Page 4 of Play Along

Her shoulders, which were up by her ears, settle back into place. “Oh.”

Unlocking the door, I swing it inward until she comes into full view.

Black leggings hug every inch of her toned legs. A dark gray quarter-zip bunches around her elbows, finishing with perfectly clean white sneakers on her feet. Her freckles continue down her forearms and ankles, making me believe her pale skin is painted in them.

Polished for wearing athletic gear. And pretty. So, so pretty.

Her tone is less intimidating when she asks, “How much of my shitty day did you overhear?”

Meeting her at the sink, I rest my hip on the counter and face her. “I heard your conversation in the hallway with Dr. Fredrick. I came back in here so he wouldn’t see me.”

“Oh.” She nods, eyes pulled away from me. “So, all of it.”

“We should talk to HR, or I can talk to the field manager, Monty. He can take it to the team owner—”

“No. No, I don’t want to say anything. This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with a sexist boss. I’m a woman working in sports, after all.”

I pause. “Boss? So you’re taking the job?”

“I don’t—” She freezes, eyes examining my entire body. I tower over her with my 6’4” build, but wearing my normal clothes, I don’t uniquely stand out. “Who are you?”

It’s then I realize she has no idea that I’m the starting shortstop for the team she may potentially work for, and I have every intention to use my unknown identity to my advantage.

“Right now, I’m simply someone to talk to. You said you needed to talk.”

There’s this untrusting question in her eye as she attempts to assess me, but the need to work through her predicament outweighs any suspicion she has towards me.

“I can’t get a job anywhere in professional sports.” Her admission hangs in the air for a moment. “It doesn’t matter that I graduated at the top of my class at Columbia. It doesn’t matter that the doctors I did my residency under sing my praises when called for my references. It doesn’t matter that I was the youngest person to become Lead Doctor at a division one school with national championship winning athletic programs. No, none of that matters because I have two tits and a vagina.”

My eyes go wide at her candor.

“Oh my God.” She grimaces before covering her face with her right hand. “I can’t believe I just told a complete stranger that I have two tits.”

“I would’ve been a lot more impressed if you said you had three.”

She peeks through her fingers, and I plaster on my most mischievous smirk. Those glossed-over eyes are nowhere to be found when her hand slips off her face, revealing a sheepish smile.

Sheepish, yes. But a smile, nonetheless.

I hold out my hand to shake hers. “Isaiah.”

She returns the gesture. “Kennedy.”

“Well, Kennedy, now that I’m no longer a stranger, tell me more about these two tits of yours.”

She tries to bite back her smile, but this time it’s big and genuine, attempting to break through. “I’m going to carry that one with me for a while, aren’t I?”

“Absolutely.” I cock my head to the side. “I thought I heard your name was Kenny?”

She chuckles, this beautiful but somewhat self-conscious sound. “No one has ever called me Kenny. I just adopted that name after I received six different denial letters when I used the name Kennedy.”

“Well, Kenny—”

“No—”

“Talk me through the job offer.”

She huffs an exhausted breath. “I’ve been trying to get into professional sports since I finished my residency. My goal is to be a lead team doctor one day, but I haven’t been able to get my foot in the door anywhere. Guys that I went to school with, that barely graduated and have much poorer references than me, are getting jobs that I’m applying for. So, when I got offered the position to be the second doctor here, I jumped on it. I packed my things and moved into a building in downtown Chicago this past weekend. Dr. Fredrick and I have only spoken via email because he was taking time off during the off-season. My references must not have alluded to the fact I’m a woman, I’m not sure. But this morning, when I introduced myself to him, he immediately rescinded the job offer.”

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