“Yeah,” I state confidently. “You did.”
“No one thinks I’m ready for this.”
“Okay. Doyouthink you’re ready?”
He hesitates with his answer. “I don’t know. The fans are pissed.”
“Let us handle the fans. You just focus on doing your job.”
He nods, but the fear is still evident, so I place a hand on his shoulder, stopping our walk down the hall to make sure he’s looking me in the eye.
“This was not an unplanned decision. A lot of thought went into this. You’re not here by chance. You’re here because Reese thinks you’re ready. I do too. So instead of worrying about the fans, how about you focus on proving them wrong and proving her right?”
He swallows hard. “Yes, sir.”
“Jesus.” I exhale a laugh. “Call me Monty. You make me feel old as fuck when you call me sir.”
Milo chuckles and it’s nice to hear the kid finally laugh on one of the biggest days of his life.
“And this is the clubhouse,” I tell him as I open one of the double doors.
If I could get inside his head, I’d imagine it sounds a whole lot like the gates of heaven opening right now. His eyes are wide in awe, and it just makes him appear even younger.
I know I’m harping on his age, but it has me nervous. This is a lot of pressure for a grown man to handle, let alone a kid who’s still coming into himself.
But then I remind myself that he looks around the age that I was when I came into the league for the first time. And that makes me think about Miller and how I became her dad shortly after that. Looking at Milo has me realizing just how young I was when I took on that role, and if I could handle becoming a single father of a five-year-old, then he can handle this.
“Guys,” I call out, and every one of my players who is fucking around in the locker room turns in my direction. “This is Milo Jones. Milo, these are the guys.”
There’s a beat of silence, and I’m sure Milo is entirely in his head right now, thinking this team is pissed about Reese trading Harrison and pulling him up in his place.
But they’re not. I think they’re all relieved, even if they can’t admit that out loud.
“Hey, man.” Cody is the first to step forward, putting his hand in his and swinging his arm around to tap him on the back. “I’m Cody. First base. Congrats.”
Milo breathes a sigh of relief. “Yeah. Thanks.”
I can see him fighting the urge to tack on “I know exactly who you are,” but it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t come on too strong in the fan department.
The rest of the guys introduce themselves and though I already knew they’d be welcoming to the new guy, I’m also proud thatit’s something I didn’t have to worry about. We have a really decent group of guys, and though the team is currently under a ton of scrutiny after the trade news that broke this morning, they make it a little easier knowing their team dynamic isn’t on my list of concerns.
“Isaiah,” I say, calling over my shortstop. “Do me a favor and take care of him for me. Show him his locker stall. Make sure no one from the media is getting him to answer any questions. I’ll be back. I just need to go check on... something.”
“How’s Reese doing?” he asks quietly, his voice laced with sincerity. For being a complete goofball most of the time, he’s quick to pick up on exactly where my head is.
The guys have seen the headlines today too. They’ve all seen the names she’s been called. They’ve seen their team owner undermined publicly more than any other owner has been before.
And I hate that for her for multiple reasons, but I can’t imagine how hard it’s going to be for her to continue to run this organization with confidence, holding her head high as she walks these halls, knowing her entire staff has witnessed her name being dragged through the mud.
She’ll do it because she’s a fucking boss and has bigger balls than any other owner in the league, but I hate that she has to.
“I’m going to go find out,” I tell Isaiah.
With Milo settled with the guys, I slip out of the clubhouse and head straight upstairs for her office.
The top floor is brimming with stress. The offices are packed on this Monday afternoon.
People move from room to room. Conversations are hushed but frantic. It has my feet picking up pace to get to Reese’s office while also hoping she’s not in there. Hoping she’s not surrounded with this kind of energy today.
