“As the Legends captain, what can leadership do to support you, the team, and your own individual goals?”
“Honestly?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wanted lies. If something is lacking, I need to know so I can course correct it. Players who feel valued are important to me, a pivotal aspect of building morale amongst everyone.” Every word out of her mouth sounds clinical, but somehow, it still rings genuine. Shecaresabout this, at least more than our previous leaders did.
Who isthisJade? Because she’s a far cry from the one I met at the pub.
“Our equipment is older than the sovereign himself and needs updating. Previous owners only ever invested in the appearance of the stadium, wanting to maintain looks so they could justify price gouging tickets and leaving nothing in the budget for us. It may not seem important, because a ball is a ball, but the players notice the things the higher ups deem worthy, and it’s not usually the puppets that make them money.” How’s that for honesty?
“What else?”
“Revamped uniforms would be nice, better hotels during away games, better meal stipends for when we’re away.”
“How much have they been giving you for meals?” Her tone is skeptical and inquiring.
“Twenty quid a day.”
She smarts. “You’re each at least two hundred pounds, more for the forwards. Twenty quid would only cover a breakfast with the amount of food professional athletes eat.”
“Spot on.” I lean back in my chair.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
I take a minute to think about the needs of the team. “Our equipment manager, Harry, could use some support. He takes on a lot by himself. He may need an assistant, or, at the very least, some updated machines for the washing.”
Jade nods her head in acknowledgment. “And your goals for your time on the team? Beyond?”
This is not a conversation I want to have, but the resolute structure of her shoulders tells me I won’t get out of it. “I wanted to qualify for the men’s National Team…go to the Olympics.” Maybe if I did, I would finally make Dad proud, get him to notice me—to care.
“Wanted?”
I huff out a laugh. "Well, I don’t think they’ll want anything to do with me now.” My shoulders rise nonchalantly, and I shrug it off like I do everything else these days.
“I’ve seen you play, Mr. Stone.” I grimace internally, thinking about this woman—my boss—seeing me off my game.
“Hopefully not a match from last season.” Plastering a false smile across my face and opting for an unbothered approach has been serving me well over the last year, but I have to admit, it’s starting to wear on me, acting like one person when I’m someone else entirely on the inside.
“I’ve seen you play,” she continues, unfettered. “You are aforceon the pitch. Your ability to determine the other team’s strategies and adjust your own on the fly is…impressive. We’ll get you on the Olympic team, but you still have to want it.”
She’s so sure, so confident in my ability, it almost makes me believe too. Almost, but not quite.
“That’s all I have for you and my next meeting is in five minutes. Thank you for your time.” She gestures toward the door so I can see myself out.
I stand to leave and make it halfway before my shoulders swivel around of their own accord. She’s staring at her laptop screen when I break the weird bubble of plausible deniability we’ve been holding on to like a life raft.
“Do you really not remember me?” All the air has been sucked out of the room.
She doesn’t look up from her screen. “Of course I do.”
The breath I’ve been holding since she stepped into theconference room yesterday expels out of my lungs like a deflating balloon.
“You weren’t going to say anything?”
“There’s nothing to say. We didn’t know each other, and it wasclearlya mistake. It’s never going to happen again, so we might as well forget about it.” Her words rush out of her, too quickly for someone who wants to appear unbothered.
Color me delusional, but that sounds like the justified ramblings of a woman who has been thinking about our predicament all night too. Her eyes flit back and forth across her computer screen, refusing to meet mine. I’m starting to think Jade is more affected by this development than she’s letting on, and it makes me want to see how much I can prod at her until her perfect composure crumbles.
I take a few steps forward so I’m a foot away from where she sits at her desk, looming over her. “Do you really think you can forget what happened?”
