She nodded. Her jaw tightened slightly and then she relaxed it.
Kendra: Okay. See you then.
Was she pissed that I signed him after she warned me not to? I know she feared for the team chemistry, but we had a giant hole in the shortstop position. Tucker had won a Gold Glove last season, and finished the year with a batting average just north of .300. His 50 plus homeruns were icing on the cake. Our pitching staff went deep, with major investments made when the team signed Sam Drummond, and now Jack Lecompte, and he brought the skills we needed offensively and defensively.
Our negotiations to land this deal had kept his cost low, and with his age, and the rest of the team, we’d be set in the infield for a least a couple of seasons.
Okay. Five minutes into my meeting with our manager and Tucker, I understood. Tucker was a fucking dickbag.
When he passed Colby in the hallway, he fucking whistled at her. Even if she weren’t my sister, in what fuckingworld was it okay to ogle corporate staff in front of the team owner.
“She’s hot as fuck.” He elbowed me, and spoke loud enough for Colby to take notice.
“I wouldn’t know. She’s my sister.”
“Ah. Sorry. Is she off limits?”
My sister was more than capable of handling herself around unwanted male attention, and while I was confident she could shut him down, no one should have to deal with his behavior. Especially not at work.
“The fact that you’re even asking that, shows you have a lot to learn. The Minutemen have the greatest number of women in executive or management positions than any other ball club. We don’t objectify women here.”
And just as I finished that statement, Kendra sent me a text.
Kendra: I should bring a spare set of underwear for the office. I didn’t expect them the be destroyed this morning.
Me: I’m with the new shortstop. Am I an asshole for saying I fucking hate him?
Kendra: Told you so.
Me: Destroyed or not, those panties are mine now.
Serious discussion about work intermingled with HR red flags? Sure.
Me: See you soon.
By the time we made it to the media room, Tucker had pissed me off about four more times. He didn’t seem to understand what I meant by objectifying women, because he continued to make lewd comments about every woman we passed, ignoring my corrections.
When he used a gay slur, I flipped. “I don’t give a fuck what your personal opinion is, but when you’re in the uniform, or on these grounds, keep that shit to yourself.”
“Oh, easy, brother.”
Rick, Tanner, and Trace were all seated at the press table when I walked in with Tucker. Tanner gave me a knowing look. Those fucks didn’t want to be around him either. Here we were, doing press, my least favorite event, and I wanted to knock out our star player.
Kendra didn’t arrive until after the presser started, and she stood to the side, almost as if she were trying to blend in with the crowd. We answered what felt like a million questions, and you could see Tucker’s pedigree kick in as soon as the cameras were around.
Right after we finished, I realized something across the room had caught his attention. He had focused a downright predatory gaze on Kendra, and she was frozen like a deer in headlights.
“Fuck no.” I damn near shouted.
Tucker’s attention turned to me. “You got dibs?”
“It’s not dibs, you little shit. But if you so much as look at her, you’re fucking gone.” I said this, having no idea if our legal team could get us out of his contract, but fully willing to pay whatever I had to keep the fucker far away from Kendra. There was something so sadistic about the way he stared at her, adding to her obvious discomfort, and I was on edge.
TWENTY-FIVE
kendra
DidI feel vindicated that Jonathan hated Tucker? Maybe a bit, but it didn’t negate that he was signed as part of the team. If the presser was any indication of how he’d react to seeing me in the office, I now knew he wouldn’t steer clear of me. I would need to be intentional in how I avoided him.
