Page 86 of The Show

“I’m fine, thank you. Just hungry.” I demonstrated this by taking a huge bite of the muffin, then realized it was almost too big to swallow. I really needed to go back to bed and start over, catch up on the sleep I’d missed the past two nights. “Anyway, tell me about yesterday. How did the meeting go?”

I’d heard a lot of it from an excitable and mostly slurring Penn at two a.m. but I wanted to hear it from a sober party.

She scooched her chair nearer. “God, it was so awkward, and I’ve been in my fair share of awkward situations, but Franklin Maypole takes the gold. None of the executives seemed to know what was going on, but they also didn’t seem to like Maypole too much either. There weren’t any tears shed when he walked out. Penn was great, though. I think he’s going to make an excellent owner. I was watching a couple of the faces of the guys in there and they were genuinely surprised he seemed to care as much as he did, and that he was so passionate about it. Not sure it’s going to be easy. Plus, there are no women there!” Her eyes widened at the admission. “Please say you’re staying! I don’t want to go back to working in a men only environment, especially as I probably know the least about baseball of anyone else there, so I need someone in my corner.”

I laughed at the panic on her face because it was hard to tell if she was being serious or not. Beulah could fight in her corner better than anyone, I imagined. “I dunno. I was supposed to be starting my own company not working for another, but I’ll probably be around for a while, least until next season anyway.”

“Thank God! So that’ll be three of us if Penn can get Marnie.”

“Who?”

“She’s Jupiter Reeves’ girlfriend or something. He said he’ll only come to The Lions if Penn manages to get her to agree to a job.” She picked up another muffin, adding a dollop of strawberry jam on top, then bit into it.

“Oh yes, he mentioned it actually. Think he’ll get her? It’s pretty romantic, isn’t it?”

Beulah looked over to Rafe who was holding Bell while deep in conversation with Murray about something. She turned back to me and lowered her voice.

“Have you ever met Jupiter Reeves?”

I shook my head with a pitiful, slightly embarrassing, sigh. “No, unfortunately. But I did see him at The Dodgers this week. Why? Tell me.”

I swear I saw her shudder.

“I thought Rafe was intense with all his tattoos and broodiness and constant need to have his own way, and he is more than enough man for me. He always will be. But put him next to Jupiter Reeves…” she shuddered again. “Jupiter Reeves brings new meaning to the wordintense, and I can’t conceive of anyone saying no to him. Imagine being the woman on the receiving end of that level of attention, to the point where he’s bargained his career against tracking you down and asking you to move to a new city just so he can see you again, because he’s pined over you since high school.” She picked up her champagne and toasted the air. “I really want to know what happened there, and can’t wait to meet her. She sounds like our kind of girl.”

I let out a loud snort followed by a bark of laughter which garnered the attention of everyone else at the table.

“Who’s our kind of girl?” asked Lauren from her seat next to Penn.

“Marnie, the one Penn is on the hunt for to make the new Director of Baseball Science,” Beulah replied.

“Is this the Jupiter Reeves’ girl?”

“Lauren, keep your goddamn voice down! His name is not to be mentioned in public!” hissed Penn sharply.

Lauren’s eyes rolled deeply, but she paid little attention to his snapping. “Jeez, Penny, paranoid much?”

“I am now everyone knows I’m shaking The Lions up, so zip it.”

Murray and Rafe let out simultaneous chuckles.

“Okay, fine…” she tutted, then picked up her champagne glass to sip - except stopped halfway. “But that reminds me, little brother, now you own this team, what’s your stance on Lowe and me dating a couple of your hot players? Assuming there are any.”

My heart stopped beating as I waited for Penn to react. Given his behavior yesterday morning after my mom turned up with more dates, or anytime I’d mentioned Jupiter Reeves this week, I prayed he wouldn’t suddenly use this as an opportunity to declare that I was already taken by him.

“What?” he snapped.

“How’d you feel about it?” she grinned, grabbing a fat strawberry from her breakfast bowl and throwing it in her mouth.

“About you and Lowe dating two of my players? You want to date one of my players?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “Thinking about it anyway. Good to have options.”

I knew he knew she was winding him up, because that’s what she always did. But what I don’t think he realized was that she was seventy-five percent serious, and if the opportunity presented itself, she would date a player. I, on the other hand, was currently too busy with the owner; the one who was currently pinning me with a stare I couldn’t read, along with similar ones from Murray and Rafe, which had me shrinking into my chair.

“What about you, Lowe? You want to date one of my players?” he asked, his head slowly tilting to one side.

Murray and Rafe looked like they were waiting for my reply with bated breath, and I was about to give it, but Penn interrupted me before I could.

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