“No amount of money is getting me out of bed before the Today Show theme music starts playing.” She wrapped the uneaten portion of her burrito back in the foil and pushed it to the side. “And speaking of money, that’s another discussion we need to have before we leave this restaurant.” She folded her hands on the table. “Now, my clients usually pay me per session, but as you pointed out, you’re not like my other clients.”

Jamar couldn’t help but laugh at the way she’d used his words against him. It was such a boss move.

“That’s true. I guess we need to come up with some sort of payment schedule.” He did the math in his head. “I’ll pay you eighteen hundred per week, for the next eight weeks.”

“Wait a minute.” She held up a finger before grabbing her phone. She tapped on the screen a few times before she said, “That’s only fourteen thousand four hundred. You’ll still owe me another six hundred dollars. And if I’m driving to your home every day, I’ll need compensation for gas and mileage.”

She had a point.

“Okay, I’ll pay you two thousand a week for the next eight weeks.”

“Deal,” Taylor said.

The way she’d finessed that extra grand from him was pretty impressive. Maybe his agent, Micah Hill, should talk to her about joining Hill Sports Management.

“Does nine a.m. work for you?” she asked.

“If you say nine a.m., I’ll be ready at nine a.m. You’re the boss.”

Her mouth curled up in a smile. “I like the sound of that.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Taylor pulled to the side of the narrow asphalt road, convinced the GPS had guided her in the wrong direction. There was no way Jamar Dixon lived in this wooded area, which was better suited for a scene in a B-rated horror flick than the home of a former NFL player. She understood wanting peace and quiet, but this was tiptoeing into recluse territory.

Samiah and London had made her promise to text when she arrived at his house and once every hour that she was there. They really were as bad as her mother at times, except they didn’t give her side-eye when she had more than one alcoholic beverage at dinner.

Taylor tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and rubbed her hands together.

“Okay, Taylor Renee. Time to earn that money.”