My mood didn’t get any better when I realized Sovoya was the one calling. Sovoya Lanier had been my agent for the past year. After seeing how well she managed Omiri’s career when he cut ties with his first agent, I knew exactly who I wanted on my team when my agent’s firm was bought out by a larger one. I refused to be represented by someone simply on board just to take my money which was what I would’ve faced if I’d stayed with Noble Elite after they consumed my old agency.
The past year of having Sovoya on my team proved to be one of the best decisions I could have made. She was about business and earned every penny. My income from brand deals increased by thirty percent within the first six months.
“Yeah…”
“Where are you?” was the first thing she asked.
I glanced at the two people traveling with me before I dropped my head back and yanked my hat lower on my head. “In the air. I’ll be home in a couple hours.”
“Shit, I forgot you had that flight to Chicago. You’re trending. I’m sure you’ve seen the worst of it.”
“I saw that bullshit.”
“It’s bad, Land,” she said through a sigh.
“The fucking call was bad,” I argued. “We’re out of the playoffs because of a bullshit call.”
“I’m aware, but your reaction didn’t help.”
“Come on, Sov. I have the right to be upset. Hell the entire team, including the owners, should be pissed and supporting me.”
Not trying to trade me…
“They reached out this morning.”
My jaw locked. “About what?”
“You’re not in a good place with the team, Land. Front office is getting pressure from Karl because of his wife.”
I sat up frowning. “What does she have to do with this?”
“She’s the reason her husband is pushing for you to get traded.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No and I’m not supposed to be privy to that information but I have people in the front office who don’t mind delivering a heads up with things like this. With the way y’all are always trying to test my patience, it’s a good thing I do.”
“You have a spy on the Sharks payroll?”
“A connection, not a spy. Now focus. You’re in the middle of some serious shit right now, Land.”
“She came on tome, invited me toherroom, and I turned her down because I know better than to sleep with my boss’s wife. Hell, even if I didn’t give a damn about that, I do not sleep with married women. That’s not how I get down, Sov.”
I had no problem fucking women. I slept with a lot of them. They were accessible and I loved the thrill, but I didn’t do entanglements with married women. That was one line I refused to cross, which was the main reason I’d turned Mia down. Also because of who she was married to. That shit would have been messy as hell.
“Doesn’t matter. No one cares about the details. How it potentially happened isn’t relevant, only that Karl’s wife wanted to have sex with you and you turned her down. Of course Karl won’t come out and express what the real issue is. He’s arguing there’s a pattern of behavior tarnishing the team’s image and your performance hasn’t been great…”
“I had a gotdamn phenomenal game, Sov. One of the best this season. The fuck?”
“And several before that where you weren’t at your best. One doesn’t cancel the other. They’re having the conversation about your future with the team whether we like it or not.”
I stilled. “My future with the team?”
“They kept circling back tooptions.”
“Options,” I repeated.
“Yes, options, that’s exactly what was said.”