47. JACKSON
FORTY-SEVEN
JACKSON
“You ready for this?” Chuck shoots me a smile.
I grin. “Can’t believe it, but yeah, more than ready.”
“Remember, I’ll do the majority of the talking when we meet with the Farm Director and GM.
They aren’t aware of what the topic of this meeting is, just that it’s sensitive in nature.
But I have very few concerns about their reaction.
I’ve done this before with Stone. The Jetties are a progressive franchise, ready to move beyond the old attitudes that still linger in baseball. ”
I nod, thinking back to Dominguez’s locker room speech a couple months ago, to my meeting with him in his office. He’s just one person in this massive franchise, but having a supportive manager is the start. Everything extends from there.
We’ll be meeting with him first, just informally, then we’re scheduled to see the Farm Director in an hour, and the GM will phone in. We turn down the hall that houses the skipper’s office.
Chuck’s phone rings, and he glances at it and pauses. He frowns. “One minute. It’s the GM. Let me take this.” He holds his phone up to his ear. “Hello, Chuck Wentworth speaking.”
His frown deepens. “Yes, we’re actually here now, so we’ll head right over.” He hangs up and pockets his phone.
“What’s going on?”
“The GM wants to push up our meeting. We’ll meet with them now.”
“Okayyyy,” I say slowly. “I’ll just let the skipper know really quick.”
I jog over to Dominguez’s office and pop my head in. “Hey, Skip.”
“Olander.” He smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
My stomach tightens. “The GM needs to meet with me early, so can we talk after?”
He nods. “Sure thing.”
I head back over to Chuck and can’t shake off the feeling that something is off. “Any idea why they want to meet early? Is that weird?”
“Maybe, maybe not. The GM is a busy woman. She may have needed to reschedule because something popped up.”
We step into the hall that houses the front office and stop at reception. The man behind the desk smiles at us and stands. “Phil and Sherry are ready for you. Follow me.”
He leads us to the Director’s office and delivers us inside. A man with graying hair at the temples shoots us a smile. That’s Phil, the Director who oversees the Jetties’ farm system. His monitor is already facing our way.
Sherry, the GM, smiles warmly at us, her deep bronze skin glowing on the screen. “Thank you so much for your flexibility,” she says.
“Please take a seat,” Phil says, gesturing to the armchairs in front of his desk.
I sit and shift in my seat, my gaze darting from Sherry to Phil to Chuck. Chuck’s expression is polite but unreadable.
“Before we get into why you asked for this meeting, there’s something important I need to go over. I’m going to get right down to it,” Sherry says. “This all came together extremely quickly and has been a whirlwind of twenty-four hours with the deadline looming.”
“I’ll say,” Phil agrees.
“Jackson, you’re being acquired by the Berkeley Dune Enforcers.” Sherry’s voice rings through the room.
Her mouth keeps moving, but her words waver in and out. Chuck is speaking fast, too fast for my stunned brain to process. Phil is talking now. I think. Or maybe they’re all talking at once.
Blood rushes in my ears.
I’m being traded.
My insides ice over, but somehow, even though I’m frozen, my heart is pumping in overdrive.
Where is Berkeley’s Triple-A team located?
I rack my brain, but there’s nothing up there. Just blind panic.
“Where?” my croak slices through the room.
Phil and Chuck share a concerned glance, identical furrowed brows staring back at me.
“Where is their Triple-A team?” I ask hoarsely.
Oh God. Triple-A teams are usually pretty close to the franchise team for easy call-ups. Which means one thing. I’m most likely heading to California.
Ohgodohgodohgod.
“Jackson,” Chuck says gently. “You’re getting traded to Berkeley. You’re heading to the big leagues.”
I blink once. Twice.
I’m…going to be playing major league baseball.
In California.
“When?” I don’t even recognize the choked sound that just came out of me.
My gaze catches on the plane ticket in Chuck’s hand.
“Your flight leaves at 6:30 tonight.”
Tonight.
I leave tonight.