Page 2 of Rounding Third

She knows I'm a reporter and she barely knows me. She has no reason to trust me and I can't blame her for that. I’d never twist her words to spin a story the way I want it to sound. I’ve watched bad articles come out about Smithy over the years and I know the type of impact that can have on a person’s life and career.

That’s why I'm here today. I know what Stubbs did to Charlie and Wyatt. I know he’s trying to shed a bad light on them, and I don’t want that to happen. From what Smithy’s said, Owen’s an amazing team owner and doesn’t deserve to have his name drug through the mud. It’s my job to help the world know what’s really going on.

“This is off the record, Macy. I get it. I'm the reporter and most of us are scum. I promise I'm not interested in ruining the Pit Bulls or anyone here. I met Stubbs a handful of times and he was such a piece of shit. I'm happy to help take him down, but only him. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Smithy. He means too muchto me.” I lower myself back into the chair and wait. She clearly wants to talk, even if she’s hesitant.

She nods her head and sucks in a deep breath. She blows it out slowly as she settles back into her chair and gets comfortable.

“Owen values his good employees. He’ll go above and beyond to help if you treat him with respect. He’s not just the bosshole everyone paints him as. Can he be a bosshole? Absolutely. But that’s not entirely him. He’s made this place feel like a family and I'm honored to have a place in it.”

“Damn, I wish I could find a position here.” I chuckle and shake my head. I hate my job, but there aren’t many people looking for a female sports reporter. “My boss is a jerk and I swear he wants to make my life miserable. He hates Owen and he keeps encouraging me to find out as much as I can about the team and write a big article on it.”

“Are you going to?” Macy’s brows raise and her eyes widen. I'm sure she’s terrified I'll do anything to keep my boss happy, but I won’t.

I can't blame her, she’s the head of public relations here. I'm sure she’s thinking of all the things Smithy might’ve told me over the years and how I could ruin the Pit Bulls franchise easily if I wanted to.

“No,” I say softly. “I’d never do anything to hurt Smithy or jeopardize his life and future. I don’t care if it would help my career. I don’t want to be that person. I want to be a reporter people can actually trust.”

“You care about him.” She watches me carefully.

“Of course.”

“As more than a friend,” she says slowly. She can tell I feel more than friendship for Smithy and I don’t really have the energy to fight that right now. Hell, maybe she can be someone I could talk to about this. She’s trusting me with information about her boyfriend’s family, I can trust her a little bit.

“It doesn’t really matter how much I care about him,” I whisper. “We’ll always be friends and nothing more.”

“Is that his doing or yours?” She pushes a little harder. I narrow my eyes on her and she holds up her hand with a chuckle. “Nothing you say is leaving this office. I’m just nosy and I love Smithy. He seems… broken though.”

“He is, but I'm working on putting him back together.”

“I hope he knows how lucky he is to have you.”

I open my mouth to respond, but someone knocks on the door. I glance over my shoulder and find Smithy’s face pressed against the small window of the door.

Macy rolls her eyes and motions for him to come in. She’s smart, if she doesn’t let him come in, he’s going to keep annoying us until we acknowledge him.

“You didn’t tell me you were going to be here.” He ignores Macy and focuses on me. “Lils, I haven’t seen you in forever.” He tugs me out of my chair and gathers me into his arms. He hugs me like we haven’t seen each other in years, not days.

“I saw you two days ago,” I squeal as he lifts me into the air and spins me in a circle.

“That’s like a lifetime. I told you, I need my daily fix of Sweets.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” I say sarcastically. I roll my eyes, but I can't hide the massive smile he brings out every time he’s around.

“You should be. My performance on the field was affected today because of it.”

“I'm sure you’re fine.” I pat him on the chest and grin up at him.

“Oh, I'mfine. All the ladies know that.” Smithy’s smile widens, showing off his dimples.

“Does anyone actually like this side of you?”

“The sexy one? The flirty one? Which one, Lils? I have a lot of sides and some are nicer than others. Some are really impressive too.” He wiggles his brows, tugging me closer against his body.

“Stop it,” I say softly as my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I place my hands on his chest and gently push him away. He loves to embarrass me and flirt, but I hate it. It gives me a little hope something could eventually work out between us and I'm just not sure that’s true.

Something flashes in Smithy’s eyes before he slips behind a mask with an easy smile. It’s a role he’s comfortable with and the one he goes to when he doesn’t know what else to do.

“You definitely have the most impressive abs on the team.” Macy winks at him, making a genuine smile spread across his face.

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