Rachel
Boss incoming! I’ll text you later.
While he had his mobile out, he checked the other messages. There were a number from Brad (nothing new about that) as well as one from Coco and one from his mum.
It was the text from his teammate Armando Vasquez that caught his attention. Armando was twenty-four. Though a nice enough Argentinian guy, his head was full with fame as his career was beginning to skyrocket. He didn’t just reach out to ask how you were. A message from him meant something was wrong.
Jamie sighed as he read it. Sure enough, his girlfriend was pregnant and he needed help figuring out what to do.
Jamie had never been caught with his pants down like that. His dad had drilled it into him at an early age that as a football player, he was going to have a lot of women offer themselves to him and that he needed to protect himself and them. Claudia had driven that home. Condoms were a given. If he were an agent, that would be the first conversation he’d have with a young client.
Shaking his head, he typed his reply.
Jamie
Do you love her?
Not surprisingly, Armando texted back immediately.
Armando Vasquez
It doesn’t matter. She’s having my baby, man.
Jamie
It does matter. You shouldn’t marry someone you don’t love.
You’ll be setting yourself up to fail, and it sets the wrong example for your child.
Do you want to be a father to the kid?
Armando Vasquez
I want to make sure he’s okay.
That was no answer. Being a father was more than just handing over money. His own dad was evidence of that.
Armando Vasquez
AndI can’t abandon her.
Jamie recognized that for what it was: a line. Management taught them to say things like that to keep appearances up for the public. Footballers had a reputation for bad behavior.
Jamie
Be honest with her.
Tell her you want her to be happy, but you aren’t ready for marriage.
Assure her that you want to make sure she and the baby are comfortable.
You agree on terms, including money and visitation, and maybe other things that are important to you, like where the kid will go to school.
Jamie
AND YOU PUT IT IN WRITING.
Make sure you have a contract, a GOOD one.