Page 4 of Houston, We Have a Problem
This ismyworld, and I won’t let her take it from me.
Calling on every media training I’ve ever had, I fix on a smile and look directly at the camera, knowing I am going to regret this in the morning. “Old? I’m just getting started, baby.” And then I wink and walk off, ignoring the pained look Roundy gives me as he follows me out of the tent and back to the clubhouse.
But I can feel his words itching to get out.
“Don’t say it,” I growl, tucking my hat a little lower over my face. I know it’s pointless, with my name stitched across my back, but it would still be nice to hide. I don’t want anyone else trying to pull me into an interview after that sixty-second nightmare.
Roundy ignores my warning. “Remember that time I told you that it’s a good idea to keep your head down until you’ve made a decision?” He says that as if he’s only mentioned it once instead of every day for the last three months.
Pausing in an empty corner of the field, I make sure we’re completely alone before I risk saying anything. “I’ve already made the decision. You know that.”
I can feel Roundy’s eye roll as much as I see it, and he actually puts his phone away for this, which means he’s being completely serious right now. “Are you sure about that? Because you have yet to tell anyone that decision. Me included. Besides, you just told the whole country that you’re still in the game when we both know that isn’t true.”
As if I needed the added argument, my shoulder twinges. Tamlin was mostly right when she’d said I was tired in the eighth inning. What she didn’t know was how tired I was before the game even started. I came dangerously close to getting pulled based on the looks the field manager, Hiroshi, was giving me halfway through the game, and that has me more worried thananything. I haven’t been subbed out all season, something that’s basically unheard of.
That’s never going to happen again.
I have a couple of months to rest and recover before next season, but even if I were to look into surgery in the interim, I’m not so sure my arm has another season in it. I don’t even know if it has anothergame. Baseball has been my life for the last fifteen years, and without it…
Without it, my life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.
“This probably goes without saying,” Roundy mutters, looking back toward the press tent, “but steer clear of Tamlin Park.”
I laugh. “Why? We hit it off so well.”
“If anyone’s going to figure out you’re at the end of your game, she is.” Roundy has never done well with sarcasm, but he’s right. Despite being fairly new on the scene, Tamlin has never done anything by halves.
I rub my shoulder, the burning sensation almost familiar now. “It’s going to come out sooner or later,” I mutter, though it’s not like I need to tell him that.
“I know. But if you let Tamlin Park get her hands on that story, you’re going to be out more than a job. She’ll find a way to make it some sort of scandal.”
He’s right. I know he’s right. But as my eyes trail back to the tent, I can’t help but wonder why she would come after me, of all people. She’s so good at exposing dirty players and corrupt management. I’ve done my best to be as clean as they come, so why me?
No matter her reasons, Tamlin Park is dangerous. And I won’t go anywhere near her.This is my world.
I just worry it won’t be for much longer.
Chapter Three
Darcy
October 16
“He’s not going to crack.”I say that to Connor as forcefully as I can, not because I believe it—everyone cracks eventually—but because I really don’t want to go head-to-head with Houston Briggs again after that unhelpful interview.
It’s bad enough with athletes Iknoware dirty. Ruining their lives always makes me feel dirty by association. Or maybe causation. But Briggs? He’s like the golden boy of sports. Never been arrested, never made it in the tabloids for drugs or partying, doesn’t even have a speeding ticket. (Yes, I checked.) I don’t know why Connor is so determined to find some mysterious story, but I really don’t want to be the one to tell it when Briggs hasn’t done anything worth this much attention. And yet, something about my incredibly short interview caught Connor’s attention, which is why he is determined to get me another chance with Briggs. A chance I don’t want.
It’s too bad Connor has never reassigned a story just because someone “wasn’t feeling it.” My alter ego is known for being ruthless, and that’s not something Connor will give up lightly, no matter how much I hate it.
Connor rubs his temple, eyes closed as he sits in his chair and contemplates my argument. I hope he believes me and moves on from Briggs, but I’m not feeling very lucky today. I saw not one but two black cats on my way to the bus stop, and one of them watched me with its beady little eyes, like it was warning me that it might cross my path in the near future.
“You’re right,” Connor says eventually, and my breath catches. I am? But then he keeps talking. “Briggs is never going to give a reporter the insider scoop on his career unless it’s acalculated move on his part, and that agent of his is one of the best. He’s probably got Briggs locked up tight now when it comes to media appearances. There’s no way Tamlin can get what we need out of him.”
I never thought I would be so glad to lose such a big story, but I am. I could kiss Connor if he wasn’t my boss. And if that wasn’t a terrible way to thank someone who is happily married with four kids.
“I’ll find a new story,” I say, rising to my feet and tempted to fist pump as soon as I’m out of sight.
“Oh, you’re not done with Briggs,” Connor says, halting my steps. He’s got his editor voice turned on, which makes me nervous. He only gets that excited rise in pitch and confidence when he thinks he’s on to something. “I know there’s something he’s hiding, and Enhance will be the one to tell the nation the story. But it won’t be Tamlin who gets the scoop. It’ll be Darcy.”
