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program. He’d also had a drinking problem. When he’d left at short notice the rumor was that his drinking had become an issue.
    Laird opened a manila file, pulled out a sheaf of papers, and handed them to him. ‘How’d you like to step up?’ Malik took them but didn’t glance at them. He didn’t say anything.
    ‘I told you it was good news, Coach.’ Laird smiled.
    ‘Chancellor, I’m a basketball coach. That would be a big step up, different set of skills.’
    ‘I think you’re being overly modest, Coach. Plus we’ve been looking at candidates since Bob left, and we’ve yet to find one who would be a good fit. You already have a feel for the place.’
    Malik started to leaf through the new contract. The new headline salary surprised even him. The college must have been in better financial shape than he’d suspected.
    ‘We’re keen to have this resolved as soon as possible,’ said Laird. ‘I’m sure after last night there will be more schools taking a look at you, and we don’t want to lose out now that we have you here.’
    Malik said, ‘I’ll need to have an attorney check it over.’
    ‘Of course.’
    There was an awkward silence. Laird drummed his fingers on the desk, as if to signal that the meeting was over. ‘So, you’ll get back to me?’ he said.
    Malik figured now was as good a time as any to acknowledge the elephant in the room. ‘I actually thought you wanted to talk to me about what we discussed yesterday.’
    Laird’s face showed a flicker of irritation, but he moved fast to cover it. ‘I’m glad you brought that up, actually.’
    Malik looked at him, playing the chancellor at his own game, using silence to force a response. Laird might have been used to running the play in his office, but Malik knew more than about steering things than most people. It was at the center of being a coach, the ability to push buttons and provoke a required response.
    ‘I was a little tetchy,’ said Laird. ‘And the last impression I wanted to give you was that we as an institution wouldn’t take seriously an incident such as the one you described. In fact, my next meeting this morning is with Captain Tromso.’
    ‘So,’ said Malik, ‘what you gonna do?’
    ‘Coach, I hope you’ll understand when I say that before the meeting it would be premature of me to discuss that with you. But I promise I’ll keep you fully informed of any developments. As long as you understand how sensitive this matter is.’
    Malik could feel anger rising, like bile, at the back of his mouth, but he did his best to tamp it down. Losing his temper would achieve nothing.
    The meeting hadn’t been a complete waste of time. At least he knew now that they were playing a game, trying to soften him up with a new contract, offering him a bigger job. Making all the right noises about doing something but stopping short of actually committing to what that something might be. Malik was being played. And when you’re being played the best strategy is often to play dumb.
    ‘Oh, I do,’ said Malik. He rolled up the contract, got up from his chair, and placed his china coffee cup back on the table. ‘You can count on me,’ he said to Laird.
    ‘I never doubted it for a moment,’ said Laird, the smile back.
    Malik walked out. As he opened the door, Tromso practically launched himself from the chair where he’d been waiting for his turn with the chancellor. He bounded over to Malik, offering a beefy hand.
    ‘Great result, Coach. Just great.’
    Malik shook his hand, playing along with the forced bonhomie, but thankful he had some hand sanitizer in his car. ‘Thanks.’
    ‘Well, keep up the good work,’ Tromso said, blundering past Laird’s secretary and into the office.
    Malik watched as the door shut. Fuck you, guys, he said to himself.

Twelve
    Malik’s office was quiet. He had given the rest of his coaching staff the day off. There was a victory rally later and, no doubt, more raucous celebrations that evening. Right