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And that’s why I’m here.If he signed Ross LaRoux, he could at least make it up to Declan and Cole. He’d give them the team they deserved.
So, he threw off the covers and headed for the shower.
Time to put on his game face.
Fresh out of the meeting, Jaime made his way down the hallway of Elite Sports Management, the top agency in the world. He pulled out his phone and checked the messages. Predictably, he had a dozen from his GM. He thumbed the call button.
Without even a greeting, Darren asked, “How’d it go?”
“Exactly as we expected.” Navigating the maze of hallways, Jaime headed toward the reception area.
But with all the people striding down hallways and meeting in conference rooms, he found it hard to concentrate on the conversation.
Because Booker worked here.
He could be coming around the next corner.
Which is probably why I had the nightmare.
“You’ve got to give me something,” Darren said.
He knew that. It was why he’d called right away. “He laughed and said Ross would never go for it.” He kept his voice low, even though no one was paying attention to him.
“But we’ve got Cole Montgomery. It’s a whole new show now.”
“He doesn’t care.” On edge, he glanced into each office he passed, wondering if he’d see his old friend. “Ross’s a loyal guy. He’s been playing in Montreal for six years now, and he likes it. Likes the guys. Loves the fans.”
“Okay. He’ll like our guys. Our guys are cool.”
“Yeah, but we just signed a bunch of new players, and it takes a while for the guys to catch a groove. He knows we’re not there yet.”
“Who do you think he’s talking to?” Darren asked.
Since Ross was a free agent, other teams would be making offers. “No idea, but now he knows that come July thirteenth, we’re making a play.” The free agency market ended August thirty-first. They had time.
“Everyone will be. We just need to know what it’ll take for Ross to consider us.”
“I think the only clue was what he said about loyalty. Since we don’t have the money, that’s got to be our angle.” As he rounded a corner, he nearly walked into a tall, blond-haired man in an expensive suit. Jaime’s heart thundered.
Is it him?
Is it Booker?
It only took a second to see it wasn’t. Jaime gave the man a chin nod and carried on.
He doubted he’d still be hung up on this whole thing if he’d had the chance to see his friend after the accident. But as soon as the doors had closed behind the ER gurney, that was it. Booker’s parents had kept Jaime and his friends away.
And then, out of nowhere, they’d put their house on the market and moved back to the East Coast.
Leaving no forwarding address.
“That doesn’t give me much to work with,” the GM said. “We need money, but with the salary caps, it would mean letting go of some of our players. We’ve hand-picked everyone.”
After their coach passed away and Jaime and Declan took over, they’d worked long and hard on a strategy. A way to make their team competitive. But even with Cole on the roster, they had little hope of making the playoffs without a great goalie.
“He threw out a couple of other names, but no one we’d be interested in.” The moment the words came out of his mouth, Jaime knew he’d overstepped. As an owner, he left the running of the team to his GM—and he’d hired the very best guy for the job.
He’d only gotten involved because of Cole and Declan. He felt a personal responsibility to get the Renegades to the level that would make it worthwhile for them to have joined.
