“Indeed. Here’s where I find myself in a bind.” Harvey leaned forwards, planting his hands on the table. “I have the chance to sign another player in the January transfer window. His club doesn’t seem to realise what a talent they have on their hands, so it looks like we’ll be able to get him for a steal.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” I glanced over at Amir again, but he was tapping away on his iPad, studiously ignoring me, frowning at the screen through his chunky, black-framed glasses, with his mouth pulled into a thin line. I wasn’t going to get any help from my agent, that was for sure.
“It’s good…but it has repercussions for you.”
Wonderful.
“We’ll need to move you from the right-wing position to the left wing. He’s almost hopeless on the left. I’ve watched hours of footage and studied him in person, and it’s the only conclusion I can come to. By moving you to the left, Glevum FC have a good shot at finishing in the top ten of the table this season, maybe even higher. If we could actually get a shot at Europe…it would be unprecedented for the club. To achieve that as the manager…” Trailing off, Harvey shook his head with a small huff of laughter. “I’d be fulfilling a lifelong dream.”
“I don’t play on the left.” My words came out steady, but my hands were trembling beneath the table. There was a reason I was building up a reputation as a solid, dependable, talented right-winger. Because I was fucking good at it. And not only that, but I loved it.
Harvey exhaled heavily. “I know you don’t, but you and I both know you can. You’ve done it before when Knowles has been injured. You’re good, Lewin. Very good. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t believe you were capable.”
I was actually going to have to do this, wasn’t I? It wasn’t as if I had any other choice.
Harvey was still speaking. “I’ve arranged for some additional training sessions to get you used to playing on the left. Once the transfer is complete, we’ll get you doing drills with Emery. He’s going to be thrown in at the deep end, coming to a Premier League team from League Two, and he won’t have much time to get used to the team before we need him out there on the pitch.”
Emery. Emery? No. No, no, no.
“Jordan Emery?” His name was ground out between gritted teeth, and my hands were no longer shaking with nerves but with rage.
Harvey smiled, the gold cap on his left incisor flashing at me. “That’s him. You were at CEFYA together, weren’t you? He doesn’t know anyone else on the team, as far as I’m aware, so I’m expecting you to be the one to show him the ropes.”
What was this hellhole my life had suddenly descended into?
Jordan fucking Emery. That brown-haired, grey-eyed, golden-skinned bane of my existence ever since we were thirteen years old was going to be my teammate? And even worse, to take my fucking place on the team? That was a hard-won position. A place that had cost me blood, sweat, and tears.
He thought he could usurp my position as Glevum FC’s right-winger?
Absolutely not.
2
JORDAN
“I’ve perused the offer and contracts, and I’ve had my guy check the paperwork over, as well as Glevum FC’s lawyers. Everything looks good, as far as we’re concerned. Are you ready to sign? The club won’t hold off forever.” Rory, my agent, rubbed his hand over his dark, neatly trimmed beard as he eyed me from across his desk. Picking up an expensive-looking silver fountain pen, he tapped the stack of papers in front of him.
“I want to. It’s just—”
“Jordan. I’m going to give you some tough love here because you need it.” Placing the pen down, he planted his hands on the wooden surface on either side of the paperwork, his dark gaze intent on mine. “Playing in the Premier League is your dream, and you should never lose sight of that. Signing for a top-flight team is something you and I have been working towards since you turned sixteen. You’re nineteen now, not too far off from turning twenty, and I’m telling you that it’s highly unlikely you’ll get another chance like this. Are you man enough to put your petty, childish differences with one person aside and act like the team player I know you are?”
Becoming Theodore Lewin’s teammate… Did I want that? Fuck, no, but Rory was right. I’d be a fucking fool to turn this opportunity down. This was my chance to play at elite level, for the team I loved. My dream football club wanted me. Me.
“Gimme the pen,” I muttered, and I was rewarded with a hint of a smile from my agent.
“Good boy.”
“I’ve told you before not to say that. I don’t have a praise kink. It sounds weird coming from you. Why don’t you go out and find a hot, willing woman to fuck—preferably one with an actual praise kink and a thing for bossy, bearded men?”
Tutting, Rory shook his head, his small smile widening into an amused grin as he handed me the pen. “The mouth on you. I think I liked you better when you were a sweet, innocent teenager.”
“You thought I was sweet and innocent.” Uncapping the pen, I began scrawling my signature at the tabbed places. I also had an electronic copy to sign, as requested by the club, but Rory liked to keep things old-school and definitely less environmentally friendly than he should.
“Look at all the trees and squids that died for this.” I waved my hand over the never-ending pile of printed pages. “What’s your problem with technology, grandad?”
“Brat. That ink does not come from squids, I’ll have you know. You should be more concerned about the information you have online, Jord. AI is in danger of taking over the world one day.”
“When that day comes, I’ll bow down to our evil robot overlords.”
“Jordan. This isn’t a joking matter.”
Glancing up at him, I noticed the serious look on his face, and I immediately nodded, in complete agreement. “I know. I fucking hate that AI shit. But I’d like to see them try to replace me with a robot. The fucker wouldn’t have a clue what to do.”
He shook his head again, huffing out a laugh. “No one could ever replace you. Who else would grind my gears like you do?”
“Yeah, you’re right. No one could replace me because I’m one of a kind.” Reaching the final page, I signed with a flourish. “Done.”
“Right.” He was all business again, gathering the papers into a neat stack and setting them aside before sliding his laptop across the desk to me. “Now you need to do the same thing with the electronic version. Once everything’s signed and Glevum confirms receipt, we’ll liaise with them to arrange a press conference or whatever they want to do to announce you as the club’s new right-winger.”
A smirk tugged at my lips as I imagined how pissed off Theo was going to be at the news that I was taking his position. If only I could have been there to see his face when the gaffer told him. Equally, if the shoe had been on the other foot, I knew he would’ve taken great pleasure in gloating about how he’d taken my place.
Rory was still talking, and I tuned back in to find him saying something about money. Time to concentrate.