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couple of years ago about the coal miner from West Virginia who died in an accident in one of Hightower’s mines? Hightower got away with paying his widow a cash payment of tenthousand dollars in exchange for her signing away her rights to that poor guy’s survivor’s insurance policy, which was worth over a million dollars. And what about the two Wolverine football players that were waived from the team when they leaked those rumors to the media about Hightower’s support of the Southern Christian Coalition and David Duke? If you must sell, can’t you at least solicit other offers?”
    Brent stared at Jake as his glasses shifted down on his nose and wondered why he seemed so concerned. It was not like him to take things such as personal or ethical issues into account. Brent had often found his agent ruthless—sometimes more than he felt comfortable with—and although Jake was not a racist, at least not overtly so, Brent knew he held his own stereotypes regarding athletes and the business of professional sports.
    Then it hit Brent. Jake was dead set against a Hightower takeover because Leonard Hightower was renowned as a hard-ass negotiator. Since Jake currently represented four of the Flyers’ top players as well as Coach, he was protecting his own selfish interests. The last thing Jake wanted was a lethal battle when he went up to bat for his clients.
    “Jake, actually a couple of other offers have floated our way, but each time we acknowledged receipt of the offers, they were withdrawn,” Tom explained. “We heard from a reliable source that Hightower has put the word out on the street that the Flyers are his and if anyone dares to get in his way, he’ll crush them.”
    Coach cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “This all seems like a bad movie. Who does this guy think he is, the Godfather or something?”
    Brent found the whole situation unbelievable. “I don’t even see why a good ole southern boy like Hightower would be interested in an urban, Yankee team like the Flyers. It just doesn’t make sense.”
    “It does if you have money to burn and an ego that requires constant nourishment.” Hal clasped his hands together firmly and looked around the table with intense wizened eyes that were weighted down with more than the layers of age. “The bottom line is, I cannot afford to continue running the Flyers under the city’s present terms, and believe me, Hightower knows the position I’m in. Let’s face it, owning and operating a professional sports team in the Big Apple is big business. I’m certainly not getting any younger, and aside from a few spoiled nieces and nephews whom I love dearly, there’s not even a Hirshfield in line who would be interested enough to take on ownership of the Flyers. I believe it’s time to hand over the reins and let the team be run the way it deserves.”
    Brent was shocked. He couldn’t accept Hal throwing in the towel, not on something as crucial as this. “Come on, Hal,” Brent began in desperation. “What if we could get all the guys to defer some of their salaries? Give you time to get things taken care of?”
    “Brent, that’s very kind of you, but I would never ask any of the players to do something like that. You guys deserve every penny you get for what you bring to the city, and I know I shouldn’t admit this in front of Jake, but a few of you deserve even more than what you’re getting paid. I’d be doing you guys a disservice to hold on to the team, because there would be little room for expansion or increased salaries under the salary cap rules.”
    Even though Brent held a B.A. in business from Duke University, he didn’t need it to know that his agent was ultimately concerned with the best business deal, no matter how it affected his players’ private lives. Brent watched Jake perk up at the mention of increased salaries and was not surprised when Jake asked Hal to explain the exact terms of the offer.
    “Well,” Hal began,