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“What we mean is that you’re going to be living with him. Sure, you’re going to be spending your time mostly with the boys, but you’re also going to be one of maybe a dozen people in the world who get to see who Tuck truly is. He’s not a deadbeat with a trust fund, and he’s not a stupid jock even if that’s what he thinks of himself. We want you to be aware of what people think, and to respect Tucker’s decision not to correct anyone’s assumption.”

I take a long moment to absorb every word. I want to make sure I’m understanding correctly.

“So you want me to keep his . . .” It takes me a second to find the right words. “His true nature a secret—or more like private.” I say it like a statement even if it is kind of a question.

And three nods is all I get.

“I can do that.”

“Great.” Liv jumps up, her face back to being all business, and goes to open the door. An average-looking, suited, middle-aged man is standing there, smiling easily. “This is Barton Rose, he’s the family’s business manager for our households. He’s here to get all the paperwork straightened out.”

Before I fucking know it, I’ve signed my name on a dotted line, and starting Friday June the tenth, I’ll be a . . . manny.

9

TUCKER

June 8th

The playoffs are in full swing. The Vegas Pirates are going to battle it out against San Jose in the Conference finals, and now everyone is just waiting to see if it’ll be Tampa or Boston going up against Chicago for the East.

Game six of that series is tomorrow night, so I knew that if I didn’t want to wait until the weekend, I had to hustle and get the news out about Sarah taking over as GM today.

Holding a press conference on a random Wednesday morning when the team hasn’t played a game for almost two months means that everyone and their mother are chomping at the bit to know what I’m going to announce.

“Thank you for coming today,” I say into the mic without preamble. “I’ll keep it short and will give you guys time for just a few questions after. I’m very happy to announce that Sarah Hill, former head of scouting for the Demons, is now our General Manager.”

There’s a pause for applause, which I wasn’t sure would happen, but I’m glad these reporters aren’t complete fuckheads, so I wait for it to die down knowing full well the room will more than likely explode at the next two names I say.

“And since we’re looking to get ready for the draft in a couple of weeks, I’d also like to announce that Olympic gold medalists and World Champions Corinne Sender and Nicole Adams will join the management team of the Demons as head coach and head of communications respectively.”

As expected, the last word gets drowned out by shouts from the reporters.

I let them get it out of their systems, and do my best to pretend to be completely unfazed while also hiding my hands in my pants pockets and hoping the clamminess doesn’t transfer to the fabric of my slacks.

Fuck this is intense.

And stressful.

No wonder Jim never did it.

They quiet down before I’m ready—then again, is anyone ever ready to face thirty ravenous-looking journalists?

“All right.”

I nod once then point at the reporter from ENN, hoping that given the familial connection through Kyle, they might give me a softball question to start.

“Is your choice of hiring only women for management positions across all the teams you inherited a political one? Are you trying to make a statement?”

Well, I was wrong. That was not a softball question.

I got this, totally got this.

I shrug, laying the careless act on a bit thick, but that’s what everyone expects, and it’s where I always shine.

“No one should come to me of all people for political statements. I’m a very privileged white man. I believe we’ve heard enough from my breed for a lifetime, and I know that statement is political and hope that it explains my stance on things very clearly.” I drawl, getting that out of the way straight off. “It’s no secret that people have a lot of preconceived notions about me and what my leadership will look like, but I want to make something clear. I was raised by three older sisters, and that has taught me that women are smarter, more loyal, and more perceptive than men, and when it comes to people-managing positions, I simply trust them more to look out for all the people.

“And I do mean people. Not only athletes or the coaching staff, but people. The Demons are more than the twenty-three men on our roster, and I have full confidence that Ms. Hill, Ms. Sender, and Ms. Adams will help me lay the foundation to build this organization into one we can all be proud of being a part of.”