Page 55 of Penalty Shots

A door closes down the hall and we both look that way. Michael Ferguson is walking towards us from one of the other offices. He's whistling to himself and doesn't look up from his phone until he's almost too close.

"Oh… uh." Fergie looks around desperately.

"Can we help you?" Redmond says a little too ferociously.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you two were…" He looks at me for help.

"Redmond was just leaving," I say.

Redmond looks at me. "After you have lunch with me."

"That is the last thing I want to do," I snap at him.

"One lunch, Rina. That's all I ask. Please."

Fergie is still standing there like his shoes are glued to the floor.

"What, Fergie?"

"Jenny—uh, Ms. Cobbs—asked me to come get you. She's working on the photoshoot for the updated calendar and—"

I stop him. "Wait… right now? She's working on that right now? Izzy's not even back from her honeymoon. Who's taking the photos?"

Redmond shakes his head in frustration. "That's what I wanted to tell you. Your marketing director reached out to our team and suggested doing a joint calendar. The Houston Heatwave and Austin Rhinos teaming up for a sportsmanship campaign. You didn't get that memo?"

I could hardly keep up with the insane number of emails I had to pour over this past weekend. I must've missed it.

"A sportsmanship campaign," I parrot.

The door opens behind me. And Toby looks at the three of us standing just outside my office.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that," Toby admits.

I rub my hand down my face.

I won't get mad at Jenny. It's not her fault. She's just trying to do her part, I reason.

"So you didn't know about the photoshoot?" Fergie confirms.

"Or that I would be here?" Redmond asks.

At this precise moment, the one person I did have on my radar decides to finally make an appearance.

His footsteps halt just outside the Heatwave locker room when he spots Redmond.

"What the hell is going on?" Keelan says.

"I'll deal with you later," I tell him. Then I turn to Fergie. "Tell Ms. Cobbs I'm preoccupied at the moment. And I'm sending Toby in my place."

Toby perks up. "You are?"

"Yes. And you," I say to Redmond. "No lunch. Twenty minutes, and my lawyer will be on speakerphone."

"Oy," he says.

"We can make it ten."

"Fine. Twenty minutes," he relents. Toby steps aside as Redmond passes through the doorway, filling it up with his stature.

---