“Nothing.” He smoothed his face into neutrality. “Just made a typo and had to correct it.”
Armi smiled. “You’re such a perfectionist. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Can you get us some waters, please? Russell and I have a few last-minute details to go over. He should be here any minute.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Half an hour passed, and Russell hadn’t shown. Armi stepped out of his office. “Still nothing?”
“No. I’ll call Lucy.”
He buzzed her line, but she didn’t pick up either. More curious than concerned, he left his station to check with Josh at the front.
“Did you see Mr. Anders or Lucy around by any chance?”
“Yes. They went to lunch about noon.” Josh glanced at the computer screen. “Oh, wow. That’s not like him to take a three-hour lunch. I hope nothing happened.”
“Thanks.” He returned to the office and knocked on Armi’s door. “No one’s seen him or Lucy since noon.”
Armi’s brows shot up, and he grabbed his phone. “That doesn’t make sense. I’m going to call him on his cell.” He waited. “Hello, who’s this?…Lucy? What’s going on? Where’s Russell?”
Hayden stood waiting, unable to hear the other side of the conversation.
“Shit. Is he going to be okay?…Ugh, that’s awful. I’m glad you were with him. Make sure he gets set up okay at home and tell him not to worry about anything… Yeah. I know, but we can do it another time… Six weeks? Ouch. Well, it’s not his concern. I can handle it myself… Yes, let me know how it works out.”
He ended the call. “Russell broke his ankle. His knee buckled stepping off the curb after getting out of his car. They’re at the hospital. He needs a screw and will be in a cast and on crutches for six weeks.”
“Damn, that’s rough.” Hayden didn’t like the guy, but he didn’t want to see him hurt.
“Yeah. And we have that trip planned for the whole weekend.”
“Are you going to cancel it?”
“Not sure.” Armi drummed his fingers on the desk. His phone rang. “Hold on, it’s Thomas, the scout. Hi. Did you hear about Russell? Yeah… You think? I’m not sure… That’s not the issue… I’ll let you know.” He ended the call and stared at his desk for a second. “Tom thinks I should go and see the players for myself, since this was all my idea.” His face was a combination of fear and insecurity, but Hayden could see something else too. A spark in those eyes that wasn’t there when Hayden first started working for him.
“I think that’s a smart move. This idea is your baby, so you should get to see the kids you want to help. They’ll appreciate the owner of an NFL team coming to see them play.”
“You think?”
Hayden smiled. “I know.”
Armi narrowed his eyes. “I want you to come.”
“Me?” Hayden laughed. “In case you don’t remember, I know less about football than anyone here. Including you.”
“You might not know football, but you know me,” Armi responded quietly. “I need someone I can trust. Plus, with your attention to detail, you’ll pick up and record everything Tom says that I might miss or forget. You have good people instincts that I don’t. Please?”
A trip to watch college football games in Georgia and Alabama wasn’t high on Hayden’s list of things he’d wanted to do that weekend, but then again, he had no other plans. And spending the weekend with Armi was a perk he hadn’t anticipated.
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
Like a kid, Armi bounced in his seat. “Great. Our plane leaves at seven. Better go home and start packing. I’ll pick you up at four thirty. Traffic’s gonna be a bitch out of the city.”
“Yes, sir.” In a better mood than he’d been in since he’d seen Shane, Hayden threw Armi a salute on his way out.
“Very funny. And Hayden?”
He stopped in the doorway and pivoted to face Armi.
“Thanks.”
