Page 2 of Houston, We Have a Problem
I wish I had an actual answer, but I don’t. “Because you know how much I love baseball?”
“Because I have never seen anyone better at leaving their baggage at the door than you,” Connor says pointedly. “I know you hate some of the assignments I give you, but I always know I can count on you to get to the heart of the story without letting your own opinions get in the way. Tamlin Park is one of the best things to ever happen to Enhance Media, and I don’t say that lightly.”
Tamlin Park. She’s the only thing separating me from going back to being an assistant, and I know it. Without her, I never would have gotten in front of a camera, and I can’t hate her for letting me do a job that I love. I may hate the career-ruining stories, but Connor always gives me a good story in between to cleanse my palate.
In fact, those more lighthearted stories have become more frequent as of late, which has me wondering if I might have a chance to change up the pattern soon. I probably shouldn’t be fighting Connor so much on this when it’s company policy, but…
“So, there’s really no chance of telling the story as Darcy instead of Tamlin?”
Connor rolls his eyes and clicks on his computer. “No, but I’ll tell you what. The next time you give an exposé on illegaldrug use in the NFL and get two dozen players kicked out of the league, I’ll let you do the story as yourself. You know self-defense, right?”
“Okay, fine, you’ve made your point. I’ll go find myself a makeup tech.”
I’m at the door before Connor says, “Oh, and Darcy?”
“Yeah?”
He gives me the kind of smile that seems to make his eyes twinkle. It’s the smile that tells me I’m going to like what I’m about to hear. “We’ve set up an interview with Houston Briggs. I’ve got a hunch there’s something there, so show me what you’ve got.”
I can’t hide the grin that spreads across my face, even after I make my way down the hall to see who’s available to come with me as my makeup tech tomorrow. Houston Briggs? He’s the top starting pitcher for the Sun City Red-tails, one of the teams in the Series, and I can’t remember the last time he did an interview with Enhance. For some reason, he’s fairly interview-shy nowadays despite being one of the best players in the game right now. That could easily mean he has something to hide, like Connor seems to think.
I wonder what Connor is hoping I’ll find. Briggs has always been intriguing to me in the same way I have a weird fascination with nature documentaries that depict hunting scenes with all their carnage. I’m not sure if he’s the predator or the prey in this scenario, but I have a feeling something’s going to die.
Houston Briggs may seem perfect on the outside, but there’s no way he’s that good both on and off the field. Whatever Briggs is hiding, I’ll find it.
Chapter Two
Houston
October 14
Bottom of the ninth. Basesare loaded. Zero outs. Batter has two strikes. We’re ahead by one. This pitch could end the game for good or bad. The crowd roars, lights hum, and my heartbeat pulses in my ears. Lars Jensen is at home plate, bat at the ready and a murderous glare in his eyes. He’s the Burrs’ best batter, and I can see in his eyes that he’s determined to knock whatever I throw at him out of the park.
My fingers tense around the ball, shifting the threads exactly where I like them. My shoulder throbs, but I ignore it. Can’t show any weakness. It’s Game Six of the World Series, and the Sun City Red-tails are ahead of the Oklahoma Burrs. Three games to two.
One throw, and this could all be over. If we lose, we’ll have to play another game and potentially lose the Series.
I glance at Hopkins on first base and get a nod. Behind the mound, Badir signals a slider, which historically Jensen can’t hit worth crap. It’s not my best pitch, but it’s probably our best chance at ending this thing.
I take a deep breath, adjusting the ball in my left hand. This is it.
The energy of the stadium changes as I wind up, and the whole place seems to grow still as I release, the ball flying exactly where I want it to. Jensen tenses, shifts, swings. The ball collides with the bat, the sound hitting me in the chest, but it flies high as Jensen takes off running.
Ortiz catches the ball and throws to Hopkins, who misses the guy leaving first base but doesn’t hesitate to throw instead. The ball flies to third base just before the runner reaches it andthen straight to Badir, who catches the final runner before he can slide home to safety.
My breath slides out of me as the crowd goes wild. The Red-tails storm the field as the victory sets in, my teammates screaming and crying and tackling each other as they surround me.
I’m supposed to share their joy, and I do, but now that the adrenaline is wearing off, the pain seeps in more strongly. My shoulder burns from pitching another full game, as if I need the reminder that I’m not nineteen anymore. I should have been subbed out around inning six, and I’m already regretting my own stubbornness.
Hopkins and Badir grab me, lifting me up on their shoulders and forcing me to plaster on a smile because now the cameras can see me. As long as they can’t see the pain, I’m fine.We won. I focus on that as much as I can.We won the World Series.
The next half an hour passes in a blur as the team’s owner accepts the Series trophy. Thankfully the pain dulls as my arm cools and I can start to enjoy the win. It’s only the second time the Red-tails have gone this far in the championships, but we’ve never lost a Series, and that’s a big deal. Players will start getting more sponsorships, better paychecks, more playing time. This is everything we could hope for as a team, and the excitement is palpable.
So, why am I glad when my agent pulls me from the crowd?
“Enhance Media wants an interview,” he says, hardly looking up from his phone as he leads me to the news tent. Alan Roundy is a beast of an agent, and despite his outward inattentiveness, he’s had my back from day one, when I got recruited after my sophomore year of college. He’s got some big names on his roster, but I like to think I’m his favorite.
Case in point: he got me a spot with Enhance. The news site is the biggest sports media company in the country, and they can make or break an athlete’s career depending on how they spin a story. They can be brutal, but they can also be the best thing to ever happen to one of us.
