But other than the brands of the clothes they wore, you wouldn’t know the difference between them and us. They loved just as hard as my family.
I loved the chaos, though. We had always been an active,close-knit family with crazy big gatherings, and now it had gotten even louder.
Me: If you and Luc keep looking at each other like that, everyone is going to know before night one is over.
Kylie: Like what?
Me: Like you aren’t sure if you’re going to rip each other’s heads or clothes off.
Kylie: That’s accurate.
Me: You okay?
Kylie: Barely.
Ugh.
By the time we checked into the villa and everyone had their assigned rooms, I was ready for a nap. I stared at my laptop, I had brought it to get ahead on some assignments but with my new acting role, I expected life to get even busier after the break.
I wanted to be a fly on the wall when my Director was let go. I had been prepared to have my skills questioned while I was new in my role, but there was something sadistic in the way he had treated me.
He was an asshole, and I was reassured that Hawk had figured it out before I had to file a complaint. I wasn’t the only woman who had struggled with him, but I was in the most senior position. Thankfully, it hadn’t come to that.
In turn, Hawk had elevated my opinion of him. An opinion that now came dangerously close to adoration.
Fuck me.Oh, please, please, fuck me.
“How’s everything in the back office?” Sam asked, and Luc looked up with interest.
“Boys, no. You know your question is putting me in a strange position.”
“I get it, I’m just curious,” Sam said.
Kelsey joined the conversation in the middle of the kitchen. “What would you do if you knew Sam was getting traded?”
“She couldn’t say anything,” Sam said. “And we wouldn’t put her in that position. Besides, my contract is pretty ironclad.”
In a normal year, players were optioned, traded, and designated for assignment. Sam was in the minority. Once he came into the Major League, he’d only been sent down once while recovering from an injury. Some of the guys on the roster had messier paths and bounced between teams and leagues.
I hadn’t worked for the team last summer when Sam’s possible case of the yips had everyone in a tailspin.
That’s exactly what my research showed on Tucker, and while his playing stats had been nothing short of phenomenal, he hadn’t stuck around anywhere for more than a season. This confirmed my suspicion that he was clubhouse poison.
I hated that I might not only see Tucker again but be forced to watch him day after day. It threatened to rip open the scar tissue that had formed thanks to him.
Shit, what if he became friends with Sam? Nope, I would decline any invitation to a function where Tucker was present. I had been through too much therapy to subject myself to that man.
Hawk: How was the flight? Are you there yet?
Me: Yes. At the villa and just unpacked. It’s eighty-one and sunny. But really strange that the sun goes down around 6.
Hawk: Ah, yeah. It’s the same year-round there. My friend went to med school in the Caribbean, and he said it was strange in the summer when the sun set so early.
Me: Sitting here, completely surrounded by the Minutemen organization. It’s a good thing I love baseball, and I love my job.
Hawk: Good. I like having you on the team.
I was flushed with the compliment. I was never satisfied with any level of success I achieved; I always wanted more. But accolades were tough to accept. It was easier to drive forward when you knew there were areas for improvement, concrete things you could do to improve at your job. It was not so easy to accept compliments.
