“Nope,” I feel like an idiot but Millie and Bev have both said Jenny was likely exhausted and back to work, and she probably needed a night to piece it all together. They called it laundry night. I don’t know if it’s a metaphor or what. “I came on too hard.”
“What I want to know is how amazing was that sex?” Brady leans in like he might lower his voice, but he doesn’t. “Because thus far this girl has you looking like a bitch. Chasing after her golf cart the same way my grandpa used to run his old dog. Then you spend thousands of dollars having her apartment unpacked and cleaned by a team of professional housekeepers while she sleeps?”
“Shut up, Brady,” Matt offers as we follow Cap and our coach into a large room.
The seats are nice, sort of a laid out like a classroom so we can all sit and watch the presenter. I’m hoping Jenny is the person doing the presentation so we can talk afterward and I can try to recover from the unusually forward gesture of unpacking her house. I panicked. It seemed like the right thing to do, now I feel weird. And obsessed. I’m obsessed.
Holy fuck, get it together Eckelston.
Taking a deep breath, I get my seat next to Brady and wait for the talking to begin.
The guys are shooting the shit, talking about the last game and Matt’s wedding.
“How come you’re not on your honeymoon, buds?” Mike, one of our defensemen, asks Matt.
“We’re going later in the summer. After this guy here gets married.” Matt nods his head at Brady who beams.
“That’s right, fellas. I’m gonna be off the market as of the end of July, so if you’re interested in any of this, you better hit me up soon.” Brady holds his arms out.
We laugh but Coach barks, “Coldwell!” forcing us to straighten up as Jenny walks in the doorway with a group of geeky-looking people. She laughs at Brady and casually comes further into the room but the flush on her cheeks makes my breath hitch.
A tall man dressed in a sweet navy-blue Kiton suit, I have one that’s similar, starts to speak to us with a thick Russian accent. “Good morning, I’m Victor Stanovich. This is Jenny Snowdon. We’re part of your PR team here at the firm.”
Jenny waves and smiles but there is a difference. Work Jenny and home Jenny and maybe even wedding Jenny are all different. She’s one of those weird people who can wear the hats and turn off aspects of their personality.
“I’m going to cut to the chase here, I have a flight in a few hours, and I’m sure you would rather be spending your day somewhere warm. As you all know, signing with a team means you agree to certain types of PR. The endorsements are great, but actual PR is important. The New Yorkers have to love you. They need to care about the team.” Victor points to Jenny. “Jenny will explain further on our plan to boost that.” He steps back and watches us as though he’s her henchman.
“Thanks, Mr. Stanovich.” Jenny smiles. “Good to see you all again so soon.” We laugh with her. “What Mr. Stanovich is saying is we are changing the way things are done here. We have decided that season ticket holders will now be entitled to VIP events where players will come and take part. There will be charities and galas that will include mingling with those pass holders. There will be events that are mandatory for players, timed particularly during playoffs to build cup craziness. All home games will have a theme. Pride. Kids. All abilities. With prizes related to the cause and donations made to charities involved in the theme. Sticks will be wrapped with rainbow tape and so on.”
“You want to add to the workload during the hardest part of the season?” Coach asks in a not so polite way.
“Yes, because cup hype is everything. And we can rotate the roster of who has to participate, so as not to stress any one player.” Jenny smiles but her tone is also one not to be reckoned with. “We have already put this plan into effect with teams in smaller cities. We did several test runs to see if the juice was worth the squeeze. It was. Season passes have sold out in all the major cities and stadiums are full year round, even in the early part of the season.”
“That’s easy for you lot to say here in your offices. But you don’t understand the strain and stress on a player at the end of the season. What time they have to spare, they like to spend with their families.” Coach isn’t about to drop it and since he missed the wedding, he’s unaware he’s talking to someone who balanced school, work, and the Olympics.
“And all of that is taken into consideration, I promise.” Jenny offers a bright, sincere smile. “When we’ve run the tests in other cities, we ensured the schedule for PR was available to players well in advance and never took more than a couple of hours a week from anyone. The investment of their time was tenfold in financial return. And additionally, the players found that having a stadium filled with excited fans added a lot of reward. It boosted morale and led to more wins.”
Coach can’t argue with that. He nods and we move on.
“As such, we have decided that as your last act of community spirit and service before you all break for the summer, you will be playing a game here against a fun team. It’s a family event and an email has been sent with the details.”
“Like the Harlem Globetrotters?” Cap laughs.
“Indeed. Maybe it will motivate you against the Senators next year. Because the loser will play the fun team again next year as this is
