She didn’t want to know, so she’d made the split-second decision to put a wall up. Instead of opening herself up for more heartache at the hands of Silas Jenkins, she was going to pour herself into her work and be the best community outreach manager that she could be. She loved this job too much to let an unexpected ex ruin it for her.
Ready to get to work, she scanned her well-worn list of corporate sponsors and tried to piece together events that people would want to attend. The plan was to use a three-fold attack that had worked well in previous years: a location, a caterer, and players.
Her brain turned over ideas for an event.
If she had it at The Sports Emporium, the local sporting goods store, she would be able to reach out to their customers, who were most likely sports fans. She could talk to them and ask if they’d ever been to a game. If not, Miriam would invite them. She’d bring along a small stack of BOGO vouchers that were good for any game in the upcoming season to sweeten the deal.
Next, she would ask the local bakery if they would whip up some cookies or cupcakes with the Storm’s colors—green and black—on them. People who were looking for a quick snack could stop by and grab one, giving Miriam yet another opportunity to talk to future fans.
Then the final touch would be having some of the players come out to sign autographs. This would bring out the loyal fans who wanted to rub shoulders with some of their favorite players. They would already know about the Storm, so Miriam wouldn’t have to try to sell to them. But they might linger and buy something from the store or pick up a cupcake and a business card for the bakery.
It was win-win-win and one of Miriam’s favorite parts of the job.
She loved trying to figure out which sponsors would pair together well, and how to get the most out of every event for all the parties involved. But she needed a location before she could plan out the rest of it.
Miriam looked up the store manager for the sporting goods store—already programmed in her phone—and called him to see if they could schedule an event before the season officially started in just a few short weeks. Miriam leaned back in her chair and tapped a pen against her thigh as the phone rang.
“Thanks for calling The Sports Emporium. This is Joe.”
Miriam’s shoulders relaxed when she heard the manager’s voice. “Hey, Joe. It’s Miriam from the Storm office.”
“How are you?” His voice was cheery. “Getting ready for the season?”
Miriam’s frantic pen tapping stilled, and she sat up in her chair. “That’s actually why I called. Have a few minutes?”
“What’s up?”
Miriam launched right into the upcoming season and asked whether or not she could count on him to host a player meet and greet sometime soon. She held her breath as she waited for his reply. She knew it wasn’t personal if someone said no—people were busy, businesses had their own priorities—but each time it felt like a personal rejection.
Silas had really done a number on her, and it had taken her too long to trust her own abilities. Her best friend Allie’s voice was on repeat inside her head, reminding Miriam that she was a capable woman.
“Miriam. We’ve been doing these events for three years now, and every time you folks are here, we see a boost in sales. You know you’re welcome to bring your boys anytime.”
Your boys.
It was funny how those two little words could unnerve her as much as they did, especially since there was a time that Miriam had considered the players to beherboys. Back when she’d been spending every free moment with Silas, she was usually spending time with the other players as well.
They’d all become fast friends. That was, until he left. Then Miriam stopped showing up to movies or lunch. And eventually, dates with her boys were replaced by girl time with Allie. They still cared about her—they’d shown her that at the arena—but it wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same without Silas.
Now he was back, and Miriam wondered what things would look like.
“Miriam?” The voice on the other line shook her back to the present.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I was just asking when you’d like to come in.”
Her face burned at her lapse in professionalism. “Right. I’ve got my calendar right here in front of me.” She leaned forward in her seat and looked at the large desk calendar that had blue and black ink scribbles filling many of the dates. “It’s late notice, but can you do this Saturday? We’ve just signed some new players, and I know Greg will be anxious to get them out there for the fans to meet.”
“Let me see.” He made a clicking noise as he presumably looked at his own calendar.
As Miriam waited, she noticed Harris walking in her direction with a coffee cup and a small Styrofoam container. He lifted them both as he got closer, a hesitant smile on his face.
Miriam held up a finger and mouthed, “Just a sec.”
Harris nodded and sat down in a chair next to her.
The clicking through the speaker of the phone stopped. “You know what, it looks like we can do Saturday afternoon. Eleven to three sound good?”
