CHAPTER1
JASON
Jason stood at the huge windows that dominated his office and looked down into the training field. He had to admit that the view was pretty awesome, even if it was of the training ground instead of the main field in the stadium. If that was the case, he wouldn’t need to go to the private box to watch the games; he would be able to do it from his own desk.
Although, given the uproar over his purchase of the team, Jason had a feeling that he was going to end up in his office more than the private box. Even now, three weeks after it became news that Wenstown Wolves were going to be taken over by Jason, there were plenty of fans who weren’t happy at all. Nobody wanted him around.
Apparently, they would have preferred that the team went under instead of having someone new buy out the club. Small towns didn’t like newcomers, and Jason couldn’t blame them for that. It had been some years since he had been a local of Wenstown, and he wasn’t that little boy anymore. He was a different person, and he had a different ideal.
But Wenstown loved football, and they would have nothing left if the team wasn’t here. Jason wanted the team to survive, and he wanted to build it up again, to return it to its former glory. The problem with that was very few actually cared what he was trying to do.
Change was something that didn’t come easily to people around here.
Turning away from the window and the sight of the team practicing far below, Jason headed over to the desk. It was huge, ornate. The previous owner certainly loved antiques, and his desk was magnificent. Whoever created this meant for it to be treasured.
And also planned to make rearranging the office really difficult. Jason didn’t want to think about what it would take to move it a couple of inches.
He settled down in the chair, the leather squeaking under him. As he sat there, turning the chair back and forth absently, his eyes landed on the picture of his father he had put up. The sight of the old man was enough to make him smile.
It was a picture his mother had taken of them the summer before Lance Munro passed away. They had gone to the national park, and they had gone for a pretty long walk. Lance had always enjoyed walking, something he tried to do even after he got sick. The smiles on that day were still fresh in Jason’s mind.
He missed his dad. He would do anything to get him back. Maybe then Jason wouldn’t feel so lost.
Hopefully, Lance wasn’t going to be too concerned about his son buying and owning their local football team. He had enjoyed coming to the games when they lived in Wenstown, and the place had left a soft spot in his heart. Jason wanted to make him proud.
If he was lucky, he would be able to do that with the first season. They could turn this struggling team around. All they needed was an injection of money. Then they would be able to provide what was wanted.
That was the plan, anyway. Jason had gone over this with the board, and they were on board. He just had to win over pretty much everyone else.
A knock at the door jerked Jason out of his thoughts. He sat up.
“Come in?”
The door opened and a svelte woman with jet-black hair and red glasses came in. She walked over to the desk with confident strides, even with the high heels on her feet. In her arms were a couple of files and several envelopes and papers.
It looked like the day had already started.
“Good morning, Mr. Munro,” she greeted him.
“Morning…erm…” Jason searched his head, but he was coming up empty. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”
Her mouth twitched. “It’s Melinda, sir. I’m to be your personal assistant.”
“Oh. Right.” Jason remembered something about that from his conversations with the previous owner. He sat back and regarded her. “You worked under Frank, didn’t you?”
“I did. I’ve been working here since I graduated college.”
“Well, I hope we can get along.”
Melinda arched a delicate-looking eyebrow. “Even if we do get along, you may not be here for very long, Mr. Munro.”
“You mean with the distrust towards me from everyone?”
“Pretty much. Wenstown is a proud town. They’re not keen on having someone coming in with lots of money and buying out their team. If you try any changes that impact people, you will have very few people on your side.”
Jason frowned. “Isn’t trying something new the point? We can’t be stuck with the old ways, otherwise we won’t be able to keep up.”
“Some people like things the way they were before.” Melinda shrugged. “My parents are the same. It’s just how it is around here.”