Page 28 of Face Off

Once we filled our plates, Lance and I found a spot on the back patio with Mitch and Parker.

“Hey, man.” Mitch nodded toward me and raised a brow. “So, how are things going? Any news so far?”

Lance and Parker stared between us.

“What does that mean?” Lance asked.

Mitch’s eyes widened, but he stayed silent.

“What’s going on?” Parker asked.

I meant to talk to them earlier but never found the right time. At least we were the only ones out here, for now.

“I had a meeting with Coach, the GM, and the president.”

“What? When?” Lance lowered his plate to his lap.

“Monday.”

“And you didn’t say anything all week? What happened?” Parker’s hand hovered midair with a forkful of salad.

“I was told my performance isn’t where they want it to be. I was essentially warned that if I didn’t improve, I would either be sent to the farm team or have my contract paid out. Either way, I won’t be with the team.” Admitting it to them brought the pain and betrayal back to the surface.

Parker sighed and set his fork down.

Lance glared. “What does that even mean? How much lower are your stats from last year?”

“My agent is getting all that information together and making them set specific numbers I need to hit in order to keep my spot.”

“That’s insane.” Parker shook his head.

Mitch ducked his head. “I was thinking that maybe something else was going on, but I’ve asked around a bit and no one else has had a meeting like that.”

“Why target just you?” Lance’s brows were furrowed while he stared down at the ground. “I don’t think you've been playing any worse than anyone else.”

“They blamed my ankle injury. They think maybe I didn’t recover properly or something.”

“You went to Madi,” Lance argued. “She wouldn’t have approved you to return to play if she wasn’t positive you were ready.”

“I know.” I’d had these conversations in my head already.

“Then go back to her. Have her check you out and see if there are any strengthening exercises you can do.” Lance was adamant. “You should talk to her tonight.”

“Nah, she’s off the clock. I’ll make an appointment next week.” I would. This wasn’t something I could ignore and hope it went away. I needed as much evidence of my abilities and efforts as possible.

“Man, this sucks.” Parker slouched. “It feels personal.”

I huffed out a laugh. “I thought the same thing.”

“But it’s not.” Mitch shook his head, “at least not to upper management. It’s all business to them. They only care about the bottom line. Maybe they think they can find someone to replace you for less.”

“I’m in the bottom ten percent of the team for earnings.” I pointed out. “If they want to save money, they’d be looking at Schultz or Murray.”

The money I was paid never bothered me. It was more than I needed, and I saved and invested as much as possible so I was set in case something like this happened. I wasn’t ready to retire, but I wouldn’t be left destitute if it happened. I almost wished it was a money problem. That felt less like an attack on me.

“Let us know how we can help. If you want to get in more training time or just want to vent, we’re here,” Lance offered while Parker and Mitch agreed.

“Don’t give up, man. Keep giving it your all in every practice and game, and make them see that the team needs you,” Parker suggested.