The Transfer

  Jade knocked on the door to the Coach's office, heart hammering.

 

Mendez patted his shoulder, trying to ease the tension.

 

"Relax, we'll sort this out" he assured and Jade nodded.

 

"Come in" Duiz's voice came through the wooden door and Jade pushed the door open.

 

His eyes scanned the small office. It smelled of old coffee and paperwork.

 

"Riccio." Duiz called from where he sat behind the wooden table cluttered with stacks of paperwork and pencil shavings.

 

"Come on in. Take a seat" he offered and Jade finally stepped into the office. Mendez close behind.

He clasped his hand in front, trying to steady his racing heart. He sank into the chair, right next to Mendez.

 

Coach Duiz didn't waste time. He leaned in his chair, eyes on Jade.

 

"Let me guess, you want to talk about your transfer" Duiz said, smirking.

Jade nodded and swallowed 

"Yes, Coach..I..." 

Duiz held up a hand to shun him.

"Save it, you want to stay with Apex Vanguard." He said.

"Yes...I..." 

"You can't." Duiz cut Jade off before he could finish. He grabbed a stack of paperwork from his table and tossed it at Mendez, who buried his head into reading it immediately.

"I told you, the deal has been signed. You are going to New York Titans." he continued.

Mendez opened his mouth to argue but Duiz's gaze shut him up. Duiz's eyes flicked back to Jade.

"You need to accept the transfer, Jade." Duiz said.

  Jade tightened his fists at his sides.

"There has to be another way, Coach...I can't go to the New York Titans." he said, quietly.

"Please...Duiz, you understand what is at stake here, right?. Elliot Lombardi is the same team Jade is being transferred to and for his mental health, he needs to stay far away from Lombardi. If you remember, things didn't go well the last time they were both in the same team." Mendez finally spoke, his voice was low.

"Riccio" Duiz called, rubbing his temple.

 

"If it were up to me, you'd still be wearing out jersey. But unfortunately, the league doesn't care about some long-going beef you have with other players." He continued.

 

Mendez tossed the paperwork back to Duiz.

 

"According to the rules, a player can retain their spot if the receiving f*e is paid...if Apex covers it..."

 

"Stop" Duiz cut Mendez off with a humorless laugh 

 

"Do you two know how much they're asking from Apex, if we're going to keep you? Six million dollars. If the team could afford that, don't you think you'd be back in the team?"

 

Jade's stomach twisted

 

"That's... that's a lot of money" Mendez said, stunned.

 

"Exactly. Apex doesn't have that amount of money and unless you have six million somewhere, then I'm sorry for you." Duiz leaned back, done with the conversation.

 

Jade lowered his head down as he tried to hold himself together.

He followed Mendez out of the office. Six million. 

Where the hell Is he supposed to get that amount of money?

 

Outside, the sun was too bright. They reached the parking lot and Mendez's phone buzzed.

Mendez pulled his phone out of his back pocket and he lowered his head into the phone, checking out the message.

"It's an email from Titans executives, they want us to report to their office, if we're taking the deal." he announced.

He raised his head up to look at Jade, who was unsure what to say.

"Are we taking the deal, Jade?" Mendez asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he mumbled.

 

He opened the door and slid into the car.

 

"We're taking the deal, Mendez" he shut the door.

 

Mendez nodded. He circled around the car and got in the driver seat. Without another word, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.

The drive to the Titans headquarters was silent. Jade stared outside the window, watching the city while his stomach twisted. Twenty minutes later, Mendez pulled up in the parking lot.

 

They stepped out of the car, the Titans' building was massive, modern glass and sharp edges. It screamed the kind of money Alex could only dream of. Inside, the reception area was all tiled. The assistant at the reception desk looked up.

"Appointment for Jade Riccio and George Mendez" Mendez said.

She tapped something quick on her keyboard and nodded.

"Please proceed to the tenth floor. The executives are expecting you." She said.

The elevator ride was even worse than the drive, for Jade, it was slow and quiet.

When the doors open, a man in a Titans jacket was already waiting.

"General Manager Hayes will see you now."  He led them to the conference room.

 The door opened, revealing five executives sitting around a long table, eyes on them as they entered. The room was cold and the air was thick.

One of them, a tall man whom Jade presumed to be General Manager Hayes stood up to shake hands with Mendez.

He offered them seats.

"Let's get started." He said.

Jade took a seat across them, Mendez sat beside him.

GM Hayes passed a stack of paperwork to Mendez

 Mendez picked up the papers, lowered his head into reading them.

 

"This isn't the right." He muttered, almost to himself. Then raised his head up with a brow raised.

 

"What's not right, Mr Mendez?" A female executive asked, her tone sharp.

 

"Everything.... everything here is not right" Mendez replied.

 

"These are standard Titans policies. If he wants the team, he signs." Another executive leaned back, smirking.

 

"I don't agree with the salary . If you're going to keep him for 5 years according to the contract duration, you should pay him like it's worth his talent...not some peanut money." Mendez said, voice rising.

 

"George" Jade called but Mendez ignored him. He ran a hand through his hair.

 

"The policies also include cutting off his performance bonus in half. What is all these? What do you take us for?" Mendez asked, he was starting to get pissed.

 

"You're overreacting, Mr Mendez. These are standard terms. There are no exceptions for star players." GM Hayes said. 

Mendez scoffed.

 

"Standard, my ass. These terms are insulting to me and my client. Five years, reduced bonus and a peanut salary. You can't just throw someone like Riccio into your system, under this ridiculous standard and call it a deal." Mendez slammed the paper onto the table.

Jade's hand clenched into fists on his lap.

"Mr Riccio, you should speak for yourself. If you want to play for the Titans, you'll have to accept these terms." The female executive spoke again, quiet and calm.

"He's not accepting this. You're paying him like he's some rookie. Do you even understand what he brings to this team?" Mendez shook his head, leaning forward.

There was a beat of silence. GM Hayes leaned back into his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. He whispered something into the female executive's ear. The female executive nodded almost to agreement. His eyes flicked back to Mendez then Jade.

"How much are you asking for?" He asked.

"Considering his skills, his previous performances. Six million is the minimum you pay and he gets his performance bonus in full." Mendez said.

The room went quiet, the executive exchanged looks among each other.

"Six million..." GM Hayes trailed, lowly.

"You have to pay him what he's worth. Nothing less!" Mendez said.

A long beat of silence passed. GM Hayes sat up, exhaling.

"Fine. Six million and his performance bonus is paid in full."

The Titans' lawyer who had been quiet all these while, tapped something quick on her laptop, then stood to print the updated document.

Minutes later, she returned and handed Mendez the fresh copies.

Mendez revealed it and nodded in agreement. He slid the paperwork to Jade.

"You can sign it" George assured and Jade nodded.

He signed his name at the bottom of the page and slid it back to the lawyer.

GM Hayes stood up, stretched his hands out for a handshake to Jade.

"Welcome to the New York Titans, Riccio"