Page 128 of Wild Catch
“Fine,” I say, and their amusement dies down. “I’ll write a letter.” I chug at the rest of my soda and sigh like it’s a beer instead. I take a deep, painful breath and add, “And I hate to admit it, but I’ll need help to not sound like a tool.”
“Let’s do this.” Rivera reaches for the lid to close the box nearest to him.
“Right now?” Machado blinks.
“Damn straight. Love waits for no sleep,” declares the king of the stooges.
After some logistics and a short but uncomfortable commute, I find myself on a different floor—this time my living room, surrounded by my teammates as we brainstorm on the best way I can convey my feelings for Rosalina Mena. Old school.
CHAPTER43
ROSE
“Ngh.” The incoherent cavewoman sound comes from my throat, cheek smooshed over my purple keyboard at the office. The air conditioning feels extra cold so I’m hunched over, arms around my torso trying to preserve body heat.
Or I’m just hungover and unrested. Maybe staying all night drinking and snacking and talking crap about men wasn’t my brightest idea.
Hope and Audrey felt equally garbage-y this morning and we grabbed an Uber together, but I don’t know how they’re going to peel me off this desk to get me home again at the end of the day. Or how I’m going to muster the energy to be remotely productive until then. I wonder if it’s too late to call in sick, but that would require moving as well and I am so not looking forward to that.
“Rosalina, do you have the—whoa.” My boss stops just outside my cubicle and stares at me like I have transformed into a trashcan raccoon. “What the heck happened to you?”
“Men,” is all I respond.
“Ah.” He puts his hands in his pockets. “All men or a specific one?”
“A bit of all, a lot of one.”
“My sympathies. I still need the transcript from the behind the scenes interview yesterday after the game, sorry.” He’s trying hard not to grin, the jerk.
Groaning, I use all my willpower to tear myself away from my makeshift pillow. No doubt I have key marks on my cheek. “You’ll have it between one and ten million business days.”
“Great, thanks.” He palms the threshold of my cubicle and keeps it moving to go talk with someone else.
My only decent idea of the day so far has been pouring myself a gigantic mug of coffee. I cradle the monstrosity in my hands and breathe in the steam. I know that some of the emptiness I feel is due to the hangover and the lack of sleep, but most of it is the Logan Kim-sized hole in my chest. And dude is massive. It’s shocking how he was able to worm his way to my heart even without trying, and that doesn’t speak well about me. So much for steering clear of men, and particularly of baseball players.
“Bah.” I take a sip of coffee and frown at my screen. Somehow, I’ll have to find a way to move past this again. Except there’s a massive difference.
When Ben Williams cheated on me, I swore off men who appear to be nice guys but are actually slimy.
If Logan doesn’t give us a chance, that’s it for me. I’m staying single and heartbroken the rest of my life, because there’s no getting better than him. And the heartbreak wouldn’t be for me, but for him not realizing his own worth.
“I’m so d-damn c-cold here,” I mutter, my teeth clattering but it’s not because of the cold, it’s because my eyes are raining again.
Okay, maybe I’m a bit heartbroken for myself too.
“Rose?”
Quickly, I wipe my face with the back of my cardigan sleeves and swivel on the chair to face Hope. It’s not just her, though. Audrey’s also there. I only take a second to admire the deep dark circles under both of their eyes that match mine, until I realize that this gathering is weird.
Frowning, I ask, “What are y’all doing here together?”
They glance at each other. Audrey nods at Hope, and the latter puffs her chest and stands up straighter. “We have something for you.”
“Tell me it’s more caffeine or something greasy.”
“Um, this can’t be eaten,” Hope says with a tiny Mona Lisa smile. “Or I guess it could be, but it would probably upset your stomach and it wouldn’t taste very good. Besides, it might offend whoever is sending it and?—”
Audrey nudges her with an arm none too gently. “Stop babbling and just give it to her.”
