At 12 noon on February 8, it was the time for Yu Xiaochun and Scott Kalonsky to meet.

"That" Scott Kalonsky, neither the second nor the third. It's the origin of the Kalonsky family, Scott Sr. himself.

Someone who is said to be able to turn the entire NBA trade market upside down.

Yu Xiaochun has no doubts about his energy, after all, as a "data strategist", Kalonsky II provides NBA teams with player rating reports, which is enough to influence the signing and draft of multiple teams. It wouldn't be surprising if his father was more connected, more resourceful, and more vocal in the basketball world.

It's just - Yu Xiaochun glanced at Penelope walking beside him - what kind of business is it to have a beautiful woman with full marks to come forward to accompany him?

1/

Penelope wore a black satin silk dress today, the fabric fits like a pajama, and the color is not too formal. The silver heels were pointed, six or seven centimeters long, and they lifted her figure a few points higher when they stepped on their feet. She wore only a Max Mara cashmere coat over the silk skirt, and her chest and long-legged skin were exposed. Fortunately, although the weather in Boston was cold, they could take a pre-arranged Lincoln stretch car from the hotel to the meeting place, and they were not exposed to the cold wind for much time.

Their car was parked on the back of a clear-glass office building. The front of this office building looks very modern, the whole body is square, the lobby windows are bright and clean, and the people who enter and exit are elites in suits, leather shoes and shiny shoes, but I didn't expect an inconspicuous side door to open on the back. The front door is a retro Roman relief, only two people wide and more than one person high, and there is no writing on the door, only a male security guard in a black suit guards the door.

Yu Xiaochun asked the driver to wait at the door, afraid that he would go to the wrong place, so he got out of the car first to negotiate.

Unexpectedly, before he could speak, the male security guard had already greeted him first: "Mr. Yu." Good afternoon, please here, Mr. Kalonsky is already waiting for you. ”

"Oh..."Although he was taken aback by the battle, it didn't seem to be in the wrong place.

"I received that you have a lady with you, has she arrived too?"

He actually knows everything! Yu Xiaochun hurriedly motioned for someone to wait in the car behind him, turned his head and waved his hand to let Penelope get out of the car.

Unexpectedly, the male security guard had already jumped out, opened the car door in advance, and only after holding the door frame did he ask Penelope to get out of the car.

"Thank you." Penelope's voice was still cold, as if it were all normal.

"Thank you..."Yu Xiaochun's follow-up thanks were slightly embarrassing.

"You're welcome, please." The male security guard jumped back to the door again, blocked a numeric keypad on the side of the door with his body, and after pressing a string of numbers, the door opened, and inside was an elevator. While Yu Xiaochun was still hesitating, Penelope had already stepped in without looking back, standing in the center.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaochun had no choice but to follow up, the elevator was all aluminum, but he couldn't find any buttons. When he was suspicious, the male security guard outside the elevator spoke again: "The elevator goes straight to the 35th floor." The ascent is a bit fast, but don't worry..."

As soon as his last words came in through the slowly closing door, the elevator began to speed up!

2/

35 floors.

Compared with the cramped face, this is a completely different world. The dark brown solid wood is covered from the walls to the floor and ceiling. At the entrance is an open dance floor, with various musical instruments in the corner of the dance floor and someone playing the piano. Behind the dance floor is a bar counter, where all kinds of drinks are like books from the library, covering the back wall more than five meters high; On the right is a row of antique European-style tables and chairs, occupying a place by the window.

In the deepest part of the space was a glass-enclosed reception area, where a few high-backed antique sofas blocked the view, but someone could be seen spitting fog inside, and some faint laughter could be heard.

The midday Boston sun shines through the large floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, making even the dark brown wood décor look less rigid and sluggish.

Yu Xiaochun was still looking, and the glass door of the reception area slid open, and a figure walked out of it.

"Mr. Yu Xiaochun, hello!"

Guess he's Scott Kalonski.

The figure approached, and sure enough, the age matched. But if you look closely, it's much more than Koharu expected.

Kalonsky II was in his fifties, and his father should have been nearly eighty, if an eighty-year-old man was still always thinking about men and women, Yu Xiaochun's imagination probably had a body that could not bear it, his eyes were sunken, his sky was black, his face was wrinkled, and his figure was slender. There may also be a rosacea nose and squinting eyes, a big belly, and a typical obscene appearance that will take advantage of some hands if you can't eat.

But the man in front of him was not like this at all.

Scott Kalonsky is at least 1.85 meters, although he has silver hair but is meticulously combed, with a straight figure, thin but energetic, and his shoulders can still support his clothes. The grass-green plaid suit looks custom-made and sticks to the body exactly. A red bow tie, brown oxford leather shoes, and black-framed Dolce & Gabbana glasses are clearly a well-worn match, but they don't show the slightest trace. is like a knowledgeable professor and a stylish director, but he doesn't look like an old pervert.

If you have to find a character to describe Scott Sr., Al Pacino in the movie "Smell a Woman" is probably the most suitable.

This...?

"Mr. Kalonsky?"

"Well, hello, Mr. Yu." The other party's conversation was also cordial and approachable, and there was no arrogance: "I'm really sorry to let you deliberately run from the south to Boston, which is freezing in the cold, it's hard work." I don't know what to call the name of this lady in my travels? ”

"Penelope." Yu Xiaochun introduced in a panic.

"Hello Miss Penelope, thank you very much." Old Scott gently took Penelope's hand, kissed it politely on the lips, and then gently let go, without any obscenity, and did not even linger for a second in his eyes.

"Mr. Yu and Penelope, please sit here, I'll arrange lunch - how about Boston lobsters?"

Scott Sr. said as he helped Penelope take off his coat, prop it up on a hanger, and hang it in the cabinet at the entrance. He walked to a dining table next to the bed in advance, pulled the chair apart, and waited for the two of them to sit down one after another before sitting down by himself.

3/

At today's meeting, Yu Xiaochun had imagined countless times in his mind since two days ago, and he was familiar with all kinds of changes and coping methods two or three times in advance.

But these preparations were of no use for the next hour or so.

"Mr. Yu, my son Karonsky II has already told me about you. You want to move Derrick Rose to the Rockets, right? As soon as he was seated, Scott Sr. got straight to the point.

"yes, I don't know about you...?"

"No problem, I'll make a few phone calls after dinner. You can rest assured that the transaction has been successful. Before Koharu could say the pleading question, old Scott agreed.

This was completely unexpected by Yu Xiaochun, but he was not allowed to ask, and old Scott had already cut the topic to Penelope beside him:

"Miss Penelope is right? It's a beautiful name, and if I'm not mistaken, its source is Homer's Odyssey, the wife of the protagonist adventurer Odyssius. ”

"You're right."

"Odyssius's wife, in the name of loyalty, has not left home for ten years since he left his adventures. But Miss Penelope, I see your complexion and appearance, Mexican? ”

"You guessed it, I grew up in Mexico. Mr. Kalonsky, it sounds like your last name is from Eastern Europe? ”

"Poland, exactly. I fled to the United States with my parents during World War II..."

"The Nazis... Sorry to mention these things to you. ”

"Oh, that's okay. The United States saved us, and the United States is a great piece of soil. ”

"God bless America."

"That's right, God bless America. But we are fleeing, and there is no choice. Unlike your generation who came to the U.S. for their dreams, that's true courage. So I don't mind if I ask, Miss Penelope, why did you come to the United States? Scott Sr. smiled, leaned forward slightly, and asked with interest.

"Of course not—" Penelope replied, pinning a lock of hair behind her ear.

Yu Xiaochun had never seen Penelope say so much at one time. She, an ice beauty, has always been a rejection of people, but at this moment, in front of this old man who is over eighty years old, she actually opened the conversation box for the first time and talked back and forth.

For a moment, Yu Xiaochun even had the illusion that he was a superfluous light bulb.

Luckily, the lobster delicacies served in time saved him: garlic lobster with bread, lobster Caesar salad, lobster sashimi, shrimp claw cream soup, lobster salmon pasta. Yu Xiaochun feasted and ate happily. The two guys next door? But he didn't even bother to move the tableware, and he chatted enthusiastically!

"What do you think of the lobster, Mr. Yu? This is the famous Boston lobster from the Charles River, which I just fished from the mouth of the bay downstream this morning. ”

"Hmm, it's fresh, it's delicious!"

"You caught it, I don't believe it?" Penelope covered her mouth and giggled.

"Well, Miss Penelope is really wise, and you can see through it at a glance. It's true that I didn't do it myself, I'm too old to do this job. I drove to a familiar fisherman's house and asked him how he bought it. But it's guaranteed to be fresh, buy it and go straight here, you see the boat is still parked there. ”

Old Scott pointed to the river bank outside the window, and saw that on this section of the Charles River in a C-shaped turn, a row of luxury yachts were quietly moored on the dock on the edge of the downtown area.

"Which one is yours, Mr. Scott? The silver one, or the sky blue one next to it? ”

"The green one, the third one on the left, see?" Old Scott smiled and pointed at the floor-to-ceiling glass.

"See, see, wow, the biggest one!" Penelope clapped her hands excitedly like a child.

"Next time if you have the opportunity, I invite you and Mr. Yu to go to the boat and sit on the boat, and you can drive to Rhode Island for whale watching."

"Great!"

Naturally, Penelope responded to the initiative. Although Yu Xiaochun was called by name, he just wanted to find a crack to get into. He understood the taste of light bulbs.

He lowered his head and pulled the last bite of lobster pasta from his plate.

"It's a pity that I can't accompany you more this time, and there will be a small matter entrusted by Mr. Yu later, which needs to be arranged by me." Even if this sentence sounds pretentious, it can be said by Scott Sr. very naturally: "Did you book a ticket back to Houston in the afternoon?" ”

"That's right. First class, round trip. Finally caught by Yu Xiaochun The opportunity to raise his eyebrows - although this first-class cabin and the high standard of the whole trip, Penelope agreed to the hard requirements when he came forward, but since the money has been spent, Yu Xiaochun also happened to show it off.

"Good. But if you don't mind, I can take you back on my private jet. You'll have more time to spend in Boston..."

"This..."Yu Xiaochun, who was still triumphant just now, suddenly choked.

"The Gulfstream G500 isn't a big plane, but at least it's slightly more comfortable than first class." Old Scott still smiled and asked Yu Xiaochun in a sincere tone.

"Yes, yes!"

Penelope had already agreed to come down for Yu Xiaochun.

Defeated!

At half past 1 p.m., on this 35-story building in downtown Boston, the outcome of the trade deadline is still unknown, but something is known to Koharu and has been completely defeated.