Jamar locked the leg press into place and climbed off the machine, then went over to the cubby where he’d left his phone. He opened the browser and clicked on his bookmarks, searching through the collection of Reddit posts and message board threads he’d saved over the past year. He found one of the harshest, posted just after his injury.

He handed her the phone, showing one of the reasons he was willing to work so hard. “This is why I’m busting my ass to get back into the NFL.”

He watched her as she read over the posts, her lips moving as her eyes looked at the screen.

“Ugh, why did you read the comments?” she lamented. “You never, ever, ever read the comments.”

“Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way, and not early enough.” He shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to it over this past year, but it hasn’t been easy, and I still go back and read over them whenever I feel myself getting too comfortable.” He pointed to the phone. “Those people? They’re the reason I’m pushing myself so hard to play ball again, because they think I can’t do it. Revenge can be a hell of an incentive, and I can’t think of sweeter revenge than signing a new contract.”

She looked down at the phone and then back up at him again. A slight smile drew up one corner of her lips. “Well, if that’s the case, get your ass back on that machine. We’ve got work to do.”

Jamar did as he was told, moving from the leg extension to the leg curl machine. His quads felt as if they were in hell, but he knew the result of that burn would be worth it.

Taylor counted him down through his last five reps. “And rest,” she said. “I know you said you want to go for at least five hours a day, but I think we need to gradually build you up to that.”

Jamar didn’t argue the point. He would need to rest his legs for ten minutes before he could take a single step.

“Tomorrow we focus on your upper body. I’ll be here at nine.”

“I need to push our session back to late afternoon if possible tomorrow. The running backs coach at the University of Texas asked me to join them at practice in the morning.”

“Hmm.” Her brow arched. “That actually sounds pretty cool. Can I come too? It’d be the perfect opportunity to see other football players at work—specifically those who play at your position. I could create a workout that’s even better tailored to exactly what you need.”

“What if someone puts two and two together?” Jamar asked. His gut twisted with unease just at the thought of it.