Epilogue
ISLA
The big day is finally here. We’re hosting the season opener at home, and the energy throughout the stadium and offices is electric.
“Okay, so everyone knows where they’re stationed? We want as much content as possible, both for live posting and future posts.” I look at the team of interns I put together for today. “Nick, you’re monitoring our socials for comments?”
“Yep, I’m on it,” he replies, waving his phone in the air.
“Great. Make sure you let me know if anything seems off. And all of the in-game entertainment is fully set up, yes?” I look to the intern in charge of that, who nods. “Make sure you have water on hand for the mascot. That costume gets hot.” She gives me a thumbs-up.
I look back down at my checklist and let out a satisfied sigh. “Alright, team. I think we’re ready. Go Thunder!” Everyone cheers and then heads off to do their assigned jobs. And I finally let myself sit down. Just for a second.
Of course, that second is when Luca finds me. “Already slacking on the job, wonder woman?” he teases, coming into the now empty conference room.
I glare up at him. “Slacking? Seriously?”
He chuckles, sitting down next to me, and pulling my chair closer to him so he can reach out and tug me into his lap. I go without too much resistance because being held by Luca is the best possible way to unravel the tension I’m carrying today.
“Have I thanked you for not only seeing my vision for this team but bringing it to life even better than I could have imagined,” he murmurs, resting his chin on the top of my head.
“You should see the crowd out there. I don’t think there’s more than a handful of Cardinals fans, it’s a sea of grey and blue. ”
I smile. We’ve got a sold-out stadium for the home opener, and I couldn’t be happier. “We’ll have to make sure to beat them.”
His chest rumbles with his sound of agreement. But then the radio on my hip crackles. “Isla, can you come to the announcer booth, please?”
I sigh at Luca. “Sorry.”
He leans forward and kisses me again. “Go. Be amazing.”
I pick up the radio. “On my way.”
The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I don’t get another chance to sit down or talk to Luca and Charlie, who are watching the game from the owner’s box, along with Juniper, my mom, and Luca’s parents.
I’d be jealous of them if I had a moment to think about it.
But the next time I see any of them is long after the fans have left and the stadium is quiet.
Exhausted, I make my way outside to see Luca chatting with Dom in the staff parking lot.
“Great work tonight, Isla,” Dom says. “I don’t want to see you in the office before nine tomorrow. Got it?”
I smile tiredly. “Deal. But only if you agree to the same.” We’ve both been starting our days well before eight, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one grateful that today went off without a hitch.
“See you in the morning. I better get home before Coral thinks I fell asleep at my desk.”
We wave goodbye, then Luca drapes his arm over my shoulders and steers me to his car. “Come on, wonder woman. I’m going to take you home, run you a bath, and put you to bed.”
I sleep like the dead for seven hours, then wake up in a panic before I remember what Dom said about starting work later today.
But as soon as I step foot in the office, I’m reminded that the heavy workload involved in managing the marketing department for even a minor league sports team doesn’t slow down once the season starts.
My morning flies by, and then it’s time for my debrief with Dom. I make my way down the hall to his office, my eyebrows raising when I see Luca in there, chatting with him.
“I thought you were going to the lab today and work on setting up your equipment?” I ask.
He turns to me with a smile. “I did for a couple of hours, but then I decided to surprise you and take you out for lunch to celebrate a successful opening day.”
I go to reply, and Dom interrupts me. “That’s sweet and romantic and shit, but if you’re gonna be here, you need to sit down and shut up so we can get this meeting over with.”
I stifle my laugh and take a seat in front of Dom’s desk, opening the notes app on my phone where I have everything I thought of yesterday.
It takes us close to an hour to go through it all, but eventually, I set my phone down. “That’s it on my end. Overall, everything ran smoothly, but there’s those few tweaks we can make quickly enough. We’ll be ready for the next game.”
“Perfect. Thanks for all your work, Isla. Yesterday was fantastic.”
Then, his gaze goes to Luca, who’s sitting over on one of the chairs off to the side of Dom’s desk. “Nothing to add, Calloway? I’m sure you’ve got some opinions.”
Luca looks up from his laptop with a grin.
“Are you kidding? There’s not a damn thing I would’ve changed about yesterday, except maybe for the two of you to not have had to work so hard, so you could actually enjoy it.
That game was fucking amazing. Griff’s homer in the sixth?
” He whistles. “Pure magic.” Then Luca stands up and walks over to stand behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders.
“But if you’re done here, I’d like to steal your head of marketing away for lunch. ”
Dom rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “I guess so, but you have to bring her back this time. We’ve still got work to do.”
My cheeks heat in response to his obvious dig at last week, just a few days before the home opener, when I was working insane hours every day.
Luca came by the offices to take me to lunch, only to actually steal me away to a day spa where he treated me to a couples massage.
Needless to say, I didn’t go back to work that day.
“We’ll be back in an hour,” I say firmly, then I turn to leave.
Luca follows, his hand finding mine as we go down the hall to my office.
Even now, after a couple of weeks spent working in this space, I still mentally swoon when I step inside.
It’s as if Luca somehow saw into my head and pulled out every idea for the perfect office I’ve ever had.
In reality, I know they had help from Juniper, but still.
There’s not a single thing I’ve wanted to change in the space, with the exception of adding some more personal photos to the shelves along the wall.
Luca wanders over there now, as I go to my desk to get my purse. But when I hear him make a quiet sound of surprise, I pause and smile to myself. I know he’s just seen the one I added a couple of days ago after finally finding the perfect frame for it.
“I’ve never seen this one.” His voice is raw with emotion, and when I move to his side, I slide my arm around his waist and lean my head on his shoulder, looking at the photo.
It’s Luca and Charlie, standing on the pitcher’s mound the day of the charity game.
Charlie’s grinning at the crowd, while Luca is smiling down at him.
I remember that moment, but it wasn’t until I saw the photo, taken by one of our media team with a long-range camera lens, that I actually saw the look on Luca’s face.
He truly loves my son, and this photo captured it perfectly.
And that is something I never want to forget.
“Can I get a copy?”
“Of course.”
He turns and kisses the top of my head, and when I look up, his dark eyes are shining. I lift a hand to cup his cheek, and we stay like that for a long moment, no words needed to express the love we have for each other.
But the moment is interrupted by a knock on my door. As one, we turn to see Gabe, once Luca’s assistant and now Dom’s, standing there. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think Dom might need you in his office, like, now.” He’s looking at me but then glances to Luca. “Maybe both of you.”
He pivots and hurries away, and Luca and I look at each other. “What could that be about?” I ask as we start toward the door.
“No idea,” he replies and we quicken our pace back down the hall to Dom’s office. When we get there, we find him leaning against the front of his desk, arms folded across his chest. And sitting in the chair in front of him, with his head in his hands, is Brady Dixon.
“What’s going on?” I ask as we come in, Luca closing the door behind us.
Dixie lifts his head, his expression one of pure overwhelm.
But Dom speaks first. “Dixie’s got something to share, we were just waiting for everyone to get here so he only has to say it once.”
There’s a knock on the door, and Rafe walks in, going straight to Dixie’s side. “Dix? What’s up? You okay?”
We’re all looking at the player, whose face has gone white.
My heart sinks. This can’t be good. Maybe his parents are sick, maybe he’s sick, maybe he got an offer from another team.
No matter what it is, losing the star player that Luca and Rafe sought out to anchor the team, right as the season is getting started, is the worst thing that could happen.
“I’m okay, but…” He takes a deep breath. “Fuck. I can’t believe I’m gonna say this. I didn’t…I never…”
“What is it, Dixie? Just say it,” Rafe says firmly.
Dixie looks up at him with wide, panicked eyes.
“I’m gonna be a dad.”
Thank you for reading The Game Changer!