28. Liliana
Chapter 28
Liliana
Racing into the clubhouse, I begin searching for Smithy. I want to tell him about what happened and beg him to let me move in so I don’t have to worry about paying for my apartment until I figure out what I'm going to do next.
I have enough money saved to last a while, but only if I don’t need to pay for a place to live, otherwise, I’ll only have a few months.
“Hey, have you seen Smithy?” I ask Charlie as I pass her.
“No, but I'm sure he isn't happy.” She eyes me with a mixture of disappointment and anger.
My brows knit, but I keep going. I need to talk to him. I can figure out what’s wrong with him and why he wouldn’t be happy then.
“Have you seen Smithy?” I ask as Macy speed walks in my direction.
“No, but I'm busy enough trying to clean up your mess,” she practically growls as she lifts her phone to her ear and begins yelling at someone on the other end.
“What the heck is going on?” I murmur to myself. What mess did I cause? I doubt Bill wrote my article and even if he did, it was all good things.
I push open the door to the locker room and find dozens of angry glares aimed right at me. Smithy’s standing in Owen’s office with concern written all over his face. What the hell is going on?
“You have some fucking nerve showing up here,” Wheeler hisses. “Was everything fake? Did you date him just to get closer to the clubhouse?”
My stomach drops as I look at a man I’ve always considered a close friend. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this mad.
And what’s he talking about? Was what fake? Why would I date Smithy just to get closer to the clubhouse?
“Yeah, how big are your balls?” A rookie sneers.
My mind spins with what they could be talking about. I didn’t do anything.
“Did you only hang around to get dirt on us?” Someone else asks.
“What are you talking about?” My gaze snaps to Smithy as confusion takes over me. Clearly, something happened and I'm completely clueless.
“Come here, Sweets.” Smithy motions for me to walk into Owen’s office.
I eye the men behind the desk, wondering if they’re pissed at me too. Both of their faces are expressionless, which doesn’t make me feel any better. I know Owen can school his features when he needs to and I'm sure Levi learned to do the same after being in the spotlight for so long.
“Care to explain this?” Owen stands from his chair and offers it to me. “You told me about the article Bill wanted you to write, but I didn’t expect this to be released.”
I take a seat and slide the chair closer to the screen. My eyes scan the article in front of me and my stomach rolls with the lies typed out on the screen. Who could hate someone this much to write this and publish it for the world to see?
When I get to the bottom line, it takes everything in me to take in a deep breath and blow it out slowly. There in black and white is ‘Written by Liliana Sweets’.
“I didn’t… I don’t know where they got this.” I glance at Smithy, then Owen and Levi.
“Did you write this?” Smithy asks quietly.
“No. I’d never write this.” My chest aches at the thought of Smithy thinking I could do this. I feel like I'm going to be sick.
How could he believe I’d get closer to him just to hurt the team? Maybe we’re not meant to be together. If he truly believes I could do this, we don’t belong together.
“I told you she wouldn’t do it,” Smithy breathes a sigh of relief and drops into the chair across the desk from me. He places his elbows on his knees and drops his face into his hands.
“What?” I whisper.
“Sweets, I know you. I never believed for a second you wrote that article.” Smithy lifts his gaze to meet mine. “The question is, who wrote it and slapped your name on it?”
“And why?” Owen adds. “They made sure your name was attached, I want to know why.”
“I only gave Bill my article… an hour ago. This had to already be written for it to be published that quickly.” I frown at the screen, still not understanding this. “For it to be edited and ready to go, it would take a few hours. I purposely didn’t email Bill my article because I assumed it would be the cause of me getting fired. I even had a resignation letter written out before I went into his office. When he told me I was done, I sent the email right away. I don’t see why he would publish anything I’ve written once I was fired.”
“Why would Bill attach your name to it?” Owen asks again.
“Because he knows I think highly of you and he still wanted me to take you down. Because he knows Smithy is my best friend and he wants to ruin that relationship. He told me when I quit that he’ll make sure I never work in sports reporting ever again,” I answer honestly.
“What do we do now?” Smithy runs a hand through his hair, more than frustrated.
“I told you, Macy’s already working on damage control. We don’t need to do anything else. She’ll fix this, just give her time.” Owen softens his voice. He can tell Smithy’s upset and feels like this is his fault, but it’s not.
It’s my fault. I never should’ve trusted Bill. I never should’ve let it slip that I was friends with Smithy. I can only imagine how much worse this would’ve been if he knew we were dating or if Smithy had believed I wrote the article.
My entire life could have crumbled into pieces. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Even though Owen says not to worry, I'm freaking out over here.
My mind strays to how Wheeler looked at me. How disgusted he was to see me. The words he spit in my direction hurt more than I care to acknowledge. Even though he was the one who spoke them, I know the rest of the team thought it too.
Charlie and Macy… their reactions to seeing me make sense now. I can't say I blame them for believing I’d write this crap. They don’t know me that well, and they didn’t exactly trust me to begin with.
Reality slaps me in the face when I realize no reputable news will hire me after my name was attached to something so hateful and full of lies. They’ll see right through that article and assume I was using my work to get revenge on Owen and his team.
“What’s wrong, Sweets?”
“My career is ruined,” I whisper as tears cloud my vision. “No one will hire me after this.”
“Do you have the article you wrote?” Owen asks.
“Yeah.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and press a few buttons before Owen’s computer dings with a new email.
I slip out of his chair and over to the other side of the desk. He takes the seat I was just occupying and begins reading my article out loud.
Smithy tugs me into his lap and wraps his arm around my waist. He lets me cry into his shoulder while he rubs up and down my back.
“ Are the Philadelphia Pit Bulls like every other team?
By Liliana Sweets
I’ve spent the last few weeks with the Philadelphia Pit Bulls. I’ve been in their locker room, physical therapy rooms, gym, watching practice, and rooting for them during games. I’ve learned so much about not only the team, but the players and management. I want to share what I’ve learned because this team is truly unique.
Let’s start with the owner, Owen Powell. There’s always been a little bit of negative light on Powell. People think he’s some hotshot businessman and has no business owning a baseball team, but they’d be wrong. Powell is one of the most caring owners I’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with. I’ve seen him pull players aside and talk them through something going on in their personal life. I’ve seen him help players repair their relationships with exes and help them find their happily ever after. He’s offered jobs to people he knows are in need and he’s fired people who were set on seeing his team fail.
Powell has a pulse on his team and he pays attention to every heartbeat. If there’s a stutter, he’s investigating to see what caused it. If there’s a skipped beat, he’s on it too. He notices what no one else does and he doesn’t have a problem taking action when others might be too afraid of what could happen to their image.
His ex shortstop, Zachery Stubbs, is a great example of that. Though I’ve been privy to information regarding Stubbs, I’ve stayed quiet for a long time about it. I didn’t want to give him any face time in the news because I don’t think he’s worth it. I’ve seen what he can do and I didn’t really want any part of it.
When Wyatt Everson was injured this pre-season, it was because of Stubbs. Stubbs was jealous the new head physical therapist for the team, Charlie Robinson, was showing Everson more attention than she was showing him. He purposely injured Everson during practice and almost ended his career.
Dr. Jesse Chipkin, the team’s orthopedic doctor, commented saying “If any more damage had been done, he might’ve been benched for the entire season, if not forced to walk away from baseball forever.” He continued to tell me what an impact Ms. Robinson had on Everson’s recovery. “Charlie and Wyatt have always been close. They’ve been friends since they were in elementary school and she cares about him so deeply. He’s lucky he got hurt while she was in charge of his care because no one could take care of him better. She’s pushed him to keep going when he wanted to give up and she’s forced him to rest when he doesn’t realize how hard he was working out his knee. He wouldn’t have been behind home plate for the opening game this season without her.”
I tried to contact Stubbs for a comment, but he told me no thanks (in much more colorful language). But it doesn’t matter. I’ve had more than a few personal run-ins with Stubbs. I’ve seen him flirt with women and when they don’t give him what he wants, he gets extremely angry. I’ve been on the receiving end of it too, before he knew I was a reporter. He’s gone after women who are dating, engaged, or married to other players on the team. He truly cares about himself and nothing else. As far as I'm concerned, he’s gotten exactly what he deserved when Powell let him go.
Powell didn’t have a hard time letting go of his lead coach, Danny Bravo, this pre-season either. I’ve been told Bravo wasn’t paying attention to his team. He was pushing them too hard and when they needed a break, he wouldn’t give them one. Powell said “My players are my priority. If we lose a game, oh well. We’ll do better in the next game. But pushing them too hard isn't going to help anyone. They’re not machines, they’re people. Sometimes they need a day off, or they need to walk away from the plate. There are times something is wrong with their technique, but at this stage in their career, it’s normally something in their head. They need time to get their heads in order, just as much as they need to practice. I need a coach who understands that.”
I tried to contact Bravo for a comment, but he wasn’t interested in speaking to me.
The new head coach, Levi Harrison, is well known in Philadelphia. I think a few of you might remember him from when he played for the Pit Bulls. He was one of the best players our city has ever seen and it’s nice to see him back on the team in some capacity. When I asked him what it’s like to coach the team he once played for, he said “It’s so nice to be back. I’ve missed the game and when Owen called me and asked if I was interested in coaching, I jumped at the chance. I know I’ve never coached before, but I’ve been coached for decades. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. I’m not afraid to take pointers from my players and learn from them too. I think we’ll have an amazing season because these guys are working so hard and are more dedicated than any team I’ve ever seen. I'm proud to work with them and get to coach them, helping them get even better.”
Then we have the lead physical therapist, Charlie Robinson (Soon to be Charlie Everson). Robinson goes above and beyond for all the players. She stays late if one of them needs extra help and will work with them whenever they need it. I’ve also seen her knock them down a peg or two when they need it. She isn't afraid to call them out when she needs to, but she knows how to be gentle when they need that too. She seems like the perfect fit for the Pit Bulls.
The players are even more unique than anyone else associated with the team. I got to know the starting lineup the best, so let me give you a few details I noticed about them.
Travis Smith, better known as Smithy, always has a smile and is encouraging. He takes responsibility when he screws up and works with other players to help them improve their game. He has a way of lightening the situation and getting the guys laughing. He definitely knows how to charm everyone. I think the team would be a lot different without him there to help them laugh things off or encourage them when they need help.
Chase Wheeler looks a little scary sometimes with his thick beard and the hard stare, but he’s a jokester through and through. He’s going to tease you relentlessly and make you blush, but you’ll never laugh more than when Wheeler’s around. He’s a true friend who isn't afraid to call you out and make you see the hard truth.
Jamie Schmidt’s a little more difficult to describe. He’s secretive and sometimes I wonder if he’s really a superhero in disguise. He’s always been overly kind to me and has an easy smile for anyone who comes in contact with him.
Ronald Covey is the team’s teddy bear. He’s a big guy, but a total softy. He’s the guy everyone wants to hang out with. The one who will twerk when he gets on base, just to get you to smile. He has this ability to become friends with everyone, even members of opposing teams. You just can't help but love him.
Leo Jackson’s the guy you want to hang out with. The one who’s easy to talk to. You expect small talk, but soon you’re spilling all of your secrets to him. He doesn’t judge you no matter what and makes you feel at ease almost instantly.
Jackson McLaren is newer to the team so I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. He’s encouraging to the entire team and helps them when he can. He’s such a huge asset to the team and is already showing that.
William Holden is also newer to the team. He was welcoming instantly. He went out of his way to explain things to me and ask if I needed help with anything. He should definitely be on the welcoming committee for the Pit Bulls. Maybe he should be at the gates when fans come into the stadium, everyone would want season tickets then.
Then there are Wyatt Everson and Cord Powell. They seem to coach and manage the team even more than the actual coach or manager. The players know they can talk to them and most of them look up to Everson and Powell (Cord). I’ve seen men go to them with concerns or questions, and they’re happy to help however they can.
When they’ve had an especially hard practice, Everson will give them a pep talk before they call it a day. He points out where each man can improve, but also tells them where they did good. He definitely knows how to lead a team.
Powell (Cord) on the other hand, picks up on the little things, just like his father does. I’ve witnessed him ending a practice without permission from the coaches. He’s taken a stand against the coaches when he knows his team needs it. He watches and sees when his team needs something and he’ll fight for them every time.
Some people think Powell (Cord) gets special treatment because his father, Powell (Owen), owns the team. I’ve seen the exact opposite. Powell (Cord) works just as hard, if not harder, than every other player on the Pit Bulls. He’s in the clubhouse earlier than anyone else, including coaches and the physical therapy team. He pushes himself hard and doesn’t give up. He isn't afraid of working and putting the time in to be the best. Most of the time, he’s the last man out of the locker room too. The hours he puts in are shocking, when he could possibly skate by, barely putting in any effort.
When I spoke to Powell (Cord) he said “My dad is a generous man, but he doesn’t give handouts to people who don’t deserve it. He values hard workers and is happy to reward them, but if I started slacking off, he’d happily bench me. Sometimes I think he’d actually be excited if that happened. He’s always been a hard worker and he expects everyone else to do the same. When some of us struggle in the gym, he isn't afraid to get on a weight bench and show us how to do it better. He’s more than willing to encourage us and will challenge us because that’s who he is.”
I’ve met more than a few people who are anti-Powell (Owen), but I'm not sure why. They make it their mission to ruin his name and make people hate him. From what I’ve seen and heard, Powell is pretty great. If I was given the opportunity to work for him, I’d jump at the chance. He’s a fair boss and cares about each of his employees. I hope one day, people stop trying to take down Owen Powell because they’re jealous of everything he’s accomplished. The man works hard for what he has and I don’t see why he should be villainized for it.”
As he finishes reading, the room goes silent. I hold my breath, waiting for someone to say something. Anything would be great.
“Damn, you really know how to put someone in their place, Lils.” Levi chuckles and shakes his head. “You called Bill out in your article without naming him, yet made it graceful and innocent.”
“Liliana, I'm honored by what you wrote,” Owen says softly. “You’re an amazing reporter and this makes me so happy to know this is what you’ve witnessed hanging around my team for a few weeks.”
“It’s all the truth,” I murmur.
“Yes, but when so many people try to tear me down, it’s nice to know someone is seeing the good I'm trying to do… Would you mind if I gave this to Macy?”
“I don’t mind, but don’t think she’ll want it. She seemed livid with me when I saw her on my way in.”
“Oh, don’t worry about her.” He waves off my concern. “She’s a little firecracker, but she’s not stupid. You have to let her explode, but once she does and she cools off, she’ll realize you never wrote the published article. She’ll apologize to you and feel terrible for assuming it was you, just wait and see.”
“Thank you for believing me. I didn’t know about the article when I got here. I was coming to ask Smithy if I could move in since I'm now jobless.”
“That shouldn’t even be a question in your head, baby. Obviously, you’re welcome in my home. I was going to ask you to move in after the season was over. I wanted to give you time to get used to this.” He motions between us.
“Why don’t the two of you get out of here. I think I have enough damage control to deal with when it comes to the team. I think it’s better if you’re not here, Smithy.” Owen smiles sadly at us.
“I'm sorry, Owen,” I whisper as the first tear trickles down my cheek.
“Don’t go crying on me, darling. None of this is on you. I did a little digging on Bill and know why he’s doing this. Bill’s the father of a man who used to work for Scott Powell and Coleman. His son was a little asshole who flirted too much with my other employees. He spent more time trying to find someone to screw than he worked. Hell, he flirted with my wife, Logan, and my sister. I don’t get it. Why would you flirt with the bosses’ significant others? That’s just stupid. We got a ton of complaints about him not understanding what no meant, so I fired him. He had been warned multiple times. Bill’s tried to go after Parker and Lucas, but they have nothing to do with the sports world and no one cared about what he had to say. He saw a chance to take one of us down and he’s taking it. I guarantee he slapped your name on this, hoping I wouldn’t realize it came from him. Either way, it has nothing to do with you.”
I nod my head, unable to find my words. I appreciate Owen’s viewpoint on this and I'm more than happy he isn't blaming me for it.
“Thank you. I’ll be in tomorrow unless I hear from you.” Smithy stands and places me on my feet. He intertwines our fingers and leads me to the door.
“They’re not going to be easy on you, Smithy. Not right away. You have to let it roll off your back,” Levi says right before we open the door and step out into the locker room.
Chatter stops as every player turns in our direction and glares. I glance around at the familiar faces and my heart sinks.
Wyatt and Cord almost look like they pity me. I'm sure they assume I wrote the article too and the tears in my eyes are from Smithy rejecting me. Leo watches me carefully, but there isn't any sort of judgment in his expression.
Covey’s eyes are full of sadness, but he doesn’t say a word to me. I'm sure he’s disappointed in me. I swallow hard and remind myself this will blow over sooner or later. They’ll learn the truth and all of this hatred will go away.
I follow Smithy to his cubby as he grabs his bag. He stuffs a few things inside and his back is to me as Wheeler strolls over.
“Why are you here, Liliana? Was the article not enough? Did you want to make sure you looked in our eyes as soon as we read what you really think of us?” Wheeler steps so closely to me his chest almost touches mine.
“Back the fuck up, Wheeler,” Smithy growls as he tugs me behind him, placing himself between us. He has no problem going nose to nose with Wheeler.
“No! I want to know what she has to say for herself. I can't believe her. You know she’s only with you to get more information out of you. She hasn’t wanted you since you’ve been chasing her in college. Isn't it pretty coincidental she finally starts dating you when she decides to write an article like this on all of us?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You should shut your mouth before you say something you’re going to regret,” Smithy says in a deathly low tone. It has the hairs on my arms standing on end. I’ve never heard him sound so scary.
“Let’s just go, Trav.” I tug on his arm, trying to get him to walk away.
“Yeah, Trav. Why don’t you listen to your little whore,” Wheeler sneers. “I guess she’s willing to do anything for a story.”
“You motherfucker!” Smithy shoves Wheeler as hard as he can, making him stumble back a few steps, but there are other teammates behind him, keeping him upright.
Wheeler doesn’t even hesitate. He comes back at Smithy with his fists raised. I want to step between them and stop this, but I know I’ll get hurt and Smithy will never forgive himself if that happens.
“Break this up!” Cord hollers, trying to get between them, but some of the players I don’t know as well don’t let him through.
A punch is thrown by Wheeler and connects with Smithy’s cheek, right below his eye. His head whips to the side and my entire body goes still.
“We’re fucking done!” Smithy doesn’t even seem to care about his own injury as he swings for Wheeler, punching him right in the eye.
“Enough,” Owen roars, making the entire room go silent. “Sit at your fucking cubbies like the children you are!”
When people don’t move fast enough, he shoves them in the direction of the chairs in front of their cubbies.
“I was planning on waiting until after Smithy and Liliana left to have this conversation, but apparently you little shits can't wait five minutes.” He folds his massive arms over his chest and glares at each player as they slowly take their seats. “Levi, could you get Charlie and Macy? I think they need to be here for this too. And when Macy argues, tell her I said now, or she can find a new job.”
Owen disappears into his office and comes out a moment later, pushing his office chair. He moves it to the center of the room before sitting down like a pissed off father.
“I can't even wait in my fucking office for the girls to join us because I don’t trust you assholes to keep your hands to yourself… Smithy, sit. Now, you’re not leaving either.”
Smithy takes a seat and tugs me onto his lap. He places his large hand on my cheek and guides my head until it’s pressed against his chest.
“Stop beating yourself up, Sweets,” he murmurs only loud enough for me to hear.
“But you’re hurt and it’s all because of me. You should’ve left Wheeler alone. He wouldn’t have touched me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that right now. He’s livid. I’ve never seen him like this and he’s said quite a few things to you I never thought he would’ve said. You will always be my priority and I’ll always protect you.” He brushes a kiss across my forehead.
The door to the locker room flies open and Macy stomps in like a pissed off pit bull.
“Excuse the fuck outta me! You’re going to fire me if I don’t come down here? I'm trying to clean up the mess she made and you’re threatening me?” She points a finger in my direction, never taking her eyes off of Owen.
“Sit on Cord’s lap and shut up,” Owen growls. He normally has the patience of a saint while dealing with the team and the girls, but he’s pissed.
Macy scowls, but slowly walks to Cord and drops down onto his lap. He murmurs something in her ear and she shakes her head.
Charlie slips in behind Owen with two ice packs in her hand. She gives one to Wheeler and one to Smithy before settling on Wyatt’s lap.
“Are you all ready to listen like adults?” Owen asks as Levi pulls up a chair next to his and settles into it.
“Yes,” everyone around the room grumbles.
“Liliana didn’t write the article, so get off your high horses and stop looking down your nose at her,” Levi announces loud enough for everyone to hear him.
“What are you talking about? How would you know?” Wheeler’s voice is full of anger and I'm sure the black eye he’ll be sporting tomorrow isn't going to help ease those feelings.
“Because I have the article she wrote.” Owen waves a few papers in the air. “Shall I read it to you like a bedtime story?” He arches his brow, then begins to read it to all of them.
I don’t miss the confused looks and questions swimming around in everyone’s gaze as they look my way. I'm not giving them anything. They believed I’d betray them. I understand they’re pissed, but they were out of line. Especially Wheeler.
I can only imagine how much shit Winnie’s going to give him when she finds out. She won't let it go either. He’ll be paying for his comments for weeks, if not months.
And then there’s Smithy…
He and Wheeler have been best friends for as long as I’ve known them, but I'm not sure they’ll recover from the comments Wheeler threw around today. Smithy doesn’t forgive easily and he’ll hold a grudge even more since the comments were about me.
“Lils…” Wheeler whispers as soon as Owen finishes reading.
“Don’t fucking talk to her,” Smithy growls.
“I… I didn’t know. I thought…”
“You thought the worst of her and you don’t deserve her friendship anymore. You don’t deserve mine either.” Smithy hugs me a little closer and rests his chin on my shoulder.
The pain in Wheeler’s eyes breaks my heart. We’ve spent countless hours around each other since he and Winnie started dating in college. I can't imagine not having him in my life, but Smithy’s pissed. I might be able to smooth things over in the long run, but it’s not going to be easy.
I can't say Wheeler’s words didn’t hurt, but they’re not unforgivable. It does make me wonder what he truly thinks about me though. I understand we can overreact and say things we don’t mean sometimes when someone hurts our loved ones and that might be what happened today. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not sure Smithy feels the same.