“Gentlemen,” Frankie says, as we march out of my front door. She stops just ahead of Nakamura and executes a short bow, which he follows, then she shakes his hand and Dan Wilson’s, followed by the other two men before gesturing back toward me. “You all know our manager, Charles Avery.”
“Charlie,” Dan says, like we’re old friends, which in the broadest sense of the word friend, I suppose we are. “Good to see you.”
“You too.”
I don’t mean it, but I shake his hand and then Nelson’s before turning toward Frankie and Nakamura.
He’s young, just twenty-five, and looks it, not a line on his face, his eyes bright and a blinding smile spread across his face. He’s a big kid, nearly my height, but slender, with a wiry flexibility that’s perfect for a young pitcher, athletic without being wound so tightly he’s constantly in danger of pulling something. His suit is new and clearly high quality. I’ve been in the game long enough to know custom tailoring when I see it. He’s done well in the Japanese league and he’s about to do even better here.
“Avery-sama,” he says, his bow deep, nearly from the waist, and he holds it for a second and then another before holding his hand out.
“Kai, it’s great to meet you, kid,” I say, returning his bow with one of my own, then shaking his hand firmly. I can’t help but smile when the kids’ face lights up even more.
He opens his mouth and starts, “It’s . . .” but then he hesitates and looks toward Nelson, who steps forward. He speaks in rapid Japanese for a few moments, looking at me and not at his interpreter the entire time.
Nelson nods along and then says in monotone, “It’s such apleasure to meet you, Mr Avery. I have been a very big fan of yours since I was a little boy and I’m looking forward to talking to you today.”
I grin. I’m not above having my ego stroked by a kid who watched me play growing up and I’ll be happy to use that to our advantage during this process.
“I really appreciate that, Kai. You can just call me Charlie. I’m excited to get to know you better and hopefully make you a part of what we’re trying to do in Brooklyn for the next decade or so.”
Nelson translates rapidly, but abruptly, and I wonder how much is actually being communicated. Though, from the way that Kai’s attention is still on me, either he’s very good at listening with one ear or he doesn’t actually need the interpreter.
My money’s on the latter.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll follow me,” Frankie says, gesturing back toward the house. “We can get started.”
Gregory has my living room looking better than it ever has, pillows fluffed, trays of snacks and beverages lined up on a serving table that I don’t recognize, fresh flowers cut and placed sporadically around the room and my furniture rearranged, not to face the television, but two chairs and my couch in a conversational formation with my coffee table in between. There are notepads and pens for everyone, monogrammed with the Eagles logos.
“We were thrilled to see your offer was as competitive as it was,” Dan says, sitting down in one of the chairs and crossing his legs to start the meeting off.
Nelson is translating quietly as he sits beside Kai on the couch. Frankie sits on another chair and I move off to the side with Javy, ready to be called in when needed.
“So, shall we get started?” Dan says.
“Actually, we’ve decided to go in a slightly different direction for this pitch, if you’ll indulge us.”
That gets Kai’s attention clearly before Nelson even starts translating.
Good.
I don’t trust that translator guy as far as I can throw him, especially if Dan Wilson hired him away from the Dodgers. If he’s going to be Kai’s personal interpreter, he’ll have no interest in leavingLAany time soon and, with only a few voices in the kid’s ear, I want to make sure that what we say is actually being understood.
“Go on.” Dan prompts Frankie to continue.
“We know what we’re up against here. We know that the teams who are vying for your services may have deeper pockets and more storied histories, so our pitch is, perhaps, a little bit different than what you’ll be hearing from other organizations. We know what you bring to the table, Kai. I know what you’re capable of and I know what you’re worth. I saw it for myself in Tokyo less than a month ago. You are exactly what we need to bring a championship back to Brooklyn, along with a few other players we think you’ll be excited to have with you over the course of your career.”
“I’m sorry, where exactly is this going?” Dan cuts in, even though Kai has leaned forward in his seat, clearly intrigued as Nelson rapidly interprets Frankie’s words.
“Arizona. We have a car waiting to take us to the airport, where we’ll be flying to see this afternoon’s Desert Dogs game.”
“The Fall league?” Dan says, but his voice is drowned out by his client.
“Arizona?” Kai asks. “To see a game? The Desert Dogs?”
“Yes, but mostly for you to meet three young men who have the exactly the same dream as you do, who will be making their major league debuts with you and who will be the centerpieces of the dynasty we plan to build in Brooklyn.”
“Yes,” Kai says, cutting off Nelson as he continues to interpret what Frankie just said. “Yes. We’ll go to Arizona.”
