Chapter 6
Emmett
“Big hit!” Max says, pointing at my desktop computer while sitting on my lap.
“That was a big hit,” I agree. “That’s Isaiah.”
“Yeah. Zaya.”
His little finger smears across my screen, attempting to follow his uncle as he runs the bases while we watch game film together.
My daughter is sitting on Kai’s lap on the other side of my desk, both watching their son help me prepare for tonight’s home game. All while wearing a jersey with his dad’s old number on it.
“What do you think, Bug. Do you think I should play Isaiah tonight, or should I bench him?”
Max giggles in my lap, as if that was the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and Kai and Miller join in.
We all know I’m not benching my star shortstop.
“No way!”
“No?” I ask. “What if Auntie Ken asked me to bench him for annoying her with that song he always walks out to?”
Max thinks it over. “Hmm. Then yeah.”
This time I laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Bug,” Kai begins. “Are you going to come see me and Monty in the dugout before the first pitch?”
“Yeah. And me and Mama watch Dada coaching.”
Max’s attention focuses back on the computer screen, watching highlights from last night’s game, while I look across at my daughter.
She grew up just like this, coming to the field to watch me coach.
I’ve spent the last twenty-plus years raising that girl and wanting only this—for her to find her happiness, no matter what that may look like.
At the time, I didn’t know it was going to be my star pitcher and his son to bring that into her life, but meeting Kai and Max grounded her in a way I could’ve only hoped for.
More than any job I’ve had, more than my time in the league as a player, more than the World Series win as a field manager, what I am most proud of in my life is her. Anything I’ve ever done is for her.
“Max, what do you say?” Miller asks. “Do you want to go find Isaiah and Auntie Ken before the game starts?”
Max’s big blue eyes widen in excitement, his silent way of saying yes.
“Well, let’s do it.” Miller stands from Kai’s lap.
“And the boys?” Max asks as I help him down.
“We’ll go see all the boys. I bet Cody and Trav are looking for you right now.”
Reaching up, Max puts his hand into his mom’s.
Miller wraps her arm around me in a side hug. “Good luck tonight, Dad.”
“Thanks, Millie. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She bends over to quickly kiss Kai. “Good luck, baby.”
“Thanks, Mills. Love you.”
As soon as my daughter and Max are out of my office, I scowl at my future son-in-law.
“What?” he asks, confused.
“Don’t copy me.”
Kai chuckles. “Get over it, old man.”
“You’re only like a decade younger than me.”
“All I heard was ‘younger.’”
“Shut up and let’s talk about the pitching strategy for tonight.”
Laughing, Kai pulls out his iPad and starts spouting out facts about the other team’s batting lineup.
Through the window behind him, a flash of blonde steals my attention.
I keep my eyes locked there, willing for it to return, when finally, Reese walks by my window with someone I vaguely recognize from the ticket sales department.
They stop right in front of my office, right in front of my window, as they continue their conversation, giving me a perfect view.
She’s all business tonight, as always. Sharp line to her short hair, sky-high heels, and a pencil skirt that’s practically painted to her curves.
And she’s smiling, which is only worth noting because I haven’t seen it in over a week.
We have yet to speak since that advisory meeting last Monday. Well, I guess what I mean is that we have yet to speak since we got into it in her office right afterward.
And yeah, I’ve fucking noticed.
I’ve noticed that she hasn’t once come to the dugout before a game this week. I noticed that she hasn’t accommodated a single request for joint interviews with me. I noticed she hasn’t been around the clubhouse much, instead staying upstairs in her office during this home-stint.
I also noticed that she hasn’t made a move to trade Harrison Kaiser.
Reese is clearly pissed at me for not having her back last week, but I’m just as pissed that she continues to prove me right. I’m pissed that she doesn’t hold an attachment to any part of this baseball club that I love so much. Not the staff and, clearly, not the players.
“Monty,” Kai says, earning my attention. “Did you hear me? Do you know who you might want for middle relief tonight?”
I keep my eyes locked on her, watching her smile and enjoy whatever conversation she’s having with someone who isn’t me.
“No.” Even I can hear the distraction in my voice. “Game-time decision, I guess.”
Out of my periphery, I watch as Kai follows my line of sight. “Do you need to go speak with her?”
“Nope.” I clear my throat, attempting to refocus on this meeting with my pitching coach.
But I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes off my window, wondering if the reason Reese is down here, near my office, is because she’s finally going to talk to me.
She ends her conversation with a kind smile to her employee before her attention drifts to my office window.
First to Kai, who earns a polite grin and a small nod of her head in greeting.
Then to me, which is when her expression completely shifts.
To nothing.
It’s neutral. Blank. I don’t get a smile, but I also don’t get that scowl I kind of miss.
Reese doesn’t seem angry.
No, she seems entirely disinterested with me, and I hate that even more than if she were fuming at me.
Reese’s eyes meet mine for only a fraction of a second, not letting them linger in the way I’ve caught her before.
Almost instantly, she pulls her attention away and leaves the perfectly framed spot outside my office window.
And I’d bet money she’ll be up in her office for the rest of the night, watching the game from her million-dollar view.
“So, by ‘you don’t need to talk to her’ what you meant is ‘she won’t give you the time of day.’” Kai laughs. “What the hell did you do?”
“Nothing. We had a disagreement last week and neither of us has gone out of our way to smooth things over yet.”
“Kennedy raves about her, and from what she told me, Reese seems level-headed. Especially for all the shit she’s getting online for her new position. Your disagreement must have been pretty heated for her to react to you like that.”
“It was nothing. We’ll both get over it eventually.”
“Don’t you two have the commissioner’s conference coming up?”
I audibly groan, head falling back. “Fuck me. I almost forgot about that.”
Toward the beginning of every season, the commissioner of the MLB hosts a gathering for all the teams’ owners, baseball presidents, and field managers. And since Arthur has always held two of those positions, I’ve gone to the last seven conferences with only him.
And this year, I’ll be going with Reese.
The location never changes and neither does the schedule.
The commissioner hosts a few lectures throughout the day then a mixer at night, giving all the teams a chance to get together just once without a competition attached to it.
There’s no getting out of it for either of us, and I already know that Reese and I are going to have to at least pretend to be a united front while we’re around all the other teams.
Kai laughs. “I’d apologize before you go if I were you.”
“Except I don’t have anything to apologize for.”
“If you say so.”
My pitching coach refocuses on the strategy for tonight’s game, but there’s something nagging me again, the way it has all week. Something that Reese said in our heated argument.
I lean back in my chair, folding my hands behind my head. “Ace, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What do you think of Harrison Kaiser?”
Behind his glasses, he lifts his brow in surprise. “As a player, or as a person?”
“I already know what kind of player he is.”
Kai sighs, leaning back in his chair. “He’s not my favorite.”
“Why?”
“We were on the same team for only a few months, so I might not be the best judge of character.”
But he is. Kai is steady and perceptive. I wouldn’t care if he only knew Harrison Kaiser for a day, I’d still trust his opinion on the guy.
When I don’t interrupt him, Kai continues.
“He’s arrogant. And not in a goofy, Isaiah kind of way, but in an elitist way.
With how much he’s getting paid, I know his attitude rubs some of the guys wrong.
He likes to talk shit about other players, and you know how close our team is, so no one really fucks with that.
He doesn’t join any of the team outings.
He’s never come to our house when Miller does her baking nights for the guys, even though he’s always invited. ”
He pauses his own rant, slowing himself down.
“To put it simply, Cody can befriend a brick wall if asked to and even he’s not a fan.
But . . .” Kai tosses his head from side to side.
“I also know he’s fast as hell and can outrun anyone around the bases and in the outfield, so it’s not like he’s going anywhere either. ”
I’m shocked silent, frozen in my chair.
“Should I continue?” Kai asks. “Because I can.”
“Why did I not know about this? I’m around you all every single day.”
“We’re adults, here to do a job. No one is going to come running to your office to bitch about someone’s personality not meshing.”
Well, I feel like an idiot.
Reese told me this and I didn’t listen. I was so adamant she was wrong, that there was no way she could know about our team dynamics better than me.
Fuck. Apparently, I do need to apologize.
My future son-in-law studies me. “Why do you ask?”
I exhale a resigned breath. “If I tell you something, it needs to stay here.”
“Of course.”
“That disagreement me and Reese had, it was over Kaiser. I sat in on an advisory board meeting where Reese proposed trading him and no one agreed with her, including me.”
Kai’s eyes widen with surprise. “Who would she replace him with?”
“I’m not sure. She didn’t give details, only that she had someone in mind. But she said something about him not meshing with the team, and I didn’t believe her. I thought she was just pulling something out of thin air to back up her idea.”
“Wow.” Kai pauses for a long moment. “That’s impressive, that she was able to pick up on that. Most owners wouldn’t give a shit about team personalities, let alone notice on their own.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, running a hand down my face. “I underestimated her.”
Just like everyone else.