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I wrote the first words that came to mind before returning it to him.
“I’m sorry you got what you deserved?” Ralph shook his head. “Really, Travis?”
“Okay, fine. Do you have another card?”
“Ten steps ahead of you.” He pulled out another. “Just sign your name and I’ll write the damn note.”
“Perfect.”
When I finished, Madeline entered the room with an older man at her side.
He was smiling like a kid in the candy store, and she was mouthing something I couldn’t quite understand.
“Well, here I was thinking my chance to finally meettheTravis Carter in person was all a ruse!” The man held out his hand. “I’m Franklin Stuart, the newest vice president at Nike.”
I immediately stood up to shake his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said. “I happened to run into your publicist at a brunch event here and mentioned how big of a fan I am, so she insisted I come up to see you.”
Madeline looked between us. “I was also hoping to hear that Nike is one hundred percent onboard as a sponsor for Mr. Carter.”
“Well, we’re still processing things,” he said.
“What type of things?” she asked. “Anything we can address at this time?”
“Um, well…” Mr. Stuart shifted his feet. “We like to make sure we have an authentic image of our brand ambassadors. To be frank with you, the past few months have made us question everything we thought we knew about Mr. Carter.”
Ralph motioned for the poker dealer to leave the room.
“I can assure you that therealTravis Carter is a nice, wholesome guy who is under an immense amount of stress,” Madeline said. “The Punisher is the asshole who lashed out after the loss to Juarez. Right, Travis?”
“I’m definitely under a lot of stress…”
“Juarez is becoming quite the rising star,” Mr. Stuart said. “He’s a trash talker with rough edges, but he’s a family man who hasn’t had a single scandal. Now, of course, his career isn’t an illustrious as Mr. Carter’s.”
“He hasn’t been in this sport long enough to have an image, no offense.” Madeline interrupted him. “The real reason behind Mr. Carter's distress is that a rematch would take away from his family time … He even has to push back his wedding.”
What did she just say?I crossed my arms.
“Wedding?” Mr. Stuart raised his eyebrow.
“He’s kept his private life pretty low key, sir,” she said. “His fiancée has been more than supportive, though. Even though they’re desperately trying for their first baby—because they both want a large family, she knows that keeping certain professional sponsorships is a chief priority.”
I shot Ralph a “What the hell is she doing?” look, but he seemed more confused than me.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear this at all.” Mr. Stuart looked surprised. “Our CEO, Mr. Truss, has the final say in things, so I’d love for him to see this family side of Mr. Carter before we handle negotiations.”
“That’s not a problem.” Madeline smiled. “I’ll reach out to you and set up a date for the three of them to get an intimate dinner.”
“Sounds good,” he said. “Mind if I step out of the room and call him?”
“Absolutely not.”
He disappeared, and Madeline clapped her hands.
“Well, don’t jump up and down all at once.” She looked at us. “Who wants to ask me how I managed to smooth things over with Nike?”
Silence.
