“Are you ready to leave him yet?” I ask, referring to his agent. Brad replaced me at the LA office of the PR firm I was working at before I started my own agency.
“He’s been with me since the beginning. It doesn’t feel right to drop him when we’re seeing success.”
“I get that. The offer is always open. I’d love to have you, and I think we could do great things together.” By the end of this movie, he’ll have offers pouring in, and he deserves an agent who will prioritize his career and capitalize on it at the right moment. Timing is everything in this business and Brad has a track record of fumbling the ball.
“You’d be my first call,” he promises.
I grin at him. “Happy to hear it.”
“Well, I better get going. Don’t want to keep the boss waiting.” He winks and leans over to give me a hug.
“I’ll tell her to go easy on you.”
“My savior.” He palms his chest and leaves the coffee shop.
When I step into the marketing offices, Chase, Miller, and Preston are all tossing out ideas at Mary and Taylor.
“Grant.” Mary looks up from where she’s taking notes. “We weren’t expecting you.”
“Sorry I’m late. Keep going, I'll catch up,” I say as I slide into a chair at the round wooden conference table.
Chase reached out at the last minute and asked for a meeting with the communications team and Taylor specifically to discuss his charity idea. This is the last requirement of his plea agreement and the pledge we made to the Nashville area.
“So just to recap,” Taylor interrupts Chase and Miller’s debate on the best colored golden retriever. “You want to host a pet adoption drive at the stadium and invite all the local pet rescues and the humane society?”
“Yes,” Chase nods. “And we want donations collected at the event to go into a pot for a foundation I’ll create to support the rescues in the future.”
“Don’t forget we’re calling it Bark in the Park, Tay Bake.” Miller taps the table. “Make sure you write that down.”
“Yes, Miller, I have ‘Bark in the Park’ written down.” Taylor rolls her eyes at him, clearly accustomed to his behavior. He’s like a child sometimes.
“When could we host this event?” I ask. “We need it as soon as possible.”
During our initial meeting, it was suggested to host the charity event before September so all focus would be on the postseason, so the timing of this meeting is perfect. The Troubadours are still leading the division. With any luck and the favor of the baseball gods, we can make the World Series this year.
“Agreed,” Preston says, looking at Taylor. “And we’re on the road again next week without much time to help, which is why we were hoping you would be able to work your magic.”
Hell, even my players are going to her for help and she’s not even the head of the communications department.
“Mary, how soon do you think the team can pull this together?” Taylor asks the actual director of communications.
“It might be pushing it, but a couple weeks. Let me pull up the schedule again.” Mary navigates to something on her tablet then looks back up at Taylor. “We’re off on Labor Day and the team is away the weekend before. It would give us time to prep the field and then break it all down again before the next home game on that Tuesday.”
I watch in real time as the wheels turn in Taylor’s head. She’s mapping out the event and all the moving pieces. “Labor Day is perfect! Most people are off work so attendance would be good. We can turn it into a family fun day too.”
“You’ve got full support from me. Do whatever you need to make it happen.” I give my stamp of approval and turn to Chase. “Chase, very impressive. You’ve clearly put a lot of thought into this, and your captains supporting you today go a long way to proving you belong on the roster. Keep it up.”
Chase nods appreciatively. “Thank you, sir.”
“You got it, boss man,” Miller chimes in.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Rapping my knuckles against the wooden table, I stand and leave the room.
“But I get credit too!” Miller calls after me.
An hour later, Taylor bursts into my office, her hands flying animatedly as she talks. “That went great. I already have lots of ideas for who I should reach out to.”
I kick my feet up on the desk, luxuriating in her excitement. “Foryouto reach out to?”
