Chapter 3
THREE
I miss the simpler times when all we had to worry about was Team Edward or Team Jacob.
—Magnolia to Merrill
MAGNOLIA
Mama!
I signed back at Iris as I spoke aloud. “Yes, baby?”
Soccer?
“Yes,” I signed. “Merrill will bring you up to the field once the rental car gets here. Okay? Then we can stop for chicken nuggets for dinner?”
There was a soft beep-beep from outside, and I blew Iris a kiss.
She hated hugs and anything physical. Not even for me would she tolerate it. At least not if she wasn’t the one to initiate.
If she initiated, she was a-okay with touching. But it had to be on her terms.
Beep-beep.
The Cowgirls had sent a car for me.
Iris smiled as I called out to tell her I was leaving, and I booked it to the town car that waited at the curb for me.
I looked over my shoulder at Merrill.
“Go.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll get through it. We got along swimmingly last night. Plus, I’ll get her dropped off to you once the car gets here so you can go through everything you’ll need to with the team.”
I winced. “I’m sorry again.”
Merrill laughed. “I’m not. How long has it been since you got laid?”
Too long.
Way too long.
It’d been the best night of my life.
No joke.
I’d never experienced a sexual encounter like the one that Beau and I shared in a small office in the middle of a warehouse behind The Mercantile.
It was fast, hot and heavy.
I’d screamed his name, and he’d cursed me within five minutes of arriving in the small corner office. Then guilt had assaulted me because I’d started getting texts asking when I would be home, and I’d run out of there like my tail was on fire.
I was still embarrassed by how I’d acted.
Yet, I didn’t regret it.
No one could regret something like what Beau and I had shared.
“Love y’all!” I called out.
Iris didn’t wave.
She never did.
But Merrill waved her heart out.
I closed the door quietly behind me and jogged to the car with my bag thumping against my back.
My soccer ball dug into my back as I fell into the car, and I smiled at the driver. “Thank you so much for the ride, Mrs. Ellis.”
It was the same person I’d had a Zoom meeting with as we negotiated.
“Ms. Baker.” The woman smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
“Please, call me Maggie. Or Magnolia. But usually my friends call me Maggie. Magnolia is a mouthful,” I blurted out.
The woman, a team manager who’d been with the Cowgirls for fifteen years, smiled.
She looked extremely tired, though.
“Ellis, then,” she replied. “The drive is a little over an hour. I’m sorry for being late, but I was informed last minute that you’d be needing a ride. The team is in a bit of disarray right now. The transition from one CEO to another has been a bit…hectic.”
“A new CEO?” I asked.
“Yes.” She blew out a breath. “A good and welcome thing.”
I was an insanely curious person.
My aunt hadn’t been a supporter of my curiosity. Her favorite saying when I was growing up was “curiosity killed the cat.”
My motto was “at least the cat died knowing.”
But nothing ventured meant nothing gained.
So, I hesitantly said, “I’m sensing a little bit of relief?”
She glanced at me as I stowed my bag between my legs and put on my seat belt before returning her gaze to the road.
“The Vanderbilts own the Cowgirls, as well as the Condors,” she said. “Did you know that?”
I shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, I knew they owned multiple sports teams, but I didn’t know which ones besides the Cowgirls.”
“Benedict Vanderbilt bought the Cowgirls for his youngest daughter, Sonja. Sonja’s favorite sport was soccer, and she loved watching and playing.
A little bit before she died, she had suggested to her dad that they should purchase a women’s professional soccer team.
Almost as a joke. And after she passed, Benedict decided to go through with her wishes.
He purchased the Cowgirls and ran it pretty successfully until he had his heart attack three years ago.
His doctors told him he was working too hard, so Benedict’s wife suggested he focus on one team and let their daughter, Seraphina, run the Cowgirls.
And she ran it all right. Straight into the ground.
She felt like Benedict loved the team more than he loved her and set out to destroy it. ”
“She said that?” I gasped.
“Not to him, no.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I can’t believe I’m even telling you this.
But I’m so dang happy I could cry. Benedict has another child, Beaufort.
Beaufort didn’t want to be the big, bad CEO.
He had a job in Sawtooth and wanted it to stay that way.
He turned down all the offers of running either sports team, and instead focused on his career here.
But then Seraphina ran it into the ground, and Benedict begged Beaufort to fix it.
And since Beaufort could never say no to his father, he agreed.
He’s here for the season. If he can turn it around, he’s going to continue to run the team.
And maybe the Condors after his father fully retires. ”
“So he left his job for his father?” I asked. “That’s sweet.”
“It’s not just his father,” Ellis admitted. “Seraphina and Beaufort do not get along. At all. I have a feeling that he’s just doing this to stick it to Seraphina.”
I leaned toward her. “Why don’t they get along?”
She looked sad. “I forget that you don’t live here. You didn’t hear. It’s pretty common knowledge. Seraphina was driving her sister home from school when she got into an accident and hit another vehicle. Killed Sonja on impact.”
“Oh,” I said. “What a terrible accident.”
“That’s just it.” Ellis accelerated as she got onto a highway that was eighty-five miles an hour.
“It wasn’t exactly an accident. Seraphina was drunk.
Had apparently been drinking at school. She wasn’t fit to drive, and she lied to her brother when she said that she was.
Beaufort allowed her to go get Sonja against his better judgment, and then Seraphina killed her. ”
“Whoa,” I breathed. “That’s awful.”
“It is,” she agreed. “Sonja was three weeks away from graduating. She was sixteen. Seraphina was eighteen and graduating as well. Neither one walked at the ceremony.”
My stomach hurt for their family.
“I can see why Beaufort would be upset,” I admitted.
“My parents were killed in a drunk driving incident. Then, a few years ago, my aunt and uncle, who’d adopted my sister and me, also died in a drunk driving accident.
Only, they were the ones drinking and driving.
I have zero empathy for drunk drivers. Underage or not. ”
“I heard about your story,” Ellis continued.
“That was one of the reason that I fought to get you here. I wanted you to help turn this team around before you retired.” She looked a little sheepish.
“Plus, I knew that it would intimidate Seraphina. I’ve had enough of her shit.
I’m tired of her digging the hole that will eventually bury the Cowgirls. ”
Our talk the rest of the way to the stadium was less informative.
We talked about the weather and the area, but we did not broach any more topics about the Vanderbilt family.
At least not until we arrived at the stadium and drove around to the back entrance that led into the depths of the building.
“That’s Beaufort’s vehicle,” she said as we parked next to it. “Seraphina used to park sideways so no one could park next to her. She was the important one. She deserved to always have the closest parking spot.”
“She sounds like a really great person,” I lied.
“Just be happy you won’t have to deal with her this season,” she grumbled.
“I’m hoping that I’m done, and that Beaufort will keep this job.
But I highly doubt it. He agreed to a season, but that was all he was willing to agree to.
He said that he loved his job, and honestly, I can’t blame him.
This job is a high-stressor activity. Beaufort’s all about the end of the school day and enjoying the summer. ”
I would’ve asked what she meant by that last comment but she bailed out of the car and walked to the door.
She unlocked it at the keypad, then said, “You got your key code?”
“I did,” I confirmed.
“I know you haven’t officially signed yet, but I have a feeling you’ll stay.” She smiled. “You sounded pretty tired of Texas.”
I groaned as we walked into the building and down a long corridor with slightly offensive LED lights lining it. “Texas is exhausting. I loved the team management, but there were a few players that were quite…”
“Assholeish?” she offered.
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “They felt like I got special treatment with Iris. They hated that she was always ‘fucking up the vibe.’ I don’t know.
But I wasn’t willing to leave her. She’s my baby.
What did they want me to do? We’re gone for days on end sometimes.
I can’t afford a nanny, either. Our pay is on the higher end of the league, but that wasn’t enough to cover a full-time nanny. ”
“Beaufort encouraged Benedict to put in a state-of-the-art childcare facility here. Plus, there’s two other women that will also be bringing their children on the road with us. We have a team nanny willing to help.”
“That’s also why I came,” I admitted. “But I want to be abundantly clear. I don’t plan on staying any more than this season.”
She got to the end of the long hallway and opened the door that said “locker room.”
“I know,” she said. “We just need to win this season. Just help us win. Beaufort’s already promised to give you any help you need this year.”
That I could do.
Especially seeing as I would be working with one of the best defensive players in the business, Nettie Windsor.
I’d played against her for so long, my defense to her forward, that I felt like I knew her really well. Even if all we did was meet on the soccer pitch.
“I’m here,” I said as I looked around at the empty locker room. “Is everyone already out at the field?”
“Probably,” she admitted. “We were late.”