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she does.” After handing Hodge the final card, she smiled. “Rookie camp starts in a month. Relax and have fun during your time off, but try to keep up

your conditioning. I don’t run an easy camp.”

Hodge grinned. “Thanks for the warning.”

Dylan returned the grin. “Goodbye for now, Catherine. And thanks again.”

They clasped hands warmly, and then Dylan slipped into her car and was gone.

Hodge watched the car recede into the distance, a wistful smile on her face. Then she turned and headed back to the cheerful madhouse that was her

beloved family.

Blowing out a cleansing breath, Hodge stood before the imposing, glass walled office building and smoothed out the creases in her dress slacks. She knew

she was stalling, but her mind wasn’t quite up to the task of ordering her body around this morning. It didn’t help that her sorry excuse for a contract

lawyer had chosen 10pm the evening before to call and cancel on her. She’d spent the rest of the night debating with herself over what to do, but in the

end decided that showing up alone was better than not showing up at all. After all, this was a job interview, not Mrs. Smithers’ Adolescent Psych course.

A mental kick in the rear finally got her body in gear, and she grasped the ornate door handle, pulled it wide, and stepped into the lobby’s blessed

coolness.

Her heels rang loudly as she crossed the vast expanse of dark-veined marble tiling, staring ahead at the gigantic crystal fountain and its rendering of a

crystal basketball player holding a crystal basketball high aloft.

Passing the fountain, and marveling at the amount of money it must have taken to create such a thing, she immediately spied a long desk behind which a

uniformed security guard was sitting. On the wall above him was a gigantic rendering of the Badgers’ logo, all done up in tiny purple and black tiles.

Stepping up to the desk, she gave the guard her friendliest smile. “Hello, my name is Catherine Hodges. I’m here to meet with Mr. MacKenzie.”

“Mr. MacKenzie is expecting you, Ma’am,” the guard replied, sliding a clipboard across to her. “Please sign in, and I’ll give you your badge.”

After signing her name, Hodge accepted the visitor’s badge from the guard and clipped it to her lapel.

“Take these elevators, Ma’am, and get off on the seventh floor. Down the hall to your left is Mr. MacKenzie’s office. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

The trip up was a quick one, and Hodge stepped out into a large, open area whose walls were windows and whose floors were the same dark marble as in

the lobby. Turning left, she walked down a hallway that wasn’t really a hallway at all, until she came upon a wide door bearing the name of the general

manager on a golden plaque.

The door swung open easily, and she stepped into Mac’s plush offices. The reception office was large and decorated in pleasing, neutral tones. Two long

leather couches sat against two of the walls, fronted by a low slung glass table that was liberally scattered with sports magazines.

To the right, an attractive young woman sat behind a large reception desk. The receptionist smiled as Hodge entered. “Good morning, Ms. Hodges.”

Taken aback for a second, Hodge quickly recovered and returned the young woman’s smile. “Good morning.”

“I’ll let Mac know you’re in. He should be out in just a minute.”

Hodge waited patiently as the receptionist made a short phone call. True to her word, within a minute, the door to the inner office opened and Mac strode

into the room, a beaming smile on his face. “It’s good to see you again, Catherine,” he exclaimed, grasping her hand in a firm shake. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, Mr. MacKenzie. It’s good to be aboard.”

“Ah—Mac, please. Otherwise I’ll think you’re talking to my dad.”

“Mac it is then,” Hodge returned, grinning.

“Good. Glad we got that settled.” Mac looked around the otherwise empty outer office. “Your lawyer’s a little late, I see.”

“Actually, he’s going to be a lot later. He called me late last night to tell me he wasn’t going to show. Something about some Hollywood starlet he’s

representing.”

“Oh. Well, that might pose a bit of a problem. Since you’ve never signed a contract before, I’m not sure how comfortable I feel negotiating it without you

being represented.”

“Well…is it unethical to let me take a look at it? I promise not to sign anything until I’ve found another lawyer.”

Mac was silent for a moment, considering. “I suppose it can’t hurt anything. C’mon.”

They walked into Mac’s office and sat down at the conference table. Mac handed over a thick, bound document. Hodge stared it in disbelief.

“What, you thought it was gonna be a couple of pieces of notebook paper stapled together,” he teased.

“I had textbooks smaller than this in college!”

Mac laughed. “Welcome to the world of professional sports, Cat.”

Opening the cover, Hodge was immediately assaulted with so much legalese that her Latin teacher wouldn’t have been able to decipher it. Mac walked