Chapter 33 Kendra
THIRTY-THREE
kendra
The Winter Ball fell around the same time as our pitchers and catchers started spring training in Florida. So, while I was looking forward to the event, I dreaded what the next few weeks would look like as we prepared for the start of the season.
Colby had cranked up the social media posts, and the Minutemen TikTok and Instagram accounts had generated more traffic than expected. Early ticket sales were stronger than they had been in years, and I doubted that had anything to do with the pitch clock.
It also coincided with Kylie finding out she was pregnant.
Yeah, I did better with this reveal. While I had a very strong opinion about her telling Luc about the pregnancy, I kept those thoughts to myself.
It was more important for my sisters to know that I was going to be there for them than what I thought about their decisions.
“Are you sure you can’t fire your pitching coach?” I whined to Jonathan.
“We’ve already covered this, Kenny.” I helped him with his necktie; he had an interview this afternoon with the local sports reporter about the pre-season prospects. While he was gone, Colby and I had our pre-ball hair and nail appointments.
“Good luck. Break a leg.”
“See you tonight.” He meant his kiss to be swift, but he lingered, and I had to force myself not to deepen it.
A few hours later, Colby and I were getting primped and scrubbed, and we were finally at the part where our feet were soaking.
“Does Kelsey get along with Lindy Griffen?”
“I think so. Elijah’s wife?” Elijah Griffen was the third baseman who had earned multiple Gold Glove awards.
He also consistently hit above .300 in his four seasons with the team and had been in the running for the AL MVP last year.
His playing was superb, but on the road, his womanizing was one of the team’s best and worst-kept secrets.
“Yes, look at her social media following.” Colby shared one of her profiles with me, and I looked through her videos. A ton of Mom-Core and WAG life videos had hit multi-million views. From the aesthetic of her pages, you would see Elijah as one of the most devoted husbands and fathers out there.
“Umm, do you think she knows what he’s like on the road?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. But while the WAGs all appear tight-knit and some are friends, there’s almost an unwritten rule. They never tell when one of the guys is cheating.”
I kept scrolling through images that portrayed a wholesome family: three beautiful daughters, a perfect home, and a husband who seemed devoted to his wife. “Do you think he loves her?” I asked.
“It sure looks like it. It shows that most of these men are just boys.”
“Yeah, boys with too much cash available to them.” I wondered what would happen if my brother-in-law ever strayed, he seemed so devoted, but were all those road trips too much temptation?
And right about then, my boy with too much available cash decided to check in with me.
Jonathan: I picked up your gown. It’s in your closet.
Me: You brought it to my apartment?
Jonathan had been trying to get me to leave more and more of my things at his place. Lately, he’d been referring to the empty closet as mine. I tried to keep it lighthearted, but the more time we spent together, the easier it was to see our lives merging.
Jonathan: That earned you another handprint across your ass.
Me: Send pictures or it never happened.
Of course, he found one. My core clenched at the image he’d captured after one of our more playful nights. Colby stared at me while I texted her brother, a stupid smile plastered on my face.
“You’re both really cute. I like seeing the two of you together.”
“Well, after tonight, it won’t be so quiet.” We had gone to HR after we first started sleeping together, but had tried to keep things under wraps in the office.
“Everyone knows. But it’s adorable that you think they don’t.”
“And? What are they saying?”
“It’s exactly what you would imagine. But here’s the thing—the team has always been a family business.
Nepotism is the entire business plan. We have grown up hearing everything there is about how we haven’t earned our roles—don’t deserve them.
I don’t care. Jonathan doesn’t give a fuck either.
Your success will depend on how well you let the comments roll off your back. ”
“Ugh—”
“Don’t. You’re not the type of woman who gives a fuck, Kendra. It’s why you’re the first woman who has captured his interest.”
“What about Giada?” Why did I bring her up? Other than the conversation I had overheard, Jonathan had given me no reason to wonder about her.
“Thank God she’s gone. It was fucking painful to pretend to like her for all those years. I think he cared about her, but she didn’t light him up. She was decoration. You complement him, and I can see you pushing each other to achieve greatness.”
“Do you think his judgment is skewed because we—” I let my sentence hang.
“Because you’re sleeping together? No, I think he sees you as his equal. He is sleeping with you because he sees you as something more.””
I scoffed. “His equal? He owns the freaking team.”
“Yeah, well, he’s aware that people think he had everything handed to him, too. So, when you two end up building not only the best team for the year, but the next baseball dynasty, the naysayers will be quietly fucking off.”
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the foot massage, but couldn’t help letting my mind wander into the future. Was it too soon to be thinking about the future with Jonathan? Or would getting involved with him romantically be the end of that future?