Page 29 of Small Town CEO Grump

“I’m sure I will see you a lot more,” I said.

Kevin was standing beside me, waiting to see me back to my hotel. Ryan and Shanna had gone a few moments earlier since we didn’t want to all leave at the same time.

I got the rest of my things and we left.

That night when I got back into the hotel room, Shanna and I talked about how well the evening had gone.

“I am glad that I was able to do this,” she said. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

I shook my head. You don’t need to thank me! I am the one indebted to you. You were such a huge help. And did you see the pictures that were posted online? You are absolutely gorgeous.”

All of the gossip pages had posted stories about the night, and there were several pictures of Shanna and Ryan. They were all speculating as to who she was, and some even seemed to imply that she and Ryan were secretly engaged. Although she had left her engagement ring in the hotel, she had a slight tan line on her finger and some of the more salacious sites had actually zoomed in on her finger.

Shanna laughed. “Thank you. It was really fun to be that glamorous. Although the cameras were blinding.”

“I’m sure!” I said.

“One thing that surprised me, though, was how much I was able to spend time with Kevin too. We had assumed we would hardly be able to see each other at all during the night, but we actually got to spend quite a bit of time together. We were in groups, of course, but it was still so enjoyable.”

“Yeah, I just love the way it all worked out,” I said, stretching out on my bed.

My feet hurt from standing all night, and I was glad to finally be able to relax.

Shanna looked at me for a minute as if she was trying to decide if she was going to say something.

“What is it?” I asked. “You look like you have something on your mind.”

Shanna nodded. “Okay, yeah. I will say it. Are you dating Ryan?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s my boss! Why?”

“He just asked an awful lot about you, and always seemed to know exactly where you were tonight and exactly what you were up to. Basically he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling my face blush. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“There’s nothing you need to say,” Shannon said, her voice teasing. “That smile on your face says it all.”

Chapter 11

Ryan

“Thank you for being willing to coach for me this week,” Kevin said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” I answered. “It will be fun to be around the game again. And I’ll just be assisting right? The other guy will take on all of the head coaching duties?”

Kevin nodded. “Yes, he’ll cover all of the rest of that, but you’ll be there to help coach first base, and just with whatever needs to be done.”

“Perfect,” I said.

Kevin had a last-minute work trip that he needed to take, and he had asked me to help cover the baseball team for him while he was gone. We had gone out for coffee so he could give me the equipment I would need, and fill me in on all the little details. I knew that I owed him one after he had gone to the fundraiser and helped out, but I was also really looking forward to coaching.

I was so thankful that I was able to get back around the game, and that I didn’t feel any of the anger or bitterness that I used to feel about it. As I thought about it, Jenna’s face popped into my mind, and I knew that talking to her had really helped me process through everything.

The next day at work, I could hardly focus on anything because I was so excited for the game that night. I knew it was silly, and that it was just a youth baseball game, but I also felt that it was a huge step for me.

Finally, realizing that I wasn’t going to get anything done in the office, I decided to leave early so I could get ready for the game and get to the ballpark early. I shut everything down, and stopped by Jenna’s office on my way out.

I knocked on her door, and she looked up at me with a curious expression on her face. She nodded her head, indicating that I could come in.

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