Page 53 of Home of the Brave

I nodded. “It does.”

“And your boss doesn’t want in-depth interviews.”

“Just fluff that generates clicks,” I finished.

He blew out a long breath. “What happens when this is done? Do you get to go back to covering them in the fall, or will Joe?”

I hadn’t considered that. If the sport did grow an audience, would I be taken off it permanently? Replaced with a bigger name?

“I’m not sure,” I shifted a bit. “After this tournament, I have my contract renewal meeting. That’s when I bring all my proof to the table of why I deserve to keep my job, and ask for negotiations.”

“Like more of the women's teams and less of us?”

“Less of anything other than hockey would be ideal,” I admitted. “But yes, preferably a full-time position reporting on them.”

“So you have to do this fluff work in order to get what you want?” he repeated like he was talking through it for himself.

“That’s the hope, but I could go into the meeting and be told they aren’t renewing me at all, or that I’ve been assigned to golf or indoor football.” I nearly shivered at the thought.

“Yikes, it’s like being a pro athlete.”

“Yeah, the very worst part of it,” I agreed.

“I know things started out bumpy for us, but if there’s anything I can do to help, a way to get you more clicks, let me know.” He started to stand. “I’ve got to go warm up for practice.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

He gave me one more smile before disappearing as quietly as he had come.

“What did they say?” Cambrie asked as soon as we sat down on a bench in the media room.

I looked up from my Caesar wrap. “Who?”

“The social team? Did they like the videos we sent? Do they want more?” she asked before ripping off a corner of her panini and popping it into her mouth.

My shoulders dropped. I hadn’t told her about dinner, so I should have known who she was referring to.

“Oh, yeah. They like the longer lengths they can break into short clips or use the long form for different platforms. So keep that up.”

She nodded and swallowed. “Who else would I have been talking about?”

I shook my head. “Don’t know. You just caught me off guard.”

“Hmm,” she hummed while watching me. “So not half the Utah team?”

I lowered my wrap into the to-go box. “How did you––”

“This city is literally crawling with cameras. Not only professional, but influencers and fans. Of course, they drew attention walking around in a massive group; you were the odd man out that the internet was trying to identify.”

I hadn’t noticed phones or cameras pointed at us. I should have, though. She was right. The city was packed with tourists here for the Fourth of July celebration, plus the tournament. It wasn’t like four hulking men would go unnoticed.

“They cared who I was?”

“Yeah, people recognized Amelia right away but not the other mysterious brunette.”

I scrunched my nose. “I was just listening to you! I went for a walk and ran into them. They invited me to dinner.”

“That’s it?” She searched my face.