arrived.’
‘He was Sam Heywood’s last purchase,’ Minelli said. ‘No one rated him very highly so he came cheap and his contract is short. But there’s always pressure at clubs like this to sell the best players on. There’s never enough money.’ Suddenly his crumpled face took on an expression of tragic intensity. ‘If you’re talking to Jenna, tell her how crucial you think OK is to the team. She likes you. She’ll listen to you.’
‘Surely she wouldn’t sell him,’ Laura said.
‘There are people who would,’ Minelli said. ‘And he’s ambitious. What young man with his talent isn’t? I’m doing my best to keep him happy here, but you never know what others will offer. We pay him as much as we can afford, I helped him get a good car, a top-of-the-range Beamer, he has a nice flat, girls, whatever he wants. But I know that look in his agent’s eye. I see the pound signs there.’
Minelli took another pull at his drink and then smiled suddenly.
‘But I shouldn’t bore you with my troubles. And that’s all off the record, by the way. I almost forgot that a beautiful woman like you earns her living as a reporter.’ He put his arm around her waist and she could feel his hot hand move very close to her breast and she pulled away abruptly.
‘I must find my partner,’ she said, although she could see no sign of Thackeray in the milling and increasingly raucous crowd. But with a feeling of relief she did see Jenna Haywood moving towards her with a welcoming smile on her face. Minelli spotted her too, and with an ingratiating nod headed immediately in the opposite direction.
‘Hi,’ Jenna said. ‘I’m glad you could come. The egregious Paolo wasn’t bothering you, was he? Don’t give him any encouragement is my advice.’
‘Thanks,’ Laura said. ‘I’m certainly not going to do that. How’s it going? Has yesterday’s result made you a few more friends?’
‘Well, among the fans, maybe,’ Jenna said, with a wry smile. ‘Though they’re only as reliable as last Saturday’s result.’ She glanced around the room and fixed her gaze on the same group of middle-aged men to whom Ted Grant had been talking earlier.
‘I think Les Hardcastle’s still conniving to get me out,’ she said. ‘It’s not really results that interest him. He’s much more interested in selling United’s ground and – he says – moving out of the town centre. The plan is to buy a bigger tranche of land and build a new stadium with some sort of lucrative leisure complex attached. It’s not a bad idea, as it goes, but I reckon some of the directors wouldn’t be too upset if they didn’t have to bother with a stadium at all. I can’t prove that, of course, but football at this level is not a very cost-effective business. Everyone knows that. The shareholders would prefer a few other fish to fry. But for God’s sake, don’t say I said that.’
‘My father’s still got some shares, apparently,’ Laura said. ‘And he reckons someone’s trying to buy them up.’
Jenna looked at Laura in silence for a moment.
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ she said. ‘You know I reckon all this stuff about not liking a woman running the club is a load of cobblers. The real reason they want to get rid of me is because I’m determined to keep the club alive for the fans. That’s what gets up their noses.’
‘You wouldn’t be thinking of selling OK Okigbo then?’ Laura asked. ‘Paolo Minelli seems to think you might.’
‘Do I look that stupid?’ Jenna said. ‘Managers at this level are always the same: they can’t decide whether they want to keep a brilliant player or sell him on and buy two or three cheaper ones. And I’m convinced some of them still line their own pockets during these transactions. Of course OK’ll go in the end. He’s bound to. He’ll want to move up to a bigger club and we’ll benefit from buying cheap and selling at a profit. Someone will make us an offer we can’t refuse.
‘He was Sam Heywood’s last purchase,’ Minelli said. ‘No one rated him very highly so he came cheap and his contract is short. But there’s always pressure at clubs like this to sell the best players on. There’s never enough money.’ Suddenly his crumpled face took on an expression of tragic intensity. ‘If you’re talking to Jenna, tell her how crucial you think OK is to the team. She likes you. She’ll listen to you.’
‘Surely she wouldn’t sell him,’ Laura said.
‘There are people who would,’ Minelli said. ‘And he’s ambitious. What young man with his talent isn’t? I’m doing my best to keep him happy here, but you never know what others will offer. We pay him as much as we can afford, I helped him get a good car, a top-of-the-range Beamer, he has a nice flat, girls, whatever he wants. But I know that look in his agent’s eye. I see the pound signs there.’
Minelli took another pull at his drink and then smiled suddenly.
‘But I shouldn’t bore you with my troubles. And that’s all off the record, by the way. I almost forgot that a beautiful woman like you earns her living as a reporter.’ He put his arm around her waist and she could feel his hot hand move very close to her breast and she pulled away abruptly.
‘I must find my partner,’ she said, although she could see no sign of Thackeray in the milling and increasingly raucous crowd. But with a feeling of relief she did see Jenna Haywood moving towards her with a welcoming smile on her face. Minelli spotted her too, and with an ingratiating nod headed immediately in the opposite direction.
‘Hi,’ Jenna said. ‘I’m glad you could come. The egregious Paolo wasn’t bothering you, was he? Don’t give him any encouragement is my advice.’
‘Thanks,’ Laura said. ‘I’m certainly not going to do that. How’s it going? Has yesterday’s result made you a few more friends?’
‘Well, among the fans, maybe,’ Jenna said, with a wry smile. ‘Though they’re only as reliable as last Saturday’s result.’ She glanced around the room and fixed her gaze on the same group of middle-aged men to whom Ted Grant had been talking earlier.
‘I think Les Hardcastle’s still conniving to get me out,’ she said. ‘It’s not really results that interest him. He’s much more interested in selling United’s ground and – he says – moving out of the town centre. The plan is to buy a bigger tranche of land and build a new stadium with some sort of lucrative leisure complex attached. It’s not a bad idea, as it goes, but I reckon some of the directors wouldn’t be too upset if they didn’t have to bother with a stadium at all. I can’t prove that, of course, but football at this level is not a very cost-effective business. Everyone knows that. The shareholders would prefer a few other fish to fry. But for God’s sake, don’t say I said that.’
‘My father’s still got some shares, apparently,’ Laura said. ‘And he reckons someone’s trying to buy them up.’
Jenna looked at Laura in silence for a moment.
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ she said. ‘You know I reckon all this stuff about not liking a woman running the club is a load of cobblers. The real reason they want to get rid of me is because I’m determined to keep the club alive for the fans. That’s what gets up their noses.’
‘You wouldn’t be thinking of selling OK Okigbo then?’ Laura asked. ‘Paolo Minelli seems to think you might.’
‘Do I look that stupid?’ Jenna said. ‘Managers at this level are always the same: they can’t decide whether they want to keep a brilliant player or sell him on and buy two or three cheaper ones. And I’m convinced some of them still line their own pockets during these transactions. Of course OK’ll go in the end. He’s bound to. He’ll want to move up to a bigger club and we’ll benefit from buying cheap and selling at a profit. Someone will make us an offer we can’t refuse.
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