Page 146 of ClickBack

“Would be. Philly has to authorize the conversations. Cam’s working on that.”

I read the short list on the screen. “In June, they made it sound like this had to happen immediately.”

“They wanted it done before other moves got made.”

“Those moves happened. What do they gain by waiting now?”

He leans back. “A better return, if somebody offers it.”

“And if nobody does?”

“They still have me.” He says it without any pleasure. “They can take me into the season.”

I look from the phone to him. “Can you live with that?”

“I can play basketball anywhere.”

“That isn’t quite what I asked.”

“I know what you asked.” He rubs a hand over his face, then drops it to the table. “I don’t want to spend another season wondering if I’m there until the next meeting. But I’m not about to tell Cam to take whatever they give us just to get me out.”

“Then he needs to know both of those things.”

“He does.”

“Does he know which one matters more when they conflict?”

Jarrett studies the screen again. “Depends on the offer.”

“Then perhaps the useful question is what you need to know before you can answer. You can’t keep treating every update like it’s asking you to decide your whole life tonight.”

He gives me a look. “You charge people for that?”

“Usually, I have access to their records first.”

“I don’t have records that will tell me whether I’ll like living there.”

“No. But you can separate what they’ve agreed to from what somebody hopes they’ll agree to. Cam sent a possible date. You’re already talking about a season you haven’t started.”

He gets up and comes around the table. For a moment I think I’ve gone too far. Then he bends and kisses me, his hand settling behind my chair.

“What was that for?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“That’s convenient.”

“Very.” He kisses me again before going back for his phone.

This time, when he calls Cam, he asks whether I mind staying. I take my chair while he tells Cam I’m there.

The conversation is less mysterious when I can hear both sides. Cam explains what he has confirmed, what is still a request, and which people Jarrett would meet. He has no intention of sending him into a sales pitch without knowing what the Storm can actually discuss.

“Then keep the basketball meeting separate from everything else,” Jarrett says. “I want to hear where they see me playing. Not just that they want me and Von in the same picture.”

“That’s already on my list,” Cam says.

“Put how they plan to use us together on there, too.”