I offer him my hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“You too, Trey. You too.” He takes my hand in both of his. “Hell of a game. Congrats on the win.”
“Thank you.”
“Sloane and I streamed it on the plane ride over. She had to show me how,” he says with a chuckle, grinning appreciatively at Sloane. “That dive you made into the end zone for the two-point conversion, that was ballsy. No one saw that coming.”
“I don’t run it in very often. I’m not fast enough.”
“It’s good to keep them guessing, though, right? Throw them a curveball now and then. In this business you should never let anyone think they’ve got you pinned down. Not even yourself.”
I smile appreciatively. “I’ll remember that.”
“Watching you play, I think you already know it. You’re already living it, and it’s going to take you far.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And hey, thank you for giving us a good show. You and your crew are fun to watch.”
Sloane pulls a white sheet of paper from her bag, handing it to me. “We brought you a present.”
I look it over quickly, my heart skipping a beat when I read the signatures at the bottom. “Is this what I think it is?”
“It’s your release from the Ashford Agency,” Sloane confirms proudly. “Once you sign there at the bottom, you’re free.”
“Brad won’t be my agent anymore?”
“No.”
I look into her eyes. “And neither will you?”
Her lips tighten slightly. “No. Neither will I.”
“I don’t know exactly how I feel about that.”
“It’s what you wanted.”
“Yeah, I know, but now I have to find a new agent. Where am I going to find someone who will fight for me the way you did?”
“I have an idea about that.” She takes a step closer to Berny with a smile. “I think you should sign with us.”
I frown, not getting it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You want me split my contract again? Between two different agencies?”
“I don’t work for the Ashford Agency anymore. I work for the DAK. Dawe, Ashford, and Kane.”
“Who’s Kane?”
“Hollis. He and I jumped ship tonight.”
I blink hard, not sure I understand her right. “Jumped ship? Do you mean you quit?”
She’s calm when replies, “I do. After I got you released from your contract with Brad, I resigned. And on the plane ride here from L.A. I joined a new agency with Berny and Hollis. Well, we kind of formed a new agency on the plane ride over.” She puts her hand on Berny’s shoulder. “Berny used to be my dad’s boss back when he first got started as an agent. They worked together for years, lived like brothers, and then my dad being my dad up and left him and took every big league client they had to form his own agency. He trashed Berny’s name, told everyone he was skimming money off his clients—“
“A lie, by the way,” Berny points out. “In case you were wondering.”
“Never a shred of evidence to prove it,” Sloane confirms. “Berny immediately offered up all of his records for an investigation, total transparency, and when it was over he was cleared, but the damage was done. Dad had sunk him.”
“Rumor is stronger than religion in this business. Once it started going around that I was a crook, there was no stopping it.”
“No one cared that he had been one of the best agents around for the last ten years. Dad had the big name clients and the shiny new office so that’s where they went. No one would partner with Berny after that so he’s been working alone for the last seventeen years.”
“But I never stopped fighting for my clients,” he assures me.
“Even though he’s been a one man show, he still has eight clients on his roster. Three NBA, two NHL, two NFL, and one PGA.”
“All of them active.”
“All of them happy,” Sloane adds pointedly.
“But if I sign with your agency, that means you’ll be my agent again?” I ask Sloane carefully.
She shakes her head. “No. You’ll be Berny’s client, not mine.”
“But I’ll pay Sloane a finder’s fee for bringing you to me,” Berny promises. “She won’t be taken advantage of. Not by my agency.”
“Our agency,” she reminds him.
He laughs, nodding heavily. “By our agency. Yes. I’m going to have to get used to saying that again.”
I look at Sloane. “Can I talk to you about this alone for a second?”
Berny puts up his hands, already backing away. “This is a big decision, a lot of change. You two should definitely talk about it. I’ll wait in the hall. Holler if you need me.”
“Thanks, Berny,” Sloane calls after him.
I wait for the door to close behind him before I sit down on the bench in front of the lockers.
“You’re sure about attaching yourself to him?” I ask quietly. “You said your dad ruined his name.”