Page 45 of Play Along

“I won’t keep you long,” Arthur Remington says, holding up his hand. “I want to wish you all luck today. I’m looking forward to yet another successful season for us here in Chicago. This is my forty-second season as the owner of the Windy City Warriors, and I couldn’t be prouder of the group in this room. But before this year officially begins, I wanted to make an announcement that this season will be my last.”

Isaiah and I find each other for a brief moment again.

“Next year, my granddaughter, Reese, will be taking over as team owner for our family.” He holds his hand out, gesturing to a woman who I assume to be his granddaughter.

She’s beautiful. Mid-thirties if I had to guess. Short blonde hair, full body, and dressed to the nines. Bombshell in every sense of the word.

But more importantly, she’s a woman.

A woman is about to run this entire organization.

Another woman in a male-dominated field.

Part of me wishes I were going to be around next year to see it.

“I’ll miss seeing you all every day and being here at the field, but I’m looking forward to passing our family legacy down to my granddaughter.”

The room collectively gives a polite clap and Reese simply holds her hand up in greeting.

“You’ll be seeing her a lot more than me this season. In preparation for taking over, she’s going to be stepping in where I haven’t been able to be as present. That includes both home and away games. She’ll be traveling with you all this year and reporting back to me, so when you see her around, just treat her as you’d treat me.”

Hold up.

Traveling with us?

I find Isaiah again, expecting to catch a look of horror on his face to match mine, but he’s just standing there, hands in his pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face.

He knows as well as I do that simply saying we’re married isn’t going to be enough. Now, with constant eyes on us, we’re going to have to fake this entire thing.

Chapter 9

Isaiah

Watching Kennedy scarf down the sandwich I made her gave me an instant hard-on.

So did the little moan that came from her throat mid-bite when she didn’t think anyone was watching her eat in the corner of the training room.

Kennedy has always worked hard—it’s one of the things I admire most about her—but this week she’s been moving at a different pace. Maybe it’s because she’s excited to be back to work, but in my gut, I just know that Kennedy’s increased hours are due to Dr. Fredrick making her job harder than usual.

Of course I don’t want her to leave, but I could see her work life being a whole lot easier if and when she lands that job in San Francisco. She’d be her own boss, with staffers reporting to her.

The sun beats down on me as soon as I’m out of the clubhouse, and I can’t describe how incredible it feels to be back in this uniform and on this field. Springtime screams baseball to me and I’m lucky enough to spend my life playing a game I love. Even better, I get to do it on the same field as my brother and my two best friends. How could someone in my position not be absolutely stoked to go to work?

It doesn’t hurt that I get to see the stunning redhead I married while I’m here either.

I’m in the dugout, checking on my box for my batting gloves and helmet, when I hear her name.

“Kennedy, you’re on hydration today.”

My attention snaps to Dr. Fredrick because there’s no way in hell he just told Kennedy, a woman who’s as educated as him and in the running for his exact position with a different team, that she’s essentially the water girl for today’s game.

Not to mention we have an eighteen-year-old intern here for that exact purpose. He’d probably piss himself at the opportunity to fill our water bottles.

“Got it,” Kennedy says without showing her disappointment.

“Sanderson—”He turns to our other athletic trainer. Our male athletic trainer. “You and I will be working on the bench and Will”—the second doctor he hired the season after he didn’t give Kennedy the job—“you’ll work both the clubhouse and bullpen.”

“Why?” The question comes out of my mouth before I can stop it.

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