“What the hell are you even doing here, Jackson? You’ve never come to my house before.”
“Well, it is something important, and I didn’t see the point in pulling you from your home just for that. Anyway, there’s something you seem to have forgotten, so I came to remind you.”
“What? Something I’ve forgotten?”
“Yes. The contract, remember? You didn’t sign it before, and until you do, you’re not officially part of the Southern Eagles. You can practice with them right now, but when the season starts, you won’t be able to play in any official games if this isn’t taken care of. So, I brought the contract with me.”
He settled his briefcase on his lap and pulled out some documents, then set them on the table and returned his briefcase to the floor. From the inside of his coat pocket, he pulled out a pen, laid it on top of the documents, and pushed them towards me. I could only stare at them as if they’d jump at me and try to bite me.
“The contract?” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Jackson said, sarcastic. “You know, that official paper I told you a while ago that you needed to sign, and you said to wait a bit and see? Well? I heard practice has been going well with the team, so it should be fine now, right? Just sign it so I can take it to the team owner. We need a few signatures from their side as well, and then...”
I’d stopped listening to what he was saying. For now, this wasn’t important. I needed to talk to Zoe before I made any kind of decision. Well, I had some time, still, so Jackson just had the worst timing.
“You can go ahead and take this back with you for now,” I said, cutting him off. “I’ll look at them some other day.”
He blinked at me in surprise, then frowned. “Howard, these are papers you need to sign. You’ve put it off long enough, already. Just sign them so I can go.”
I lay back on my couch and stared at the TV, a clear dismissal.
“You and those papers can just fuck off for now, Jackson. I won’t be signing anything just yet, and I want to be left alone, please.”
He couldn’t argue with me. He worked for me, and he also knew me. When I decided on something, it wasn’t easy for me to change my mind, and since I didn’t say I wouldn’t sign at all, he would be appeased for a while.
I’d completely forgotten about the contract, actually.
It was kind of funny, because I’d chosen that contract in exchange for keeping Ben’s condition to stay away from Zoe, and now that she was the one completely avoiding me, I regretted it. Would things have been better if I wasn’t offered the contract?
Zoe, I swear it doesn’t matter to me. Not nearly as much as you do.
If only there was a way for me to convey those words to her. I could only hope that Kayla had managed to give her my message, anyway, but I wanted to tell it to her face. That I would give up anything even my position in the Southern Eagles if it meant she would be happy, and she would be with me.
Jackson sighed, but went to put the documents away. “Since that’s your decision for now, I guess I can give you a few more days–”
“Actually, can you give me a week?”
I didn’t know how long it would take for Zoe to come back, but a week was a good estimate. If Kayla did manage to send her my message, she would hopefully be back soon.
“Howard, it’s already been weeks–”
“Then I need one more,” I cut in. “Has anyone come asking for the contract? Not yet, right? Then you can keep a hold of it for a while longer, can’t you? That’s the one thing you can do for me right now.”
Jackson rubbed his creased forehead, looking frustrated. I wouldn’t quite say he and I were close. I could call him a friend, but I’d never actually hung out with him when he wasn’t giving me talk about work. I did feel sorry for giving him so much trouble.
“Howard, I really don’t understand you,” he said. “This is something you wanted, right? You badgered me over it for days until I finally agreed! And now, when you finally get what you want, you don’t want it anymore? I’ve already told you, at your age it’ll be hard getting another good team. Even I was skeptical of these guys, but I think it’s a great opportunity. Give it a serious thought, Howard.”
I had given it serious thought. Ever since I left Kayla’s apartment, I’d thought a lot, and I didn’t think Jackson was going to be impressed with what I’d come up with, but it was my decision.
“It’s still important to me, but things have changed,” I said after a while. “I promise I’ll let you know what I plan later, just let me think things through. I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone.”
Chapter Seventeen
Howard
I’d fallen asleep on the couch again. I woke up with a groan, arching my body and stretching out a few kinks in my neck. I felt uncomfortable, but instead of moving, I just remained curled on the couch after my stretch.