Preseason Love (15 page)

My manager, Joel, was easygoing and helpful in the process of getting acclimated. He gave me guidance but left me to my own devices to get my work done. It was my responsibility to learn all that I could about our athletes' lives and who they were as men outside of the game. I was charged with making them seem appealing as well as saleable to mainstream media. The League's special events also fell under my list of responsibilities. I loved the rush of executing a red carpet on event day. There was a sense of accomplishment.

As the weeks went on, the workload increased and I found out
that my first event would be the Athlete's Annual. Festivities surrounding the event attracted thousands of fans from around the world. In college, my friends and I would take special trips to the Athlete's Annual so I was familiar with the event from a fan's perspective. However, working an event of that magnitude could prove to be an interesting challenge.

The two months leading up to the Athlete's Annual were hectic as hell, to say the least. The League's style was to learn as you go. Since everything was new for me, there was a huge learning curve and catching on quickly was imperative. I learned instantly that people would only forcibly communicate with those who were outside of their department. If you did not know the right questions to ask in order to obtain the information that you needed, then you would come up short.

Gathering information was like a search-and-rescue mission. Everyone had a very specific job function and you had to go through multiple individuals to get what you needed to complete a task. Some people had been there so long that they seemed to be very sensitive about their role, so you had to make sure not to offend or piss anyone off while trying to do your job.

I found myself working late hours to feel like I was caught up each day, only to turn around and do it again the next day. But I liked the feeling of working toward a specific point of execution.

During the Athlete's Annual, the main events that I was responsible for from a media perspective were the Entertainer's Game and the red carpet, just prior to the main event. Interacting heavily with the events department and the talent department were crucial pieces to the puzzle.

For the Entertainer's Game, I had to find out everything: how many media persons could fit in the venue, what my credential
process would need to be, who would be playing in the game, and if the celebrity talent would be willing to do media interviews to promote their participation in the game. The events group held all of the answers and sometimes it could be like waving ice cream in front of a dieting woman to get what you needed.

The red carpet was slightly unpredictable in terms of talent, so I simply had to make sure that we had media on hand to get interviews and shots of whoever decided to stroll down the carpet prior to the game. The origin of my stress was largely due to the fact that this would be my first weekend full of events and I wanted everything to go smoothly.

Kari was starting to witness the immense pressure that I was under as our late-night conversations in bed were dominated by work talk.

“Babe, can you please stop flicking back and forth?” Kari asked. “Leave it on
SportsCenter.
You're driving me crazy.”

“You know I always watch my CNN. Don't act brand-new,” I said. “But this sports world is not a game. I have to make sure that I know who's doing well. I can't be in the dark when it comes to the Athlete's Annual and who will make the team.”

Kari shook his head.

He did his best to be supportive. Kari would hold me in his arms and stroke my back trying his best to make me destress and release some of the anxiety. On occasion, he would offer advice and reassure me that he believed in my rock-star capabilities. Sometimes his words of encouragement were like music to my ears.

“You should take some time out to relax, Scottie.”

“I'm trying to prove myself still. I don't feel like I have that luxury yet.”

“I'm not suggesting anything extreme. I thought that it would be good to grab dinner with friends. Maybe tomorrow.”

“I'm sorry, baby, you're right. Seems like an excellent idea. I haven't been very social lately.”

The next night, we linked up with some friends and went to a low-key spot in Hell's Kitchen called Ta Cocina. Their two-for-one margaritas made it one of my favorite restaurants. The drinks were flowing and everyone was chatting and enjoying good company. Most of the group was Kari's peeps. They had become my friends by default.

“I want to make a toast,” Kari said spontaneously. “Everyone raise their glass with me. I would like to congratulate Scottie on her new gig at The League. She's doing big things. I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments! To Scottie!”

Kari leaned in to kiss my glossy, frosted, pink lips.

“You guys are too sweet,” I said. “Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive.”

My unemployment status had been no secret to the crew. They all knew my struggle and they were genuinely happy for me. That is, except for Kari's smart-ass best friend, Kelvin. He always irked the hell out of me. But he was Kari's boy, so there wasn't much that I could say.

“So how long before you leave ma' boy for one of them millionaire ballers?” Kelvin blurted out with conviction.

What the fuck kind of question is that, you asshole?!

Eyes shot up, glasses dropped on the table and suddenly a lively dinner table fell silent. Everyone looked a little stunned. Kari fixed his lips to speak up on my behalf, but I raised my hand to his chest. “I got this.”

“Probably about the same damn time that you scrape enough pennies together to move out of yo' momma's house. Ooops! That would mean never,” I spat. “By the way, jealousy does not look good on you, Kelvin.”

Kelvin and Kari had been friends since elementary school and they were inseparable growing up, like Kid ‘n Play, complete with similar names. From what I could see, as they grew older, Kelvin wasn't always a very good friend to Kari. In most instances, he would have something negative to say. People like that could be toxic. It's usually a good indicator that they are not happy with things in their own life or they are harboring jealous feelings. I tried to mention Kelvin's behavior to Kari once, but he made up an excuse for Kelvin. From that point on, I left it alone.

After that awkward moment, everyone tried to go on like normal. I was still seething with disdain for Kelvin, but I did not let him ruin the remainder of my dinner. Eventually, we wrapped up at Ta Cocina and everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Kari and I headed back to his apartment. I would rarely stay over since he lived so deep in Brooklyn, but on weekends, it worked out fine. We rode in silence until I decided to speak my piece.

“That was a disrespectful thing to say,” I commented. “One day somebody is going to smack the shit out of ya boy.”

“Scottie, stop it. He was playing.”

“Playing! That's your idea of playing?” I fired back. I was starting to get pissed all over again. “You know, you always take up for him. But that was straight-up wrong, it wasn't a joke, it damn sure wasn't funny, and it was flat-out rude.”

“Why are you getting so upset? You're kind of acting like he exposed your secret or something.”

He raised his voice slightly with that comment and I didn't like his tone nor did I like where the conversation was going. That comment came out of nowhere. I was getting livid. Did he have some hidden feelings that he wasn't telling me about? Had he and Kelvin already discussed this?

“Well, what the fuck? I mean…did you put him up to it? Was
that good cop-bad cop routine where you let him ask me all the fucked-up questions and you sit back and wait for the answers?”

“Of course not! Scottie, don't be ridiculous. If I have something to say, I'll say it my damn self.” Kari rubbed his goatee.

“You know what? Whatever. I'm done. Talking to you is pointless right now,” I said.

“Seriously, that's how you're gonna act?”

“Pretty much,” I said as I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look out at the brownstones passing through my line of sight.

I had nothing more to say to Kari. He was being an insensitive jerk and I wasn't going to sit there and try to reason with stupidity.

When we got to Kari's house, the tension in the air was still thick. He threw his keys down on the glass coffee table and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. I went straight to his room, slid on my pajamas, curled up in his bed, and shut my eyes. Yes, mad.

The bright sunrays and Kari's snoring woke me up the next morning. After hearing me stir for a minute, Kari finally decided to open his eyes and stretch his long arms toward me.

Without wasting any time, he said, “So, are you still mad from last night?”

“I'm not mad at you. I was hurt that you did not take Kelvin's disrespect serious.”

“You're right. I guess I didn't give what he said that much weight.”

“It was more the delivery and the setting that made me upset,” I said. “Kari, turn the tables around and tell me how you would have felt sitting there being chastised in front of a table full of people?”

He stared off for a moment. “I get it, babe. You're right. I would have wanted to sock him too.”

T
he days leading up to the Athlete's Annual in Miami proved to be torture. With all of the last-minute updates to media materials, constant questions via email, and maintaining the guest lists for multiple events, the work ran me ragged and pulling long hours seemed to be expected of everyone. There was definitely a do-what-it-takes mentality and by all means, you did not want to screw up and feel the wrath of Dean. The last thing that you wanted was her flipping out on you, as she had been known to do.

Lydia and I chatted about what parties would be hot and the fun that we were ready to get into. She knew people in Miami, so she was excited to hang out. My girl Bella, also a part of The Clique, had recently moved to the area for business school so I was ecstatic that I would get to see her.

Given that this was my first ride at the rodeo, I had no idea what to pack for the trip. Naturally, I wanted to be cute, while keeping in mind that it was a work trip. I only packed a couple of sassy outfits. When I had attended the mandatory Athlete's Annual orientation at the job, they did not include “freakum dress” on the list of must-haves. But I had packed one anyway.

Kari walked into my room and looked at the piles of clothes stacked all over the bed. “Babe, did they tell you to bring enough
outfits for you and the groupies to wear?”

“Hush up.” I giggled. “I really don't know what to expect, so I want to be ready for whatever.”

“I hear you.”

“If I want to secure my future at The League and set my self up for advancement to the next level, then I have to be ready for whatever whenever.”

“Well, Ms. Ready Whenever, how are you getting to the airport in the morning? Do you need me to take you?” Kari asked.

“No, The League arranged a car service from here to the airport.” I updated Kari on my first-class travel style. “But it gets better. I found out that they chartered a commercial flight for all of the employees. Pretty dope, right?”

“Oh, they're fancy!” Kari laughed.

Then his facial expression quickly turned from playful to concerned. “So do the guys take the same plane as the staff?”

“Uh yeah. They don't make the female employees take a separate flight from the males.” I rolled my eyes.

“No, you know what I mean. Stop playing,” he snapped. “I'm talking about the athletes, the men that make The League possible.”

“Oh, those guys.” I wanted him to make it clear what he wanted to know.

“Uh, I can't say for sure, but I highly doubt that any of them would be on our flight.”

I sensed that the inquiry was coming from a weird space. I didn't want to make it a big deal on my last night home, so I changed the subject and finished packing.

Later that night, Kari made love to me in a way that he had never done before. He held me extra tight, like if he lost his grip, I would disappear. I figured six days away from each other could have emotions running high.

Morning came quickly. After I gathered my suitcase and black crocodile carry-on bag by the front door, I climbed on the bed to lie next to Kari. His eyes were still closed. When he turned his head in my direction, I kissed his cheek, then his eyes met mine. He smiled and I leaned in to kiss his morning breath.

“Sorry to wake you, babe. I wanted to hear your voice before I left.”

“I'm gonna miss you,” Kari said softly.

“I'll be back before you know it.” I caressed his scruffy facial hair. “I'll call you when I land.”

“You better,” Kari responded with a smile.

He smacked me on the butt as I got up from my bed. I knew that he was watching so I put an extra sexy sway in my sashay.

When I pulled up to the airport and my driver opened the door of the black Cadillac Escalade to guide me out of the vehicle, I felt like a celebrity. VIP treatment. However, the VIP lifestyle stopped at check-in. The airport was packed. Once I finally got my boarding pass and made it through security, I had worked up an appetite. I whipped out my company credit card and ordered up as much food as a twenty-dollar breakfast allotment would cover.

The flight to Miami was quicker than I expected. The League definitely knew how to set their employees up in swanky accommodations. My group was staying at the Epic Hotel in Biscayne Bay, which was a chic waterfront property. When I walked into the lobby, I noticed a few of my colleagues sitting in a lounge area chatting. I politely waved and continued on to the front desk.

There was signage everywhere promoting the Athlete's Annual and even the room keys had the event logo on them. It was pretty impressive to be a part of such a major production.