Fifty thousand dollars. That is a huge amount of money, and it makes me wonder even more who this guy is and how much he must be worth if his bosses are willing to pay that much money to make sure he stays clean.
The idea of living with and becoming the shadow of a person I don`t know is a bit daunting, but it`s not like I have a lot going on in my life. I`ve been single for over a year, and besides my best friend Gwen and my brother Sam, I don`t have anyone who would miss me.
My mom is always working, and my dad and his new wife have moved to Kansas, so we don`t see each other very often.
What do I have to lose? I would certainly be an excellent addition to my CV.
„Mister Hoggins, I`m going to be very honest with you. I assume my mother being a doctor in a rehabilitation clinic is a big part of why you`ve chosen me for this position, so I feel I need to tell you that even though I know more about addiction than the average person, I`m not trained in any way to deal with people suffering from it.”
„I`m well aware, Sophie, don`t worry. My client is receiving professional care, but his employers are adamant that he receive extra help and, to be honest, extra supervision to not fail in this.”
Well, I suppose I can do that. I`ll have to talk to my mom and ask her for advice on how to best go about this.
„As long as you understand that I have no training in this, then yes, I`m interested in the job.”
„I`m going to need more than that I`m afraid. Before I tell you the identity of my client, I`ll need you to sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. I`m sure you understand.”
Wow, who the hell is this guy? Is it Trump? I hope it isn`t Trump because I wouldn`t live with that guy for five million dollars.
„Alright ”
He opens his desk drawer and gets out a document.
„Here it is. It`s a pretty standard NDA, but please feel free to read it.”
Of course, I`m going to read it. I`m not stupid. It takes a few minutes, but I manage to understand the bulk of it, and it all seems ok, so I sign it.
„Well, now that`s out of the way, I can give you all the relevant information. My client is Max Kingston, and, as you may know, he`s a linebacker for the Denver Wolves .”
A football player. I must say I hadn`t thought about that, but it makes perfect sense. I`m not a football fan, but my brother is, and he happens to be a Wolves fan, so I`ve heard of Max Kingston. He`s one of the team`s stars players, and I guess he must be worth a lot of money. Sam told me he got injured pretty bad a few weeks ago, but I wasn`t paying much attention, so I don`t know what kind of injury it was. I`m trying to remember what the guy looks like, but all I can remember is that he`s really tall, but that`s the case with most football players.
„He`s recovering from his shoulder injury, and the team owners also want him to be one hundred percent recovered from his Fentanyl problem, so he spends most of his time at his house, but he`s soon scheduled to begin physiotherapy and then start practice. The team owners have made it very clear that they want someone with him at all time.”
„That sounds a bit extreme to me. I mean, he did sound the alarm as soon as he felt something was off with the Fentanyl, so that must prove to them he`s serious about his career and health .”
Hoggins shakes his head, and it strikes me that he looks a lot like a tired owl.
„Sophie, do you know how much money Max makes? About three million dollars a year, and that`s without endorsement deals. He`s worth a lot of money, so it makes sense for the owners to go to extreme measures to protect their investment.”
Wow, that is a lot of money. My salary doesn't seem so high right about now.
„When do I get to meet him, does he get a say in whether I get the job or not? I suppose since he`ll be spending all his time with me, he`ll need to give his okay.” I would suck if we couldn`t stand each other.
Mister Hoggins looks a bit uncomfortable and takes a huge sip of his coffee before answering me.
„Max is a bit upset at the moment, as I`m sure you can understand. He isn`t playing, which is hard for any athlete, and then there`s this whole problem with the pain killers, so he`s a bit, ah, recalcitrant about having someone living with him and watching his every move. To be completely honest, he doesn't want this.”
Great, he already hates me. I mean, I can see where the guy is coming from but still.
„Maybe if I meet with him before we sign the contract, he`ll feel like he has some say in this and he`ll feel better about it. He's supposed to live with me shadowing his every move for a whole year, and it`s only fair he gets to meet me first.”
„I`m afraid that`s not how it works. The team owners have entrusted me with picking a suitable candidate, and whether he likes you or not is not a deciding factor. You have experience as an assistant, and you know about drug addiction, you are available to move in
