Chapter 13
Reese
“Hey there, Reese’s Pieces.”
Looking up from my desk, I find my grandfather wearing a proud smile on his lips, watching me from the entryway of his office.
My office, I mean.
After spending my entire life coming to this office to visit him, it’s strange to think the situation is reversed now.
“Hi, Grandad.” I scoot my chair back away from my desk. “What are you doing here?”
“Just coming to see my favorite granddaughter. You’re working away, I see.”
Rounding my desk, I meet him at the door, pressing my cheek against his and leaving a kiss there. Then I pull the chair out that lives opposite mine for him to take a seat.
For a man in his late seventies, he’s still active and mobile, but he’s definitely begun to slow down over the years. It’s evident in the way he takes his time walking to the chair, and even more so in the way he cautiously lowers into the seat.
And it all just makes me feel even more guilty that my poor choice in a life partner is the reason he had to keep working longer than he wanted to.
I retake my seat behind my desk. “What are you really doing here? Because I know you didn’t just come all the way down to the field to say hi to me.”
He chuckles a hearty laugh. “Ed and I are grabbing lunch and meeting with Denise so we can go over the last of the details for my retirement party. But getting to say hi to you is definitely a bonus.”
“Denise is planning your retirement party?”
“Of course she is. That woman practically planned my life for the last forty years. I wouldn’t trust the job to anyone else.”
“Any chance she wants to come out of her own retirement and start planning my life? I’m in desperate need of a receptionist.”
“Yes, you are. I should not have been able to get into your office so easily. But no, Denise worked for me for too long. She earned her own retirement.”
“Well, it doesn’t mean I won’t give it a solid effort when I see her at your party. Are you excited for it?”
“I am. It’s not necessarily that I’m looking forward to celebrating myself, but it’s not often you get to have everyone who has played a part in your life all together in the same place. Well, other than your own funeral, and unfortunately, I won’t be there to enjoy that party.”
“Geez,” I laugh. “Well, I’m looking forward to celebrating you.”
My grandfather’s kind and loving smile begins to fade, and I note the moment his entire demeanor switches into business mode. It’s even evident in his tone when he says, “There is one other reason I wanted to come see you today.”
The energy in my office switches up immediately.
I sit up straighter, folding my hands and resting them on my desk. I’m no longer a granddaughter speaking to her grandfather. I’m the new team owner speaking to her predecessor.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
He exhales a long sigh, pulling out his phone. “Scott found this online. It’s not an official news report or anything like that, and it’s clearly just a rumor, but there’s an anonymous post on this website. Read . . . Red-something.”
“Reddit,” I finish for him.
“That’s the one. Someone is claiming they saw you leaving Monty’s hotel room early one morning last week when you all were playing in San Diego.”
The blood instantly drains from my face.
“Now, obviously that’s not true,” he continues. “Anyone who knows you two personally knows that you don’t exactly get along, but these are the kinds of rumors that people are going to want to spread about you, and I just want you to be aware of it.”
It’s shocking that I can hear him through the buzzing in my ears, or that I’m still sitting straight regardless of the pit in my stomach.
How could I be so reckless? What the hell was I thinking?
I attempt to calm the tremble in my voice when I ask, “What do the comments say?”
“I don’t know about all that. Scott just sent me a . . . what is it called when you take a picture of something?”
“A screenshot.”
“He sent me a screenshot of the post. Not sure how much traction it’s gotten, but he was able to find it.”
Yeah, I bet he was. I’d imagine that Scott has a Google alert set up for my name, looking for any information he can use as ammo against me.
And I gave him some. On a silver platter.
I chose to go to Emmett’s room that night. I chose to sleep in his bed. I brought this on myself.
I can ignore all the bullshit online regarding my abilities or questioning if I’m cut out for this job. But this? This is something I did. This isn’t some made-up story. Someone did see me leave his room.
“Reese,” my grandfather says, and when I finally meet his eyes, I find him studying me. “This is simply a made-up rumor, right?”
I swallow hard, doing my best to compose myself. “Of course it is. You may adore Emmett Montgomery, but you know I can hardly stand the guy.”
“Give him a chance, Reese. I think he can change your mind.”
He already has.
“I just wanted to make you aware of this post, that’s all,” he continues.
“Not to accuse you of anything, but to remind you that you’re under far more scrutiny than I ever was.
All I want is for you to succeed. This is everything you spent your whole life working toward.
Shoot, you gave up your marriage for this. ”
“I didn’t give up my marriage for this. Jeremy gave up our marriage when he decided to try to take this all from me.”
“But that was also your decision to not let him. You chose this baseball club because this was your dream, and I just need you to remember what you’ve given up to be here.
I didn’t choose you as my successor simply because you’re my granddaughter.
I chose you because I believe you’re the best person for the job.
But just because you’re the right fit for this position doesn’t mean you’re not going to have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously.
You know that. You’ve known that for years leading up to this.
You can’t ever give them a reason to talk about you, Reese. Okay?”
I nod in agreement. “I won’t.”
I won’t make that mistake again.
“All right,” he says, slowly standing from his seat. “You’re leaving for a few games in Detroit?”
“I am. Our flight is at nine tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“Love you too, Grandad. Tell Ed and Denise I said hello.”
As soon as he’s out of the door, I count to twenty, giving him enough of a head start before I freak the fuck out.
What am I doing? How could I ever think that staying in his room was acceptable? When did I become so reckless?
I grab my phone off the desk, but I don’t dare look for that post while here in my office.
As my grandfather reminded me, I don’t have a receptionist to go through first, and the last thing I need is for someone to walk in on me having a mental breakdown while reading a supposed rumor about me and my field manager that is very much true.
Leaving everything else behind, I take only my phone and head straight for the one place I’ll be able to hide at this time of the day.
The team is off today after a series of home games and before we leave on another road stretch tomorrow. The only guys that were at the field this afternoon were those coming in to get treatment by the medical staff, but even those players have left by now.
So, with the clubhouse level left empty, I make my way through the tunnel that leads to the dugout, then take a seat on the right-hand side where the field manager’s spot is, hiding behind the small partition that blocks it from anyone else’s view.
Grabbing my phone, I pull up Reddit and it doesn’t take long until I find the post my grandfather was referring to.
This is the only post this anonymous account has ever made, and it quickly details what they saw as I left Emmett’s room.
The exact pajamas I was wearing. The slippers on my feet.
My blonde hair that was completely disheveled, which they say is due to an activity we definitely did not participate in.
The walk of shame they claim to have witnessed was simply a walk back to my room around nine thirty a.m. after the front desk confirmed the HVAC system on our floor had been fixed. And yeah, I looked disheveled because I was running on only a few hours of sleep.
As exhausted as I was, the final words Emmett said to me that night are what kept me up.
I didn’t have it in me to move on.
What the hell am I doing? I’m putting my reputation on the line by playing with fire with a man who admitted to me he didn’t have it in him to move on.
I don’t blame him. Who can blame someone for being unable to move on from the person they loved and lost? But I should really get my shit together and listen to what he’s trying to tell me.
I scroll down to read the comments on the post. Some of them are predictable, calling me names and claiming I’m trying to sleep my way to the top.
To the top of what, though? I’m already the sole owner of this entire baseball club.
A few comments call out the original poster for making it all up. A couple of comments reiterate how excited they are for a woman to oversee her own team. But there’s one comment that steals all my attention.
I heard she was married before and the guy only wifed her up so he could take part ownership of the team. Maybe Monty is doing the same kind of thing. He’s up for a new contract next year, so who can blame him for playing his cards right and having a bit of fun while doing it?
It takes everything in me to ignore that comment, but I won’t lie and say it doesn’t eat away at me. I can’t say I’m fully confident in my ability to read others’ intentions after what happened with Jeremy.
Do I believe Emmett is pretending to get close to me so that I won’t be able to let him leave for another team after the season ends?
Do I think he’s lying about wanting to protect me just so I’ll keep him on my payroll?
I don’t want to. I can’t imagine that’s the case, but again, I’ve been blinded before.
There’s a reason I swore off personal relationships when I took this job, and this right here is a prime example. I’m letting what I’ve learned about him cloud my business judgment.
I’m second-guessing myself.
I don’t have time to second-guess myself. The rest of the league is doing that enough for me already.
I need to refocus. No more getting distracted by good-looking men with sweet stories about why they love their players and family so much. I have too much on the line to lose sight of what my end goal is here, and that’s to make this baseball club the most successful it can be.
The last thing I need is headlines swirling with rumors about the team owner and field manager.
“Reese?”
Emmett’s voice pulls my attention up from my phone screen to find him standing in the dugout, directly in front of my secret spot. And while yes, this is technically the field manager’s spot, he’s off duty at the moment.
“What are you doing down here?” he asks.
“Nothing.” I quickly stand, locking my phone screen and slipping the device into the back pocket of my trousers. “Just leaving.”
“This is the second time I’ve found you in my spot. Are you waiting for me or something?”
There’s a playful smile on his lips and I can sense him gearing up for whatever quick retort I might come up with.
But I’m not doing that anymore.
“Have a good night, Emmett,” I say, turning to leave.
He gently grabs my arm to stop me, spinning me back in his direction. “Hey, everything okay?”
“I’m fine.” I steal my arm back, stepping a healthy distance away.
“Okay.” It comes out as more of a question. “I’ll see you on the plane in the morning, I guess.”
Because of course we’re heading on the road again tomorrow. Where we’ll be staying in the same hotel. Where more rumors can circulate.
I can’t avoid traveling for the entire season, but I can give it a pause to give whatever might be spreading online about us time to calm down.
“Actually, I’m going to stay back this time.”
“What?” His brow furrows. “Why?”
“Because I can watch the games from here and I need to be in my office this week.”
He’s quiet for a long moment, clearly taken aback by my sudden coldness toward him. “Okay. I’ll call you and bring you up to speed with anything you missed each night after the games.”
“I’d prefer it in an email.”
“An email.” He huffs a small disbelieving laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever emailed you.”
No, he’s just called me while I was naked in the bathtub.
“Well, we should start using that form of communication going forward. There’s no reason for you to call or text my personal line unless it’s an emergency.”
He searches my face, his brown eyes etched with hurt, and I feel like an absolute piece of shit for making him feel that way.
But it’s for his own good. It’s for both of our own good. He wants to coach here next year? He wants to work in the same city where his daughter lives? Well, that’s not going to happen if rumors start flying about an inappropriate relationship between him and his boss.
“Did something happen?” he asks softly, taking a step forward.
I take a step back. “Of course not. I’m just resetting some boundaries we seemed to have forgotten about. For our working relationship.”
I watch as his expression shifts when he realizes what’s happening here. “Right. Our working relationship.”
“Yes. So, good luck to you and the team this week. I’ll see you when you’re home.”
“Are you sure you’re allowed to say that to me? That’s not too inappropriate for you?”
“Emmett—”
“No, you’re right, Reese. The conversation was needed and I got it. Loud and clear. Thanks for the reminder, boss.”