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I thought about that.
“That’s a long way from a lot of places,” I said, looking back at Merri.
As soon as our eyes met, he lowered his gaze. Oh, that’s why he was acting weird. Playing for the NFL would mean an end to what we had. A part of me had known that but I had refused to believe it.
“Are you ready for such a big move?”
“No,” I said bluntly. “Not at all.”
They laughed again.
“I guess you’re going to have to be. Play like you did in the showcase, and you’ll have a long career out there.”
“I guess,” I said, sharing Merri’s sadness.
With the press conference over, I rejoined Arny in his office.
“Why didn’t you tell me which teams had made the offer?”
“I thought you read it in my texts.”
“You sent a lot of them.”
“That’s because I was trying to get a hold of your ass.
“Anyway, where you choose is up to you. I’m just here to get you the offers. New England would be an interesting prospect because of the history of the franchise. But with Seattle, you’ll be able to create your own. Besides, small market teams are always willing to fork out more to get talent. They know no one’s going there for the weather.”
“Seattle’s very far away,” I told him.
“Didn’t you go to school in Oregon?”
I nodded.
“Then you know. There’s a lot of good things about being up there. You could have a great life.”
When I didn’t respond, he continued.
“Look, I know a lot of this is coming at you all at once. Go home. Talk about it with the people you care about,” he said, his eyes bouncing over to Merri. “When you’ve made up your mind, let me know. Preferably, in the next 24 hours.”
“24 hours?”
“You’re not the only person these teams are making offers to. They’re willing to give you a little extra time because they saw how good you are. But wait too long, and you’re gonna be the one left without a seat.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, there’s a scout you should thank for this.”
I looked up at Arny, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Jason Rodriguez, do you know him?”
“No.”
“I do,” Merri said suddenly coming alive. “What did he do?”
“He put his reputation on the line to get Claude that Seattle offer. The same for the Portland one. He seemed very motivated to get you there. If you know him, you should thank him. He fought hard for it.”
“He fought hard to get Claude as far away from here as possible.”
