I snorted into my coffee, then sat back and waited. This was not my conversation to control.
Jupiter leaned forward, rubbing his palms together. “So…”
“So…”
“I looked at the list you gave me; quite the shopping expedition.”
I nodded slowly. “It is. I told you, I’m here to win. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it properly. Those are the players that I think will help to build a decent foundation. Do you agree?”
“I don’tdisagree.”
I waited quietly, because I knew he wasn’t done with his assessment, however cryptic and unhelpful it was.
“You’re really going to build a whole new team?”
“I am.”
“How many people know about this already? It’s not going to look good if it gets back to the teams you’re fishing around.”
“No one except the boys, my grandfather, and his inner circle of lawyers, a couple of people at The Lions, The Commissioner, and his team. I have until the trade window opens; that’s when everyone’s agreed on the announcement.”
He pushed his Dodgers cap up and rubbed his head, then pinned me with another unreadable expression before looking atthe list again and inhaling deeply. “I would certainly have them all in the roster, forty if not twenty six. There are a couple of promising guys in the minor leagues I remember from last year’s spring training that I think would be worth a look at. Parker King is at The Lions still, right? He got traded there last year?”
“The catcher?”
“Yeah, he’s not bad. He was pretty decent at The White Sox.”
I nodded again; he was right. Parker King had a couple of well-played games this season; he had a good eye and could read the ball. He was young and hungry to win, but there needed to be some changes to the team before he could reach his full potential. From what I’d seen, he didn’t have the best relationship with Jose Castro, The Lions’ current pitcher, and that’s where the problem lay.
“He’s on the list, but I want to see the team changes first. There’s tension between him and Castro which has caused a lot of errors this season. I don’t know why they haven’t switched things up.”
“He might be good with Watson if you get him.”
“Notif. Iwillget him.”
The corner of Jupiter’s lips twitched while he continued with his appraisal, his expert eye weeding out anyone he didn’t agree with. There was a pen on the table, and he picked it up, scratching through my list so many times it felt like I was back in school and about to get handed my paper with a big red F for fail.
Not that I knew how that felt.
“What’s their farm system like?”
“I haven’t checked them out yet. It’s on my to-do list.”
“Yeah? Pretty big list I’d imagine. You got a lot to do.”
I finished my coffee and put it down, leaning forward as he had. I was starting to get antsy. I wasn’t used to being patient, and I wasn’t used to begging. I was in the fortunate position that I got whatever I wanted with very little effort, not that I couldn’tput in the leg work when I had to, but it was tedious to say the least.
“I do. It’s why I want your help. I need your help.”
Jupiter sat back and pinned me with a look. Another one. This was the exact one he had every time he’d scored a home run and jogged off the field, like he had all the time in the world.
“Okay.”
My heart began thumping harder, rattling around in my ribcage until I swear I felt it dislodge something. “Okay?”
“Yes.”
My mouth dropped. Had I done it? Had I actually done it? Had I actually got the great Jupiter Reeves to agree to a trade?! I forced myself to blink.
