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"But you are a hard-ass, aren’t you?" I enuine smile when I ask that, because I don’t er in this business, male or female, has to have thick skin, brass balls, and a concrete ass, so to speak

She doesn’t answer nores it and instead asks me, "Do you knohy I wanted you to come to the Cold Fury?"

"Because of my history…my experience"

"No," she says emphatically as she pushes her chair back, turns to the shelf behind her, and plucks a binder off She turns backs to me and hands it across the desk As I take it, I seeit a nod, she says, "I didn’t give a shit about your history and experience I didn’t care that people were calling you old and washed up I didn’t care that Bill Bowman didn’t think you orth five cents, even when he pointed out to oals against average and save percentage than you had"

I cla and stiffen my spine, because damn…that’s harsh Not that I can’t take it, because fuck……why in the hell did she wantfor the answer "I cared about your fortitude"

"My fortitude?" I ask, puzzled as shit No clue what she’s talking about

"Your stats weren’t that much below Max’s, but most scouts and front office execs would have chosen him over you ten out of ten times because they only look at those numbers"

"But you looked at so else?"

"No, I looked at nu your fortitude I boiled it down to numbers Deep numbers, but numbers all the same" She stares at me a moment, satisfied by whatever she sees onher, but I’oalies in the league was 912 percent last year You were right at it and Max was a little better"

I nod…because that I understand

"Your forles, was the ue"

I nod, because this I also understand