain reliever, but sometimes, even that could not numb away the pain.
Tomorrow, she could start with her therapy, and she hoped it could improve her condition.
She had already lost her job. Yesterday, when she reported back to work, the company offered her a resignation package
Learning to Kill: Stories