Page 7 of Smooth Play (Brooklyn Monarchs 2)

Willis sighed. “Nothing. Keep up the good work.”

Andrea watched him plod back to his office at the other end of the hall. What had that been about? She shifted her gaze to her coworkers. They were hard at work, unaware anything could be wrong.

She liked the other reporters. She enjoyed their drive and enthusiasm. But Willis was right. She’d had a much higher profile position in the industry just four years ago, and she wanted it back. Had enough time gone by to allow her to leave her past behind? She didn’t know if she could handle having the doors slammed in her face again.

“Why are we meeting in a conference room?” Kirk West, sports reporter from the New York Horn, settled into the black swivel chair.

Troy didn’t like the reporter’s tone or his dismissive expression as he took in the Monarchs’ small meeting space. Kirk’s blue gaze settled on him and Monarchs head coach DeMarcus Guinn.

DeMarcus’s brown features were tight. He folded his hands on the rectangular mahogany table and leaned forward. “Where else would we meet?”

Troy winced at the chill in the coach’s tone. The newspaper interview had barely begun and things had already taken a bad turn. A winning season and an NBA play-off spot had increased attention on the Monarchs, a team the media had all but forgotten the past three years. But with each interview, DeMarcus grew more annoyed.

The sports reporter lifted his nose and straightened the blue tie knotted under the collar of his white cotton shirt. “Byron Scott entertained me in his office.”

Beside Troy, DeMarcus stiffened at the reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach. “I’m not here to entertain you.”

The truth was, DeMarcus didn’t want the reporter anywhere near his players and assistant coaches. He hadn’t even wanted Kirk in the Empire Arena, home of the Brooklyn Monarchs since the franchise’s birth in 1956. Conducting the interview in one of the arena’s conference rooms had been a compromise.

But if Kirk was baiting the coach, DeMarcus’s image was deteriorating faster than Troy had anticipated. He glanced at Kirk and swallowed a sigh. One crisis at a time.

Troy leaned into the table. “Coach Guinn has schemes and game plans in his office that aren’t for public viewing. That’s why we’re holding this interview in our conference room.”

He used a reasonable tone to counterbalance DeMarcus’s impatience. He deserved a Most Valuable Player award for his performance, considering he’d had only three hours of sleep after driving Barron home from the club that morning. He also was still distracted by his less-than-successful meeting with Andrea earlier.

Kirk laid his reporter’s notepad on the table and tapped his pen on the blank page. “Byron went over his game plans with me.”

In Kirk’s dreams. Troy looked away to keep from rolling his eyes.

DeMarcus didn’t show such restraint. “He knew you wouldn’t understand them.”

“You’re wrong.” The reporter’s voice was tight.

Troy rested his left hand on DeMarcus’s shoulder. “Marc, let’s stick to the interview.”

DeMarcus’s expression questioned Troy’s intelligence at scheduling the reporter. “What interview?”

Good point. Troy shifted his attention to Kirk. “What did you want to ask us?”

Kirk glared his dislike at DeMarcus. “I wanted to ask what makes the Mighty Guinn think he won’t be swept out of the play-offs in the first series.”

Dammit. The interview was turning into a disaster. Did Kirk know DeMarcus hated that nickname? Probably. Like DeMarcus, Troy was beginning to question his intelligence at agreeing to this meeting.

DeMarcus sat back in the cushioned conference chair and ignored the reporter’s hostility. He crossed his arms, covering the Monarchs logo centered in the chest area of his silver jersey. “Anything could happen. That’s why we play the game.”

Troy smothered a groan. That was the worst non-answer DeMarcus had given a reporter to date.

; Kirk’s pen hovered over his notepad as though waiting for the coach to elaborate. He moved on when DeMarcus remained silent. “Your first game is with the Cleveland Cavaliers. How do you think the Monarchs will match up with the Cavs? Your roster is a lot older and slower.”

DeMarcus uncrossed his arms and sat straighter in his chair. “We split the regular season with the Cavs with one game a piece. The Cavs are a good team. They’re fast, strong on defense, and quick on offense. But we’ve beaten them once. We can do it again.”

Troy heard the relish in DeMarcus’s voice and knew the head coach look forward to the best-of-seven series against the Cavaliers.

Kirk wrote a few lines in his notepad. “The Monarchs got to the play-offs despite your poor offense and lack of a defense. Do you think you’ll make it to the second round?”

“We have a will to win.” DeMarcus’s response was curt.