Page 18 of Never Say Never
He signs off and turns back to me.
“No offer from them, because they don’t feel comfortable.Yet.”
“Comfortable how?” Landon asks. “Rawls did great today.”
Fuck, I thought I had too. Connor’s advice had worked; I may not have been the most articulate, but having my short-hand notes meant I nailed the essence without veering off-topic. No one pressed into the topic of my college off-field “lifestyle” either.
“It doesn’t matter. The bias is there with all the pundit chatter over the last several months.” He looks at me with steely eyes. “This is costing you millions in endorsements. I need to figure it out.”
My chest tightens with a mix of frustration and shame. It’s not that I don’t care about the money, but it hurts so much more to hear constantly what people think about me.
“I’m just destined to be the Battle family screwup, I guess.” I keep my tone sarcastic so I don’t let on how I’m really feeling.
Landon sits up straight. “Fuck that. You’re a better human than most of the guys in the league.” He turns to Aiden. “This isn’t fair.”
“Unfortunately, brands don’t care about fair when it comes to five-million-dollar contracts. I’m as irritated as you though. I’m going to chew on options.”
The room feels too small, the air suffocating. “Can we get out of here?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Landon nods.
I’m over this day, and it’s only noon.
4
AVERY
“You ready for the regular season to start?” Kayla asks. She’s the PR head for the Surge, and I came to her office to talk through what they need for the next few weeks.
“Born ready,” I slip out. It’s my brother Dylan’s favorite saying, and the rest of us have adopted it out of habit.
“Great,” she says. “We won’t pile on too much in terms of media obligations, I promise. Take a seat while I get your mom on speaker.”
Mom answers on the first ring. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person,” she says in her sweet, charming voice. “I can’t wait to meet you when we come down from Boston next week.”
“Me too, Mrs. Parker.”
“Call me Sylvia.”
“Thank you.”
“So what do you have on the table for my girl?”
My mom referring to me as a “girl” would irritate me if her obvious affection wasn’t coming through strong.
“Avery’s in demand, no surprises there with being the top pick for the WNBA this year.” She looks at me. “I’m goingto schedule some pre-taped interviews with the TV crew who broadcasts our games. The network will air them as hype.”
“Okay, I’m happy to do that.”
“Excellent.” Her face darkens a little. “There’s one thing I was asked to pass along about the interviews.”
“What?” Mom asks.
“The owner of the Surge is the brother of the station owner. Did you know that?”
I shake my head.
“Well, anyway, a request came in.” She sighs. “They’ve asked that you look…happier during your interviews. ‘More cheerful’ were the exact words.”
