I had wanted this since I was old enough to say the wordbaseball.And yes, I would happily do the work while my father collected a check. I considered it well worth it to prevent him from fucking everything up instead. The worst part, he would work his ass off and fail, and there were too many people who relied on this organization for their own livelihoods for it to fail.
My phone had lit up with the staff contact information. When I got to Kendra’s, I saved it and thought back to her proposal. Her sister and Sam’s relationship had created a media crush this past summer, but they handled it well. Or their personal assistant and team of lawyers had handled it for them. Either way, Kelsey and Sam had gone from liabilities to assets for the team.
I emailed Blythe from HR and requested a copy ofKendra’s resume. And yep, it reflected everything she had presented in the meeting. With a little more digging online, I found out she had been an athlete at Dartmouth, playing lacrosse all four years.
Stop, Hawk.
You definitely shouldn’t watch game highlights of her playing the sport. But damn, she moved fast.
I berated myself as my thumb hovered over the search function on Instagram. Social media accounts blurred the personal and professional lines; it was none of my business if she had a husband, boyfriend, or even a girlfriend.
As if she knew I was doing something questionable, my sister texted me right then. The queen of questionable decisions always held me to a higher standard. At one point in my life, I might have envied her freedom. Not now, it struck me as boring and aimless.
Colby: How’s it going, big shot?
The media had portrayed the decision for me to take over the organization as some terrible conspiracy to oust my sister from what she was due. After all the work that had been done to promote women in sports and sports management, this decision brought us backyears.
But she had never wanted anything to do with the team. We had two old, gray attorneys hash out a deal on our behalf: I got the team, and she got cash in the trust fund that she would never need and I would never miss. She remained my best friend. That was the last time we discussed it.
Me: You know, faking it until I make it.
Colby: That good?
Me: You should stop by the park tomorrow. I have all the suits playing ball with the grounds staff.
Colby: Oh man. Please send me pictures. Isn’t it cold there?
Me: Where are you?
Colby: Um…
Me: Colby?
The media loved telling the story of a brother stealing his sister’s opportunity. Still, no one looked at how unqualified Colby was for anything that required her to act like an adult. I loved my sister, and she would do anything for me, but she was too free-spirited to tie herself down with a job. The second she graduated from college, she ran off to Europe for a two-month sabbatical. She joked that she should pay me to deal with the Minutemen.
Maybe someday she would get bored with this lifestyle, but owning a baseball team wouldn’t make her do that. She’d hate every minute of it.
Colby: I rented a villa in St. John, but I’ll be back for Christmas.
Me: You better. Nonna would flip out if you missed it.
Colby: Should I soft-launch my relationship with Haley?
I wanted to tell her to go for it, but the last girlfriend Colby had introduced the family to, they had all assumed she meant she was a platonic friend. My parents had been no help either and giggled at Nonna’s mistake.
Me: Is this the real deal? Or do you think this is just fun?
Colby: This is forever.
This was the third time she had told me her current relationship was forever. She got in and out of relationships as often as she changed shoes. If she weren’t one of my favorite people, I would have rolled my eyes and called her on her bullshit. But I wanted it to be forever, because the last time she broke up with a girlfriend, she crashed in my spare bedroom and turned it into a filthy depression pit. Even though she had an apartment in the same building as me.
Me: I hope so. You deserve to be happy.
Colby: Anyone new for you?
Me: When do I have time to date?
Colby: That’s your choice. Hope you’re at least making an effort to blow off steam.
