Page 4 of Room One Hundred and Twenty Nine

Nicholas

“Go, Bailey, go!” Ishout after she hits the ball and starts running towards first base. Bailey is not a fast woman, but she has good instincts for which base to stop at. She hit it far and gets to second base by the time they get the ball back to the pitcher.

For the last few years, I’ve been coaching an all woman’s softball team. Why they got a dude to coach an all-women’s team I don’t know. My sister is how I got the job. She organizes these softballgames and when their last coach had to stop, she called me. I think she had a baby or something.

I played baseball in high school and college so I guess that’s why she thought I could do it, even though they’re two different games.

The Sunday afternoon sun beats down on us as Bailey gets to second plate. Marsha, who was on third, is now home. I stick my hand out and she claps it as she returns to the dugout. Next to the plate is Haruko Kaswell. She came in a couple of years ago and she is something. Long dark hair, big brown eyes and a smile I swear could light up the eastern fucking seaboard. She’s perfect. She’s also my employee.

On the weekend I’m a cat owner, animal figurine collector and softball coach. On the weekdays, I work at Juniper Enterprises as one of three CEOs along with Elijah King and Parker Kincaid. Parker is my buddy from college and I met Elijah a few years after graduation.

We work in real estate and we were looking for an assistant a while ago and typically we pluck a lot of our employees from the intern pool. But we were looking for some new blood, so we opened it up to anyone qualified.

We had a lot of good people come in, but Haruko stood out. Fresh out of college, she was hungry for work. Her mother being in real estate and the fact that she seemed unfazed by three giant men at the head of a table so it was a no brainer. Well, for meit was. Elijah wasn’t convinced. He thought we needed someone older and more experienced. But Parker agreed with me.

There was one problem. I liked her. The instant she walked into the office wearing a burgundy turtleneck, grey slacks with black heels, her hair in a French twist with minimal makeup, I was hooked. Which meant I should’ve turned her away. But a part of me couldn’t do it. I was compelled to see her every day. So, we took a vote. Parker and I voted yes. So, she got the job.

After a while, we discovered a couple of things.

I’m the only one attracted to her.

I‘d seen Parker lean against her desk, being friendly as fuck. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that puts him in the friend zone. I know because I saw her shoulder punch him after a joke. Friends do that.

As for Elijah, his hesitation to hire her was more complicated. He definitely likes her, too. For him, it’s complicated because for one he’s 40 years old which is nearly twice Haruko’s age, which he could get over, but his best friend, not one of us, is her father. Simon Kaswell was Elijah’s friend in college and they’re like brothers. While I could always count on Elijah to get out of a jam, Simon was different. I think because they don’t work together, it allows them to have a different relationship.

But it’s been two years, and nothing’s happened. And nothing is likely to happen. Parker is her friend. I think she’s scared of the grumpy Elijah and I’m her coach. We’re not even near boyfriendmaterial, which is probably good. Because in the end, she’s still my—our—employee. And we don’t get to date our employees.

Honestly, her being our employee and Elijah's best friend’s daughter is only two-thirds of the problem. The last part is us. Elijah, Parker and I. Parker and I are kind of a thing. Not a romantic thing. Well, we might be, but we do everything together. Including date. Which is why we’re still single, because for most women, a foursome is nice for a good time but not a long time. Either that or they feel it’s too much. And Elijah isn’t exactly Mr. Touchy Feely either which sometimes bothers people. Thinking that he’s not interested rather than him just needing time to figure out how he feels. But he’s not our third wheel. The relationship between Parker and I is more than just friendship but Elijah is still our best friend and we do pretty much everything together.

That’s why we go to Club Sin in downtown Seattle. There, we’re more likely to meet someone who doesn’t mind three men at once. It doesn’t lead to romance, but it’s more predictable than going to a bar.

Haruko pulls back the bat and as the ball gets tossed, she shifts her hips, swings her arms and hits the ball. She takes off running, her ponytail swinging back and forth as she bolts past first base, then second and gets to third.

Fuck, she’s fast.

Haruko smiles and jumps, clapping her hands as she looks at me, pride all over her face. I give her a thumbs up and a smile,wishing I could give her a hug. But I don’t think I could touch her without wanting more. I brushed her hand once when she gave me a stack of papers to sign and it send a shiver down my spine. I had to vigorously shake my head to return to real life, where my assistant asked if there was anything else I needed. I said no, and she turned away, her ponytail bouncing and leaving me gripping my desk to keep from running after her.

Hiring her was a mistake, but it’s one we have to live with.

Karla steps to the plate, and the pitcher throws the ball. She swings her bat, and everyone cheers as Haruko gets to home plate. The other team fumbles around with the ball so Karla gets a home run and we win the game.

“Woohoo!” the women cheer as they get into a group hug.

I take off my baseball hat and push my hair back before slipping it back on. The coach of the other team comes to shake my hand.

“Good game,” she says, and I nod.

“Sure was.” The next thing I know, I’m being hugged by nine cheering women.

I accept their hug as well as I can, given that there are nine of them. I give Karla a rub on the head before clapping her back as the hug breaks and they go to the stands where their friends and family are watching.

The women on this team range from college students to full-time professionals. These are fun games we do on weekends, so if they can hit a ball and run, they can join. Karla is the youngest at twenty and Tanya is the oldest at thirty. All different shapes and sizes and abilities.

It’s so much nicer than when I was playing baseball. The pressure of winning and how stupid we were as teenage boys makes me cringe now I’m grown man. I like this better. We play for fun and try to win. If we don’t, that’s cool. As long as we have fun, that’s what’s important. It’s as simple as that.

I try not to stare at Haruko as she bends to get a water bottle from her backpack.

Damn, she’s so fucking pretty.

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