Chapter 26
Vee
Our Monday morning meeting began with Aunt Rachel sitting at one end of the conference table, and me at the other.
I had just enough time this morning to give her a heads-up on the email from the NFL Super Bowl Planning Commission.
That news would need to wait until we made it through our usual Monday subjects: ticket sales, stadium operations, yesterday’s game, player injuries and placement.
While the Coopers would play in Jacksonville next Sunday, Crystal Light Stadium was going to be busy.
First, today through Thursday, our stadium was hosting a four-day FFA conference.
As soon as that was cleared, a major event was coming to Lexington.
WWE Prime Live Event was something I’d worked for two years to organize.
Overnight, my stadium operations crew transformed a football stadium into a conference and tradeshow venue.
Thursday night, that would be taken down.
By Saturday night, the same space would be transformed into a WWE production.
The ring or squared circle, a twenty-by-twenty-foot raised mat platform surrounded by ropes, will be set where the fifty-yard line stands.
An entranceway leading from backstage to the ring and the gorilla position will be set up and ready for cameras.
Tickets on the floor were currently listed at over a thousand dollars apiece.
“I briefly spoke with our mayor, Janine Watson, last week about the WWE Prime Live Event. She said that Urban County Council members were ecstatic about the numbers. Hotel rooms are sold out in a fifty-mile radius,” I said.
Lifting a brow, I smiled. “The family suite is available if anyone wants to see the mayhem firsthand.”
Grant raised the fingers of his right hand in a slight wave. “I’m going to be there.” He looked remarkably good compared to his appearance yesterday afternoon.
Okay. “Have a great time.” I thought about the timing. “You won’t be going to Jacksonville?”
He shook his head. “It’s a 4:30 game. I plan to fly commercial on Sunday morning. I’ll be with all of you on the ride home.”
“Speaking of Janine Watson,” Aunt Rachel said, “Vee and I have a meeting with her on Friday.” She looked at me with a smile. “Vee, why don’t you fill everyone in on the email you received this morning.”
All eyes were on me.
I had a printed copy of the email and read it aloud. Gasps and other sounds came from around the table. “I wish Dad could be here for this.”
“It’s not a guarantee,” Uncle Darin said. “Reid worked diligently on this possibility.”
“Aunt Rachel and I have Dad’s bid and information he’d accumulated and the people who he worked with.”
“Where did you find that?” Grant asked.
“It was on Dad’s computer.” I inhaled. “I contacted Bre Stanton after I received the email.”
“Why?” Uncle Darin asked.
“Because, Darin,” Aunt Rachel said, “Bre was, among other things, Reid’s assistant. There’s no sense reinventing the wheel. Reid put a lot of work into this project. We should build on what he did, not start from scratch. Bre informed us what files to access.”
“But Bre?” Uncle Darin said as crimson bloomed from his shirt collar. “How can we trust her?” He clenched his jaw. “I don’t think the Coopers should have anything to do with her. She’s been accused of Reid’s murder.”
There it was—the elephant in the room.
“Not convicted,” I said. “Back to the subject, Aunt Rachel and I will meet with Janine on Friday to learn how committed the council is to working with the Coopers on an infrastructure initiative. According to Bre, Dad was working to secure both private and public funding. He was in contact with multiple hotel CEOs, including Marriott International, Hilton, and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.”
Aunt Rachel spoke. “We need to reconnect with these people and find out what exactly Reid was trying to accomplish.”
“Seems obvious. He wanted them to build large hotels,” Uncle Darin deadpanned. “Currently, the largest hotel in Lexington has a little over four hundred guest rooms. To host the Super Bowl, Lexington needs to provide—”
“Based on the capacity of Crystal Light,” I interrupted, “Lexington needs approximately 25,000 rooms. Currently, we’re at a deficit of 13,000 rooms.”
Uncle Darin nodded.
“The JW Marriott in Indianapolis was built for their hosting of the Super Bowl and has over a thousand rooms. It doesn’t seem as though Dad would have facilitated a bidding war.
He wanted broad support. Lexington needs all the hotel chains to invest in Lexington.
” I nodded. “And showing them the success of not only the Coopers, but events like the WWE PLE will help our cause.”
“And we’re going to carry on Reid’s quest,” Aunt Rachel said. She turned to Uncle Darin. “We’d like your help if you have more information.”
Uncle Darin glanced at Grant and nodded. “We can all have a common goal.”
An unfamiliar sense of commonality filled me with hope. As soon as that emotion washed through my circulation, I remembered Fin’s story from last night, about the reason Aunt Rachel was cut out of the Coopers.
Could we work together to bring Dad’s dream to fruition or was there a more sinister reason to give me a false sense of security?
“One last thing,” I said. “The Gulfstream is leaving Saturday morning at ten a.m. for Jacksonville. I’ve already contacted Tony. He’s getting the crew set. We’ll return Sunday night after the game.”
There were nods all around the table.
“That seemed too easy,” I said under my breath. Speaking louder, I asked, “Is there anything else before we adjourn?”
Lip raised his hand. “Interestingly, Simpson jerseys were hot after yesterday’s game. They increased in sales over three hundred percent.”
“That’s good,” I replied.
“Dennison is still our best seller,” he said, “but I thought that was an interesting bump.”
I looked at all the faces. “You probably already know, Simpson is out for the season. I spoke with Don this morning. He told me that they’re moving Joshua Jackson up from the practice squad.”
“We’ll need another QB for the practice squad,” Uncle Darin said.
I turned to Royce Beasley. “Let us know who’s available to pick up and for how much.”
Grant shook his head. “This QB situation is costing us a fortune already.”
“Don said today that Dad liked depth on the bench. I agree with that.” I turned to Royce. “Get Aunt Rachel and I a list of names with stats and we can talk about appropriate offers.”
Royce nodded.
“If that’s all…” I stood.
Everyone else worked to collect their things. I looked at my cousin who was standing, dressed in his usual designer suit. “Grant, if you have a minute…?”
Clearing his throat, he stepped closer, laying his tablet on the table at the seat next to mine. We waited as the room cleared.
Finally, I asked, “What did you think we should talk about yesterday?”
He pressed his lips together. “Nothing.”
“You mentioned a note. What note?”
“Fuck, Vee. I don’t remember.”
I tilted my head. “Was it that upsetting to you that Daphne brought Joe to the game?”
Gripping the back of the chair in front of him, his shoulders slouched. “I don’t give a fuck.”
I widened my eyes. “Okay. Good talk.” I reached for my things.
“Wait.”
Sitting back in my chair, I stared at him.
“She’s lying to you.”
“Who is?”
“Bre. I don’t mean about the Super Bowl stuff.”
“Then what do you mean?” I asked.
“Vee, she’s telling everyone that she’s pregnant. You know about it. Don’t act dumb. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Okay. Yes, she told me.”
“If she is, it’s not Uncle Reid’s kid.”
“How would you know that?”
Grant sat in the seat to my right. “Daphne and I…well, we’ve talked. She said she tried for years to have a baby. Reid didn’t tell her until after they were married about a decade that the reason she couldn’t conceive was him. He had a vasectomy before they were married.”
I stared in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“I shouldn’t have told you, but it didn’t seem right to let you think Bre was carrying Uncle Reid’s kid.”
“Daphne told you this?”
Grant nodded.
“How close are the two of you?”
He set his jaw and his eyes darkened. “Not as close as I thought.” He stood. “Even if Bre bought the Benadryl, she didn’t force-feed it to Uncle Reid. The police should have left the COD as a fatal traffic accident.” With a nod, he pushed back his chair, stood, and walked away.