by Alice Ward
“Spring training is right around the corner,” Lana spoke with authority and grace.
Some of the guys began to howl at the announcement to show their excitement. “You will all be on your best behavior. We will not tolerate any repeats of last season,” she hissed as her eyes locked hard onto Ace.
Ace grinned, almost as if he were proud of his stunts. I’d heard plenty about his antics, everyone had. “No drinking. No drugs. No women. No...” Her voice trailed off as one of the guys yelled out “no fun,” to finish her sentence.
Her lips pursed tightly together, her bright red hair glowing like fire atop her head. The guys started to grow restless, excited, and their enthusiasm turned into a loud banter of sharing memories of their wild past season.
Most of the chatter surrounded Ace, with a few mentions of Luke thrown in. I watched Katrina straighten her stance, clear her throat, and grip her notebook tightly with her perfectly manicured fingers. I knew that Spaceman was notorious for his wild behavior, larger than life personality, and of course, hot temper. This couldn’t be that intimidating to her, not after growing up next to one of the legends.
“Ready for another season wild man?” Luke yelled, directing the question toward Ace. He was still grinning, but he didn’t respond.
He’d settled down, gotten married and had a baby, not necessarily in that order. The only tabloid shots of him lately were walking into baby stores or pushing a stroller through the park. He was old news, no longer the Beast that couldn’t be tamed. Holly clenched her grip onto him, turned him into a husband, a father; all things that the media found boring and mundane.
This new team, my new team, that was what they were known for — troubled players with bad attitudes. Was that why I was here? Was I the new Ace Newman? The one who would draw the media back in their direction? Surely not.
“I know you boys think your antics are cute, fun, and harmless, but they aren’t. You have to work together as a team, and part of that work will start with how you behave during spring training. If we want to be taken seriously, you have to remain professional at all times, on and off the field.” Lana didn’t flinch as she stared down each of the players. I watched her eyes linger on Luke, Ace’s sidekick, the new guy, the one who’d stirred up quite a bit of controversy in the tabloids during the off-season. I wasn’t surprised. He was good looking, young, cocky, and had talent. That was a combination used to build superstars or to destroy dreams. Which one was delivered was determined by how the player handled himself, the fame, and the media. Luke was leaning toward destroying his dream, something his hero Ace Newman should have taught him to steer clear from.
“You,” Lana’s eyes pierced into me. “I know all about you, so I’ll be watching very closely. No stunts.”
Katrina’s lips curled up into a subtle smile as Lana sunk her teeth into my flesh. “Ouch,” I replied playfully, watching carefully as Katrina’s smile widened.
Her eyes were a bright green, greener than any I’d seen before. When the fluorescent lights overhead caught them just right, they sparkled. I stared, but I couldn’t help it. I was trying to see Spaceman in her, but I couldn’t. Her features were so soft, so delicate, while his were manly and rough. Her nose was small, like a button on her face, and her chin dimpled with the cutest indents. Her frame was petite and perfect. I’d never seen Spaceman’s wife, but I was certain Katrina looked like her mother. She must be a beautiful woman.
Lana continued her speech about how we were to behave. We’d been given a list, one by one of what to do, what not to do, and with each rule, the players grew louder with their rebuttals, their mockeries, and their insubordination. Lana was a tough cookie, not crumbling from their dismissal of her authority, but she was losing them quickly and things were growing out of control. Yeah, this is it. I’m a Beast now.
Rhett slammed his fist down onto the table. The entire room grew silent. Katrina jumped. A soft squeal escaped her lips, which made me smile. I didn’t know why. It was cute. She was cute. Lana didn’t flinch; she simply stepped back and let her lips curl into a satisfied smile. The boys were in trouble; Daddy brought out the belt. I was impressed with the strength he exuberated. The players were all loud mouths, myself included, but the Kat had my tongue for the moment.
“Listen up,” he shouted.
“I know you think this is a joke. But, after our first two seasons, we’ve gotten a reputation for being loose cannons. We are known as the team most likely to fuck up. Is that what you want?” he asked, his voice calming.
“No, sir,” Kane Steele piped in, teacher’s pet of the classroom, no doubt.
“Good,” Rhett continued. He took a step back, shoved his hands into his pockets, and seemed to lean back against the thick air in the room. His demeanor was strangely calm, and as he began to smile, I knew I wasn’t the only one worried about what was to come next.
“That’s why when you head to spring training this season, you won’t be alone.” Lana quickly snapped her neck to look in his direction. It was obvious this was news to her as well. Great, another babysitter. So, did that mean Rhett was coming himself or was he sending his fiery red-headed man handler?
“I will be watching you carefully, but I don’t have the time to babysit you. You do need your hands held,” he said with a quick snap.
Lana inched closer to him. I watched as she whispered in his ear. He shrugged her off, smiling at her and shaking his head as if to answer a question she’d asked. My eyes drifted back to Katrina, who seemed unnerved by the situation unfolding before us all.
I’d heard Rhett Hamilton was unorthodox in his methods of running his team, but split-second decisions on the fly without filling in key players seemed to be more than just untraditional, it felt dangerous somehow.
“We’ll be on our best behavior, Lana.” Luke winked at the redhead. She rolled her eyes and shot him a disgusted smirk. She may have looked to be made of fire, but that woman was all ice. Not even Luke Singleton could melt her.
“Lana will not be your babysitter for this trip.” Rhett pulled his hands from his pockets and used one to wipe his brow. “Katrina will tag along. She will report directly to me.”
Lana’s perfectly painted red lips parted and her eyes narrowed, the news obviously fresh to her. Katrina cleared her throat again, loudly. She was nervous. She did a great job at hiding her anxiousness with a quick smile, a straightened stance, and unfazed expression.
Rhett gripped her by the shoulder, pulling her toward him. She hadn’t been informed of this decision, that much was obvious as her cheeks started to flush with color, and her forehead showed signs of distress with small beads of perspiration.
Lana shuffled through the papers in her hand, trying to look busy. It was evident that she wasn’t pleased. Maybe because she didn’t know what Rhett was going to announce beforehand or maybe from jealousy of not being selected as our personal babysitter.
“Katrina knows her way around a baseball team, on and off the field.” Rhett’s words made some of the guys howl as their minds flocked to the gutter. “Don’t be assholes. You know what I mean. She is going to ensure you keep your head in the game.” Rhett released his grip on her. “Lana will be here trying to create some positive press for you, for us, for the team. You’ve already made her job hard enough as it is, please don’t make it any more difficult.”
She looked up, her demeanor back to full-on professionalism. Her lips tightened as she looked around the room. “I’ll have itineraries for you all when you return,” she said quickly.
“Yes. It’s time we show our fans there is more to the Beasts than the wild side. Let them see we have a humanity side as well. One they can connect with. One they will be drawn to, even when you do fuck up. And I know you will fuck up.” Rhett grinned when he spoke, almost as if he was asking us to fuck up.
“Katrina, why don’t you let the guys know what you’ll expect from them?” Rhett pushed Katrina into the spotlight.
Her long, blonde hair was
already falling from the loose bun she’d created, in a hurry no doubt. Those bright green eyes lit up the room when she smiled, and from her nervous demeanor, that was all she seemed to be able to do. She appeared fragile to me, too young, too green for this task. Maybe being Bobby “Spaceman” Delaney’s daughter hadn’t toughened her up enough for this job.
She cleared her throat again. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she stood there in the center of our locker room. I almost expected her to tear up as she appeared to struggle with her words. So sweet.
“I’ve done my homework on each individual player, so not everyone here is going to present a problem.” Her words were strong and to the point. My dick took notice at her instant authority, causing me to sweat a little from my own anxiousness.
“Some of you will not even know I’m there. Others, well, you know who you are. You will wish I wasn’t. I’ll be monitoring your behavior, only stepping in when needed. If you don’t listen to my advice, if you argue with my authority, I will contact Rhett, and then your future is in his hands. I’m not here to make you uncomfortable, to beat you down, or even babysit you. I’m here to help you look good, to reach your true potential on and off the field, and to present you to the world, to your fans, in a flattering light,” she said without any stress displayed in her voice.
I was impressed.
This little, young cutie had more to her than just a pretty smile. I’d misread her. She could handle this. Hell, she sounded as if she was going to own this, own us. Shit, my dick was swelling.
Rhett beamed with pride as he stared at his new weapon. Lana’s lips parted for a moment before she quickly pursed them back together. Her eyes were filled with surprise by the new girl’s authority and self-control, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they had any admiration in them. I knew women like Lana, they were a dime a dozen in the baseball industry. Constantly trying to prove themselves amongst the men, take control of the players, and show that having tits didn’t make them any lesser an asset to the team than those with balls. Lana had balls. That was obvious, but what wasn’t so obvious was that little Katrina had them too. Big ones. Possibly bigger than Lana’s.
I shifted my weight, trying to kill the blood flow to my aching cock. She’d surprised me, actually more than that, she'd impressed me. Not many women could do that so quickly, and without undressing. Holy shit, this little cat may be trouble, real trouble.
I couldn’t wait to get on the road, possibly get some one-on-one time with her. After all, I was one of the troubled players she spoke of, so she had to stay close. And if she didn’t, I’d find a reason to make her take notice.
CHAPTER SIX
Katrina
Holy fuck, what just happened? I was going to spend spring training in Florida with the players? Me? Not Lana, but me? Rhett really pushed me on the spot in there, leaving me breathless and unsure of how to handle the situation. I think I did okay. I handled it. I was impressed. Hopefully, he was as well. I cleared my throat so many times it was sore. Shit!
Lana was gracious but still cold as she walked me through the details of my trip. I’d be leaving in one week, with the pitchers and catchers. They were some of the most notorious problem players anyway. I needed to do my homework on Todd Morris. Damn, he was hot.
“Fraternization with the players is extremely prohibited,” Lana said quickly. Shit, had she read my mind? I had no intentions of hooking up with the players, not even Morris. I was there to do a job, and all I wanted was to do it well.
“Of course,” I agreed.
“I’m not sure why Rhett trusts you with this job.” Lana’s eyes were glaring into mine.
“You must have really impressed him during the interview process.”
There was no interview process. He called, I showed up, here I am.
“I usually do all the hiring for the PR and marketing departments,” she said with a professional smile.
It was growing clear to me why she’d been so cold since I arrived. Rhett was the one who'd stepped on her toes, not me, but she couldn't exactly take her frustrations out on her boss. So, I was the punching bag. Hopefully she’d get over it soon. I would have six weeks away from her to give her time to lick her wounds.
“Your apartment will be secured while you’re away. But, upon your return, you’ll need to rush to find something of your own. It’s highly unorthodox for staff members to live in any of the player designated apartments.” Lana jotted down information onto a yellow legal pad as she spoke. Her eyes never lifted from the paper. Just orders and writing.
“Okay,” I agreed.
She really did appear to know what she was doing as she spouted off statistics about the players, the fans' reactions to their antics, and the ticket sales for each game. I wondered myself why I was the one going and not her.
The week flew by as I was prepped for my upcoming task. According to Lana, I was to keep the players in line, but if you asked Rhett, I was just there to keep things under control, while still letting them get into some trouble. My head was reeling as I made my way through airport security.
The six weeks was enough time for me to collect a couple paychecks and save up for my own place. I knew Lana wondered why I was so reluctant to get out of the player apartment, figuring I was a spoiled little rich kid with enough money to stay wherever I wanted. That was all once true, but not anymore. I needed that time to live on the Beasts' dime so I could figure something out. But, I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell anyone.
Luke and Calvin were in front of me as we were ushered like cattle through the long line. I placed my belongings in a basket, took off my shoes, and listened to them talk.
“So, you okay with Morris now?” Luke asked.
I glanced over to see Calvin lift a shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“I mean, I know he and Whitney were a thing,” Luke continued to push the topic Calvin obviously wanted to ignore.
“They weren’t a thing. She’s my wife, so watch yourself, Singleton,” Calvin snapped.
My mind raced with information, downloading all the images of the tabloids I’d read before arriving. Morris was in the papers, he was mentioned with the Beasts. Holy shit, how’d I overlook that? He was the one hooking up with Whitney while Calvin was on his self-destructive playboy path.
I gripped my bag after walking through the scanner, still trying to eavesdrop on the conversation between Calvin and Luke. They moved to the far end of the seating area where no other seats were available, so I slid my bag onto an open chair at the front and leaned down to slide my shoes back on. My bag fell to the ground, papers scattered in front of me. I worked quickly to pick them up, hiding them from any of the players' eyes since most of the notes were about them.
A strong, dark hand grazed mine as it scooped up a pile of the papers from the floor. I lifted my head, my eyes met Todd’s, and my body tensed with excitement and anxiety. Damn, he was dreamy. I could fall into those beautiful blue eyes, get lost, and never care to be found.
“Let me help you,” he offered. His voice was deep and tender in the same breath.
“I forgot to close my bag,” I said. Obviously, or your shit wouldn’t be all over the ground, dumbass. Ugh. He made me nervous. His eyes were penetrating into mine. I had to break free from their power. I looked away, focusing on the remaining papers, shoving them into my bag as Todd picked up my Christian Louboutin pump and slid it on my foot. His grip around my ankle was strong but delicate. His eyes gazed into mine, and even though I tried to escape them, they were too delicious to ignore.
His hand ran up my calf, squeezing just enough to make me squirm in my seat. The players are off-limits, Katrina. Even Todd Morris, probably the sexiest man I’d ever encountered. My insides twitched as his fingers separated on my leg, running slowly back down to my ankle. Rhett told me to keep a close eye on him, so maybe that meant… no, stop it, Katrina. You are here to do a job, one that you desperately need to survive.
“Thank you,” I said qui
ckly, gripping my bag to my chest and covering up the tightened, hard nipples forming in my blouse. I pulled my leg back, stood, and offered up a professional smile. He was trouble, which was why Rhett wanted me to watch him so closely. My libido was feeling the ache of what he could cause. Those eyes were dangerous, those full lips delicious, and his passionate personality damn scary.
Todd stood, handed me the last paper from the floor, and smiled. I watched him walk away, frozen in my spot until a large man pushed into me rudely. “Keep things movin’,” he barked.
I walked toward my gate, stepped into the line for the plane as they began boarding, taking one more Snapchat photo before entering the metal death trap. Happy face for the camera.
I was in the window seat, not my first choice, but I didn’t want to complain. I reached over, slid the shade down, hoping the flight attendant wouldn’t make me open it while we took off, closed my eyes and leaned back into my seat to gather my composure. I felt the seat next to me move back as someone obviously had taken their seat. I dreaded opening my eyes at first, dreading the fact that the large man from security could be right next to me. I opened my eyes slowly, turned and found Todd sitting beside me.
“Guess we’re stuck with each other,” he said with a smile.
My insides gave another squeeze. “Looks like it.”
He leaned over me, reaching for the window shade. God, he smelled good. He pushed it up to expose the outside, the outside I knew would be way too high for me to stomach soon enough. I quickly pulled the shade back down, smiled nervously, and said, “I don’t really care for heights.”
His smile was deliciously dangerous, eyes steamy and seductive. This was going to be a long flight. Hell, this was going to be a long six weeks.
Todd reached over, laying his hand on my leg as the plane prepared for takeoff. I leaned back into my seat, closed my eyes, feeling only the heat from his hand. I couldn’t determine if the knot in my stomach was from the plane climbing into the air or from his touch.