Only Mine (Honey Mountain #5)(5)

“Accommodations are already booked, and you’ll each be sent an itinerary. We’re going to need to rebuild this team. Hawk is done after this season, and we’ve got a lot of guys down with injuries. There are going to be several positions to fill next year, so we’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to stay at the top as we move forward,” my father said.

“Agreed. Juan has impressive stats. Since he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, I’m guessing everyone is going to want him,” Dylan said, as she followed my father toward the door. “But he’s going to cost an awful lot because of it. I heard he and his agent grew up together, and Juan doesn’t make a move without Braxton.”

“Yes. We dealt with Braxton last year when we signed Jonathan Turner. He made us jump through hoops and no-showed to more than one meeting. I don’t know, maybe it’s a way of getting more money out of people by not making himself easily accessible, and from what I’ve heard, it works. He’s not your typical high-strung agent who chases the team owners down; he’s laid back and takes no shit. That’s apparently why so many players have signed with him. He expects people to chase him because he holds the keys to getting these guys on board. That’s where your skills come into play,” my father said. “Why don’t you and Roger go spend some time talking about the dynamics of these early conversations. What you can say and what you can’t. These are just discussions. We’re not going to get any commitments right now; we just need to plant the seed. Jonathan and Juan played together in the past, and Jonathan told me privately that we should pursue him. Braxton may just shut the door in your faces like he did to us at first, so let’s see what you can do. Just getting the conversation started would be a step in the right direction. The high school and college athletes will be a different experience. They want to play in the NHL, so they’re going to be thrilled to meet with you.”

“Got it.” She glanced over at me, and all that anger was gone. She’d switched it right off.

Interesting.

I left the room and made my way to my office, and my father followed me inside and shut the door. “Listen, you are not at battle here. This is a business, not a war zone.”

“You said you wanted my opinion, and I gave it to you. I don’t think she’s right for the job.” I moved behind my desk and dropped my ass in the chair. He sat in the leather wingback chair across from me.

“You have a problem with Jordan Marks, as well. He’s our second choice. Come on, Wolf. You don’t need her to have your back in battle. She’s an attorney, who happened to graduate first in her class. She worked as a clerk for a prominent judge who sang her praises. The guy actually said that he believed she’d make a huge difference in the world. We called a few of her law school professors, and they all believed she was the best they’d seen in several decades.”

“Are these all old, horny dudes? They probably want to get in her pants.”

I mean, who wouldn’t?

Not me, obviously.

That would be completely inappropriate.

“Your mom would be very disappointed to hear you speak like that.” He pushed to his feet, and I didn’t miss the anger in his voice.

“Because I speak the truth?” I hissed.

“Because you just degraded her. I told you that several people sang her praises, and you said it must be because they want to sleep with her. How would you feel to hear someone speak about your mother or your sister like that? I know you’ve been through a lot, and leaving the SEALs was harder than you thought it would be, but that does not give you permission to be an asshole. I’d rather have someone lose their temper at a gas station than have someone belittle another person just because they didn’t get their way. You’re better than that, Wolf.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. And he played the mom card?

He knew she was my weakness.

There wasn’t a better human on the planet than Natalie Wayburn. The only one that came close was my sister, Sabine.

They were a big part of the reason that I’d agreed to leave the SEALs now. My mother had lost sleep over the last decade, not knowing where I was at times, what I was doing, or if I was okay.

She’d begged me to get out and start the transition for my dad to retire. Sabine constantly urged me to come back home. I’d missed a lot of the last decade of her life. She’d graduated from college a little over a year ago and had gone to work for a well-known interior designer in town. My younger brother, Sebastian, on the other hand, had been on the six-year plan at school, which had allowed him to graduate at the same time as Sabine, even though she was two years younger than him. He’d then taken this last year to travel Europe. He’d just returned a few months ago to come to work for the Lions, as well. But Seb didn’t have much of a work ethic. He was overseeing the marketing department but would only drop in one or two days a week, from what I’d heard from my father. He was a roaring good time and the life of the party, but he had no real drive professionally.

Hell, he didn’t have to.

We had enough money that we didn’t need to work.

I’d just always wanted things for myself. My father was a self-made man. He’d worked his ass off to make sure his family would always be taken care of. The man impressed the hell out of me.

My grandfather on my mother’s side had been a SEAL. It was something I always knew I wanted to do. At least until it was time to step up for the Lions.