Preston shrugs. “I don’t. I just believe in you.” There he goes again. If I make it through this phone call without being a puddle of goo on the floor, it will be a miracle. “So what’s next? What’s the process to get this rolling?”
“First, I need to decide where the production company will be based. Is there a reason for it to be in L.A.? And if there isn’t, then where do I want to be? That’s why I wanted to talk to you. You’re still under contract in Tampa.”
“Don’t worry about where I am. My status could change at any time. I can always travel to wherever you decide to set up. The real question is, do you want to be in L.A.?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So that’s a no.” Preston laughs from the other end of the call. “What about Nashville? You seem to like it there.” He and Gabby seem to be on the same wavelength. “That’s what Gabby said.” The thought of both of them encouraging me to move to Nashville makes me chuckle. “I love it here. It’s so balanced. I could see myself here.”
“Then start the company in Nashville and move there. It’s not that far from Florida. At least you’d be on the same side of the country.”
“Are you sure?” Even though I ask, I can’t help feeling thrilled at the prospect. Anticipation mixed with contentment spread through me as I let myself relax into the idea of calling Nashville home. Of building something here for myself. It feels good. It feelsright.
“I just want you to be happy, Ives. Looking at you right now, I know this is what will make you happy. It pours out of you. You have been more yourself since you got to Gabrielle’s than you were in L.A. You love the area. It’s the perfect place for a brand new start. Plus, your best friend is there. I like the idea of you not being alone, especially with such a big project ahead of you.”
“I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you on my team, Preston Fields, but I am so glad I did.”
“I’m the lucky one, Serentia. Tell me all about your plans.”
Excitedly, I spend the next hour detailing all my plans for the script and the production company while Preston lays back on the bed in his Toronto hotel room and hangs on my every word. If there was ever a moment that I fell more in love with him, it was this one. His eagerness to see me succeed and his devotion to my happiness mean more than I could ever express to him.
But I will try. Every single day for as long as he will let me.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Preston
August 26
“Trade me.”
Coach looks up from his desk to where I stand in the doorway of his office. It’s our last day at home before we head off on another road trip. Playing the normal 162 games is a long season, playing sixty games straight with travel mixed in is exhausting. I’m spent, both physically and mentally. The mental exhaustion is because Coach is still treating me like an outsider on my own damn team. A team that I’ve put years into cultivating with him and the front office staff. I’m over it. Miller is right. I need to start looking elsewhere. Staying here isn’t only career suicide, it is bad for my sanity.
“I beg your pardon?” Coach finally says as he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
“You heard me. Trade me. This isn’t working for any of us.”
“And you think you have the right to come in here and make demands?” A player under contract can ask to be traded, but ultimately the team gets to decide if it wants to keep me. Clearly, they don’t care much about my game because Coach keepsbenching me. There are five days left before the trade deadline. It’s a tight timeline, but I have it on good authority that a certain team is looking for a franchise player and infield help.
“I’ve done everything you have asked of me. Nothing seems to be changing. I can’t prove I belong here if you intentionally keep me out of my position. Cut me loose so we can all move on.”
Coach doesn’t make the call, so this is merely a courtesy and to gauge the interest. The front office will make the final decision. My agent is already contacting them to get the ball rolling.
“And where would you want to go? If I were to agree?”
“Technically, you aren’t the decision maker. This is more of a last ditch effort that you support the request when it comes down from the front office.” Coach’s eyes flare at my dig. “Nashville,” I add, answering his direct question.
“Why the hell would you want to be on an expansion team in their first year during a shit season?”
The Music City Troubadours are last in the league right now. With the interruption from the pandemic, they were at an even greater disadvantage than the rest of us. This is the first year their players have played together. It’s hard to form a cohesive unit when the team has no time together. But, I don’t care about any of that.
“Because Ivory is there.”
Coach’s brow furrows at that. Ivory mentioned she hasn’t talked to her father in a while, but I assumed she would have told him the news about her moving. She’s been looking for houses in Nashville for the past week. Gabrielle has been a huge help with the real estate market in Nashville. Tay is back in L.A. coordinating the sale of Ivory’s condo while Ivory focuses on finishing her business plan and putting out feelers for investors. Her ‘girl gang’, as she likes to call it, is a strong unit. I’m glad she has them to lean on when I am not there. I’m working to change that. I want to be there. For her.Withher.
“I hadn’t heard that.” He scratches his jaw. “Going to an expansion team is a big gamble.”
“The writing is on the wall, Coach. I’m on the way out anyways. Let me do it before shit hits the fan.”
