After a long flight across the country, Adam Tevela arrived at San Jose with a sense of anxiousness. Since he had only completed his rookie contract in the FBA, he had never experienced being a Free Agent before, and especially the stress of eventually making a decision with at least four teams openly requesting for his signature on their contracts. While he had been to Rabbit Valley Pavillion before to play road games against the Thrust, he ventured through unknown territory within the arena, navigating himself through the administration hallways until finally he arrived at the office of Reiko Akemi. After waiting in the adjacent lobby, the secretary motioned for him to enter the office and Adam cleared his throat, adjusting his business suit before opening the door to look inside.

Within, he saw a small tanuki, the woman leaning forward as she held a receiver to her ear. She remained seated at a desk, pictures of various NKBL paraphernalia sitting on her desk. She leaned forward, her eyes squinted.

“I know that, Foo-Foo-sama, I was about to amend it.” Adam stood there, not able to hear the other end of the conversation. “Yes…”

It was then Reiko looked up, seeing Adam at the door. “Ah, and I must go now,” said the tanuki. “I believe Mr. Tevela is here.” Another pause, and Reiko nodded. “Yes. Of course. I will speak with you soon.”

With this, the tanuki hung up, placing the receiver back in a holder as she turned her attention to Adam at the door. “Sumimasen, Mr. Tevela,” she said. “I hope I did not keep you waiting long.”

The linsang smiled and walked into the room. “No, I didn’t wait long. Thank you for taking the time to see me, ma’am,” Adam said and extended his paw to her once he reached her desk. “I can’t help but overhearing a bit, but you were just talking with your coach?”

“My coach, who is still the owner of the franchise,” said Reiko. She sighed. “Sometimes, I ask myself how I am able to do this.”

Adam laughed, and even after two years living in the New Jersey and then New York area, his uniquely Southern Californian coastline accent remained in his tone. “That must be fairly awkward, Ms. Akemi.” Always professional when facing authority, even though he does call Nightfire Katsura, the General Manager of the Pride, as ‘Squnxdude’, just never to his face. 

“I have encountered worse in the NKBL,” she replied. “This is an arrangement I can work with.”

Adam nodded and takes a seat across the desk from her. “I won’t take up too much of your time but I want to see you personally because by offering me a contract, which averages… um, ten million a year with some variation, it’s pretty obvious you have an interest for me. I have some questions and concerns though before I can make such a big decision.”

“As do all players,” Reiko replied. “And that is only natural.” She then leaned forward, looking up at the linsang. “What are your questions?”

“First of all…” Adam paused for a moment and then cleared his throat. “Why do you believe I’m needed for the Thrust? You already have Barnaby Jazz whom subs in as Power Forward time to time, and you also got Dewitt.”

“Ah, but you play small forward, do you not?” asked Reiko. “Foo-Foo showed me your college record, and she did mention you do that.”

“Yes, I played Small Forward when I was in UFLA, it’s just that when I was drafted, I was drafted to be slotted into the Power Forward starting spot for the Pride,” Adam replied with a slight chuckle. “Sorry, it’s my first time that I ever had to choose what team to go to rather than the other way around… I’ve been playing as Power Forward for so long that it’s stuck in my head to always play that role.”

“And I think in time, you can go back to what you played in UFLA,” said Reiko. “After all, you have only had a professional career for two years, right?”

“And what a whirlwind of two years it was…” he shook his head, glancing at the desk for a few moments before his eyes peer back at the tanuki. “My next concern is…” He pauses again, wondering how to say the next sentence without risking himself being viewed in a suddenly negative light and then he sighed, letting it out. “Okay, there’s one thing currently that the Pride has above the Thrust… and that is they are lacking a leader. I was surprised when Valencia retired from the Pride and I feel there’s a heavy nudge on my shoulder by Queens to come back to them so that I can take the lead for once, and not having to follow the footsteps of a future Hall of Famer that just happened to be the sister of the Pride’s owner. But the Thrust already has a leader… and I confess, I have an… ego, so to speak. Do you understand?”

Reiko nodded, placing her hand on the desk. “I believe I do,” she said. She paused, looking up at Adam as she leaned back, pondering what to say next. She then looked up, before leaning forward. “Allow me to ask you a question, Mr. Tevela: was Ms. Zeraus able to lead the team alone?”

“There were a lot of times, even last season, when she had to carry the whole team on her back. Our bench was lacking on the post, Micah Davenport, as cool a dude as he is--” he catches himself and paused. “Sorry. Micah Davenport struggled as a starter, and it seems like whenever I score the most points in a game, it’s a game that we happen to lose in. That happened so often that I felt like there’s a curse on me,” he chuckles. “So was she able to lead the team alone? Sometimes but… not always. The Pride last season was often thought as a Two-Player team, as ridiculous as that sounds.”

“So I see.” Reiko nodded. “But from the way you make it sound, it was a struggle, and the team struggled to keep up. One cannot lead a team alone, Mr. Tevela: a player needs others to help him there.” She then leaned forward. “And it is true we may have a leader, but I would not say a leader. After all, Nacht-san acts as co-captain from the bench. What we have is a squad that trusts each other.” She then looked up. “And I am certain that after a few practices, even Ghakhar-san will work with you. Ego or no ego.”

Adam remained silent even after she finished speaking, mulling things in his head and playing back mentally what she just told him. Finally he shook his head with a curt laugh. “You’re making my decision more difficult to make, ma’am. Which is a good thing, I might add!”

“No decision worth making is easy,” Reiko observed. “I quite remember my move to the FBA from the NKBL was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. As of now, I would not take it back for anything.”

“Why did you leave Japan for a position here?”

“It was time to move beyond the NKBL,” said Reiko. She shook her head. “It is very difficult for a female GM there, and I paved the way for others. And when I first took this job, Foo-Foo-sama told me it might inspire other women.” She looked fondly at the logo of the Osaka Gold-Stars. “I fear it is slow, but the scene is changing from what Murakami-san tells me.”

“Hmm. When I flew to Newark right after the FBA Draft, it was my first time in that area. I never lived outside of Huntington Beach and Los Angeles before that time, so I had to adjust a lot. It’ll be hard for me to leave the team that took a chance on me from Draft Day, although the chance of going back to California is rather appealing, even if it is a location of California far too north for me,” he said with a grin, joking.

“Well, I may remind you we are close to San Francisco,” Reiko pointed out. “And as Jazz-san found out rather quickly, it is a good city to reclaim some small part of California.” She then leaned back, looking to him. “We may not be Santa Ana, but I think you will find San Jose has its own feel that you would quite like.”

“It’s still a six hour drive between the two cities,” Adam reminded her. California is a huge state afterall. “And yes, this is not Santa Ana… honestly, after growing up being a fan of that team and I remember getting a whole bunch of hype about me before the Draft in 2014 and how I should’ve gone to Santa Ana and they didn’t pick me…” he shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t want to bother you with such silly grudges.”

“It is no trouble at all,” said Reiko. “We are entitled to having our issues with some folks.” She glanced to the side. “I will only warn you that you do not want to see Jazz-san whenever the Wildcards are brought up in a discussion.”

Adam shuddered slightly, remembering how public the Wildcards made their ouster of Jazz to be. “I suppose the same should be said for me and a certain lemur in the Spectrums. That one player that they drafted last season… that one player…” he shook his head. “I don’t care if they offer me twenty-five million a year, I wouldn’t sign up to play alongside that player.”

Reiko frowned, looking up at the linsang. “Oh?” she asked. “I had heard of a rivalry between you two. I was not aware it was so… advanced.”

“Oh, it’s quite personal, me and Yesina Selas. Even got into physical alterations, especially during our college games. Just how personal though…” he paused, tensing up suddenly and his huge tail curls at the tip. “It’s a matter that should be just between me and her. Sorry, I just grit my fangs whenever I talk about her, even when I’m the one that started the whole topic.”

Reiko nodded, pursing her muzzle together. “Hm…” She pondered, before looking directly at him. “I will hold back on asking about further details until you are ready to reveal them, but I cannot help but feel there is more than just this.” She then leaned forward. “But I believe it should be pertinent to ask: do you think this is a burden you can shoulder alone?”

“I… pretty much have to,” he said, almost out of reflex. 

Reiko nodded. “I see.” She then leaned forward. “Well… And this may not mean much because we have not signed a contract yet, but if you should sign to the Thrust… You can trust me to listen, should it get too out of hand.” She waved her finger sternly. “I cannot promise I will let you off lightly if it is serious, but I can promise you I will at least listen first. I trust my players, and you should have the right to trust me in turn.”

“Hmm… I see. I just worry that it could be serious. I’m doing all I can to keep it under wraps however.”

“And if it ever comes out, I will listen.” She then sat back. “Are there any other concerns you have, Mr. Tevela?”

The linsang shook his head. “No, except is there anything else that you could actually provide for me besides the contract, if any?”

“I believe we have given a run-down of what we can offer,” said Reiko. She bowed her head. “If you have no more questions, I suppose that means our business here is done.” She looked up. “Are you staying particularly close to the Pavilion?”

“Yeah, at a hotel just down the block from here but only for a few days before I travel to Texas and then back to Queens.” And maybe a trip to Arizona but that’s not in his plans just yet.

“I see,” said Reiko. “Well, if you will allow me I can walk you over there. I have no plans for most of the day.”

Adam finally stood up from his chair and nodded. “Sure,” he said with a smile. “I appreciate it.”

Reiko nodded, standing up and walking around the desk. She only came to about Adam’s torso, but even as she looked at him he sensed some authority about her. “Then we should get going,” she said. She then walked to the door of her office. “And if you should think of anything else, my door is open.”

“Thank you, Ms. Akemi,” he said and moved to walk alongside her. “How demanding is um… Coach Foo-Foo anyway?”

Reiko chuckled. “Very demanding, Mr. Tevela,” she said. “It is good that I am often a match for her on that account…”

Adam just laughed. “Well good… I prefer a coach that is demanding. Maybe not to the same level of demanding as that coach down in Tallahassee, though.”

Together they walk out of the office, with Adam having some peace of mind about his difficult decision to make later on.