“Trust me?” I gazed deep into those beautiful blue eyes.
“Yeah, of course.”
I kissed him. “Let me tell you what I have in mind.”
**
Dressed in my best suit and hoping my nerves didn’t show, I strode into the business office of the Brooklyn Kings. I greeted the receptionist.
“Devlin Summers.”
The young man nodded. “Yeah, of course, sure. Mr. Summers. Pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m here for Armand Winters.”
“Let me ring him.” He picked up the phone and spoke quietly, then glanced up. “His assistant will be out in a second.”
True to his word, the door opened, and Hayden walked out to greet me.
“Hi, Dev. Follow me.” The guy was ridiculously good-looking, and I recalled there was a bit of a scandal with him, but I couldn’t remember what about. “Can I get you coffee, espresso, water?”
“No, no thank you.”
“Armand is ready for you.” He gave one knock on the door and opened it. “Devlin Summers is here.”
Armand Winters waited in front of his desk. “Come in, Devlin. Please sit.” He shook my hand and we all sat at the conference table. “Do you mind if Hayden remains with us? I have him take all my notes as his recall is exceptional.”
“No. Not at all.”
Armand Winters wasn’t much older than me, and I hoped the fact that he was in a same-sex relationship would help my case. In the times I’d met him, Armand had struck me as a nice guy—much different than his father, who’d been the old-school, business-only type. In the years since Armand had taken over the team, the Kings had set up mental-health clinics for the players to help cope with stress and depression. I also knew the team contributed to many LGBTQ causes. It boded well for what I had to say. At least I hoped so.
“I’m a little curious about this meeting, especially because it’s you on your own—is your agent or attorney coming?”
“No. This is completely my call. It’s personal. And first of all, thanks for agreeing to meet so early because of my training schedule.”
“Not a problem. I sensed it was something urgent. Are you in any kind of trouble? Do you need help?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m going to be frank with you. I’ve played with the Kings my whole career, and I love the team. I know my concussion’s raised concerns that I’m not one hundred percent, but that’s just not the case. The doctors said I’m fit to play and that there are no lasting effects.”
Armand’s eyes reflected sympathy, and he sighed. “You’ve heard about the trade talks. Honestly, I was a little surprised about it myself, but I have full faith in my coaching staff that whatever they decide is in the best interest of the team.”
Listening to Armand speak so casually about my future made me wince, but I’d never shied away from a challenge.
Here goes nothing.
“What about my best interest? The person who brought you four Super Bowls and a winning season ever since I joined the team. Don’t I get a chance to make my pitch to stay?”
Armand’s gaze shifted to Hayden, who’d sat quietly, typing on his iPad. The man’s lips twitched, and he said, “I think that’s very telling. It isn’t often a player cares so much about where he plays, rather than how much he’s playing for.”
“Hayden’s right. And I agree we owe you the opportunity to make your case.” Armand nodded. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
I laced my fingers together so tightly they hurt. “I’m gay.” Two sets of brows, one dark and one blond, shot high. My turn to smile. “Surprise. And my partner is also with the Kings.” Their gazes remained intent, and under their scrutiny, I blew out a breath. “It’s Brody. We’ve been together since college, and last year we got married in California.”
Armand blinked and rubbed his chin. “Uh, okay, wow. This wasnotwhat I expected to hear.”
For the first time, my laughter was genuine. “Yeah, I’ll bet. It was one of the reasons I turned down an offer a few years ago to move to the Rockets fora lotmore money.”
“I have to say I wondered about that. Obviously, I was glad you stayed with us, but we were all surprised. Not many people would walk away from that kind of money.” Armand’s expression was endearingly sweet. “However, now it makes sense.”
