She moved to the other side of the table, pacing slowly, and the room followed her movement.

"Nike Football gets their Next Gen flagship who can wear the Generation Pack in November and represent the program launch without requiring ten-million-euro commitments, I get my first athlete who proves the shoes aren't just for models and lifestyle content but actually perform at elite level, and we lock in a potential star before the World Cup cycle when his value could triple if Atalanta keeps giving him minutes."

"And if he flames out?" Jennifer asked, though her tone was less hostile now.

"Then I was wrong and you saved money," Sophia replied evenly. "But don't take my word for it, watch him against Milan this weekend, if he delivers again you move immediately before someone else does, if he doesn't then I'll absorb the lifestyle deal through my budget and you haven't wasted Next Gen resources on a gamble that didn't pan out."

The room fell quiet; Marcus looked at Thomas, Thomas looked at Elena, David frowned at his laptop, and Jennifer leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed.

"You know him," Marcus said finally, and it wasn't a question.

Sophia met his eyes without hesitation. "Yes."

"How well?"

"Well enough to know he won't fold under pressure," she replied. "He's been rejected before, he's rebuilt himself from nothing, and the cameras don't intimidate him, you saw the interview, that composure at eighteen after a debut like that isn't luck, it's mentality."

"Personal relationships complicate business decisions," David said carefully.

"Only if you let them," Sophia countered. "I'm not asking for special treatment or inflated budgets, I'm asking for the same opportunity any athlete would get based on merit and timing, the fact that I know him personally means I have better information than any scout report about his character and work ethic, that should be an advantage not a liability."

Marcus drummed his fingers on the table; the room watched him because ultimately this decision fell on his shoulders, his budget, his program.

"Full transparency," Sophia continued, and she leaned forward now, palms flat on the table. "I know him personally, which is exactly why I know he won't fold under pressure, but don't take my word for it, watch him against Milan like I said, if he delivers again you move immediately before Adidas or Puma see the same opportunity, if not then I was wrong and you saved money, either way contact his agent now and express interest so we're in the conversation before anyone else even realizes there's a conversation to be in."

She straightened, and her voice sharpened.

"Remember how you had Bellingham in Nike boots at Birmingham, small academy deal, everyone thought he was locked in, and then the moment he signed professionally Adidas came in with massive terms and took him? And Yamal right now—you have him in Nike gear but you're already worried about losing him the same way when he turns professional because Adidas is positioning through Barcelona. We can't keep losing talent at the transition point from academy to professional. Walter is different—he's already professional, he's already proven he can perform at the senior level, and nobody else is circling him yet because he came from nowhere. That's the opportunity."

The words hung in the air; Marcus's jaw tightened because she'd hit the nerve she meant to hit.

"This is true," Marcus said slowly, almost to himself. "This actually does make sense."

He turned to his left where a young woman in a sleek black suit sat with her tablet ready—Sarah Kim, his executive assistant, late twenties, sharp as glass.

"Sarah, come here."

She stood immediately and approached; Marcus gestured to his phone.

"I need you to contact Demien Walter's agent, the information should be in our database under recent talent scouting, express Nike's interest in opening discussions about potential partnership opportunities, keep it vague but professional, we want them to know we're watching without committing to specific terms yet."

"Understood," Sarah replied, already typing notes. "Timeline?"

"Today, this afternoon if possible, I want the conversation started before close of business so we're ahead of any competitors who might be circling after yesterday's performance."

"Got it," she nodded and returned to her seat.

Marcus looked at Sophia, then at Thomas, then at the room.

"We'll revisit this after the Milan game, if Walter performs again we accelerate the conversation, if not we politely withdraw and move on to other prospects, everyone agreed?"

Heads nodded around the table; Jennifer still looked skeptical but didn't argue, David made notes on his laptop, Elena smiled slightly, and Thomas gave Sophia a small thumbs-up from across the table.

"Good," Marcus said, and he clicked to the next slide. "Now let's talk about the Generation Pack retail strategy for November because we've got—"

"Anyway, guys, I have to take my leave," Sophia interrupted, and she was already moving toward the door. "I have a plane to catch back to Florence, meetings with my design team this afternoon."

"Before you go," Marcus called after her, "your request about additional support staff?"

"Yes, please don't forget what I said," Sophia replied, turning at the door. "I need a new assistant, Cynthia can't handle all the workload with the line launch accelerating and now potentially adding athlete management on top of design oversight and campaign planning, get me someone who understands both fashion and sports marketing, preferably bilingual Italian and English."

"We'll have options for you by end of week," Marcus promised.

"Perfetto," Sophia said, and she smiled once more before the door closed behind her. "Ciao, ragazzi."

A/N:

Hey everyone!

First off, I want to give a huge thanks to all of you for the incredible support! The Golden Tickets and Power Stones really mean the world to me and keep me motivated to continue writing this story.

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