Читать книгу Betting On The Rookie - Stephanie Doyle, Stephanie Doyle - Страница 12

CHAPTER THREE

CRACK.

Sam knew the moment she heard the sound that Evan had hit the ball out of the park. She watched as it sailed over the left field wall. Duff used to say it was the sweetest sound in the universe, right after the sound of any one of his daughters laughing.

The Minotaurs were taking batting practice before the game, and Sam found a certain amount of contentment sitting in the stands and just watching players swing a bat. She probably hadn’t actually watched a game since...

Since the last time she’d watched Evan play.

Then she’d been fascinated because she’d rarely seen such a display of raw talent.

“Sure. Talent. If that’s what you want to tell yourself,” Sam muttered.

“Am I interrupting a conversation with yourself? Because I can come back later. I know how important they can be.”

Sam startled and turned to see a woman just a few steps up from the seat at the end of the aisle. Sam stood and reached out her hand. “You’re Jocelyn Taft.”

“Jocelyn Taft Wright,” the woman replied, taking Sam’s hand in a sure and confident grip.

“Oh, yes. Sorry. I forgot.”

Jocelyn jerked a shoulder. “Call me sentimental, but I like the other name better. With mine and my husband’s together. May I join you?”

Sam couldn’t see any reason to object. Jocelyn was the Minotaurs’ owner. The two women sat next to each other, both staring down on to the field. While Sam had dressed again professionally in pants, blouse and heels, being here as an agent, Jocelyn was infinitely more casual in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Which Sam could tell, just by the quality of the material, still probably cost as much as Sam’s outfit.

“What can I do for you, Mrs. Wright?”

“Oh, please, call me Jocelyn. Everyone around the park does. And we’re vaguely connected through Scout. How is she these days?”

“Happy. In love.”

Jocelyn smiled. “You know I’m responsible for that. I invited her to my wedding, just so she would have an opportunity to ask Jayson out. And I made sure she was in a killer dress.”

Sam laughed. “Uh, yeah, but then he left her and broke her heart, and she wasn’t the same for four years.”

“Until he came back and mended her heart, and they lived happily ever after,” Jocelyn said in a put-on hoity tone. “I still think it counts as a match in my favor.”

“If you say so,” Sam said coolly. She wasn’t going to argue with a woman as powerful as Jocelyn Taft Wright.

“So you know who I am, right? I have this inbred desire to make money all the time.”

“The way I understood it, you gave away most of your money to charity.”

“I did.” Jocelyn smiled mischievously. “Which of course I’m glad I did, but it didn’t seem to kill my desire to make more. That’s where you come in or, more accurately, your client.”

Sam watched Evan take another swing. She watched another ball sail out of the stadium. It was just batting practice, so the pitches were basically softballs, but he certainly had a sweet swing.

“What are you thinking?”

“I want to do a little meet-and-greet with some of the press. He’s been playing with the team for a week, and everyone knows he’s bound for the majors. I want to milk ticket sales as much as I can while he’s here. More people will come out to a game if they think they’re seeing the next big thing, so I need to let everyone know I’ve got it.”

“There’s press in Minotaur Falls?”

“My husband would be very offended to know you thought so little of his struggling gazette.”

Sam winced, remembering Jocelyn’s husband essentially was the local sports media, but she could see from Jocelyn’s expression, she wasn’t truly offended.

“Sorry,” Sam said anyway. “I’m just used to a bigger market.”

“That’s fine. I would imagine we might attract more than just a few local sports people. After all, he’s a unique story. Late bloomer, just coming to the game. And he’s way better-looking than Robert Redford.”

Sam smiled at the movie reference. “Remember, Robert Redford had been a baseball player before the evil woman seduced and shot him. So Evan is even more unique than him.”

“Either way, he’ll pique the interest of enough people to get some sports coverage on television, and that will bring the people to my stadium, which will make me a very happy woman.”

Sam looked at her. “You really do enjoy it. Making money, even when you have all you could need.”

Jocelyn shrugged. “’Fraid so. But I look at it this way...the more Pete and I have, the more good we get to do. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do to set something up. You would want this to happen in the next few days, I imagine.” After all, it was anyone’s guess when the Rebels would decide to bring him up.

Jocelyn winced. “Uh, yeah. But here’s the thing—I would appreciate it... I mean, this is a small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. Certainly anything having to do with the Bakers...”

Sam nodded, Jocelyn’s unsaid message sinking in. “You don’t want me there. You’re afraid my bad press will rub off on him.”

Jocelyn turned to Sam, and it wasn’t hard at all for Sam to see the tough businesswoman she must have been to have succeeded so well. There was steel behind her eyes. “Look, I’ve had a chance to talk with Evan a few times. He’s as squeaky clean as they come. The fact that he hired you to be his agent tells me there is probably more to your story than what most people have heard. So I get that you might be wrapped up in a scandal you didn’t choose and weren’t responsible for, but unfortunately too many people around here know you and your story. I hope you understand I’m doing this for his sake.”

At that Sam laughed harshly. “See, you’ve already told me the truth, Jocelyn. You’re not doing anything for Evan’s sake. You’re doing this to sell more tickets. And you don’t want someone who might have turned a blind eye to domestic violence anywhere near your squeaky clean poster boy. It’s business, and I do understand. I won’t be anywhere near the cameras. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a sudden craving for a hot dog.”

It was a thing with her. Sam always wanted food when she was pissed. She stood, but Jocelyn remained seated, essentially blocking her path out of the aisle.

“You had no clue, did you?”

Sam didn’t have to ask what Jocelyn was talking about, and she realized that question was probably going to haunt her for the rest of her life. Or certainly the foreseeable future.

“Nope.”

“Men,” Jocelyn muttered.

“Not all men,” Sam said, nodding her chin toward her squeaky clean client on the field. “At least, we have to hope, right?”

Jocelyn turned her knees to the side, and Sam left her behind in search of that hot dog. She wasn’t quite as pissed anymore, but that didn’t mean a hot dog wouldn’t taste damn good.

* * *

EVAN CAME OUT of the stadium freshly washed and feeling amazing after a solid game. He’d gone three for four, with a home run. The team had won, and overall the mood was jovial in the locker room.

Sure, he was getting a lot of grief about when he was going to get the call. His ascent to The Show seemed all but inevitable. He could see some jealousy in the younger players around him, too. Guys who maybe thought they were more deserving, because they had been playing the game longer. Evan wouldn’t let that negativity touch him. He wasn’t getting ahead by keeping anyone else down. He was simply playing his game his way.

He stopped when he saw Sam leaning on the hood of his truck. Much like that first time he’d seen her again, only then it was on her car. Leaning against his truck like that only made her hotter.

Clearly, her ability to knock the breath out of him was still alive and well, despite telling himself nearly every day since they had shaken hands that he needed to stop thinking about her as a woman.

She’s my agent. A sexless creature entirely.

Then she stood straight, and he took in her cool expression, long legs and slim high heels and snorted.

There was no way, as long as he still had his penis attached to him, that he could look at Samantha Baker and not see her as flat-out sexy.

He’d wanted her the first time he saw her almost two years ago. Had she given him a glimmer of an opening back then, he would have asked her out.

But she hadn’t. It never occurred to him to wonder why that might be.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he blurted out as he dropped his equipment bag in the back of his cab.

He could see he’d startled her—it seemed he was always doing that—because it took her a few seconds to come up with a suitable response. Which made no sense, because it was a yes or no answer.

“Why are you asking?”

Evan shrugged. “No real reason. Just curious about you. Like you said, you’re part of my life now.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him warily before saying, “No. I don’t.”

“What about when I met you? Did you have one then?”

She cocked her head to the side. “I see. Trying to understand why I didn’t fall at your feet when you smiled at me the first time?”

Evan smiled a little bashfully now. “Yup.”

“Sorry to wound your ego, but, no, I didn’t have one back then, either. My last relationship ended with a broken engagement. I haven’t been all that eager to get back out there since.”

“Had your heart broken?”

“Something like that.”

“Idiot.”

Sam quirked a single eyebrow. She really was an icy creature. Unless she was all hot and sweaty from jogging, that was. Evan tried unsuccessfully to suppress that memory.

“I meant the guy. For having you and then losing you.”

There was an emotion in her eyes that made him sorry he’d brought the topic up. Like he had poked at an old wound and suddenly made her pain resurface.

“Are we done discussing my love life? We have important business to go over.”

“Must be important if you were willing to stay through the whole game rather than just call me later.”

Sam shifted her feet a little. “Well, you were having a good game, so it wasn’t hard to watch. Given you’re my only client right now, you’re entitled to the VIP treatment.”

Evan couldn’t say why, but he knew she was lying. She’d stayed to watch the game because she had wanted to, not because of their business. He was fairly certain that this thing he felt, it went both ways. No doubt she was as uncomfortable about it as he was. Instead of calling her on it, he backed off.

“Okay then, what’s so important?”

“Jocelyn Taft... Wright. Jocelyn Taft Wright, you know, owns the team and the stadium. She wants to capitalize on your time with the Minotaurs. She thinks a small press conference to talk about your journey here might sell some tickets.”

Evan shrugged. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea. He already had a minor issue with jealousy among the guys. He didn’t want to exacerbate that with more attention focused only on him. It didn’t seem right in such a team sport. Then again, he had to be practical. This was his career, after all. He was going to have to start thinking about these things.

“It’s a good idea,” Sam said. “You’ve got a unique story, and we need to take advantage of that. I’ve been trying to think of some sponsors who might be interested once you’re called up and hopefully start hitting home runs. Someone who wants to advertise a product along the lines of...it’s never too late...”

“Sam.” Evan stopped her. “That’s fine. Whatever you think is necessary.”

She nodded. “Good. Jocelyn will set everything up. You just need to show up and look pretty for the cameras.”

“That won’t be too hard with you standing next to me.”

Sam shook her head, and again Evan could see something beyond the icy façade. Another flash of pain. He felt it in his gut, too. The mere idea of causing her pain bothered him. He wanted her to be safe behind those icy walls she’d constructed for herself. Even as much as he wanted to be on the other side of them.

“I won’t be there. Jocelyn doesn’t want to risk your image being tarnished with me on the scene. Keep in mind she’s trying to sell tickets to families.”

“Seriously? You’re standing there telling me she’s ashamed of you.”

Sam got a little stiffer. “It’s a fact we’ll need to deal with. We should probably prepare an answer if anyone actually questions you about your decision to hire me as your agent.”

“How about the truth? You didn’t know Stanson was a lying douche bag, and you’re a damn good agent.”

Her lips quirked. “You might want to refrain from using the word douche bag in front of television cameras.”

“I’m serious, Sam. This is bull you have to pay for that guy’s actions. Let me tell people what really happened. Maybe no one will believe you if you say you didn’t know, but if other people hear it from those who respect you...”

Sam shook her head. “I’m not the story. You are. Remember that. It’s not going to hurt you to have me one room away.”

“I don’t like it,” Even said stubbornly.

Sam smiled, genuinely smiled for maybe the first time since he’d met her, and it took his breath away.

“You’re a knight in shining armor, aren’t you? Ready to save the damsel in distress.”

“If you’ll let me.”

Sam chuckled. “Evan, trust me, I’m not a damsel. If I need saving, I’ll do it myself. Just be there on time. I’ll pick out the outfit I want you to wear.”

She started to walk away toward her own car. That sleek ice-blue Mercedes that reminded him of her.

Evan scowled. Because she was so casually telling him what to do or because she was leaving him, he wasn’t sure.

“I’m not some damn doll to be dressed up,” he called after her.

“No, you’re a client I want to make sure is dressed appropriately for his first public appearance.”

“I don’t like red!” he shouted even as she was opening her car door.

She waved back. “I don’t care.”

Yeah, Evan thought as he watched her drive away, hiring her was both the best and worst decision he’d ever made.