Page 45 of Rounding Third

“You can, but I won't let you. Just take my car, Sweets.”

“Fine. I'm coming down.” She spins on her heels and walks towards the exit. Hopefully she won't get lost.

This place is a maze. The first time I tried to go somewhere that wasn’t the locker room or team areas, I got lost and ended up in an area meant for fans after the gates were opened. Of course, I was already in my uniform too.

I was surrounded by people asking for pictures and autographs within seconds. It was one of the best, yet worst days of my life. It was so much fun meeting fans and seeing how much they loved having me on their home team, but it was exhausting. I ended up having to text Owen and ask him to send security. There was no way for me to get away from everyone and I had a game to play.

“I see you’re as protective as ever of her.” Wyatt appears at my side with a grin.

“He’s got nothing on you, Everson,” Leo chuckles from my other side.

“I think Cord was worse than me. He didn’t even give Macy a chance to meet the players before he claimed her.” Wyatt shakes his head.

“Nothing wrong with knowing what I wanted and doing whatever I had to do to keep these assholes away,” Cord calls over his shoulder. He’s walking a few steps ahead of us, but he can still hear us.

“Trust me, I’ll do anything to keep Liliana as my girl. One day, I'm going to make her my wife.”

Chapter 20

Liliana

It took me forever to find my way back to the locker room. I wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but I had to call Macy and describe where I was. It took her almost twenty minutes to find me, then she led me back to the locker room.

“Thank you! I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” I wrap her in a big hug as we stand outside of the locker room.

“You’re welcome. I’ve gotten lost here more than once. It’s like a right of passage. If you haven’t gotten lost, you probably stay in your office.” She chuckles. “Oh! Charlie and I are going out with Cici tomorrow night. We wanted to invite you to come with us. I want to hear all about this date Cici helped crash.” She wiggles her brows, making me chuckle.

“I think I'm free. Let me check with Smithy tonight, then I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good! And tell Smithy I said you’re free! You need to spend some time with the other W.A.G.S.”

“W.A.G.S.? Really?” I chuckle.

“What? It’s the wives and girlfriends of sports players.” She lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “It’s easier to call us W.A.G.S. than anything else.”

“I’ve just never heard someone use that term in real life. I’d love to hang out with you guys. Is Cici dating someone on the team?”

“Nah, she’s as single as can be. We need to change that though.”

“Definitely. I’ll let you know later tonight about tomorrow.” I wave goodbye as I step into the locker room. I’m not sure where Smithy is, but I'm sure I can find him now that I'm in the players’ area.

I peek around the locker room, but find it completely empty. I'm about to head through the door to the physical therapy area when someone calls my name. I turn towards the voice and find Owen standing in the doorway to his office.

“Do you have a moment to talk, Lils?”

“Of course.”

I follow him in and take a seat on a chair in front of his desk. He leaves the door open as he settles into his high back chair.

“I wanted to talk to you about an article. I’m wondering if you could interview Levi and write something up about him being our new coach. I need something to paint us in a good light right now. I know some of the guys are getting antsy about the negative press surrounding Stubbs. I have no doubt Danny’s going to cause problems too. He did sign an NDA though, so if he opens his mouth, I have grounds to take him to court. I believe Macy already contacted him to remind him of that.”

“I’d love to write an article about Levi joining the team and everything he wants to do, I'm just not sure my boss will let me run it.” I give him a tight-lipped smile.

“Bill Hoseman is your boss, correct?”

“Yes.”

“That guy’s a jerk. He’s been trying to tarnish my name for years. I don’t know what I ever did to him, but he’s been out to get me since I bought the Pit Bulls.” Owen shakes his head. “How many times has he tried to get you to trash my name?”

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