I never thought I’d work for an NFL team right out of college, but my dream came true faster than I could have guessed.

It was complete and total luck. One of my professors at school happened to know Lucy Strang, the head of the physical therapy department for the Eagles. Lucy just so happened to be looking for an apprentice, and I just so happened to be looking for a job. One thing led to another, and somehow she hired me.

I’d never forget the first time I saw the facilities. They were huge and modern, the sort of place I’d always dreamed about working. Professional football teams had state-of-the-art technology, like imagining devices, plus cutting-edge medical theory and knowledge. I knew I was going to learn a lot, and I couldn’t wait.

That first month was amazing. Lucy was kind and welcoming, and she went out of her way to introduce me to everyone around me. She started training me immediately, giving me a crash course on how everything worked and what it would be like to be an actual physical therapist for the athletes.

At the time, I thought she was just a good boss. In retrospect, she knew something was going to happen. The thing was, at the time Lucy was eight months pregnant.

She was huge, and getting ready to burst.

That never really occurred to me. I never really thought much about what would happen when she actually had her baby. I figured she’d go on maternity leave and they’d find a replacement in the short term for her, or something like that.

I just never thought about it. Maybe I was a little naïve, or maybe I was just overwhelmed. Lucy was teaching me a lot, but it was intense.

I’d never forget the morning my life changed.

I got to the sports medicine offices at eight in the morning, the usual time, and dropped my stuff at my desk. I was relegated to a little corner of the physical therapy department, which was fine by me. It wasn’t like I was working with any athletes directly; I was mostly just following Lucy around and soaking in everything that I could.

But Lucy wasn’t in that morning. She was normally in her office, door open, looking to have a little morning chat before we started the day. But that morning she was nowhere to be found.

I sat at my desk and waited. Two hours went by, and finally I sent her an email, wondering where she was. I actually felt a little bit worried, and I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing in the meantime.

A couple more hours slowly crawled past. I was bored and a little anxious, but at least I had my computer to mess around with. I spent my morning catching up on all the new stats I’d missed in the last month because I’d been too busy learning and working hard.

That was when I got the call. My phone rang for the first time since I joined the department, and I almost jumped out of my seat. I wasn’t used to someone wanting to actually contact me.

I picked it up. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello. Is this Taylor Jones?”

“This is her,” I said.

“Hi, Taylor. This is Jeff Waters, the head of the sports medicine department. How are you?”

I was taken aback. Jeff was an important person in the department. Actually, he was the most important person in the department, and he was everyone’s boss.

“Oh, hello, Mister Waters,” I said.

“Call me Jeff. Listen, Taylor, can you come down to my office? I need to discuss something with you.”

I frowned at my computer screen. Did he know that I’d been reading about Justin Bieber for the last ten minutes?

“Of course,” I said. “When do you want me?”

“Right now, if you can. It’s about Lucy.”

I paused. “Is she okay?”

“She’s very okay. Don’t worry. Just come on down and we’ll talk more.”

He hung up. I hung my phone up and stood, a nervous energy biting at the pit of my stomach.

I headed out into the hallway and walked toward his office. I had no clue what this was about, but I could tell something had happened. Lucy was always in her office and never late. If the big boss in the department wanted to talk to me about her, that meant something was going on.

But I had no clue what it could possibly be.

Jeff’s office was on the second floor at the very end of the hall. His receptionist smiled at motioned for me to head right inside.

He was sitting behind his desk, reading something on his computer. Jeff was in his mid-fifties with full, graying hair. He was in good shape, which made sense for the director of a sports medicine department. He smiled as I sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

“Hi, Taylor,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m doing fine. How are you?”

“Great. How has your first month been?”

“Really amazing. Lucy has been really helpful.”

“Good. She has a lot of positive things to say about you.”

That made me feel good. Lucy was incredibly kind and generous, but sometimes I couldn’t tell if she thought I was doing a good job or not.

“I’m happy to hear that,” I said, laughing.

“Here’s the thing: Lucy went into labor this morning, as I’m sure you already guessed.”

Of course she did. Why else would the head of the department want to talk to me? I felt myself relax slightly. This wasn’t about my poor choice of current event news reading, but instead about what was going to happen with the department.

“Is she doing okay?” I asked.

“She’s fine, baby is fine, everything’s great. But obviously she’ll be going on maternity leave pretty soon.”

I nodded. “Of course. That’s really good news.”

“It is, but it’s bad timing. The season is coming up, and Lucy was a really valuable asset to us.”

I nodded. “Of course. She’s really great.”

He frowned, looking down at his desk. “Here’s the thing, Taylor: Our organization recently made some big moves in the draft, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

I nodded. I was very aware. The Eagles had traded money and a player to move up in the draft, and they had managed to snag the top running back, Owen Rack. I’d seen Rack play, and he was absolutely incredible. He played like an animal, running right up the middle and trying to steamroll men. He was big and strong and mean as hell, and he had a bad-boy reputation already.

I felt a little worried, though, based on his tone. Clearly something bad was going on, and not just the loss of an important figure in the department.

“Of course,” I said. “Owen Rack is going to be a huge asset to the team.”

“He really is. But he’s also very, very expensive, and that means every department has to make sure that it’s running as lean as possible.”

I felt my heart skip a beat.

Was I getting fired already? I’d only been here for a month. If they were cutting people, it made sense to cut the new girl. I wasn’t worth anything to anyone, and I wasn’t even working with any players.

“I understand,” I said softly.

“Which is why we’re not going to be hiring a replacement at this time for Lucy. We’ll be rotating some people around to pick up her players, and we’re going to give you an assignment.”

I felt surprised. “You’re going to assign me a player?”

He nodded. “Like I said, Lucy is very impressed with you. We’re only assigning you one person, but he’s very important. We’ll want you to give him every ounce of attention you can.”

I could feel my heart racing in my chest. I never thought I’d actually be working with players this soon, let alone have someone important assigned to me already. It was unusual for an apprentice to get involved in the treatment rotation so early, but it was not entirely unheard of in tight situations like this one.

“Who?” I asked.

“Owen Rack himself,” Jeff said, smiling.

I blinked. “Really?”

“Really. Like I said, Lucy thinks you can handle it. We also suspect that Mister Rack won’t be taking on the full starting position just yet, at least not while Raylon is still available.”

Raylon Rogers was the veteran running back, and he had been with the Eagles for years. He was clearly going to be the main back, and Owen was meant to act as an understudy for a year or two until he was ready to take over.

But still, getting assigned Owen was massive. I couldn’t imagine what Lucy had said to Jeff about me, but it must have been incredibly positive if they were going to trust me with him. Rack was supposed to be the future of the team.

“Do you think you can handle this responsibility?” Jeff asked me. “Please, tell me no if you’re not ready. I won’t hold it against you. There are other players we can assign you to.”

“I can handle it,” I said quickly, though I wasn’t totally sure I could. “I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that. We’re hoping you and Owen will have a long working relationship together.”

I smiled. “Me too. Thank you again. I can’t express how excited I am to help the team.”

“We’re excited too. I’ll send you an email with more information soon, but for now, head on back to your department.”

“Thank you again,” I said, standing. We shook hands and I quickly left, walking back toward my desk before he could change his mind.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I’d seen Owen Rack on TV countless times, and I’d always been really impressed with him. The man was a monster, a hulking presence on the field. He was handsome, muscular, and covered in tattoos, exactly the kind of guy I’d always stayed away from.

But now I’d be working with him up close and personal. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited to find out.

This was an enormous opportunity. If things went well between Owen and me, I’d be with the team for as long as he was. This could make my career.

All I had to do was remain professional and not screw anything up.

How hard could that be?