Harbinger Of Glory

”The scouting system needs rebuilding from scratch,” Xavier said, looking around the table.

”What we had was built for the Championship. The remit, the targets, the regions we were covering. None of it translates to where we are going to be now. We need to be looking at a different level of player entirely.”

Pens moved around the table, minds already scheming what could be.

”Budget?” someone asked, causing the whole bunch to look at him.

”It’s being worked out at the board level. But assume it’s going to look different to what we’re used to. Especially with the new ownership on deck.”

One of the women at the far end of the table raised her hand slightly.

”What about the existing squad? A lot of the senior players’ contracts were negotiated at the Championship level. And now, we already have agents reaching out.”

”How many?” Xavier asked.

”About five to eight in the last two days, with all wanting to open conversations about renewals.”

Xavier nodded slowly, knowing that was expected.

But some part of him was glad.

Had they fallen at the playoffs, agents would have used their run as a bargaining chip to insert promotion clauses that would see their players take in large chunks of money, so this was for the better.

Promotion changed every number in every contract conversation, and agents who had been patient were now not going to be patient, but since it hadn’t been on the cards for them, it was going to be relatively easy to navigate, and the ones who didn’t accept would just be booted to the curb.

The agents would want money, but they would also be smart about it since pushing too hard could mean a possible freezing out of the club for their players, and none wanted to be excluded from the cake they had worked for when it had just been taken out of the oven.

”Get me a priority list,” he said.

”I want it top to bottom, based on who we can’t afford to lose and who we might not be able to keep regardless. I want it by the end of the week.”

The person across from him, Malachi’s assistant, a quiet man called Greg who wrote everything down before he said anything, nodded and made a note.

Xavier was already moving on when something made him stop.

”Ahem, has ermm...Leo’s agent,” he said, turning back to Greg. ”Has he reached out?”

The room went slightly more attentive at the mention of Leo.

Greg looked at his notes, flipping through while the attention in the room increased.

”Noah Sarin, yeah, he has reached out, but it was not about Leo.”

Xavier’s brow went up.

”He reached out about Ezra,” Greg continued.

”And it turns out he’s also the one who renegotiated Jake’s deal a few months back after Thompson requested it before anyone could snatch him. So he’s representing all three of them. Leo, Ezra, Jake.”

The room was quiet for a moment as Xavier sat back in his chair and looked at the ceiling briefly.

Noah Sarin was handling three of Wigan’s most significant young assets, and yet he hadn’t reached out about the most important one first.

There was a reason for that ordering, and Xavier didn’t think it was accidental.

He looked back at Greg.

”Tell Malachi I need to see him,” he said. ”In my office.”

Greg nodded and wrote it down as Xavier closed the folder in front of him, which was as clear a signal as any that the meeting was done.

The people around the table began gathering their things while he stayed where he was, still thinking about the order Noah Sarin had chosen to do things in and what it meant about the ones he hadn’t done yet.

...

Back at Sophia’s apartment, Vittoria had ended the call with Leo, citing she wanted to finish things up with her shoot since her aunt was going to pester her until she did.

Leo nodded at that, only for her to call back half an hour later, saying she was done.

”That was fast,” Leo had said after he picked up and after she called back, they talked until Leo had completely lost track of time, which he only realised when he saw Sophia come through the living room.

”When did you come?” he questioned genuinely since he hadn’t seen her come in.

Sophia looked at him on the sofa with the phone pressed to his ear, and tossed a napkin at his chest without breaking stride.

”How would you know when Vittoria has you out of it?” she said, making Leo cover the speaker area of his phone in an attempt to keep Vittoria from hearing it, but she had already caught that.

”Table,” she said, nodding toward the kitchen.

Leo shook her head at Sophia before bringing the phone back to his ear.

”I have to set the table,” he told Vittoria.

”Good,” Vittoria said.

”Might have been the call, but I am starting to feel really hungry now.”

He smiled at that, ended the call and pushed himself off the sofa, tucking the phone into his pocket and beginning to sort the table out, plates, cutlery and glasses, the familiar routine of it.

He was just about finished when his phone rang again.

He looked at the screen and saw Carlo’s name plastered on the screen.

”What’s up?” he said, answering.

”Can we meet?” Carlo said, which made Leo’s brow come together slightly.

”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing’s wrong.”

”You’re calling late.”

”It’s quarter past six, Leo. Quarter past six is not late.”

”I’m just saying—”

”You’re saying it like it means something when it doesn’t mean anything,” Carlo said, and you could hear the irritation in it.

A simple conversation was what he wanted, but it was suddenly turning hard to do.

Leo said nothing for a second.

”Sure, buddy. Whatever you say,” he said and for a second, Carlo’s end went quiet.

Then Carlo exhaled, trying to keep calm.

”Can we meet or not?”

Leo turned toward the kitchen doorway where Sofia was moving between the stove and the counter.

”Sofia,” he said. ”Is there enough if Carlo comes?”

She glanced over her shoulder.

”More than enough.”

”Come over,” Leo told Carlo.

”And she loves wine.”

He ended the call and went back to setting the table afterwards.

Carlo arrived twenty minutes later, right as the food was making its way from the stove to the counter, and Leo opened the apartment door to find him standing there with a bottle of wine that looked like it had not come from the corner shop.

”How mu-”

”700 quid,” Carlo answered before Leo could ask, while the latter proceeded to whistle.

”That Manchester money keeping you big?” Leo said while Carlo sidestepped him and went straight to the kitchen, where he handed the bottle to Sofia.

The latter took it, glanced at the label and then said he absolutely shouldn’t have, but Leo knew otherwise.

He had lived with her long enough to know what she was thinking right now and made a quiet note to monitor how much of it she actually got through, given that she had work in the morning.

Mia, who had appeared from her room the moment she heard the door, looked at Carlo and then at the bottle and then at Leo with an expression that asked several questions at once.

”Just come, take a seat,” Leo told her as he settled into his.

During dinner, Sofia asked Carlo questions about his season with the genuine interest of someone who had been watching from a distance and wanted the details filled in.

After the plates were cleared, Leo looked at Sofia as he grabbed his coat.

”We’re going to step out for a bit,” he said.

Sofia nodded with a smile, finally getting the space she wanted to enjoy her new treasure.

The duo walked for a while, making small talk as they made their way to the swings in front of the complex, which belonged to the small play area that sat between the two main buildings.

They sat in them without swinging while Leo waited for Carlo to come out with what was on his mind.

Carlo, on the other hand, looked at the ground for a moment before glancing up at Leo.

”I’ve been thinking,” he said.

”I know,” Leo said as Carlo was quiet for another moment.

”And I’ve come to a decision,” he said.

Leo looked at him, then away from him again.

”Well, let it out!”

”I...I want to join Wigan,” Carlo said, causing Leo’s head to snap at him.