Page 62 of Buried Treasure
Chapter 21
When they went to the arena, Lucy insisted on driving so she could use the parking pass Ryan had given them. Plus, it would make it harder for Sydney to back out of the plan to actually talk to Andy. It once again proved why Lucy was such a good lawyer, and how she could negotiate anyone to think her way. It was annoying to be her friend sometimes, but it set Sydney's mind at ease knowing that Lucy was her lawyer. A lawyer who could successfully argue in favor of a Pirates VIP parking pass was a lawyer you wanted by your side.
So with the game over, Lucy left Sydney to wander through the underworld of the arena before she finally found the friends and family lounge. The room had a few leather sofas and some tables set up with food and pop. Kids were running around chasing after each other while family and girlfriends sat around talking. Sydney recognized Andy's ex-girlfriend from the bar. She scowled when she noticed the woman was once again wearing the Tiffany's bracelet that Andy had pointed out. Seriously, what kind of ex-girlfriend does that?
The players started filing in, their hair still wet from their showers after the game as they greeted their significant others. A few of them also had kids run up to give their fathers big hugs. Sydney figured the room was probably so jovial tonight since the Pirates easily won their game against Chicago. She grabbed a cookie from the hospitality table and sat down in a corner away from everyone while she waited for Ryan. He was a little late coming in compared to the rest of the team and by the time he finally showed up, there were only a handful of people left in the room.
She started walking over to him before he finally turned and smiled at her.
"Hey," he said, giving her a quick half hug.
"Hi," she replied. "Good game out there."
He pulled away and shrugged. "I've been better. I still feel like I'm not 100 percent after my surgery."
"You'll get there," she said with a smile.
Ryan looked over her head and scanned the room again. "No Lucy?"
"She took off already, but she did want me to say thank you for the nachos and free parking."
He looked a little disappointed but quickly recovered with a smile. "Well, I'm glad she was entertained by the nachos."
"They're damn good nachos."
"Of course," he replied. "So how are you getting home?"
Sydney started to aimlessly look around so she could avoid Ryan's eyes. "Lucy said I had to find my own way home."
"Gotcha," he said.
Sydney really hoped he got the hint she was trying to give him. She either had to go home with him or go home with someone else. And if things didn't work out, she would go home alone.
Ryan told her to follow him and the two of them walked out of the room into the hall where the rookie did a quick scan before discreetly leading her back towards the locker room. The room was nearly deserted except for someone she assumed was the equipment manager cleaning up the jerseys, and two players who were talking in a corner. They all looked up at her, perhaps a bit confused about why there was a woman in their locker room, until she saw Ryan give them all a slight nod and they went back to what they were doing.
But while none of them seemed to care that she was there, Sydney did care. A lot. She was becoming more and more nervous as she followed Ryan down a small hallway. He slowed down and turned to make sure she was still there, then quietly pointed to an open door just a few feet away from them.
"Good luck," he whispered in her ear.
He walked away, leaving her alone in the quiet hallway. The only thing she could hear was the rustling of someone moving around in the room with the door. All she had to do was walk in. Sydney took a deep breath, cleared her mind and stepped forward.
As soon as she got in the training room, she saw Andy right in the middle of it. He was moving around quietly but with a determined look on his face as he picked up some leftover papers and trash, cleaning up after having to deal with a team of hockey players. He was so focused that he didn't even notice she was there.
Sydney knocked lightly against the open door to get his attention, and his head immediately snapped up with a smile to see who was there. His face faltered a bit when he realized it was her.
"Hey."
She could tell he was trying to keep his emotions guarded, and she frankly figured she deserved a bit of that.
"Hi," she said quietly. "I hope you don't mind me barging in. I was at the game and thought it might be cool to come down and visit."
"Yeah," he said. "Did you get a pass from uh…."
"Ryan got us in," she replied nervously.
"Us?"
"Lucy and I," she said. "He even gave her a little spending cash so she could buy some nachos. I have no idea why she likes eating them at games."
