Page 72 of Vegas Heat

Surely Troy can feel the tension in the air, but if he does, he’s good at acting like he doesn’t.

I was planning to ride with Troy to the stadium, but I can’t sit in a car with the two of them and act like this is normal. “I’m meeting a friend a little later, so I’ll just take off from the ballpark if that’s okay,” I say to Troy.

He nods. “Just follow me in and I’ll tip off security that you’re with me.”

We head outside, and I slip into my truck, muttering curses to myself once I’m alone. He and Gabby get into his Bentley, and I follow at a safe distance because the thought of rear-ending his precious luxury vehicle makes me nervous the entire way there.

It’s only an eight-minute drive. Ten from my new place.

And when we pull into the player lot, I feel an odd sense of peace. I realize Gabby’s in the car in front of me. I park far away from the two of them, draw in a deep breath, and tell myself that I’ll get some time alone in this stadium today. I’ll get some time to soak it in away from her. It’s a promise I have to make to myself.

I head toward Troy’s car as they get out, and we walk together into the front offices.

Well…sort of.

I let her walk with her father, and I walk a few paces behind as I try to take it all in and enjoy it separate from them.

Troy introduces us to the receptionist in the lobby, and then he leads us through the offices, pointing out various team members on the way. Eventually I’ll learn all their names. I used to pride myself on knowing every member of the grounds crewand security all the way up to the executives by first name. I’ll get there.

The first wing houses the executive offices, where Troy introduces us to the people who are in today. We meet some employees in ballpark operations, player operations, finance, community affairs, and administration.

We get to the General Manager’s office, and it’s more of an introduction for Gabby than for me considering I’ve met the man tapped as GM for this team several times.

“Mike Perry,” he says by way of introduction, shaking Gabby’s hand, and then he zeroes in on me. “Welcome to the team, Noah.” He gives me the kind of hug where he pounds me on the back, and I slap his back, too. He’s another guy in this business I’d consider an old friend, and I realize in that moment how much baseball has become a family to me.

He played for the Rockies a number of years with Troy, and while most GMs manage the roster and front office personnel while team managers manage the players, I can already tell the two of them will be making a lot of decisions as a unit. That can only mean good news for the team.

I’m introduced to the scouting director, Pete Holt, the man who will officially draft our new team members when November rolls around.

The owners’ offices are empty, except for one. “The owners are a three man team. Dave Shapiro, a local businessman, owns forty percent. Actor Victor Bancroft, a good buddy of mine, owns another forty percent.”

“And the final twenty?” I ask.

Troy grins broadly and pounds a fist on his chest. “You’re looking at him.”

I raise a brow. “Good for you, man.” It’s rare, but it has happened before where the team manager is also part owner ofthe team. I suppose that gives them an entirely different sort of stake in wanting to win.

We head back through the huge loop of wings and offices, and we take a detour into the marketing department.

“Joanie,” Troy says as he knocks on the office door.

She glances up from her computer and when she looks at Troy, I have the sneaking suspicion she is, in fact, the woman in his life.

“Mr. Bodine,” she practically purrs. “Lovely to see you again.”

“And you,” he says, his voice husky. “This is my daughter, Gabriella.” He puts his arm around Gabby and pulls her close to his side. “And this is Cooper Noah.” He nods to me, and I stride over and reach across her desk to shake her hand. “He’s our man on third.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say.

“He’s also the one who wanted to talk with you about a sponsorship, and I have a few ideas on that,” Troy says.

“Come on in,” Joanie says, motioning for the three of us to step into her office. Her phone rings, and she moves to answer it as she nods at a round table with six chairs around it. “Send her over,” she says to whoever is on the other end of the line. “And can you send up Justin Larson as well?”

Troy and Gabby sit, and I take a seat across the table from Gabby so I don’t have to worry about bumping my knee against hers or smelling her warm vanilla or in general being distracted by her at this meeting.

Joanie walks over with a pad of paper and a pen, and she sits beside Troy. “Justin is one of our interns, and he’s a really smart and creative young man. I think he’d be great on a project like this.”

“While I’m here, I’d like to chat about finding a spot for Gabriella here as an intern. I like the idea of the general internship program for her. She’s a marketing major at UNLV,and I think there are plenty of opportunities in marketing and community affairs,” Troy says, and my heart drops down into my stomach as I can fucking predict exactly where this is going. “Cooper wants to run a sponsorship for the kids’ program in conjunction with StrongFitKids, and I think Gabriella would be a great fit to work on that project. I love the idea of having her work closely with Cooper. He’s a stand-up kind of man, someone I trust to be a great mentor to her.”

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