Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Ford went around the table and shook hands, everyone standing up to greet him enthusiastically. Mila was right—this was the first great news our team had gotten in a while.
Ford wasn’t just a superstar athlete. He was also known to be a strong leader with a level head and a relentless drive to win. He’d been the captain of his last team, the Minnesota Mammoths. He was a shoo-in to become captain of the Coyotes.
I’d reluctantly agreed to be the acting captain, but I didn’t want the role permanently. Life had changed a lot since Shelby and I had Charlie, and when things got back to normal and I was traveling for hockey again, I wanted to be with my family as much as possible.
“Have a seat, Ford,” Mila said, gesturing at the open seat next to mine.
He sat down, immediately reaching for the pitcher of water in the middle of the table and pouring a glass.
“An announcement about Ford’s signing will be made tonight,” Mila said. “He’ll start practicing with the team tomorrow morning.”
There were smiles and nods of appreciation. Though we didn’t have our own arena and we were still trying to find a new groove as a team, this would absolutely provide the guys with a boost. Ford would join me and Colby on the first line, and I was excited to see what the three of us could do together.
There was no way to replace Dalton, but he would have wanted us to move forward and win.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything new to report on property acquisition for the new arena,” Mila said. “Even when I bid on the parcels we need through shell corporations, it gets traced back to me and the price gets jacked up to triple the market value. I think we’re going to have to work with the local government to pursue eminent domain. It’s not the way I wanted to go, and it’s going to be a political shit show. The governor is no fan of mine so he’ll be putting up road blocks left and right.”
“Our temp arena seats are selling like crazy,” the Coyotes business manager, Jane, said. “So we know that won’t be an issue.”
Mila scoffed. “Yeah, we can’t have a single open seat in the temp arena. Tell the people in the Sales Department to keep those season tickets moving.”
“The temp arena is a massive reduction in capacity, though,” Jane said. “One third as many seats. And as you know, we reduced ticket prices because of the inconveniences to fans like less parking and fewer concessions.”
Mila nodded. “Some of the city officials are digging in their heels about wanting us to repurpose an old space, but that’s not going to work. I’m holding firm on a new venue, and I want financial support from the city.”
“This bullshit doesn’t help any,” Coach said, tossing a copy of the local newspaper, the Denver Chronicle, on the table. “Did you see Shea Lawrence’s column this morning?”
Mila narrowed her eyes. “That viper is at the top of my shit list. I’m sick of her rants about how violent hockey is, and if she thinks taxpayers haven’t supported every major pro sports venue in this country, she’s out of her mind.”
“Maybe we need a full-court press marketing campaign about building a new arena,” the team’s CFO Brian said. “We could hire some consultants to put together economic impact numbers and schedule meetings with businessowners in the area to get some traction.”
Mila nodded. “That’s a great idea. And it’ll help with our eminent domain case, too.”
I unlocked my phone and pulled up my newest picture of Charlie, the one I’d taken this morning and shown Coach.
“That’s my son,” I whispered to Ford, showing him my screen.
He nodded but didn’t even crack a smile. I didn’t take it personally; he had a reputation for being on the serious side.
Mila covered a few more things pertaining to the business office, but I was zoned out. Shelby and I were getting married in a small ceremony at my parents’ house next month, and I had to decide what beers we were having. It was pretty much the only thing Shelby, my mom, and Fiona were letting me decide, but I was rolling with it. As long as we ended up married, the details weren’t important to me.
Finally, Mila dismissed the meeting. I was going to suggest Ford be selected as our new team captain at tomorrow night’s team gathering, and I hoped this would be my final weekly administrative meeting.
Ford stood and I clapped him on the back. “Let me know if there’s anything you need. I can put you in touch with a realtor, banker, or anything else you might want.”
“Thanks,” he said, his brow pulled down in a permanent frown. “I’m just going to get an apartment for now.”