Page 52 of Truth or Tequila (Grand Slam 1)

“I didn’t know, but I suspected. It’s given the team a lot of bad press—even national media. You want to tell me why?”

“No, I don’t. It’s not because she’s a woman though.”

“Did you sleep with her?” He lowers his voice. “Is that the reason the paper fired her?”

“I didn’t sleep with her, but even if I did, that’s none of your business.”

“Everything about you became my business when you signed that contract for two-hundred million—”

“Naw, that contract is for play on the field. It doesn’t entitle you to anything else.”

“It entitles me to get a return on my investment—hopefully, a very large one. If you’re distracted, it affects your play on the field.”

I laugh and shake my head. “You seen my stat line lately? Does it look like I’m negatively affected by anything?”

“I need you to do a press conference and explain why you asked for Liza to be removed. It’s the only way to get past this.”

“That’s not happening. The story will fade away like they all do—”

“It’s been almost a month and they’re still talking about it.” He checks his phone and then looks back at me. “We need to at least tell them it was you.”

“Tell them what you want,” I say, standing up. He puts his hand on my arm.

“You know, Seb. You work for me. You seem to forget that. How’d you like to be playing in Minnesota by this time next year?”

I lean down so I’m only a few inches from his face. “Home plate looks the same in every stadium, Gary. I don’t give a shit where I play.”

He laughs. “You better take a closer look at their record before you say that.”

“I think we both know if you trade me, their wins are going to go up and yours are going to crash. Do what you want. I’m good either way.”

As I walk to the back of the plane, I glance at Sophie who’s sitting with Ken. She has a little bit of panic in her eyes. I smile at her. When she smiles back, the panic goes away.

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