“Are we going to talk about the elephant?” Didier said, dropping onto a chair.
“What elephant?” Rachel asked.
Jamie chuckled. “He means the elephant in the room.”
“Okay.” Rachel nodded. “And I ask again, what elephant?”
“Daniel Osei,” Didier said. It sounded like a curse instead of a name. “C’est fou qu’il est venu ici.”
“Why is it crazy that he came here?” Lottie asked Didier. “Once I got past how he was dressed, he seemed like a nice enough boy.”
“Daniel Osei is not nice,” Didier said succinctly.
Jamie sighed. “When I decided to go all in with Winners Inc., I knew some of my former teammates would come for coaching. They used to hit me up for advice all the time. But of all the people I’d expected to walk through the door, Danny Osei hadn’t been one of them.”
Rachel pointed to the door. “We’re talking about that guy who was here earlier, right? He seemed big for a soccer player.”
“He’s an enforcer,” Jamie said. “He plays defense for Chelsea.”
“Hmm.” Rachel pulled out her mobile and began tapping at it.
Lottie smiled, knowing that in another few seconds Rachel would have the man’s entire career and public persona researched. She’d taught her granddaughter well.
Didier shifted in his seat. “Osei surprised me.”
“In what way?” Lottie asked, very curious because Didier wasn’t often surprised.
Didier made a Gallic gesture. “That he would come here to ask for help. That he would askJamie.”
“What’s wrong with that? Everyone asks Jamie for advice,” Rachel said, still looking at her mobile. Then her eyes got wide. “Never mind. I see it here. Wow. You guys are at war?”
“The media likes to exaggerate it,” Jamie replied at a deadpan.
Didier snorted.
Lottie leaned in on her elbow. “Now I’m very interested.”
Sighing, Jamie said, “Our ‘rivalry’ is a favorite topic for fans. I’ve never held any animosity for Osei, but on the field when Osei pushed me, I always pushed back. It was the nature of the game. I’ve only ever gotten two red cards, and they were both when I was facing him.”
“Are we voting?” Didier asked, leaning back in his seat. “I vote we turn Osei away.”
Lottie thought turning away people was brilliant. You worked with those you wanted to help, and the others would spread the tales of your exclusivity. It was a luxury, turning away the people Jamie didn’t want to work with. Jamie credited being able to do that this early in their founding to Rachel and the PR she’d done for them. She’d woven a narrative around him and Winners Inc.that made people desperate to work with them.
Well, theywereexcellent at what they did, after all.
Smiling, Jamie reclined in his seat, stretching his arms over his head. “I’m not so sure about turning Danny down.”
“Quoi?” Didier exclaimed as Rachel said “What?”
Lottie sat back and waited to hear Jamie out.
“There’s something about his situation…” He looked into space, trailing off in thought. Then he shook his head. “My gut doesn’t feel right turning him away, but I also don’t know that I want to take him on. He wasn’t completely honest with me about what he needed, so I can’t be sure.”
“I’m not sure I want him here,” Rachel said, frowning at her phone. “Did he really break your ribs?”
“It was just a bruise,” he assured her.
Didier snorted again.