Page 101 of Wild Pitch
Hope’s eyes are a blaze of fury as she sets them on me, and I stiffen under her scrutiny. It’s when she starts turning away that I realize she’s not angry at me, she was looking for signs of injury.
And that… is what nearly undoes me. I have to prop my shoulder against the doorframe so I don’t swoon like a teenager with a crush.
“Socci and Berger, stay with me to keep an eye on these women while the rest of security arrives,” Hope barks orders like a badass boss. “And Starr.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
She jerks her head toward the others. “Go.”
“Ah, right.” I walk around her, keeping an eye on the strange women. The stalker avoids me now, which is great. I can’t wait to never see her face ever again.
The guys suck me in among them, arms surrounding me like a shield. I glance over my shoulder, where Hope has her arms folded as she glares at the strangers.
I’m not embarrassed that she had to rescue me, even though the expectation on men is that we never need rescuing. I just wish none of this had happened so she shouldn’t feel as upset as she looks.
CHAPTER 33
HOPE
Silence reigns in the staff room after the game. We’re all sitting around a massive table, coaching staff, trainers, other people from the operations back office, and even legal. Rob Beau sits at the helm as the manager of the team, but even he seems stumped for words.
It’s like maybe this is the first time in their lives that all these men realize that yes, men can get sexually harassed to. The world can also be scary to them.
I wish I could tell them all the times I have—from randos telling me to smile while I’m winded after an hour of jogging, to a guy giving me a weird look in the line to pay for my groceries, and then having to wait until he leaves so he doesn’t see what car I drive, to the drunk assholes at nightclubs who think that dancing is an invitation for them to get handsy.
I expel a harsh breath that invites the attention of a few of them, including Beau. He levels his sharp eyes on me as he scratches his cheek, and finally tips his head in acknowledgment.
“Garcia,” he starts with his scratchy voice. “I want to thank you for your heroic actions tonight. We are truly fortunate to have you as part of our staff.”
I swallow hard and blink even harder because my eyes start to prickle. These are words I never thought I’d hear in an organization that has never seemed to appreciate me.
Clearing my throat, I say, “My job is to look out for the players and that’s what I did.”
“You went above and beyond. You acted when the rest of us couldn’t find how, and you were very clever about it.” For the first time in my life I see Rob Beau smile like the sweet Black grandpa he is to his family, and not as the brilliant yet stoic manager he is to the team. “Taking off your shirt that says staff and not security won’t give them any grounds to file a claim against you.”
Socci nods to his left. “That really was a stroke of genius.”
“But—” here Beau pauses to give me A Look, “—I hope there is no next time so you can always keep your shirt on.”
Someone coughs. They start looking away. Heat crawls up my throat.
Yeah, I also can’t believe I did that. But it wasn’t like I had a SECURITY shirt lying around nearby that I could change into while the creeps kept groping Cade. I just took one look at his pale face, his throwing arm raised high to protect it, and instinct kicked in.
And that instinct was to protecthimat all costs.
“Now.” Beau shifts his focus on the operations people. “We need to make sure this never happens again to Starr or to any other player.”
“Of course, we are on it. While the game continued, we discussed some enhanced security measures we will take. In the meantime, we submitted footage and testimonies to the authorities to press charges.”
I nearly melt into my chair. Cade will be relieved to hear about this. I bet he’s going to be a typical guy and pretend like this was no biggie, but it’s a biggie.
The operations guy continues, “The only testimony we’re missing is Starr’s since he went right back to the game and…”
And completely shut out the other team after that.
It’s unbelievable. If anyone had doubts about whether Cade Starr is season starter pitcher material, they’ve effectively vanished. No one would’ve faulted him for being rattled enough to let a bunch of runs through, or heck, even pull away from the game entirely. But he went right back into the rain and pitched in such a stone cold way, that the other team broke their record of whiffs, and Cade broke a personal fastball speed record. It’s almost like being upset made him play better.
Or seen from a higher level, like Cade Starr is so used to adversity that he just takes each one and sets it down like a new stepping stone on his way to greater heights.
