“Thank you.” She glanced down at her hands, the bright purple polish matched her blouse. She began fiddling with the rather large diamond ring on her left hand. “I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you’re the only one I feel like I can trust.”
Marco crossed his arms and leaned back against the table. Surely she had to have at least one person she trusted more than a guy she had a brief affair with almost a decade ago.
“Hunter and I are becoming friends, but I don’t think I can burden her with this.” She twisted the ring around her finger as she spoke. “I want to hire a private investigator. I need to know what my husband is up to.”
“I have many talents, but I’m afraid spying isn’t one of them.” Marco dropped his arms to his sides. “Besides, I’m a little busy with this baseball thing.”
“Oh, I don’t expect you to follow him yourself.” She smiled weakly. “I need someone to make the contact. To make the payments. I’ll pay you back, but Clayton tracks everything I spend. He gives me free reign for things like shopping, spa treatments, hell, I could buy a new car and he wouldn’t flinch, but if he saw a payment to a PI, he’d freak.”
“And he wouldn’t freak if you wrote a check to your ex-lover?” Marco wondered if she was trying to set him up. But then he saw the fear in her eyes. The desperation. “You won’t pay me until we know what he’s been up to.”
“You trust me enough to…to…” She fumbled through her purse for a tissue to wipe her eyes, carefully, so as not to disturb her makeup.
“Yes, Annabelle. I trust you. And I guess you remember that I can’t resist a damsel in distress.” Marco no longer had feelings for Annabelle, but he couldn’t stand to see a man treat a woman with so little respect.
“Yet, you’re with Hunter.” She patted his shoulder. “She’s hardly a woman in need of rescuing.”
“Maybe she’ll rescue me.” Or she might destroy him. Either way, it was worth the ride.
“But I do have to ask you Annabelle,” Marco said. “Are you sure you want to know the truth? If Clayton is cheating on you, are you prepared to learn the details?”
“Yes.” She held her shoulders back. Her chin up.
“What if he’s not up to anything? What if he’s down there secretly building a theme park for you and the girls?” He tried to offer an alternative. A positive reason for her husband to be running off to Florida several times a year.
“That would be something.” She let out a little laugh. “But I don’t think so. I think he is up to something and I have a bad feeling it’s no good. But I need to know for sure. So I can do what’s best for my daughters. And myself.”
“Okay. If you’re absolutely certain.” Marco took her hand. “We’ll meet when I get back to San Francisco. Bring me as much information as you can to help the investigator. Recent photos, copy of his driver’s license, passport, maybe even bank statements. Clubs he belongs to, even social media presence. Is he on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn?”
“I’ll have everything you need.” Annabelle gripped his hand and then let go. “I’ll be in touch. And Marco…thank you.”
Chapter 11
Marco was still unpacking when Annabelle called to set up a meeting. She was serious about investigating her husband’s activities in Florida. She would be at his apartment in half an hour.
Great. What had he gotten himself into? Life would be simpler if he could say no to a woman. He understood exactly why he couldn’t say no to Hunter. She held his contract, sure, but she also had his number. She owned him on a personal level. Whatever she wanted in bed, he’d been more than willing to give to her. Not that he was this all self-sacrificing fool. Oh no, he got plenty out of their arrangement.
His game had improved for one thing. He felt better than he had in months, physically and mentally. He was relaxed, focused, and he had a hitting streak that coincided with the length of their affair.
Marco also enjoyed getting to know Hunter. Discovering her playful side. She liked to drive fast, with the top down, for instance. That was the real reason she wore her hair pulled back, to keep it from flying around in the wind.
She was also very passionate about her team. She did know more about the game than the rest of the league combined. She knew more about every player on the Goliaths’ roster than the manager. She just didn’t yet have the confidence to approach him when she saw something that he didn’t in a player’s mechanics, or off-field distractions.
He wanted to help her find that confidence, wanted to empower her to let her hair down and be the force behind the team he believed she could be.
He also wanted to help Annabelle. Not because he had any remaining feelings for her, but because he had once cared enough about her to want to help if he could. He just hoped that investigating her husband was the right thing. For Annabelle, and also for Hunter. If her partner was up to something, she needed to know. A divorce could cause disruptions for the team. A nasty divorce could mean financial entanglements that she’d need to prepare for.
Annabelle arrived right on time.
“I can’t thank you enough for helping me with this, Marco.” She clutched her oversized purse as if it held the last bit of hope in her marriage.
“I haven’t done anything yet.” Marco wished she was just being paranoid, but he had a feeling if she was desperate enough to ask for help, she had enough evidence to support her fears.
“Still, not many guys would go out of their way for an old girlfriend. Especially if it meant calling another man on his behavior.”
“We don’t know what your husband is up to.” Marco just hoped they weren’t asking for trouble by looking into it. On the other hand, if Clayton Barry was up to no good, there were two women Marco wanted to protect.
“I know he’s hiding something.” Annabelle dropped her purse on the counter and started rifling through it. She pulled out a thick folder. “Everything you’ll need… I mean, everything an investigator will need is in here. Copies of his driver’s license, passport, credit report. The dates of his visits to Florida in the last year. Our last tax return.”
She sank onto the barstool at the end of the counter.
“Have you looked through everything yourself?” Marco didn’t want to go through her personal stuff. But as usual, he’d said yes to a woman before he could think.
“Yes. But I know there is something missing.” Annabelle shook her head. Her eyes were weary, despite the carefully applied makeup. “I’m no accountant, but you’d think he would report his business expenses if he was traveling for business.”
“You would think.” He had a bad feeling about all of this.
“But I guess he’d rather pay more in taxes than admit to a mistress, right?”
“I really don’t know the man all that well.” And what he’d seen so far had not impressed him in the least.
“Apparently I don’t either.” Her voice held a note of regret. “But, I guess I shouldn’t have married him on the rebound, huh?”
“It’s really none of my business.”
“Oh, come on, Marco, you know you broke my heart. So I just married the next man who walked into my life.”
“We weren’t serious, you knew that.” He started to squirm a little.
“No. We weren’t. But you were worried there for a second, weren’t you?” Her playful smile told him she was only joking with him. “You always were too good to be true.”
Marco felt a blush creep up his neck. He’d heard similar responses. Too nice of a guy. So sweet. Such a good friend. All reasons why his relationships never lasted.
Annabelle wasn’t the only woman to break it off with him only to end up with some asshole like Clayton Barry. What was it with bad boys that women found so attractive?
“So tell me”—Annabelle reached for his hand—“how are things with you and Hunter?”
The change of subject caught him by surprise, but the genuine interest in her tone made him think that she really did care.
/> “Good.” Still, he wasn’t comfortable discussing his current lover with his ex.
“I like Hunter. I really do.” Annabelle’s smile seemed sincere enough. “I think you’re good for each other.”
“Thanks.” Marco figured the less he said, the better.
“And I could totally see the sparks flying between you two at the restaurant. I hope things work out between you.”
“Yeah.” He hoped so, too.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I suppose you’ll want to keep it a secret. Especially since you don’t have a long-term contract, right?”
Marco just nodded.
“Wow. I didn’t think about that when I asked you to help me.” She sounded a little worried now. “I suppose Clayton would have to agree to any deals, right? Along with Marvin Dempsey, too. Hunter could want to keep you here, but if her partners don’t agree, you could end up somewhere else, right?”
“That would be entirely possible.” Marco didn’t want to think about that happening. But he knew the reality of the situation.
“So your relationship with Hunter could hurt your career?”
Marco shrugged. Yeah. It could kill it. Right when he was in his prime playing years.
“Oh Marco.” She slid off the barstool and came around to where he was standing. She started to put her arms around him, but when he stiffened, she stepped back.
“What about Hunter? What would happen if the other owners found out about your relationship?”
“You tell me. What would your husband do?”
“He finds her very presence in the owner’s box a blow to his masculinity.” Annabelle’s voice held just enough contempt for Marco to feel better about snooping into the man’s personal life. “He hates that she knows more about the game, the players, and the business of baseball than he does. So I could totally see him getting nasty if he finds out she has a relationship with one of her players.”
“Nasty, huh?” The lump in the pit of his stomach started to grow.
“He won’t find out from me.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Besides, if we find out what I think we’re going to find out, he’ll be too busy trying to cover his own ass.”
“You really think he’s cheating on you?”
She simply nodded.
“And you need proof.” He wondered if there was a prenuptial agreement that would make it difficult for her to just walk away.
“I need proof.”
“Okay then. I’ll get the proof you need.”
* * * *
Marco called the last person he had expected to talk to after he left Miami. He’d been this close to proposing to Vanessa when he was traded to St. Louis. She’d made it clear she wouldn’t be willing to accompany him to his new city. He’d been more relieved than hurt. At least he hadn’t popped the question before finding that out.
They’d parted amicably enough, but he hated to call her for a favor.
“Marco, how nice to hear from you.” Vanessa sounded genuinely happy to speak to him. “It’s been ages.”
“It has been a while. How have you been?”
“Good. Not as good as you, though.” Her tone was polite, almost friendly. “You’ve been on a hot streak.”
“I’ve had a few balls drop in for me.”
“I’m happy for you. Truly.”
“Thank you.” He switched the phone from one ear to the other. They chatted for a few minutes, catching up on her family and everything going on in her life.
“What about your cousin Antonio?” He might as well get right to the point. “Is he still working for that private investigator?”
“Tony?” she asked. “He bought out the company. He’s keeping pretty busy these days.”
“I might have a job for him.”
“So who is she?” Vanessa asked, her tone not so friendly.
“Why would you assume this is about a woman?”
“You’re in the middle of a hot streak. You’re not going to call me up out of the blue, pretend to care about my life, my family, and oh-by-the-way I need to hire Antonio, if it wasn’t for a woman.”
“I’m just trying to help an old friend.” Marco sighed. “And I do care about you and your family.”
“But you’ve met someone. She must be pretty special.” She had just a little note of jealousy in her voice. “Is she willing to follow you anywhere your career takes you?”
“That’s not possible.” Marco’s gut twisted at the thought of changing teams once again. And of losing Hunter in the process.
“That’s too bad,” Vanessa said. “You deserve a woman who would follow you to the ends of the earth. Japan, the Dominican Republic, or even St. Louis.”
“And you deserve someone who can give you the kind of family life you need. A man who comes home every night, changes diapers, and never misses a school play or family dinner.”
Her silence spoke volumes about the regret that neither of them could be what the other needed.
“I’ll let Antonio know to expect your call.” Marco was relieved when she ended the awkward pause in conversation. “And I hope things work out for you.”
“Appreciate it.” He also regretted that there hadn’t been enough between them to make the sacrifice.
* * * *
Hunter was back in her office, pouring over the minor league stats from the past several weeks. She couldn’t believe that instead of scouting the Triple A affiliate she’d spent the last few days with Marco. Sure, she already had a good idea of who she wanted for September call-ups, she just needed the data to back up her choices.
She opened the spreadsheet to update the statistics on her top twenty prospects. The top ten were easy to rank. Four relievers were slated to join the club and provide depth in the bullpen. By this time of year even the sturdiest pitchers had some arm fatigue. Having the extra players would lighten the load and eat up innings to save their regular pitchers for the postseason.
She had two utility players who could play any spot in the infield, and provide late inning replacements, a third catcher to provide insurance at that position, and that left three spots for outfielders.
There wasn’t as much depth in the outfield as she would like. One of their top prospects had been injured and their best minor league outfielder had gone over to St. Louis in the trade for Marco Santiago.
Marco. He had given her more that she’d expected on the field. His defense had been nearly flawless, and in recent weeks, he’d put up the kind of offensive numbers that would have him in the running for player of the month.
And what he did for her off the field…
Hunter pushed away from her desk, her concentration now shot. Last night had been the first night she’d spent in her own bed, alone, and she missed him. Actually ached for him. The whole flight home, she contemplated all the reasons she should cool things off with him. The close call with Annabelle had her stomach twisting and turning like Lombard Street. But who was she kidding?
She couldn’t stay away from him any more than seagulls could resist the bleachers after the game.
Damn. She grabbed her cell, texted a message, and was on her way to his apartment a half hour later. She’d picked up some Chinese takeout, since they couldn’t share a meal together in public.
She’d barely set the cartons of garlic beef and Kung Pao chicken on the kitchen counter before Marco led her down the hall to the bedroom. They tumbled into bed starving for each other.
They satisfied one need and Marco brought the takeout to the bedroom, where they had a naked indoor picnic.
Hunter set the empty carton on the bedside table and reached for the two fortune cookies. She handed one to Marco and cracked hers open.
“Your greatest desire is within reach.” She read her fortune aloud and Marco pulled her closer.
“Yes. I am.” He nuzzled her neck, scattering kisses along her skin. Two seconds ago she had been completely satiated, but now desire flooded her and she could devour him again.
“So what is your greatest desire?” She pulled away, needing to put some space between them.
“Besides you?” He leaned back against the headboard. “I want what we all want. The World Series. I want to get you that ring I promised.”
His answer didn’t surprise her, it was the answer they’d both expected him to give. But she sensed that it wasn’t the whole truth. There was something he wanted more than a championship. Something he was afraid to ask for.
“What do you really want, Marco?” Their eyes locked and she had the feeling that she was hovering far above the earth, held up solely by his gaze. She knew that the instant either of them blinked she’d fall, harder and faster than she ever imagined.
Hunter closed her eyes, realizing it was too late. She’d already fallen for this man. This beautiful, sexy, talented man had stolen her heart the moment he stepped into her car.
“I want my next contract to be my last.” This time she had no doubt about his sincerity. “I want to finish my playing career with a team that would be interested in keeping me around on the coaching staff.”
“You want to coach?” She was surprised, considering he was still in the prime of his career, that he was thinking about his next step.
“Sure. Even if it means starting all over again in the minors.” He folded his hands behind his head, staring straight up at the ceiling. “I want to give back to the game that has given me so much.”
“Does that mean you’re no longer upset about being traded here?” She snuggled up against him, almost giddy at the thought of keeping him in San Francisco for the long term.
“I never had a problem with the team. It’s just that I have been on so many different ball clubs. Never quite sticking around for long. It was the same as when I was kid. We were always moving, every time my mom would get a new job, we’d move somewhere else. Sometimes not far, but most of the time I’d have to change schools. I got real tired of being the new kid in town.”
“I can’t even imagine.” Hunter rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Other than college, I’ve always lived in the same house. I was going to look for my own place when I graduated, but then my dad got sick. He needed me home.”
Worth the Trade (More Than A Game) Page 12