Page 214 of Vegas Heat

She lifts a shoulder as she raises her brows. “Let’s see who rushes over, shall we?”

I laugh and shake my head. She’s got a point, though—if the others aren’t willing to drop whatever they’re doing to come in on short notice, then do they really deserve a full-time position here after all?

Likely not. This sort of career isn’t just ajob. It’s a lifestyle, and I’m already living it.

The others…they’re just not. They’re living as college students working an internship, but I’ve got different stakes in the game than they do.

It’s not that my father is the manager or that his future bride is the marketing director. It’s not even that I’m hot and heavy with the third baseman, though some combination of those things are what landed me here.

I want the job, and I think I want it more than the others do.

It’s that Iwantthis to be my lifestyle. I want itmorethan the other interns dobecauseof how I landed here. I want to learn everything about the game. I want to watch film and get to know the strengths of every player. I want to film behind the scenes footage and brag about how the Heat are the best team in the league. I want to travel with the team and show the world what it’s like. I want to be a part of this organization.

Do I have advantages? Certainly. And I’d be stupid not to use them.

“Dowehave a float?” I ask.

Joanie’s brows draw together. “We have three double decker buses for the players.”

“No, not the players,” I say, shaking my head. “Not the coaching staff, either. I meanus.” I wave my hand betweenJoanie and me. “The marketing department. The front office staff. The interns.”

She sighs as she looks down at her desk. “I mean…no. It’s a great idea, but it’s not a necessity and I should really get back to your dad.”

We both turn toward the door when we hear a knock on it. “Then it’s a good thing you ran into me.”

I smile broadly at Justin. “You have experience with floats?”

“Oh, not only do I haveexperiencewith floats, I was president of my high school’s student council, and I oversaw the mostepicfloat to ever grace the football field at Sunrise Academy’s Homecoming Game.” He raises both brows arrogantly, and he steps into the office as both Joanie and I laugh.

“Joanie, can we get into the swag closet?” he asks.

She narrows her eyes at him. “How do you know about the swag closet?”

He laughs. “I may play dumb, but I’m a good listener.” He winks, and she grabs a key off her keyring. “You know where it is?”

He nods. “Am I free to take what I want from it?”

She nods. “Sure, but first you need to organize and inventory the stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. I had it on the list for next week, but it looks like it’s not happening.”

“Oh, it’s happening. I’ll get it donetoday,” Justin promises.

“What’s the swag closet?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

“It’s a storage room downstairs near the clubhouse where we house giveaway items and decorations for events. Some stuff is still on order, and I’ve gotten some new deliveries down there but haven’t had time to go through them,” she says.

“Then it’s a good thing you have a team of interns. You got this up here?” I ask, and she nods. “I’ll be back.” I head down tothe swag room with Justin, and we discover a room filled with shelving units and boxes stacked on top of each other.

It’s a little chaotic, a little disorganized, and filled with stuff we can use to make our float.

“My dad has a large trailer we can decorate.” He walks to a far wall where a bunch of boards are stacked, and he reaches between them. “I saw these the other day.” He unrolls long clings with the Heat logo on them and holds them up to show me.

“Oh my God, Justin. This is perfect!”

He grins. “I know! And we can toss these at the people in the crowd.” He pulls a box down and shows me a whole bunch of mini stress balls in the shape of baseballs with the team logo on them.

“You mean toss themtothe people in the crowd, right?”

He shrugs. “Potato, po-tah-to.” He winks at me, and I get the mental image of him whipping balls at unsuspecting fans. “I’ll be good. Promise.”

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