Page 21 of The Tiger in the Sack

He takes it as a compliment.

I put my phone away and went back to my presentation for my recruitment plan and did not think about the fact that I was smiling at my desk.

The work part of Tuesday was good. I laid the full content plan out for Gabrielle — the launch video using the biggest stars on the football team, including Isak Kingman, the audition timeline — and she leaned forward over her desk with the expression that said she’d been waiting for exactly this and said yes, all of it, let’s move before I’d finished my last sentence.

She was going to reach out to the three former captains personally. She wanted the player meeting Wednesday. She wanted the content shoot Friday.

Four days.

My engineering brain liked a tight timeline. It liked focused things.

I went home, fed Tig, and found a text waiting.

Cat Daddy

Vito wants to know if Tig has ever seen the Cincinnati side of the river at night from a bridge. Because apparently that’s on his recommended list for new residents.

Tig has not left this apartment voluntarily since the tree incident and I think we both know why.

Fair. The offer stands for his owner though.

Is that where you want to go on this questionable ride you wanna give me?

That sounded better in my head.

The three dots appeared, then disappeared.

Vito is asking. I’m just the assistant.

Tell Vito I’ll see him Friday.

The Catfather is pleased.

And his assistant?

There was a pause between replies. Longer than the others.

Also pleased. Completely.

Hmm.

Go to sleep Cheerleader.

Goodnight Cat Daddy.

I put the phone on my nightstand instead of face down on the cushion.

I woke up Wednesday morning with my phone face up on the nightstand and the kind of opening a smart woman would not lean into.

Of course I leaned into it.

But first, work.

My first recruitment strategy was to make some videos for the Tigers’ and the Tigerettes’ social media platforms. Since Gabi had been head of marketing for the last few years, she had the teams trained for the department to pop into practices to make on the spot videos.

I spent most of the day with Dev, the film production lead, storyboarding the videos, and coordinating everything we’d need. I couldn’t take up too much of the players’ time, because it was summer camp and they were supposed to be practicing their football skills, not their dance skills.

Dev and I got the whole shoot coordinated so it wouldn’t take up more than about a half hour of their time.