Chapter 16
I can’t stop thinking about Bree. Whether she wants to admit it or not, there’s something here.
Something I’m dying to explore. I want to know about her good days and her bad days.
I want to know about her other favorite foods now that I know she loves cinnamon sugar bagels despite eating yogurt every morning.
I want to know what makes her smile and do that for her every single day.
But if she’ll only let me be her friend, then that’s what I’ll be.
For now.
It’s why I’ve checked in on her twice since the meeting in the conference room last week.
The past few times I’ve tried to talk to her, she’s been in a bad mood and rushed to get off the phone.
It made me wonder if those assholes Mark and Ricardo were still giving her trouble.
I haven’t seen or heard from either of them.
Even through my suspension when I worked out at the stadium every day, or when I met with the communications team about arranging community service while on the road, they were nowhere to be seen.
But any time I got a tiny glimpse of Bree, she was stressed and wearing another skirt. One day she was in a full suit.
With the team back today, it’s time to switch my focus away from what’s going on with Bree to how to mend fences with my teammates.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to face Miller and Fields the most. They invited me in, and I repaid them by getting suspended, impacting our chances to keep the lead of the division because they need my bat at the plate and my glove at short.
Just like every day, I get to the stadium early, run some laps around the field, and do some exercises in the weight room.
Partly because I’ll miss the normal game-day routines due to the press conference, but also because I’m trying to prove to everyone why I still deserve to be here.
When I come back to the locker room, Fields and Miller are at their lockers.
The locker room is more lounge than locker room with leather couches and chairs in the center of the room and TVs mounted on open wall space.
Along the perimeter of the room, each player has a designated locker which are more like cubbies because there’s no door on them and instead, they’re full-length open cubbies with compartments for our gear and a hanging rod for our jerseys.
“Rook, you’re here early,” Miller greets me. None of the guys on the team have reached out since the arrest, so I’m not sure what to expect from my captains.
“I have to be upstairs for a presser in a few.”
“Good to see you putting in the extra effort.” Fields pats me on the back when I pass by to get to my locker.
I reach the front of my designated space and pause. “What’s this?” Inside my locker is a white hard hat type helmet with chin straps. Picking it up, I notice a sticker on the front that reads, “Property of the Music City Troubadours.”
Miller turns his back to me as his shoulder shake. Fields barely suppresses a smile as I turn the helmet over and see another on the back that reads “If found, return to Stella Stadium.”
“Is this a riding helmet?” I stare dumbstruck.
“The correct term is equestrian helmet,” Fields informs me of the correct terminology, his grin widening at the joke. Miller can’t hold back his laughter anymore and cackles loudly.
“Why did you get me an equestrian helmet?” I was sure they would be pissed at me. This is completely unexpected.
“You took a pretty steep header off the front of that horse, Rook. Thought this might help next time you wanted a joy ride,” Miller ribs playfully and punches my bicep as I take a seat in the padded folding chair directly in front of my locker.
Fields shrugs. “Gotta protect the assets. We thought about getting you something for the arms, since those are your real money makers, but couldn’t find anything on such short notice.”
“Wait, are y’all seriously making a joke of this right now? I thought you’d want me gone.”
“Why would you think that?” Fields sits down in the chair beside mine. The mark of a true captain, he listens intently as I respond.
“I dunno man, I repaid your kindness by getting in trouble. Like massive kicked-off-the-team and jail-time trouble on the first break. I’d be pretty angry if I were you.”
“Listen, was it stupid to do what you did? Yeah, it was.”
“Hilarious though. Fucking epic if you ask me,” Miller cuts Fields off and pulls up a chair to join our huddle.
“As I was saying,” Fields says, rolling his eyes good-naturedly at his best friend, “it was dumb, but we’ve all been there.”
“Maybe not arrest-level been there, but we’ve all been rookies.” They bounce off each other. Taking turns on each sentence, but somehow still making a coherent statement.
“It’s a tough adjustment being called up, and when there’s time off, you want to blow off steam. We get it.” Fields offers me an encouraging smile as he playfully shoves Miller.
“What did you guys do that was stupid?” I can’t imagine Preston Fields getting into trouble. Until his trip to Belize where he got stranded with Coach’s daughter, he rarely made waves. He was the model player. He was a role model for me.
“Nope, not gonna give you those secrets. We don’t know you like that.” Miller winks to tell me he’s joking.
“The point is you made a mistake. It’s not the mistake that matters as much as how you redeem yourself,” Fields continues.
“I hear you. I fucked up and I’m just trying to keep my head down now and put in the work.
I don’t want to give them any reason to tell me to pack it up.
Mark started throwing around ‘breach of contract’ in our initial meeting and it’s got me worried, even if they worked out a plea deal with the DA. ”
Miller rolls his eyes. “You aren’t gonna be told to pack it up, Bennett.”
“He’s right,” Fields agrees “If they wanted you gone, you’d already be gone.
No team is going to put in this much effort and resources to rehab a player’s image if they don’t see a future with that player.
You’ve got the entire front office on your side, and I’ll tell you from personal experience with Coach, he’s not going to bat for someone he doesn’t have faith in.
” Fields pokes my chest, gets to his feet, and walks off.
“Preach. That man is tough, but once you’re in, you’re in.
Coach wouldn’t outright tell you that he doesn’t like you, but there’d be signs.
We’re all on your side.” Miller rises from the folding chair and moves over to the couches instead, getting comfortable since there’s still a few hours before the game.
“Hey, Mills. Before I go, I know you said not to be worried about it, but isn’t that Mark guy, like, the head honcho or something?” I’ve been curious what their take on Mark and Bree’s working relationship is, so this seems like a good time to do some digging.
“Man, fuck Mark. That guys a punk ass bitch. He’s the general counsel, but everyone knows he’s just the figure head.” Miller leans back on the couch to get comfortable. “Gabby runs that team.”
He confirmed my suspicions. No wonder she always seems stressed. “Is he ever around?”
“Not really.” He shrugs. “Probably a good thing. From what I’ve seen he’s an ass. Better for Gabby that way.”
“Yeah…” I agree it’s better when Mark isn’t there to make her question her intelligence or value to the team, but even if he’s not around, he’s still an ass that needs to be dealt with.
“What do you know, Rook?” he asks, suspiciously.
“Nothing specific. She’s mentioned he’s not the easiest to work with.”
“When was this?”
“That morning you showed up for coffee. We talked over breakfast, and I asked why she’s always so buttoned-up in the office when no one else is.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” How does he not know this? It didn’t take much to figure out that she puts on literal armor before she goes to work every day.
“It’s a defense mechanism. She uses her power suits and appearance to justify her belonging in the office.”
“Huh.” He fidgets uncomfortably. “Guess I’ve never really noticed that.” Rubbing a hand down his face, he considers what I’ve said. “Shit.”
“You’re pretty close, right? That’s what you said before, but it’s more than that isn’t it?”
“Yeah, Rook. It’s more. Gabby’s my sister from another mister. Ever since we first met, we just clicked. She sees me, ya get me?”
“I think so.” I’d be lying if I said I completely understood their relationship after watching them together at the gala and the next morning cozied up in the kitchen.
“Just kills me that you come along and see something in a few weeks that I haven’t caught in three years. She mentioned it not long ago, but she wouldn’t give me details and said she was handling it. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to her.”
“Sorry man. I’m not sure what to say to that.
” Doubt and jealousy still warred in my mind when I thought about them together, but there was no mistaking the genuine concern on Miller’s face when he realized he missed this.
I felt bad for being the messenger. Still, it’s better he knows than her having to deal with this alone.
If she won’t let me in, maybe she’ll let him in.
“I’ll have to talk to her more about it tonight.”
“Just do me a favor and don’t tell her I said anything. I’m trying to stay on her good side.”
“Tempted to rat you out just for being annoying.” He side-eyes me. “Don’t worry about it. She seemed off when we were texting earlier, so I’ll blame it on that.”
“Off how?” I’m digging. Doubtful he’ll throw me a bone, but one can hope.
“Depends on why you want to know.”
“When I texted her the other day, she seemed to be having a bad day.”
His eyebrows raise in shock. “You texted her?” I’m surprised when I hear curiosity in his tone.
“Look, I know you know about before.” I add emphasis to the word but keep my voice in a hushed whisper. “She’s made it clear she doesn’t want a repeat. So, if all I can do is be her friend, then that’s what I’ll do.” I hedge, unsure how he’d feel about my interest in her as more than friends.
“You’re a good guy, Chase. She’ll come around.” It almost feels like he’s giving me his blessing.
When Fields comes back, I tell them I should get upstairs for the press conference. I don’t know if he knows about me and Bree or not, and I’d rather keep it that way to avoid any other marks against me from her.
“Speak from the heart and you’ll be alright. We heard you’ve been here the whole time we were gone putting in the work. Keep that dedication up, and everything’s going to work out,” Fields offers his advice.
“Thanks, man. That means a lot. I really appreciate it.” Giving them both a firm handshake, I leave the locker room and take the tunnel to the main office. The only person I can think who would’ve told Fields about the extra work I’ve put in would be Bree.
Knowing she was paying attention makes me feel better about my fixation on working out on the field where I was hoping she would watch from her office.
The need for her to realize I was taking this seriously was more important than anything.
I’d never get over the look of disappointment etched into her face when she looked at me.
It’s one I wish I could wipe away for eternity.
I tried to stay away, to keep my distance and respect the professional boundaries she laid out, but the desire to talk to her outweighed the voice in my head telling me not to.
I was hoping that talking about the girl I met at the community center would break the ice.
Sure, making it sound like I met another woman probably wasn’t helping my case, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do to get his girl’s attention.
On my way to the media room, I wonder what it will take to get Mark and Ricardo fired.
I thought Grant was for sure going to fire them after how they acted in the conference room, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Maybe I should pull him aside after this and let him know exactly how they treat her.