Chapter 5
Vee
Aview of the amber shade carpet met me as I entered the Maker’s Mark Football Center.
This was the official training facility and office complex for the Lexington Coopers, roughly twenty miles west of Crystal Light Stadium.
On Monday morning, the practice fields were dark.
The players were meeting with their coaches to evaluate film from Sunday’s game.
This state-of-the-art facility contained football operations offices, business offices, meeting rooms, and classrooms. We had an indoor and outdoor practice field.
There was a large locker room, a weight room with the newest equipment, a training and rehabilitation area, and even a hydrotherapy room.
A large kitchen and eating area supported our team’s nutrition program.
At the same time, Crystal Light Stadium was in the process of transforming from a football stadium to the host of a three-day medical sales conference and trade show.
The event would bring over fifty thousand people to Lexington, showcasing the versatility of the stadium.
This was something Dad and Uncle Darin promised as incentive for our new stadium.
While the locker room, weight room, and practice field were mostly empty this morning, behind the scenes, the Coopers’ personnel were busy. Our trainers were busy helping injured players heal and deciding which players if any would be added to the injury report.
The coaches were already in the viewing room reviewing film from the game against the Dolphins with the players.
I’d sat in at many of their meetings. Roy Everington, who coached the Coopers for five years, welcomed me into their tightknit circle.
As the only child of the owner, my future would forever include the Coopers. I wanted to know all I could.
While Tilson, the current head coach, wasn’t as accommodating, he didn’t mind when I went to him with questions.
Nevertheless, my experience with Everington taught me that Mondays were critical days.
The coaches broke down the game, analyzing every play, every failure, and every success.
Whether it was offense, defense, or special teams, there were hours of video to analyze.
As it turned out, the Coopers lost yesterday’s game thirty-three to thirty-four.
While our offense was strong with Fin and a few appearances from Simpson, our kicker missed two extra points and hit two field goals, one from fifty-seven yards. I didn’t envy the coaches trying to dissect that mess of stats.
“Preseason isn’t about winning and losing,” Grandpa Carroll used to say. “It’s about finding the right combination to do better than before.”
That was his motto—improving. Always improving.
The empty practice field reassured me that I would have less of a chance to end up with an impromptu meeting with our newest signed player.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I waved to the receptionists near the entrance and made my way to my office within the area of stadium operations.
Bestowing the title of vice president on me was another step in preparing me for what will happen when Dad was gone.
That’s not a subject I lingered on. My father was sixty-five on his last birthday. While the future of my personal life was unsure, professionally, Dad would be around to teach me, Grant, and Lip what the next generation needed to know.
“Good morning, Vee,” Jen, my assistant, said as I entered the business offices. “Do you need anything before the morning meeting?”
“Good morning.” I smiled at her bourbon barrel earrings. “Those are cute.”
“I bought them in the gift shop before the game yesterday.”
I nodded. “I think I’m good. I’m going to check my emails to be sure my ticket information is correct. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Not long after I sat down at my desk, there was a knock on the door. Dad peeked his head inside. “Oh good. You’re here.”
“Dad, come on in.” I looked at my watch. I was later than normal, but not late. “Our meeting isn’t until ten?”
My father took his position as CEO and president seriously, but at the same time, he didn’t believe in stuffiness.
He wanted a casual environment of teamwork.
His button-down shirt, blue jeans, and leather loafers fit that image.
Despite his age, Dad was a handsome man with thick salt-and-pepper hair, a fit body, and vibrant green eyes that matched my own.
“I wanted to talk to you alone before the executive meeting.”
The two cups of coffee I’d already consumed percolated in my stomach. “Okay.” I stood, smoothed my tan skirt, and motioned to the comfortable seating area near floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the outside practice field. “Do you want to sit?”
Dad nodded. Once we were both seated, he asked, “Is there something you want to tell me about Griffin Graham?”
Pressing my lips together, I considered my answer. Despite the ache in my chest, I shook my head. “I can’t think of anything.”
The fissures at the side of Dad’s eyes deepened. “Grant mentioned that the two of you have a history.”
Another shake of my head as I exhaled and offered a bare-bones answer.
“I knew Fin at the University of Kentucky. We went out a few times. He was offered a deal to transfer to Tennessee. The Vols at that time were an NCAA top-ten team. It was a better university to showcase his talents. Fin took the offer, and that was it.”
Dad nodded. “Tennessee helped make Graham a second-round draft pick. Atlanta drafted him.”
“I didn’t follow his career.” That wasn’t completely accurate. I followed him through Tennessee, Atlanta, and on to Tampa Bay. After that, even though I told myself I didn’t care, I still followed his stats.
“Royce wants him even more than he did before. After yesterday, he wants to renegotiate Graham’s contract.”
“Renegotiate? How?”
Dad leaned back and lifted his ankle to his knee.
“Fin’s agent agreed to the original one-year contract.
After yesterday, Graham put himself on the radar of other teams. It wouldn’t be that big of a loss to him if he chose to let one of those teams buy out his contract with us. Royce thinks we need to offer more.”
I nodded, despite my inner turmoil at the prospect of Fin being part of the Coopers into the future. “This is why I’m not involved with football operations. Royce is good at finding talent.”
“We’ve talked about it before. You need to spend more time in football operations. Let Grant show you how that side of the franchise works.”
“Grant?”
“Vee, one day you’ll be in my position. The Coopers is a business. That’s the way every decision must be approached. Ask yourself, what’s best for this season? And then ask, what’s best for the future of the team? If those answers contradict each other, then it’s time to find new answers.”
“Do you think Mr. Graham is good for the season or for the future of the Coopers?”
Dad exhaled, his nostrils flaring. “Season. As you said yesterday, his age is a factor.”
“Then I don’t understand why we would renegotiate his contract. Does Royce think Fin has three years in him?” When Dad didn’t answer, I leaned forward. “Grandpa also said the Coopers was about people. I crunch numbers. Sometimes what’s best for the numbers isn’t best for our people.”
Dad’s smile grew. “This afternoon, Royce and I are meeting with Fin and his agent. I’d like you to come with us to that meeting. I’ve also invited Grant.”
It wasn’t as if I would turn down my father’s invitation. However, I wished he would have left the part about Grant out of it. “Grant.” My lips pressed together.
“You two will be working together in the future. Grant is essential in communication; he also has a good mind for the football side of the business. Vee, you’re more like your grandfather.
You have the heart of the Coopers as your main concern.
” He smiled. “Rachel is like you, too.” He took a deep breath and lowered his ankle.
“She confided in me yesterday that she’s ready to retire after this season.
Darin wants another year or two, but that timeline would mean that we’ll need you, Grant, and Lip moving up sooner than previously discussed.
Will your increased responsibilities be a problem? ”
“No.”
“What about you and Preston?”
I stood, my hands slapping my thighs. “How exactly is my personal relationship a factor?” Before he could answer, I asked, “Did you pose the same question to Grant and Lip?”
“They aren’t seriously dating anyone to my knowledge.”
Lip was dating, but that wasn’t my place to announce it. “Dad, I don’t know what’s happening between me and Preston. He invited me to move in with him and” —I inhaled— “I don’t think I want that.”
“Then don’t do it.”
He made it sound so easy. “Leigh says I have commitment issues.”
Dad stood and took a step toward me. “I disagree.”
I hadn’t expected this conversation to go so personal; nonetheless, I wanted to hear my father’s point of view. “You don’t? …Think I have commitment issues?”
“No, Maeve, you’re committed to this family and the Coopers. When the right person earns the privilege to be part of that commitment, you’ll know. If it’s not Preston, then it’s not him.”
“I’ll be at the ten o’clock a.m. meeting and attend the one with Fin and his agent. I doubt he even remembers me.” I scoffed. “Grant admitted he doesn’t recall everyone he went out with in college.”
“If Griffin Graham doesn’t remember you, I’d hesitate to offer him a more lucrative contract. No matter how well he can throw a ball, I’d question his cognitive abilities to remember plays because my daughter is unforgettable.”
My cheeks rose. “Thanks, Dad. It doesn’t matter what he remembers. If you, Uncle Darin, and Royce think the Coopers will be better with Fin Graham, I’m behind you. Personally, I want to keep Dennison healthy. And what the hell was happening yesterday with Holt?”
Dad shook his head. “I’m certain that’s a discussion with the special teams’ coaches. Do we concentrate on the fifty-seven-yard field goal or the two missed points after?”
“Grandpa always said it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about improving.”
“Sometimes, I’d like to walk into the office and find him sitting behind my desk. I’d ask for his advice.”
I walked with Dad toward the door. “I’m glad I still have you to talk with.”
He winked. “Don’t worry. Despite Daphne’s pleas, retirement isn’t on my short list.”
“She wants you to retire?”
“It’s not happening.”
After Dad left my office, I went to my desk and collapsed onto the white leather chair.
I’d told myself that today was a free pass.
With the players in meetings all day, that meant I had zero percent chance of running into Fin.
That likelihood just went up—way up. It was time to put on my big-girl panties and be the woman I’d become—Maeve Hubbard, vice president of the Lexington Coopers.
No longer was I a smitten twenty-year-old girl.
My thoughts briefly went to Preston.
Was Dad right?
Was my commitment issue more about what I was committing to than my ability to commit to anything or anyone?