God Of football

Chapter 893: The Art Of Agency

The lights slipped through the glass by the side as Miranda opened the door to the house.

As it clicked open, Miko was already there, tail wagging like a metronome gone mad, a pair of slippers nudged between her paws.

Miranda’s lips curved into a tired smile.

”Well, aren’t you the little housemaid?” she said, taking the slippers the fluffy Samoyed had fished out from the rack.

She slid them on and ran a hand through the dog’s soft fur before walking down the hallway, Miko padding beside her.

When she reached the living room, Komi was curled up on the couch, eyes glued to one of her nature documentaries, a mug of tea balanced dangerously close to her knee.

Izan sat at the other end, half-scrolling through his phone, half-watching whatever was happening on screen.

Miranda stopped by the sofa, eyes flicking between them.

”Where’s Olivia?” she asked after not seeing her.

”She’s having a Zoom call upstairs,” Izan replied while Miranda looked at the door Miko had just entered.

”Do you think we should get another dog?” she asked out of nowhere, and that got everyone’s attention.

Komi turned down the volume, Izan looked up, and Hori, sitting on the rug with her legs crossed, blinked at her like she hadn’t heard right.

”Another dog?” Izan asked slowly. ”Where’s that coming from?”

Miranda pointed down at her feet.

”Miko brought me my slippers.”

Hori snorted, covering her mouth. ”That’s cute.”

Izan tilted his head, his lips twitching.

”Oh, I see how it is. You’re thinking of rewarding her.”

He leaned back, pretending to consider it. ”Then she’s gonna need payment.”

”Payment?” Miranda frowned, confused.

Right on cue, Miko trotted out of the hallway again, a round plush toy clamped in her mouth.

She stopped in front of Miranda, tail wagging, then dropped it neatly at her feet.

Hori laughed.

”Looks like she’s serious. You have to play fetch now. That’s her rate.”

Miranda looked down at the dog, who sat there expectantly.

”You little scammer,” she said with a smile, crouching to rub Miko’s belly.

The Samoyed immediately forgot about the toy, melting into the floor in bliss while Izan watched, shaking his head.

”That works too. I should’ve tried that instead of throwing her toys all afternoon when she brought me my controller earlier. She’s been running a whole operation in this house.”

”Clearly the smartest one here,” Hori said, sipping her drink.

Miranda stood and brushed off her hands, the smile still lingering.

She made her way to the couch, sitting beside Izan.

For a while, the only sounds were from the TV and Miko’s quiet huffs as she dozed off.

Then Izan turned slightly, his tone light but curious.

”So,” he began, ”what was that thing you told Komi this morning? Something about me needing to expect something?”

Miranda blinked, her brow knitting as she thought.

Then her face shifted in recognition. ”Oh, that. It should be coming any moment now.”

Almost on cue, her phone buzzed on the table.

She chuckled softly. ”Talk about timing.”

The others watched as she picked it up, exchanged a few polite words, then said, ”Tomorrow works better. Let’s talk then.”

She ended the call, still smiling, though something was knowing behind her expression.

Izan leaned in a little. ”What was that about?”

Miranda turned the phone toward him.

The notification read: ”Exclusive: Details of A Nike offer to Izan Hernandez leak online.”

Her brows lifted slightly, and for a second, she just stared at the words before letting out a quiet breath that was almost a laugh.

”Well,” she murmured, ”there it is.”

”What?” Izan asked, still looking at his phone.

The headline burned in bold letters, followed by a subhead that read, ’Industry rocked by leaked Nike proposal as sources confirm record-breaking offer to lure Hernandez from Adidas.’

Izan’s phone slipped slightly in his hand as his eyes went wide.

”Wait—so that was why—?”

Hori leaned forward from the floor, craning her neck.

”What do you mean by ’ leaked?”

Miranda tapped the headline and scrolled down.

The post was filled with images, including the actual photos of the contract folder Izan had obtained from Ben Grimm, with key pages highlighted: the figures, the bonuses, and the signature section marked ”Pending.”

In there, too, were the promotional mock-ups, with captions describing ”lifetime equity incentives,” ”creative freedom clauses,” and ”an ambassador role equivalent to Nike legends” that Nike had inserted into the contract.

Komi turned down the TV volume, muttering, ”Holy hell,” before covering her mouth and looking at Hori, who just rolled her eyes at her mother’s attempt not to curse while Izan was still staring at the screen.

Miranda said nothing at first and just sipped her water before finally setting it down afterwards.

”So that’s why you took pictures of the contract at Disneyland.”

”Let’s just say the right person got curious.”

Hori’s head whipped toward her. ”You leaked it?”

Miranda’s lips curved slightly, though her eyes didn’t waver.

”I may have sent it to Emilio. He’s not exactly known for keeping quiet, is he?”

Komi blinked. ”You leaked the deal? Miranda, that’s huge, but isn’t there going to be repercussions?”

”For us no,” Miranda said, before sighing.

”Maybe for Ben Grimm and his entourage, who were tasked with handling the deal.”

”Personally, this was just to shake things a little. If Adidas sees the numbers, they’ll realise how serious Nike is to snatch their Golden egg-laying goose, AKA, Izan Hernandez, so although we negotiated a deal just about half a year ago, they will be forced to do something.”

Izan was silent for a long moment before he set the phone down, rubbing his temples.

”Miranda, this isn’t just shaking things. This is a damn earthquake.”

Hori grabbed the phone again, scrolling through the comments flooding in.

”People are going crazy. Look at this, someone’s saying it’s the biggest offer ever made to a Lifetime football player or an Athlete in general, creative partnership deals, private brand line...” She trailed off, blinking at the screen.

”They even offered you equity in their European division?” Hori screamed afterwards, while Izan just blinked, sighing heavily.

Miranda leaned forward, taking the phone back.

”So we don’t have to do anything at all. Just behind and watch how all this plays out, and from where we are, nothing is hurting us. The only thing I see happening is Nike maybe pulling the deal back, but then still it doesn’t hurt us because Adidas has already seen what a brand could do to take you from them.”

”So now everyone’s seen it. Adidas included.”

Komi leaned back, crossing her arms.

”Oh, they’ve definitely seen it. I wouldn’t be surprised if their boardroom’s on fire right now.”

Hori laughed, but it was a nervous one.

”You think they’ll try to match it?”

”That’s what I’m hoping for,” Miranda said, her voice steady.

”I wouldn’t have tried to renegotiate with them until after at least a couple of years, but Nike has already pulled the trigger for us, so as I said, all we have to do is sit back.”

Izan exhaled, slumping slightly against the couch.

”You’re playing a dangerous game, you know that?”

She gave a half-smile.

”We always are, Izan, though this time, I wasn’t the one who started the game.”

Silence hung for a moment, broken only by the faint sound of the documentary’s narrator in the background while Miko stirred under the table, stretching before waddling over to Izan’s feet and nudging him with her nose.

Miranda looked at Izan, her expression softening just a little.

”The story’s trending everywhere. And Adidas will start sweating. They can’t afford to lose you to Nike, not after the year you’ve had.”

Komi glanced toward Miranda.

”And what if Nike takes it personally?”

Miranda shrugged, unbothered. ”Then they’ll just up the stakes. Either way, we win.”

Hori whistled low. ”Remind me never to play chess with you.”

Miranda chuckled, though her eyes stayed sharp, thoughtful.

”Don’t worry, Hori. I only play when the pieces are worth moving.”

Izan shook his head slowly, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips.

”You know, I’m not sure if I should be impressed or terrified”

”Both are fair,” Komi said dryly.

The room eased into quiet again as Izan just stared at the article once more and the frenzy it had sparked online.

Finally, he looked up at Miranda.

”So this was what you meant this morning. ’Something I should be expecting.’”

Her gaze met his, steady and sure. ”Exactly that.”

Izan chuckled softly, shaking his head in disbelief.

”This is much bigger than something, though.”

Miranda smiled faintly, setting her glass down.

”Well, go big or go home.”

From upstairs, Olivia’s voice carried before she even appeared, the hurried rhythm of her steps echoing down the curved staircase.

”Izan! Did you—” She nearly tripped on the last step, phone clutched tight in her hand, her hair still tousled from her Ninja-like movements to get to the living room.

But when she finally stepped into the living room, her sentence fell apart halfway through.

Everyone was looking at her, Miranda lounging back with a faintly satisfied expression, Komi seated with her arms crossed, Hori still hovering by Izan’s shoulder with the phone in hand, and Izan himself, slouched deep into the couch.