The Big Time

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

" SETH," TROY'S FATHER SAID. "Wait! You can't."

Seth Cole wrapped his fingers around the shiny gold doorknob and gripped it before he stopped, let it go, and turned around. The owner said nothing; he simply went to the desk and removed some papers from the drawer, then plucked a pen from its holder and strode back across the room, extending them both to Troy's dad before placing them down on the granite top of the low table in front of the couch.

"The mother will have to sign the actual contract if she's Troy's legal guardian," Seth said, "but what I want from you-his agent-is this letter of intent. Troy should sign it, too. Because I want your word, both of you, that this is going to happen. That will do. I built my fortune on trusting people."

"He can't start until next season," Troy's father said. "You know that, right?"

"No," Troy said, "I can't."

"I understand that," Seth Cole said. "I'll be rooting for the Falcons in the Super Bowl."

Troy's dad examined the letter, then picked up the pen. He chuckled and shook his head and gave Troy a wink, then signed the paper. Troy, who had been holding his breath since he didn't know when, let it out. His father pushed the papers his way and handed him the pen.

"Go ahead," his father said. "You can sign it, too. Let's do this right."

Troy held the pen and placed his free hand flat on top of the paper, studying his father's wavy signature.

"What about my mom?" Troy said.

"If your dad says she's on board," Seth Cole said, "I seriously doubt she's going to argue with this deal."

"She's in the PR department for the Falcons," Troy said.

"She won't need to work another day in her life," Troy's dad said.

"She likes to work," Troy said. "I want her to have a job with the team."

"No," Seth Cole said, his face set in stone. "I don't do that. I can have the team give her an interview, but that's all I'll promise. I can get her interviews with every one of the TV networks and half the ad agencies on Madison Avenue, but I don't hire people to do favors. No one wins. Ever. I'm sorry."

Troy looked up at Seth Cole, whose face remained unreadable. Seth Cole stared at Troy hard, and it was as if he could read Troy's thoughts: the fear of leaving his friends and the world he knew fighting with the wild dream of being rich, his parents a couple, and all of them living in the big time.

Troy nodded, then put pen to paper and signed his name.