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Matt
It felt good not to be fighting any more. It may not have lasted for very long, but it still felt awful while it was happening – and Matt never did very well with confrontation anyway. Not with the people he cared about, in any case. With strangers he could be as blunt as you like, but once he got close, the stakes were too high. He had barely known what to say to Chris last night.
Thankfully, they had let other parts of themselves do the talking – all save for the quiet apologies they’d shared after the fact.
Still, everything wasn’t rosy today. He was still fending off calls and emails from Mr. Boseman and his secretary, who were apparently still mightily keen to secure Chris’s commitment to a boudoir photo shoot. Frankly, Matt didn’t anticipate that he’d ever say yes, but when he’d tried to communicate that to Boseman the first time, it had fallen on deaf ears.
With all of that swirling around, and knowing he’d only be asked into a fruitless meeting if he stepped into the office, Matt decided there were other things he’d rather do with his time today. In fact, there was one meeting in particular he was really hoping for – and that was to see Greg at the Rangers office again.
Apparently, with Chris now the first out and proud hockey player in the league, the Rangers felt it would be smart to hire an official LGBT liaison for the team, ensuring that all their marketing material was gay-friendly and that the team was all carefully prepped to deal with homophobic lines of questioning. Matt was flattered to hear that he was the first person who sprang to Greg’s mind, even before that altercation had occurred.
Now, he just had to hash out the details of what the role would involve, and finish convincing Greg that he was the right man for the job. If it slotted in well with the rest of his schedule – well, he’d certainly be open to the idea.
It seemed like he was going to be spending a lot of time in New York from now on, after all. He may as well establish a base here.
As he arrived at the stadium, he cast a hopeful look into the gym to see if he could spot Chris. Apparently, however, Chris was working elsewhere; all he spotted in there were a couple of the alternates lifting weights.
No matter. He’d see him later – in a much more private and intimate setting. In any case, maybe it would be a nice surprise for Chris to hear about this once he’d already been offered the position.
Was that arrogant, to say ‘once he’d already been offered’ instead of ‘if he were offered’? Probably, but Matt felt it probably wasn’t unreasonable – especially since Greg had already shown a preference for him as a candidate.
He was shown straight into a meeting room once he arrived at the administrative wing, being treated with the utmost respect by the assistant who led him there. Whether the administration was all much more liberal and gay-friendly than the teammates or they had simply stepped their game up to accommodate Matt, he didn’t know. Either way, it was nice to feel that there wasn’t an atmosphere of bravado surrounding him.
He could work in those conditions. He definitely wouldn’t have a job in sports journalism if he couldn’t handle that kind of environment – but it was much more comfortable without one.
“Matt!” said Greg, stepping into the room with two coffees and a warm smile. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. It’s so good of you to take time out of your day to come here and see us.”
“Not at all,” said Matt. “I think it’s great that the Rangers are even thinking about hiring someone for a position like this. It’s very encouraging.”
“Well, that’s the tone we’d like to strike,” said Greg. “Frankly, some of us in the office have been expecting the politics of sports to start moving this way for a while. I’m actually of the opinion that we should have been preparing for our first gay athlete already – but since we haven’t, here we are.”
“Here we are indeed,” said Matt, giving him a thin but friendly smile. “So... what kind of support are you looking for from me, if I were to work in this position?”
“Honestly,” Greg began, “we’re not 100% sure. We’re definitely open to ideas on how we can improve our entire system...”
By the time the meeting finished, they had spent a good hour and a half discussing how LGBT athletes might best be supported by the Rangers. Even though Chris was the only one so far, Matt was encouraged to hear that Greg did not expect him to be the last, and that the club was looking to support several young gay players into the sport.
It was the kind of targeted progress that Matt had been hoping for all these years. The thought of actually being part of that progress had never really occurred to him before, since he’d never been tied to one specific team – but now that it was on the table, the prospect really excited him.
Greg reached across to shake Matt’s hand, his smile very warm and telling even if he hadn’t given Matt an audible confirmation. “Well,” he said. “It’s been very enlightening speaking to you. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back to you soon enough. I don’t want to leave you hanging.”
“I appreciate that,” said Matt, “but there’s no rush. Seems like I’ll be around the city for a while now, for some reason...”
“Yeah,” said Greg. “I think I might know what that is. Anyway – I won’t keep you. If we have any more questions, can I get in touch...?”
“Absolutely,” said Matt. “You know how to get to me.”
“Excellent. Have a nice day, Matt.”
“You too.”
He headed out of the meeting room in high spirits, head flooded with the ideas that they’d been discussing. Greg seemed so sincerely committed to this project, and to educating their teammates and their fans. It took a decision-maker like that to really make changes in an industry like this, where it was so much easier to be stagnant and still. Where it was so much easier to-
Somebody knocked into his shoulder.
Matt blinked, startled at the sudden contact, and looked up to see who had impacted him. It didn’t take long to decipher the answer. The parking lot wasn’t busy enough for any confusion – and even if it had been, the glowering face a few feet away from him carried all the answers Matt needed.
“Back here again, asshole?” said Darren.
Suddenly, without the safety of Chris and Greg close by him, Matt didn’t feel so safe.
