“This should do,” A petite blonde woman muttered as she adjusted her dress suit and centered herself under a nearby streetlight. “What do you think Hugo?”

She turned towards a man who stood behind a tripod, his left thumb erect in the air, his focus through the camera. With a nod, a calmness fell upon her face and she began to give her speech.

“In an hour, this course will be the highlight of the night.” She stepped to the side, her hand outstretched to display the two story fitness center behind her. The words Causeway Fitness and Golf displayed over the entrance.

“It is the first annual Javier Charity Night run by Local legend Cee Falreath, starting quarterback for the Sparrows. Celebrities from all over the state are competing for the Port Toulee kigers little league…”

The woman paused as she looked towards the ground.

“Bobdy boo ba bada.” She muttered as she shook her hands.

“Ok, From the top!” She stated as she turned to face the modern building once again. Her eyes drifted as she examined the glass structure for a few seconds, before she turned back to face the camera, her face that stoic calm.

Falreath watched the local news crew below as they prepared for their puff piece. It was a big night for his course, so he understood the attention. Still, a sigh left him as he turned back to the script in hand. The one his agent gave him, the one he has read over multiple times during the week.

“Try to tear up when you talk about Doug.” He mumbled as he read one of the notes. This one was underlined three times and only one of many points the man wanted him to hit. He closed his fist over the paper and with a pivot and a flick of the wrist, he tossed the crumpled mess into the wastebasket.

“Three!” He exclaimed as the paper rolled along the edge and landed into the bin. If he hadn’t learned the topics by now, the ten to twenty minutes he had till the interview weren’t going to help.

That left the package his accountant sent. He stared at the manilla envelope for a few seconds before a second sigh left him.

“Onto the monthlies,” He mumbled as he picked up the package. He opened up the envelope and pulled out the piles of papers. Unsurprisingly there was a cover letter from Brady. The man always had request after demand when it came to Falreath’s money. It would be oh so tiring if the man wasn’t so good.

“I appreciate you wanting to understand the struggles in running your businesses,” Brady began in his letter. “However, your preseason will soon be upon us and with it most of your time will turn towards football. Therefore, It is with great importance that I recommend you hire a General Manager for the resort at your earliest convenience. We will need to get them up to speed as soon as possible.”

Falreath continued to read over the letter before he set it aside. Brady always argued with Falreath when he said he wanted to understand what it took to run any of his businesses. That he didn’t just want his money to work for him, but that Falreath wanted to work for his money. It has become such an issue that Brady has even begun budgeting for it in his reports.

“Speaking of reports,” Falreath muttered as he moved onto the rest of the pages. Overall he was in the black, the resort however was still in the red, and probably would be a net loss for the next year at least. That was if he understood the arguments Brady made.

He flipped to the next page and read the first line. Then he read it again, and again. On the fourth time he sighed and placed it onto the stack. His eyes drifted toward the clock as he gathered the papers in his hand. This was a project he would have to return to.

He grabbed his phone and a smile crossed his face as he dialed his friend. It started to ring as he continued to clean up his desk. Ring after ring went by as he meticulously placed the papers away.

“Ho, already on the way,” Eldridge said from the other side.

“I aint forfeiting because you can’t read a clock. You best be here in the next twenty.” Falreath hung up before his friend could respond. Honestly, he had at least an hour before the charity event would start. With Eldridge, however, an hour was the minimum needed to expect him on time.

Office tidy, Falreath headed for the door and shut off the light. Once outside he turned to find his couffour, butler, assistant, honestly Falreath wasn’t sure at this point, standing at near attention.

“Hinklebottom, I need you to go through the potential general managers and narrow it down for me.” he stated as he started to head down the hall. “To three if you can.”

“Understood, do you want me to start right away?” Hinklebottom asked as he fell in behind his employer.

“If you would, I have an interview and then the golf event.” Falreath answered as they turned towards the stairs. “Should give you a few hours at the least.”

“Very well,” Hinklebottom replied with a bow before he turned towards the front offices.

Falreath let the man go as he continued on his way to the VIP section of the resort. He passed door after door of rooms for rent, most of them occupied by one celebrity or another. Finally he stopped before the last door, the one with two full opaque glass walls which overlooked the ninth and seventh holes.

He opened the room to find the news crew ready and waiting, two chairs set out in preparation of the interview. The blonde he saw earlier stood to greet him as he closed the door.

“Welcome Mr. Falreath,” She stated, voice upbeat, as she held out her hand.

“Thank you,” He replied with a stiff shake as his eyes slowly shifted over the room.

“Alright, you ready to get this started?” She questioned as she stepped back to let him in.

“After you Miss,” Falreath paused and let the silence ask the question.

“You may call me Konelia,” She replied as she walked to one of the cushioned seats.

Falreath sat opposite of her and waited as the crews bustled around them. A minute or so later she finally turned towards him.

“Thanks for taking the time out of your day to meet with us Mr. Falreath,” Konelia started.

“Please, just call me C.” Falreath replied with a wave of his hand. He sat back to get a bit more comfortable, an attempt to get his body to finally relax.

“That is an odd name,” Konelia continued. “Does it hold any special meaning?”

“I’m not sure,” Falreath mindlessly answered. “It was on the tag when I was dropped off at the orphanage as a babe.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Konelia replied as she shuffled the papers on her lap.

She glanced down as if to read one of her notes, her face slightly shaded red.

“It’s quite alright,” Falreath began.

“So I hear you are a fan of the Tigers little league football,” Kornelia spluttered as she looked up. “The reports I have say you visit the practice from time to time.”

“I do,” Falreath stated, mind jared by the sudden shift.

A pause followed as he tried to remember the notes.

With a deep breath he began. “I like to inspire those kids, like my life was. As a child, an orphan as many of my fans know, I had little to inspire me. That was until Doug, my youth coach, though not quite at that time, pestered me to join his team. I didn’t want anything to do with much at that time. I was pissed at life, at my parents, at anyone who tried to get close.”

Falreath spoke the lines as he looked up towards the light, doing his best to get his eyes to water. “Well Doug, he ended up like a father to me. He was actually the one I named the event after.”

“Now, if that isn’t an inspiring story,” Konelia recovered, her tone leveled out. She took a quick breath before she continued. “From what I hear, this event has been quite successful.”

“That’s what my accountant has told me,” Falreath chuckled. “We’ve raised well over forty k for the youth squads. Far more than we expected. We might donate some of it towards other youth sports in the area. Though that is for a future discussion.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Konelia continued as if she finally found her groove, her face once again placid. The questions continued, and rather bored Falreath. He continued nonetheless, His agent having repeatedly beat into him that it would be an important PR move. Even more so, since he wanted to hold the event anyway. Falreath had little grounds to argue as his agent had seen his brand become quite successful.

Still, he was grateful once the interview was finally over. How much of it would air, he didn’t know and frankly didn’t care. What he said about wanting to see the youth sports prosper was true, he had planned this charity just for that. The spotlight, that wasn’t bad either.

“I guess it’s just how fake that interview felt.” He mumbled to himself as he walked to the fridge and pulled out an ice tray. His other hand reached for a bourbon on the shelf.

“I would go for the Port Barrel myself,” A familiar voice said behind him. “Seems like a whisky night.”

“Took you long enough,” Falreath said as he started to place a cube of ice into his glass. “Besides, I’ve seen you drink. I would be better off asking a soccer player about passing routes than asking you for your drink advice.”

“Cold,” Eldridge replied as he took a seat in one of the recliners, his hand extended.

“I ain't getting you a drink, cold or otherwise.” Falreath replied as he sat back into his chair. “I need a handicap, not a dead weight.”

Eldridge laughed slightly before he replied. “One drink won’t harm me.”

The room echoed in laughter as Falreath struggled to hold his hand steady. It was a few more seconds of a deep rumbling laugh before he managed to control himself enough to speak. “I’ve seen sponges hold their liquor better than you. One drink and you would be trying to kick the golf ball for all you cared.”

“Whatever,” Eldridge replied with crossed arms. “You could at least be hospitable and get me something like water. You know what, I’ll get it myself.”

“Oh no you don’t” Falreath said as he stood and held out his hand to cut off his friend. “If I let you do it yourself, you’ll probably grab vodka unaware.”

“Fine,” Eldridge huffed and returned to his seat. “So, what’s the plan tonight?”

“I golf and look good,” Falreath replied. “I would say that you could be arm candy, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. You could, I don’t know, write a ballad of my greatness.”

“So, is it best ball, scramble, or alternating shot?” Eldridge asked, blatantly ignoring the offhanded insult, as he leaned back into his chair.

“So serious,” Falreath said. “I didn’t hurt your feelers, did I?”

Falreath could see Eldridge smirk a bit, clearly wanting to move on but not really upset. Well, at least his feelings weren’t, his lack of alcohol might be annoying him.

“As to your question, I see someone’s been on a golf wiki. Tonight it will be the best ball. But you have to use at least two holes from each team member. Most of the groups are pairs, but there are a few triples or quads out there.”

“I see, not sure how much of a handicap I will be, only taking two of my holes.” Eldridge replied.

“It’s alright, I’m not planning on winning. Just making a good show. It wouldn’t do for me to dominate my own charity event.” Falreath replied before he downed the last bit of his bourbon. “Let’s get to it!” He said with the clatter of his glass hitting the counter.

Eldridge jumped slightly as Falreath stealthily tossed him a bottle of water.

“I feel like that doesn’t address; you know what, never mind. Let’s go!” Eldridge said as he turned towards the door.

It was another hour before the two of them finally stood on the green. The bright lights of the camera crew drowning out the lights of the moon and stars above. It took a little bit of doing but he was finally able to move most of them behind him so that he could see the course.

The flags near the holes all glowed a soft green. The sky lit with various shades of glowing balls as the contestants made their shots. In various places there were small lights that illuminated part of the course. It was all designed to give a serene ambiance as the crowds gathered around each group.

“Par 3,” Eldridge said as he pulled out a three wood and looked down the shaft. “That seems good for a warmup.”

“Well then, if you’d please.” Falreath said with a mock bow as his arm was outstretched toward the tee. A smile slipped onto his face as his eyes darted to the club.

“Are you sure we don’t get a caddy?” Eldridge questioned once again as he replaced the three wood with a two.

Falreath smirked as he saw his friend try to figure out the clubs. It was for this reason he made sure the bag had every club imaginable in it.

“I feel like they’d be useful.”

“What do you need that for when you have me,” Falreath replied. “For example, take this par three. See that curve around those groves of trees. If you use that five wood, you can hop the grove and be better placed on the green on the other side.”

“Very well,” Eldridge said with a slight trepidation as he grabbed the suggested club. “What about wind?”

“Don’t worry about that at this time.” Falreath answered with a wave of his hand. “For now, just get a feel for hitting the ball and getting it over the trees. As you progress more you can worry about things like wind speed and direction.”

Eldridge turned to look at Falreath and sighed. With a shake of his head he turned back to the tee and prepared his swing. The form left much to be desired as he swung back and rotated his hips. The ball and club collided, and the ball flung into the sky, the bright blue of it glowed as it raced towards the trees.

“You needed more lift,” Falreath commented as he watched the blue snag on one of the branches of a maple.

“I’d like to see you do better,” Eldridge said as he tossed the club towards Falreath.

Falreath caught the club and gave it a twirl.

“Prepare to be educated,” He stated as he strode to place his tee and red ball. He stepped back and practiced his swing once before he stepped forward. Effortlessly he swung, his entire body flowed like water. The ball and club collided, and the ball tore off into the sky.

The red star blazed over the treetops to land on the other side. “I suppose I should’ve gone first so that you might emulate that skill.”

“Let’s just move on,” Eldridge said with a defeated tone and shake of his head. “We still have to finish the hole.”

“First we have to find your ball. Remember you have to hit it where it lands.”

“I don’t know why I listened to you.” Eldredge said with a grunt as he lifted the bag. “I should’ve just gone for a standard shot.”

“‘Fortune favors the bold’ Cotton,” Falreath said as he took a few steps into the grove. “Also, I found your ball.”

“Why do I feel like the only reason I’m here is for your amusement?” Eldredge mumbled as he strode up to the ball. “I should’ve never listened,” He continued with a sigh.

“So, where’s your ball? I don’t see any red anywhere.”

“Good question,” Falreath said as he left the grove and walked onto the fairway. He continued down the path for a good while before he broke into a laugh.

“What?” Eldridge yelled from inside the maple grove. Without even replying Falreath reached down and pulled a glowing red orb from out of the hole. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.”