Page 19 of Small Town CEO Grump

I knew that I would enjoy spending time with him, but I was even happier to know that he wanted to spend time with Tyler. Tyler had not stopped talking about Ryan since we got back from our trip to New York, and I knew he would be thrilled to go and get dessert tonight.

“Perfect,” Ryan said. “I’ll see you there.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

As I walked out of the building I realized that Jack had been in the office right next to where Ryan and I were talking. He was furiously texting on his phone, and I was pretty certain that by the next morning everyone in the office would have heard that Ryan was coming to watch my son play baseball and then take us out for dessert.

As I got into my car I realized that although I was annoyed to have people talking about me, I was more excited about the night and realized that spending time with Ryan was worth becoming fodder for gossip.

Chapter 7

Ryan

I grabbed my chair out of the back of my car and headed towards the fields. I was looking forward to seeing my friend and watching Tyler play, but I was mostly looking forward to spending time with Jenna.

I realized that I had developed a crush on her, but I also knew that I would never act on it. I figured that there was no harm in spending time with her.

I walked into the park, waved to my friend, and then went and took my place next to Jenna. She immediately put her book away and smiled at me. It was good to know that she was truly happy that I was there, rather than simply putting up with me.

“Hello,” I said, settling into my chair.

“Hello,” she responded. “How have you been these past couple of hours?”

I could hear a bit of a flirtatious tone in her voice, and I loved it.

“It’s been life-changing,” I answered, trying to keep a straight face. “I think it may possibly be world-changing.”

Jenna laughed. “Excellent. I’ll be watching the news for updates.”

“Is he playing second again tonight?” I asked, watching the team finish their warmups in the field.

Jenna nodded. “Yes. He’s been working on pitching, but Coach told him he needs to get a bit more speed on his throws before he will have him pitch in a game.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “Some of that speed will naturally come as he gets older, but there’s things that he can work on even now to make sure he is getting the most out of his throws. The main thing that he needs to keep in mind is to make sure that he is using his legs, and make sure that he gets a complete follow through.”

“Great advice! I’ll pass that along to him,” Jenna said. “I know how to teach him middle infield, but I don’t know how to help him with pitching. I pitched a bit when I was younger, but the mechanics for pitching in softball are much different than the mechanics for pitching a baseball.”

“Any time. You know, if you want, and if he’s interested, I could go out and work with him sometime,” I offered.

Jenna looked surprised. “You would be willing to do that?”

“Sure, why not?” I asked.

“I guess it just seemed to me that you didn’t like to talk too much about the intricacies of the game. I mean, you’re obviously willing to be around it, but whenever the conversation gets too specific you tend to shy away,” she said, simply.

I knew that she was right. I looked at her for a minute, trying to decide if I could trust her with the truth. She made eye contact with me and gave me a slight smile, and I knew that I was safe.

“You’re right,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know how much I told you about my baseball experience.”

“Only that you played center field for Penn State, and that an injury ended your career,” she answered. “And that’s all I really know. I have seen the memorabilia in your office, but I haven’t examined it closely.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the basics of where I played. I played all growing up, and I started at the varsity level all four years in high school.”

“So you were always good?” she asked, simply.

“Yes,” I replied. I knew it was pointless to deny it. “There were a few major league teams that were interested in me right out of high school, but I had better offers from colleges and I decided to go to Penn State. I was expected to enter the Major League draft my junior year, and there was a lot of talk that I would be chosen pretty quickly. Unfortunately I blew out my knee, and it all ended.”

“Heartbreaking,” Jenna said, gently placing her hand on my arm. “I am so sorry.”

---