Page 2 of Hello Quarterback

“I know,” I muttered.

“He should have let him go.”

“He didn’t give Gage as much trouble as he does me,” I said, “and he’s generally good at his job. Plus, he has a lot of sway now with our board. Letting him go would cause a riot.”

“As if those old fogies could riot. I’d pay to see it,” Ford retorted.

I let out a surprised laugh, and he smiled back at me. I couldn’t help but think about Ford and where he came from. Everyone I knew from Cottonwood Falls was so kind, and those who rose to stardom rarely let it get to their heads.

“Is there anything else I can help with?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Thank you, Ford.”

“Any time.”

He turned to walk away, and I gave myself a second to watch. I might not have been a football fan, but I was certainly a fan of Ford Madigan.

2

FORD

Now that thepress conference and a visit to the Griffen Industries’ suite was over, I went down to the locker room to shower up. I knew my family would be waiting for me. They’d come to watch the game today and would be leaving soon. But just as I was about to walk in through the heavy metal door, an older man with dyed black hair and a three-piece suit said, “Madigan, got a minute?”

I dipped my head to Trent Reynolds, the owner of the Dallas Diamonds. “Yes, sir.”

He nodded, satisfied at my greeting, and said, “Come here, son.”

I followed him down the hallway toward the office he kept on this level. It was full of Diamond gear, from a leather helmet signed by the first ever Diamonds team to a few jerseys of Hall of Famers who played for the Diamonds. He even had a diamond the size of my fist in a glass display case. It probably could have bought my childhood home and half the neighbors’ places.

“Good game today,” Trent said, sitting behind his desk and pulling out a cigar box from the top drawer.

“Thank you, sir.”

His fingers, just as thick as the smoke, worked methodically to get out the cigar and light it before pulling it to his lips and taking a puff. Thick gray smoke rolled from his nose and lips around the cigar. “Want one?” he asked.

“No, thank you,” I replied, watching him, wondering what this meeting was about. I’d played for the team several years now and had met with him personally only a handful of times.

“You’ve done a lot for this team,” Trent said around the smoke.

I dipped my head in acknowledgement. “This team is as much my family as the people I grew up with in Cottonwood Falls.”

He pulled the cigar from between his lips, holding it with his pointer and middle finger. “I’m glad you see it that way, because I have a favor I’d like you to do for me.”

I nodded slowly. You couldn’t exactly turn down a request from the team’s owner, even if he posed it as a “favor.”

“My daughter has taken a shine to you, and it would mean a lot if you’d take her out on a date without letting her know we had this particular conversation.”

An image of his daughter, Felicity, came to mind. I slammed a mask over my face so my initial reaction wouldn’t show.

Felicity was an up-and-coming model with a vocal fry, and every positive thing she said was followed by a “but.” I’d spent all of five minutes around her at team functions and that was more than enough.

A date with her sounded like torture, and that was saying something considering I subjected myself to ice baths on a daily basis. “Just one?” I asked.

“A handful. Why not see where it goes? Hell, you might hit it off and be my new son-in-law.” He chuckled heartily, then choked on his smoke and coughed for a minute.

I scratched the back of my neck. “Mr. Reynolds, I...”

Trent’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not seeing someone, are you?” he said.

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