Fuck me. Day one and I was going to be face-to-face with my high school nemesis. It was bound to happen. When the Vikings played against whatever team he was on, I always made it a point to be up in the booth working out plays. I was never down on the field. Now I was going to have to bump elbows with him at dinner.

I forced a smile and nodded. “That sounds great.” My stomach churned. “Just coaches or families, too?” I couldn’t bring myself to say wife or spouse. Even fifteen years later when I should have been over everything, I couldn’t let go of the tug Parker had on my heart.

“Just us and him. It’ll be a quick meeting. We’ll send a car to pick him up tonight,” Jamal said.

“What happened to Tommy?” I asked, hoping my voice sounded normal with just a touch of concern.

“He isn’t interested in starting all over with a new team. He doesn’t feel like uprooting the family and wants to end his career with KC.” Jamal shrugged. I never understood why some players walked away from opportunities after getting this far. I would love to play again, especially for the NFL. Even though I was older, I could still throw a spiral fifty yards.

“Did you call Terry?” Brandon asked.

Terry Scotsman was the general manager of the Cheetahs. I met him once during the interview process and a few times at NFL functions in the past. He was a quiet man with deep pockets and a southern accent.

“He’ll be there. Our reservation is at seven so we have a lot of ground to cover before dinner,” Jamal said.

I spent about twenty minutes with each coach and his players. My adrenaline had worn off, so by lunch, I was ready for carbs. We went back to the conference room and reviewed practice film. It was going to take a lot to get this new team to gel. According to Brandon, the plays were designed around Myers. With him out and no quarterback signed, it was hard to get the offense excited.

I stood next to Brandon and listened to him bark out today’s plans. That was my job, but they were easing me into it. They practiced running plays, trap plays, and our backup quarterback threw several decent passes. The rest of the afternoon was a complete blur. We finally broke at six, but instead of going home and reviewing plays at my leisure, I had to take a quick shower, iron clothes, and head to the steakhouse. Best and worst first day ever.

* * *

A look of complete surprise washed over Grayson’s face when we were introduced. He broke into a grin that highlighted the perfect five o’clock shadow on his square jaw. “Sutton. Wow. Look at you.”

Jamal looked back and forth between us. “You two know each other?”