Rex frowns again.
It’s a wonder Rex has any confidence in me at all. From the raised eyebrows of the others, he’s not the only person taken aback from my behavior.
“Yes, live,” Rex states in his matter-of-fact manner. “Larvik requested that too. You have the 6 PM slot tomorrow night.”
I blink. I’m not sure why Jason would have requested that. “It will be excellent, sir.”
“We at Sports Sphere are all counting on you,” he replies.
For some reason, the words sound like a threat, and when I take a hasty sip of water, it wobbles in my hand.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Jason
I pretend I’m not nervous about the interview.
Advertisements for it have been filling my feed.
The phone pings, and Dad’s face flashes on the screen. I pick it up. “Hi Dad.”
“I hear someone has an interview with Sports Sphere tonight?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I’m proud of you, son.”
I blink. “You are?”
I can’t remember when he last told me that.
“Getting your name out there. I want everyone to know who you are after tonight. And, who knows, maybe there will be a surprise.”
“Dad?”
Well, everyone will know who I am after tonight. He won’t be happy about it though.
I rake my hand through my hair, and for the first time I wonder if I’ve been too hasty. Maybe I shouldn’t do this interview after all.
But I knew I would have these fears. That’s one reason I insisted on having a live interview. I don’t want my agent or Tanaka or anyone to ask me to edit parts of me away.
“I don’t think you’ll like everything in the interview, Dad.”
“People don’t have to like you, son. They have to know who you are.”
I find myself smiling. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s my boy.” The phone clicks off, and I stare at it, then tuck it into my pocket.
This night might change everything.
I walk to Sports Sphere and arrive too early. Clearly, I have excess energy that even three hours of training planned by NHL’s top staff can’t get rid of.
I’ve never been inside the building before. The guard directs me to the elevator that takes me up to the eleventh floor.
I hope this is a good idea. I arrived too late from Canada last night to see Cal in person.
But I’m tired of pretending. Whatever happens to me now, at least I will know I was honest, even if it’s the thing I’ve always resisted in my life. When people despised me, I took comfort in the fact they didn’t know me, that I was showing them a mask, that they weren’t rejecting me.
