Spencer (The Ninth Inning: Season Three #8)

by Lindsay Paige

  Me: Never said anything. I don’t talk about my fucks like Tanner does. She’s lying, probably to get details.

  Harmony: That little brat.

  Me: So, did you give her details?

  Harmony: None that she wanted to hear. Blake walked out haha

  “I’m cooking dinner tonight,” Carissa says, drawing my attention away from my phone. “Are you going to be here?”

  “Hopefully not.”

  She grins. “Going to see Harmony?” she sings.

  “Going to fuck Harmony,” I correct as I text her.

  “You could’ve just said yes,” Roman glares at me.

  “I don’t want our girl here to get any funny ideas in her head.”

  “Our girl?”

  I grin because I knew that would irk him. “Yep. She’s one of us, so it’d be rude to not claim her.” My phone vibrates in my hand with Harmony’s response. “I’d love to stick around and be mushy, but I have plans. I’ll probably be back around midnight or so, so you have until then to fuck each other’s brains out. Later!” I yell as I walk out the door.

  Harmony won’t be home for another hour or so if she actually leaves on time, but since I told her I needed to leave ASAP for Roman and Carissa to have time without me there, she said I could wait for her there at her house. Even though I know where her spare key is and it’s tempting to go in without her to snoop around and escape the heat, I decide to sit on the porch. I think she likes pulling into her driveway to find me waiting there. But when one hour of waiting turns into two and I’m starving, I grab the spare key and enter her house. Why run to town to get food when she has some stocked inside?

  A loud blaring alarm goes off. Shit! When the hell did she get an alarm system? I pull my phone out and try calling her for the code, but it just rings and rings and rings. Come on, Harmony! She doesn’t answer, though, and within five minutes, cops are pulling into her driveway. Aw, hell.

  I give my best sheepish smile, holding my hands up, as two officers walk toward me, guns in hand, but thankfully not pointed at me.

  “Spencer O’Dell?” one warily questions as the other says something into his radio on his shoulder and a second later, the alarm stops.

  “That’s me.”

  “Care to explain what’s going on here?”

  “Well, funny story,” I begin with a nervous laugh. That familiar car I’ve been waiting to see pulls up. “Thank god,” I breathe.

  Larry glares at me with hard eyes and tries to keep Harmony from rushing past him, but he fails.

  “What is going on?” Harmony asks, standing between the cops and me.

  “Who are you?” the officer asks.

  “The owner of the house,” she replies curtly.

  “We got a call that your alarm was set off, and when we arrived, Mr. O’Dell was coming out of the house.” All eyes turn to me.

  “I was hungry and got tired of waiting,” I tell Harmony. “You didn’t have an alarm the last time I was here.”

  “How did you get inside?” an officer asks.

  “I know where the spare key is.”

  “Okay,” Harmony starts, taking charge. “This is all a misunderstanding. I’m sorry y’all were called out here, but thank you for checking on things.” With a few more words, they leave. Harmony dismisses Larry as well, who looks hesitant to leave, but then she turns on me. She almost looks pissed.

  “What?”

  “You broke into my house?”

  “I was hungry! How was I supposed to know that you rigged the place while I was gone? Why do you have one anyway?” I ask, following her into the house.

  “Because as my father likes to remind me, I now own a wealthy company. Not to mention, he heard about what happened to Carissa. Since I’m his only child who doesn’t have one, he had me install it.” She takes a deep breath as she opens the fridge. “You would’ve been better off going to get something. I don’t even remember the last time I went grocery shopping. I wonder if that could fall under Claire’s duties.”

  “Who’s Claire?”

  “My assistant.” She closes the fridge door and turns to face me. “Sorry for being late.”

  “Sorry for getting caught for breaking into your house.”

  She smiles. Finally. It starts small, but as her eyes roam over my body, it grows. “How hungry are you?” she asks, walking over to me.

  “Are you asking if I’m more horny than hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  I dip my head to kiss her. “We’ll eat later.”

  “You know what’s sad?” I ask. Three rounds of sex later, we’re sitting in her bed and finally eating.

  “What?”

  “You own a seven billion dollar company, and all we can eat for dinner is cereal.”

  She laughs. “You know that this is just a snack until the pizza gets here.”

  “You don’t even have pizza in the freezer. Even we have pizza.”

  “Yeah, but you live with Carissa, so I’m assuming she does the grocery shopping.”

  “Well, now she does, but Roman and I used to do it.”

  “How do you like living with a girl?” she asks.

  I shrug. “It’s all right. She cooks, she’s tidy, and I still have the bed to myself. It’s not a bad deal. I like having her around. Do you like living by yourself? I’ve always had a roommate or my mom.”

  “I like it,” she starts. “I mean, I miss Sofia sometimes, but other than that, it’s not too bad. It’s made me realize that I didn’t appreciate her enough. She did most of the cleaning and grocery shopping and making sure the bills were paid. All of that boring stuff.” The doorbell rings and she’s about to get out of bed, but I stop her.

  “I’ll get it.” I pull on my shorts and head to the door to pay for and get our pizza. She’s on her computer, probably replying to an email or something when I walk back into the room. “Do you ever stop working?”

  “Long enough to have sex with you and sleep.”

  “I feel so special.”

  Harmony laughs. “You should.”

  We eat our pizza in silence because she’s still working. I wouldn’t mind watching her work more often. She’s pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Sometimes, she bites the corner of her mouth and narrows her eyes, her eyebrows pulling together. You have to admire her work ethic too. The woman works longer and twice as hard as I do. She works harder than anyone I’ve ever met. You can’t help but respect that she’s so driven in her career.

  My eyes keep traveling over her body, and I start to wonder if I have another round left in me. If I could distract her from her work one more time. Or should I let her work? Maybe it’s something important since she’s working on it this late.

  I fall asleep before I have a chance to have sex or leave for my place like I’m supposed to do.

  ***

  I AM HOLDING my phone, scrolling through my text messages, making sure I answer everyone back when Claire comes into my kitchen.

  “Thank you.” I smile brightly at her. “I know this isn’t quite in your job description.”

  She shrugs. “I’m your assistant. I’m here to assist. But, I’m not sure why?” She looks around my kitchen, holding a tray of coffee and a bag of pastries. “Oh, and here are the scratch cards you wanted. Why do you want those?”

  “I need you to do me a huge favor.” I take the cards from her hands and put them in my purse. “You know you signed that lovely confidentiality agreement when you started.” I still have the smile plastered on my face.

  “Um…yeah.”

  I hear Spencer coming down the stairs and rush out the words. “Then you’re not allowed to say anything to anyone and don’t flip out.” I finish just as Spencer comes into the kitchen.

  “Er…good morning.” He seems confused, looking down at Claire who’s staring back at him wide-eyed.

  “Spencer, this is my assistant, Claire. Claire, this is my friend, Spencer.” I introduce them.

  “Hello.” Spencer greets her
, but she’s still stunned in silence. “Are you okay?” She remains quiet.

  I giggle and lean in near her ear. “Claire, dearie, Spencer O’Dell asked you a question, and you might want to answer. And also breathe before you pass out and make a fool of yourself.”

  “I’m fine,” she blurts out, cheeks deep red. “I’m okay, I mean. Fine, actually. I’m actually fine,” she blubbers out, making me laugh.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Claire.” Spencer chuckles.

  “And,” I take the bag from my assistant. “She brought us breakfast.”

  “Yes,” she announces loudly, making me laugh harder. I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s funny seeing her all flustered. “I mean, I did coffee. No, not did, I made coffee. Well, not made, I went and got it. Larry drove.” Her tangled tongue is bringing tears to my eyes.

  “Thank you. It’s very nice of you.” Spencer is trying his best to stay composed.

  “Here.” I take the tray from her hands and sit it on the counter. “What did you bring?”

  “A latte, a cappuccino, a regular, and this one is yours.” Claire points to each, but hands me mine. “Spencer, I mean, Mr. Spencer…um…O’Dell.” I think her face is about to burst into flames she’s so red. “Which one would you like?”

  Spencer smiles at her. “The regular is fine and thank you.”

  She gently hands it to him, and it’s taking everything in me not to not laugh anymore. “Claire, could you grab the files from the dining room and my laptop? I’ll be ready to go in about ten minutes or so.”

  She nods and rushes away as I grab the bag of pastries and sit down at the breakfast bar. “Okay, we have a bear claw or a danish. Which one?”

  “Hmmm…bear claw,” Spencer answers, sitting next to me. I hand it to him. “Listen, Harmony, I’m sorry I stayed the night. I didn’t mean to go to sleep.”

  “Oh,” I shake my head. “The fault is mine. I shouldn’t have opened my laptop. I wasn’t trying to be rude.” I felt bad last night when I looked over and saw him fast asleep. I’d never tell him it was nice sleeping next to someone, but I did wake curled up next to him.

  “I don’t stay the night,” Spencer says firmly.

  I turn to him and look him right into his steely-gray eyes. “I know, and nothing has changed. We’re still friends and nothing more.” I peck his lips, tasting the icing of the bear claw.

  “Okay.” His tone isn’t a cheery one, and I don’t say anything else and go back to my danish.

  “Ms. Gardner.”

  I glance up, seeing Claire in the kitchen again. “Yes?”

  “I can’t find your laptop.”

  “Oh, it’s in my bedroom. You can run up there. I promise I put up all the sex toys,” I joke and watch her roll her eyes before heading up the stairs.

  “You’re going to scare the poor girl,” Spencer dryly laughs.

  “She’s a lot like me, and I’m glad she’s my assistant.” I do enjoy having her around, and she’s brilliant with everything I’ve put in front of her.

  “I need to get going, and I have a game tonight. I’m hitting the road the day after tomorrow.”

  “That’s right.” I slide off the stool, grabbing my coffee. I don’t like the feeling I have right now. Something is off, and when I look at him, he doesn’t seem like the same Spencer I met. “Are you okay?”

  He nods. “I am, but I’m not used to sleeping next to someone.”

  “And it won’t happen again. I already apologized.” I kiss his cheek. “Are we good?”

  “Yes. Sure.” He brushes his lips against mine. “I know I’m strange.”

  I shake my head. “You’re not, and we’re good.” I pull away and walk around him, heading out toward the door, but I stop in my tracks and turn back to him. Spencer looks down at me. “1753.”

  He furrows his brow. “What?”

  “1753. That’s the code to the alarm. Only the people I truly trust and care about have it.”

  Spencer blinks a few times, but says nothing.

  “I’m going to work. I’ll text you later.” I rush out of my house and away from his gray gaze.

  I have files spread out all over my desk and even some on the floor. This is a nightmare, and I need to get things organized around me before I lose my mind. I roll my chair back and take a deep breath. I have been at it since I arrived this morning. I haven’t even had lunch yet.

  I start gathering up files and put them in order. I can’t have things all spread out. The day is killing me. And just when I think I’ve made some headway, there’s a knock on my door.

  “Yes,” I call and Claire comes in.

  “Hamilton Lewis is here.” Claire gives me a sad smile and hands me the file. “He’s pissed. Just to let you know.”

  I sigh and look over the contract again. The one I’m not taking, which I’m about to tell Mr. Lewis. “Send him in.” I stand and move over to my table, laying the file out.

  Hamilton Lewis walks into my office wearing a frown. He’s not as tall as I am, but quite a large, rounded man. He’s wearing a cheaply tailored suit, and I know from the grapevine he’s been hurting for money. Dad has done business with him in the past, but we’ve always lost on the deal.

  “Mr. Lewis.” I hold my hand out for him to shake it. “Would you like anything to drink?”

  “I’m fine.” He doesn’t shake my hand, but goes around me and takes a seat.

  Claire stares at me for a second, but I nod, and she leaves, shutting the door. “I guess we should get down to business.” I take a seat next to him and pull out the contract.

  “You aren’t going to take it, are you?” He growls.

  “No.” I shut the file. There’s no point in me going over the points of why I’m not talking it.

  “Then why the hell am I here?” He raises his voice.

  I cross my arms and legs, leaning back in my chair. If he thinks he’s going to be pushing me around he has another think coming. I’ve had a long day, I’m hungry, and this dickface thinks he’s going to push me around…well, he can think again.

  “Because I’m trying to give you some friendly advice on what’s wrong with the contract, but if you’re going to cop an attitude, then I think you need to go ahead and hit the door.” I keep my voice even.

  “You’re an evil bitch.” He snaps at me, but all I do is raise one eyebrow.

  “I hear it at least once a day, but today must be special because I’ve heard it twice.”

  Mr. Lewis says nothing else, grabs his contract, and stomps out the door. I roll my eyes at this horrible day and decide I need out of the office for a little bit.

  I grab my phone.

  Me: Have you had lunch?

  Sofia: Nope. You need lunch?

  Me: I’m ordering pizza and coming to your office. I need a break.

  Sofia: Come on over.

  I smile at the screen and yell for Claire.

  Larry drives me to the stadium, and security lets me through. I stroll down the long corridor until I knock on her door. My beautiful sister opens it with a smile.

  “Bad day, huh?”

  “You have no idea,” I sigh, walking through and sitting the large, greasy cheesy pizza on her desk. I sit in her spare chair and kick my heels up on the side of her desk.

  “Want to talk?”

  “I turned down a contract from Mr. Lewis, because it was a piece of shit.” I grab a slice of pizza and, in an unladylike manner, take a bite. It’s okay not to have table manners in front of Sofia. She gets me.

  “And that’s why you’re mad?” She hands me a napkin.

  “Among other things.” I wipe my mouth. Sofia stares at me as she nicely takes a small bite. She’s waiting for me to say something. “Spencer spent the night.” She remains quiet. “We had a lot of more mind-blowing sex; then I started answering emails, and he fell asleep.”

  “Did you like waking up to him?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I thought I did, but he acted all strange this morning when we left.
”

  “Spencer doesn’t do relationships and neither do you.”

  I scrunch my face up. “I think the whole world knows this already. Everyone has the memo.”

  “I know.” She takes another bite. “I’m just not sure why you both are like this.”

  “Because I don’t believe in the fairy tales: One man for one woman and all that dumbass jazz.” I keep my wall up tight around my heart. I don’t think soul mates exist for everyone. Some are lucky, like my parents and Sofia, but workaholics like me are married to the job. Gardner Enterprise is my soul mate.

  Sofia doesn’t say anything more about it. She starts talking about Grant and his latest conquest. I love my nephew, and this is a welcome distraction. We’re both laughing hard when Blake, Tanner, and Spencer walk into her office, still in their practice uniforms. My eyes land right on Spencer, but quickly my gaze goes back to the pizza. At least the carbs are curbing my craving.

  “Harmony, what are you doing here?” Blake asks.

  “Well, Dad, I’m having lunch with my sister.” I toss my crust back into the pizza box and wipe my hands and mouth with a clean napkin.

  Blake glares at me, but it doesn’t faze me.

  “Harmony, when are you going to out with me?” Tanner kneels down in front of me.

  The kid is cute, but I know he owns stock in the Trojan Condom brand. I think he humps anything that stands still for a while. “How does never sound to you? I’m free then.”

  Spencer and Blake both chuckle.

  “Fine,” he huffs and stands up. “I’m never going to find a regular lay,” he grumbles.

  “What?” I ask.

  Tanner turns back to me. “I’m chasing girls all the time, but I just can’t find one I want to go back too with no strings attached.”

  I scoff. “Well, there’s your problem.”

  “What?” The entire room asks.

  “Girls. You need to stop looking at girls and look for a woman.” I rise to my feet.

  “No woman is just going to be my booty call.” Tanner rolls his eyes.

  “If you find the right one,” Spencer speaks, but he’s looking at me.

  I narrow my eyes at him, because I’m still confused and a tad angry with him for treating me the way he did this morning. “Just don’t let them spend the night. It tends to piss them off.” I kiss Sofia’s cheek. “Have a great day, guys.” I head toward the door when something pops in my head, like a light bulb. I snap my fingers and turn back on my heels and look at Tanner. A smile grows on my face.