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“Sometimes they do.” There was an odd note in his voice that broke into her self-absorption.
She glanced upward to see something close to regret float across his face. Curiosity pinged but she squelched it. She didn’t care if Alex Winters had regrets in his closet. No, she was more interested in whether there might be skeletons. Anything that suggested there might still be a way out of this crazy situation.
“You don’t know my dad.”
“Not as well as you do, sure. But we spent quite a bit of time together while we talked about this. He was ready to give this up.”
“Convenient for you.”
“Not really. I have quite enough to do without taking on the Saints as well.”
“Then why do it?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I was ready for a change too.”
“Well, that’s great for all of you. But what about me?”
“That’s something we can talk about, if you want.”
“Unless you’re going to offer me a real job, then forget it.” In fact, even if he did offer her a real job she wasn’t sure she could do it. Couldn’t stay with the Saints and watch someone take over, step into the place she’d been aiming for all these years. Let herself be sidelined. But what the hell was she going to do if she didn’t?
“I’m not going to make you CEO, Maggie,” he said. “For a start, you’re nowhere near qualified.”
She bristled. “I grew up with this team. I know more about baseball than you and your two pals put together.”
“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean you know how to run a multimillion-dollar company.”
“I’ve watched my dad do it all this time. And I’ve spent a lot of years studying how to do it. I’m not an idiot.”
“No, but right now the Saints can’t afford rookie mistakes.”
“You’re a rookie,” she shot back.
“Not at business.” He tipped his beer back and swallowed.
“Baseball’s not just a business.”
“That attitude might be why the Saints are in so much trouble,” he said calmly. “Someone has to make the hard calls. Which brings me back to you.”
“Me?”
“Like I said. I have a lot on my plate. I can do this. Lucas and Mal and I are a good team. We can do this. But things will be a lot easier if we’re not fighting the team and the fans and the press every step of the way.”
“The press seemed to like you well enough earlier.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
That sounded vaguely ominous. “What’s this got to do with me?”
“They all love you, Maggie. So I want you to help smooth the transition. Ease the way while they get used to the idea of Tom being gone and what the three of us want to do with the team.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“Win.”
She rolled her eyes. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”
“Wouldn’t you like to see the Saints win a World Series? Or even a championship? Get to the play-offs?”
