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“Are you not still dating the model? I thought that was working out.”
“Man,” he sat back in his chair. “She is a great person, but she is so superficial. She is so surface and shallow. I thought it was something I could get past, but I need someone who won’t doze off when I talk about my business plans. Someone who doesn’t think it’s strange that I don’t always want to be in front of a camera or posting on Instagram. I need someone who wants the space of the country but not live too far from the city. I can’t have that with Diamond. She’s not built for it.”
“Do you think the person you are looking for is out there?”
“I know she is. I left her behind for this.” He used his hands to motion around him.
“I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned her before.”
“That’s because she is not available. She’s married and living her life, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting some stability. I’m tired.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to sign a contract longer than a year because that’s about how long I am going to be able to hold on. I don’t want to just walk away without helping the team fill my spot.”
I moved in closer to the table even though we were in a private dining room.
“Check this out, what if I told you I was making a move to secure majority ownership of the team?”
“Word?”
He sat up in his chair.
“Yes, I’ve been tossing the idea around in my head for quite some time. I sat at the owners meeting today and thought about it some more. After listening to you, I know it’s time. I have some things in motion, but I will start working diligently to make this a reality by the time this season is over. What would you think about having a front office job? It would afford you the ability to stay closer to home, create the family you were talking about and honor your contract. I can have the lawyers throw in a clause which would allow you to move from player to executive. Would that be something you would be interested in?”
“What! Hell yeah, I would be interested.”
“Good. I will have a contract drawn up for you, and I will also add a clause that gives you an out if something were to go wrong with this deal I am crafting. I don’t foresee a problem, but you can never be too careful.”
The change in his mood was palatable. I knew my words had hit their mark.
“You draw up that contract for me, and I will sign it tomorrow.”
“I told you we would be doing business together in some capacity. It looks as though we will be making history as the first black majority owner of an MLB team and the former player finishing up his contract working in the front office.”
“Aye, let’s toast to that!”
* * *
“Roc and Cocoare in the conference room. Ms. Patterson is on her way up the elevator now. Xavier and Morris are waiting to escort her to the conference room,” Gretchen said as she stood in the doorway of my office.
“Okay, thanks.”
I collected my notebook, cell phone, and my tablet and walked the short distance to the conference room. I met Xavier and Morris along with Ms. Patterson at the door of the conference room.
“Good morning, Ms. Patterson,” I extended my hand.
She accepted it, and we shook. She was wearing a dark pink suit with a shirt that had a mixture of bright colors underneath the jacket. She looked good. Very good. I tried to take in her whole outfit without giving her the once over I so badly wanted to do.
“Good morning, Mr. Valentine,” she smiled, but she was in business mode. She was not nearly as relaxed as she was in her home the other night.
I opened the door to the conference room, and she stepped in first allowing me to give her the once-over from behind I couldn’t do while she was watching. She walked expertly in her red high heels.
Roc and Coco were both sitting at the conference table. I pulled out Ms. Patterson’s chair as we occupied the seats on the opposite side of the table.
“Good morning, this is Ms. Averie Patterson. She will be my co-counsel on your trial. Ms. Patterson, this is my brother, Princeton Elkanah and his girlfriend, Deyshonda Jenkins, we call them Roc and Coco. We asked Ms. Patterson to join the team because she is well versed in the law, particularly as it pertains to women. Ms. Patterson.” I gave her the floor.
“Good morning, Mr. Elkanah and Ms. Jenkins. As Mr. Valentine stated, my law practice is geared more towards women. I am here, Ms. Jenkins to make sure you get the best representation possible. It was a brilliant idea to bring on a female co-counsel. Having me at the table will play well with the jury. I am a little late to the party, but one of the first things we will need to focus on is your image. By image, I mean how people, more importantly, the jury will perceive you. You will have to tone down the way you look from this point forward. This is a high visibility case, so that means you will need to tone down your look all the time, not just during court. Your image can’t read, ‘I only shop at the most expensive places on earth.’ It needs to say, ‘I am just the girlfriend who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up.’ So, when we meet the next time, I will need to see less Chanel and more INC from Macy’s.”
