Page 101 of Sweet Redemption

When do you leave for the game?

Hendrix

Fifteen minutes.

Serena

Have a safe flight. I’ll talk to you tonight.

Hendrix

Kick ass, princess.

Here goes nothing.

I step into the conference room, expecting to be the first one here, considering I’m ten minutes early. But I must have missed the memo because Dad, Scarlet, Uncle Jace, Ryker’s mom, and Aurora’s dad are all seated around the table. By my count, we’re missing two aunts and two uncles. Great.

“I hadn’t realized everyone would be here today.” I smile, taking the only empty seat. “Well, not quite everyone.”

“Not to worry, honey. We have their proxies.” Dad grins from the head of the table. “We wanted a percentage of the board here so we could take an official vote.”

“Hi.” I wave at my aunts and uncles, wishing I’d brought more copies of my proposal. “I apologize. I feel unprepared.”

“No need to apologize, Serena. You brought a great opportunity to the table. We’ve been discussing it all weekend,” Scarlet tells me almost dismissively.

“Another thing I was apparently unaware of,” I add, a little annoyed. “I would have emailed everyone the information.”

“No need.” She looks at her phone quickly, then drops it in a bag and gives me her attention. “I passed along all the information as soon as your father reached out. Now then.” She nods toward her assistant, who passes out black binders to everyone in the room, including me. “I’ve assembled everything I found on the Emerald City FC. Have you all had a chance to look it over?”

“Wait,” I snap, flipping through the pages. A brightly colored chart on page two immediately catches my attention. “It seems like you misunderstood what I was looking for when I brought this deal to you, Dad.”

“Did I?” he asks, and I can’t quite name the tone in his voice. But it manages to piss me off all the same.

“According to page two, you certainly did. I wanted to partner with King Corp., while keeping the 51 percent majority with me. According to page two, this has been flipped and King Corp. wants the majority to my minority.”

“Well, Serena,” Scarlet takes the lead. “You have to understand we’d be taking the majority of the risk.”

“No. You wouldn’t,” I answer calmly, pulling out my own folder. “If you’d like to reference the folder I sent via email, you can see I’d be putting up my own funding for my percentage.”

“And what about using King Stadium?” Ryker’s mom, Lenny, asks. Her voice far more gentle than Scarlet’s. “You’re planning to use the stadium for games and events.”

“At a cost. The club would pay the Kings a flat fee for the use of the stadium and a percentage of all food and beverage income as well as a percentage of all merch sold on site.” I lift my finger as I rise from my chair. “Give me one minute.”

“This really isn’t—” Dad starts but I walk out of the room and am back two minutes later with my laptop in hand.

“This is necessary.” I pull up my presentation and link up with the monitor hanging on the wall. Voilà. Everyone can see it now, without having to reference an email. “If you’ll look here.” I highlight the line I’m referencing. “You can see the margins and the estimated revenue the FC can bring to the Kings. It’s not overly generous yet. But I’ve built in a slow increase in rates in the five-year plan, with bonuses here and here,”—I point out—“if we make it into the postseason and the finals, as well as the expected attendance averages for years one through five based on historical data for the league, as well as what we’ve seen in Philadelphia sports teams over the last five years.”

“What are you saying, Serena?” Uncle Jace pushes with a supportive grin, making me feel like I have at least one ally in here.

“I’m saying it’s a good move for the Kings financially. And a good move for King Corp. as well. I’m also saying if you don’t like the offer to partner as it is, I’m prepared to leverage the winery and have spoken to the owners of the men’s soccer stadium in New Jersey, and they’d be happy to rent me their facility at a better number. It’s a smaller facility, which could cap my attendance and revenue though, so I’d rather keep it here in Philly, if I can. Basically, I’m saying I’d like to partner with my family, but not enough to give you the majority stake in the company.”

You could hear a pin drop in the room as everyone stares at me before Scarlet turns to my father. “She’s ready, Maximus.”

“Yes, Scarlet.” He closes his folder. “She certainly is.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, looking around at everyone now smiling as if they’re all in on a big secret. “Ready for what?”

“Do you mind?” Scarlet asks Dad.