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The event was set in a ballroom in a hotel in Las Vegas. Todd had rented a suite for all of us attending the press conference to meet in before the event. I did a last run-through with everyone, and as long as everyone played their part, I felt like Todd would achieve his goal of building interest in coming to Henderson to watch the Silver Nuggets.
I was standing at the back of the ballroom with Analyn and Ruby as Todd prepared to make his presentation. Alongside him stood Naomi and Connor, and behind him was the team.
"Don't mess this up, Todd," I said under my breath.
Next to me, Analyn nudged me. "What could go wrong? They all look great. Confident."
I wasn't sure exactly what could go wrong, only that it could if Todd went off on one of his wild tangents.
"If he goes off script, wouldn’t it be more likely that he’d focus on Naomi and the fact that her husband is part owner of the rival team?" Ruby asked.
I shrugged. "He doesn't really talk about that. All his excitement is around his new Finnish player, Mikael."
Analyn and Ruby looked up at the stage, presumably to study Mikael.
"He is cute,” Analyn said.
"I imagine he'll have his share of puck bunnies," Ruby added.
"As long as they don't care that he’s emotionally fourteen years old and tends to view women as sexual objects."
Both ladies looked at me.
"I get the feeling that he was raised without a mother. Or without any women around. He's a nice kid, but he was terribly sheltered or something."
"Well, this should be interesting, then," Ruby said.
I shook my head. "No. We don't want this to be interesting."
I was glad to see that Todd had the index cards that I had prepared for him, and as he started to speak, he was using them, going through all the talking points I told him were important.
The team had been underdogs last year, not only because they were on the brink of ruin before Todd bought it, but also because he’d hired a woman to coach. Even though they had won their championship last season, the loss of their two main players and Naomi's part-time status as coach for a few months had made them the underdogs again.
In my mind, Naomi’s being a coach could further prove that women and mothers could be successful in a man's world. I had no doubt that she would be asked questions about being a mother and a coach, whereas it was unlikely that Pierce would be asked about being a father and a coach.
"We are very proud of Max Blake and Ed Samson and their successful promotion to the NHL. It is definitely a loss that we feel, but I am very excited by the team we have this season."
I tilted my head to the side because that wasn't exactly what I had written.
"In particular, we are thrilled to have Mikael Virtanen here from Finland. He's an amazing young man with a bright future. Mikael, why didn't you come up here and say hello?"
"No, no, no, no, no,” I hissed under my breath.
Several reporters’hands flew up, and Todd pointed to one.
"Mikael, you were set to be a top hockey player in Finland. Why did you decide to come to America to play for a minor league team?"
Mikael gave his usual boyish smile. "Because this is America. There is so much. So much space. So much to do. So much money. So much beautiful women."
I rolled my eyes.
Todd laughed and patted him on the back. "To be young again." Todd pointed to another reporter.
"Mikael, how are you getting along with the rest of the team?”
He nodded. "I get along very good. I come to be a star and they help me."
Behind him, the team stood stoic, but I saw the subtle signs that they were not happy to be relegated to secondhand players behind Mikael.
