Page 15 of Here Be Dragons
"Dylan." He turned to the Bay City Bear who was still looking a bit dejected. "You know some people in the Bay area, right? Like mover and shaker types?"
He shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
"Let them know you heard a rumor and ask them if they know anything about it," he said. "But tell them to keep it quiet."
"What's the point of that?"
"Pick people you know who aren't quiet," Mark said. "There's gotta be some rich season-ticket holder who loves rubbing elbows with you guys and will do your bidding. Ask if he can just check on something for you."
Ava could see the pieces falling into place just by watching Dylan, his dour face starting to show a bit of triumph. He would make a bad poker player, but he would be awesome on this mission that Mark gave him.
"Shane, you know anyone?" Ava asked.
"The beat reporter in Cleveland is stuck covering business news right now. Maybe I could give him a call, have a little chat off the record." Shane took a deep breath. "I just hate the idea of lying to him."
Ava saw the stress on his face. Jack said talking to reporters was a necessary evil sometimes. Good reporters would ask questions you didn't always want to answer. But they were also the reporters who wrote the stories about your team and traveled with you on the road during the grind of the regular season. Being nice could pay off later with a great story about a player or a writer going easy on the team during a winless streak.
"You don't have to lie," Ava said. "Tell him the truth but just..."
Ava paused for a moment. This was the same conversation she had with Shane the last time he was in her hotel room. It didn't end well. But she was in the middle of this thought and she had to push ahead with her lawyer plan no matter how bad it would be.
"You don't have to tell him every little detail."
Yeah, those were the same words she told Shane a week ago when he accused her of lying about who she really was. She wasn't totally proud of that, but there it was. And to be fair, it was honest and the truth. He couldn't hold that against her again, right?
Shane blinked a few times and stared out at the window. But she noticed the way his jaw flexed, the way his body tightened just slightly in response to what she said. He remembered. Then he closed his eyes and his head fell forward.
"I can make a quick call tonight if that works," he said quietly.
"I think that would be a good plan," Mark replied reassuringly. "The sooner we can get this started, the sooner it will help us with negotiations."
"Uh, what about me?"
Jordan nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Like Dylan, there were complications with Jordan's case. After all, the man who tipped Ava off to this bombshell was her brother, who owned the Detroit Pirates. Jordan's Detroit Pirates. Ava hadn't really worked out how to handle that yet. She looked at Mark, hoping he would have some idea while knowing that he also understood the problem with this.
"Are there any media people you trust there?" Mark asked. "Or maybe someone who knows someone in the media."
Ava smiled. "Max."
"No," Jordan said defiantly.
What was with all these hockey players telling her "No" today?
"Just hear me out a second," she said.
"Who's Max?" Dylan asked.
"Maxine Quinn," Ava explained. "She used to cover the Pirates before she got laid off."
A sly smile teased Dylan's lips. "Does she have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, Logan Moore," Jordan said.
Dylan's smile quickly disappeared. Logan was Jordan's teammate and one of the best defensemen in the league, and it was no secret that the two defenders were big rivals.
"I'm not doing this, Ava."
"Why not?"
