He could feel heat rising up the back of his neck as he sat there under her silent scrutiny. After several torturous moments, she slapped her hands on the table and said, “Okay, enough with this defeatist attitude. I do not tolerate that shit from my clients.”

Jamar’s muscles went weak as pent-up tension ebbed from his body. He wasn’t a big fan of hyperbole, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his career hinged on her answer. He’d tried going at this alone for months, but his discipline level was at an all-time low. He needed someone like Taylor to break through whatever was holding him back.

“So your answer is yes?” he asked. He had to make sure he hadn’t misinterpreted her response.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I would be a fool to pass up this kind of money and the opportunity to work with a potential NFL star.” She held up both hands. “However, I have my own caveat.”

Jamar braced himself. “Go on.”

“If— No, when,” she corrected. “When you make it back to the NFL, you have to agree to endorse Taylor’d Conditioning. And you have to recommend me to your footballer buddies.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Footballer buddies, huh?”

“The NFL is like one big fraternity, isn’t it?”

“Close to it,” he answered.

“I figured it was like the military in that way. So yes, that’s my requirement. Once you’re playing again, I expect you to sing my praises to all your teammates.” She arched her eyebrows. “So do we have a deal?”

Jamar held out his palm. “Deal,” he said when she clasped his proffered hand.

“Okay, so if I’m going to get you in tip-top shape in just two months, we have to get started right away.”

“I’m ready right now,” he said.

“Whoa, whoa. Slow your roll, Twenty-Three. I didn’t mean this very minute. I don’t have any gear, and I will not go to your house without first letting my friends know where I am.”

Before he knew what she was doing, she lifted his phone from his hand and held it up to his face, unlocking it.

“Hold on. What are you—”

“Just give me a minute,” she said. Her fingers moved swiftly across the screen. Then she smiled, snapped a selfie, and handed the phone back to him. A second later, her phone rang. She turned it to face him and Jamar saw his name on her phone. “I added my number to your contacts and now I have yours. Smile,” she said, then snapped a picture of him. She frowned. “Ugh. No. There are way better pics of you online. I’ll just download one of those.”

She set her phone down. “Okay, so we meet tomorrow. What time do you want to get started?”

“I’m up at six every morning.”