I say nothing and shrug.
“You did. Didn’t you? Come on tell me.”
“Fine. I did.” I cave and tell him. Then again, I’m dying to tell him. “I’m making the announcement tomorrow.”
Spencer shakes his head. “The girl I’m fucking bought the team I’m playing on.” He pauses and looks out the window. “Never thought I’d be saying those words.” He rubs his forehead.
“Does this cause an issue?” I’m suddenly worried, and Sofia words come flooding through me. Maybe it is a big deal sleeping with one of the employees. But he really isn’t an employee. He plays on the team…well…that I now own.
“I guess not. It’s not like we’re in a relationship or anything.” He turns back to me.
“Look,” I say hatefully and jerk my hand from his. “You don’t have to say it every single time we’re around each other. I get it. No sleepovers. No relationship. No dating. No nothing. I have the memo.”
Spencer stares at me and I do the same back at him. “Fine,” he growls. “I just want to make sure—”
“I got it.” I throw my hand up to stop him for saying it over and over again. “Larry, drop me off by the east side. The offices are there.”
“Yes, Ms. Gardner.” Larry pulls around the stadium and hops out to open my door.
“I’m going to the game tonight,” I tell Spencer right before I step out.
“You should since you’re the owner,” he grumbles.
I storm over to him and get in his face. “If this is a problem tell me now and we can end this.”
He thinks for a couple seconds before saying, “No, I have no problem with anything. Actually, this is a good thing. I mean it.” He picks up my hand and kisses my knuckles.
It’s a sweet move from him. Almost a boyfriend move, but I pass it off and tell him I’ll see him later before heading into the Angels’ offices.
I look out at the field from Mr. Ricker’s office. “This is some view.”
He laughs. “I believe you’ve been up here a million times.”
“Never seen your office empty.” I say after I turn back to his bare office. “Are you okay?”
He takes a deep breath and looks around. There’s sadness in his face, and I walk over, hugging him.
“I promise I’ll take care of them.”
“It’s the hardest thing I think I’ve ever sold.” He pats my back.
I step back and look at the dear man and friend.
“You stay strong. Don’t let anyone run over you because you’re a woman.” He taps my nose like he did when I was a child.
“You have my word.” I hug him again.
“Let’s take a walk.” He holds out his elbow and we make our way down toward Sofia’s office, and he knocks on the door, before opening it. “Come with us.” His voice booms in, and a second later, my sister appears.
“What’s going on?” she asks, looking between us both.
“We’re going for a walk.” He holds out his other elbow and together the three of us stroll quietly down the hall, to the tunnel, and up to the field.
The Angels are out running up and down the baselines as we come up and rest against dugout rails. None of us say anything as we watch the team. It takes a moment for me to realize…this is mine. Well, Gardner Enterprise, but it’s my face that’ll be in the papers and on TV tomorrow.
“I told everyone in the offices today.” He finally speaks.
“Do you want to say goodbye to the team?” Sofia places her hand on his shoulder.
“No.” He shakes his head looking down at his alligator shoes. “This is my goodbye.”
“Are you sure?” I ask him touching his other arm.
“I am. I am very sure.” He lifts his head and smiles.
The three of us remain in the dugout for the entire practice. Spencer catches my eyes a few times, but not for long. Batting practice is my favorite part. The power in the swing of these players is beyond amazing.
When the boys start making their way to the locker room, we remain in place. The guys nod at us as they pass us, and I smile at them all.
“Take care of those boys,” Mr. Ricker says as he hugs Sofia and me one last time before he leaves us standing in the dugout and walks away.
I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and then I open them. “Sofia, we own the Angels.”
“Yes, we do.” She sounds better than she did before.
When I make it to the office, Claire is beaming so bright I’m afraid she may combust right in front of me. “Go ahead. You may have one small freak out on me.”
She squeals so loud she may have damaged my eardrum. I can’t understand a single word she’s saying because it’s too high pitched, and she’s jumping up and down. She really is the biggest Angels fan.
“And that’s it.” I hold up my hands and she immediately stops. “Now, we work.” Claire composes herself, and we get down to business.
The rest of the day all I do is take phone calls, answer emails, and review upcoming projects. My eyes are burning, and I’m ready to end this day, but I’m still going to the game.
I call for Larry and tell Claire to go home and get ready for tomorrow. I head down and watch out the window as he takes me to the stadium. Of course, the upside is I don’t have to wait in line anymore as I go to the player’s entrance. The owner’s box has a special elevator near the locker room.
“Somebody looks lost.” I hear Spencer behind me as I reach the elevator. “Or are you taking the super secret, not so secret, elevator?”
I smile and turn around. “I was hoping it’d be lined in gold with a hot, shirtless operator. Looks like I’ll need to add that to my to-do for the week.”
He chuckles.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be working out or something?”
“Or something.” He shrugs. “I saw you walking by.” He points to the other door, and I know it’s the locker room.
“I’m heading up to my box. Am I seeing you tonight?” I lustfully look at him through my lashes.
“Maybe.” I hear some more of the guys talking and Spencer says he needs to get back, and I call for the elevator.
My box is larger than the Gardner’s one. I actually need to go ahead and let that one go.This one can be used if I need to entertain clients or whatnot. There’s a large, fully stocked bar, and spread of food. I’m not sure whom to thank for that yet. Leather club chairs face the field and I take one of them.
“Why are you alone?”
I look up from my seat. “Sofia, I figured you would be down by the dugout.”
“I knew you’d be alone. You want some company.”
“Of course.” I smile as she takes a place next to me. “Where’s my nephew?”
“Mom and Dad have him. Are you nervous about tomorrow?”
“A little, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be great.” She smiles.
We talk about everything and anything as we watch the team take the field. The entire game is great. The Angels win. Blake adds another home run to his stats, Tanner steals two more bases, and Spencer has a couple base hits.
Sofia heads down to the parking lot to wait for Blake, but I head home. I do want to see Spencer, but deep down, I need to be alone tonight.
Me: I’m heading home and going to bed. I need to be fresh faced for the camera in the morning.
Spencer: Okay. See you next time. Good luck.
I won’t lie; there’s a sting in my heart at his short message. Maybe I shouldn’t forget we’re not in a relationship, after I was hateful to him this morning about the same thing. I can’t forget it.
I’m wearing black pants, a white wrap shirt, and red heels. I call it my power outfit and today, I need it. Claire is right next to me, and I’m ready for this meeting. I slept well, and I know this is going to be the best move for Gardner Enterprise and me. Sofia and Blake are standing at the end of the hall, and I rush up to them.
“Listen to me, both of you, I don’t want e
ither of you to say anything during this meeting,” I warn them both.
“I already told Blake about how you have to establish yourself and everything, like Dad taught us,” Sofia says and Blake nods.
“I’ll be quiet,” he promises.
“Ms. Gardner.” I turn to see John Bowman, the general manager of the Angels coming toward us. He’s the youngest GM in the baseball league. “We’re all set up waiting for you.” His overly white teeth gleam at me. I can’t look directly at them because I might go blind.
“Mr. Bowman, we’re ready as well. Lead the way.”
His smile gets bigger, somehow, and I follow him to the large conference room. Every department head is there to meet me. This is going to be tough, but I have handled bigger meetings. Plus, I’m the owner and their boss.
Mr. Bowman introduces me to everyone, and I make sure to make eye contact with everyone as he goes around the room. When he finishes, I take a seat at the head of the table, Claire next to me on my right, Sofia and Blake on my left.
“Since this is a little informal get together, where would you like to start?” Mr. Bowman still beams.
“First,” I firmly state. “This isn’t informal at all. This is a serious meeting and we have a lot to cover.” I hold my hand out, and immediately, Claire hands me my notes for today. “Let’s start with legal.”
I pretty much go around the table and hear about concerns with each department. When I reach Doctor Martin, who goes by Doc, he doesn’t seem pleased. However, it’s strange since Sofia praises him.
“Doc, what are the concerns you want to address?” I can see it all over his face as he glares at Mr. Bowman. Oh, I can feel the tension, and I glance at Sofia, who looks confused.
“I have two I would like to address, if possible.” He sits taller. “Two that have been ignored.”
This is going to be good. “Start with the most serious.”
“Mr. Bowman wants to eliminate a position a position in my department, and I feel as if it’s a huge mistake.” He’s still staring down Mr. Bowman.
“Is this true?” I ask him.
“I feel as if—” Mr. Bowman pauses, trying to find his words. “The position is unneeded.”
“Liar,” Doc calls him out under his breath.
“Wait.” I raise my voice. I don’t want a real fight on my first real day as the owner. “Let’s start at the beginning. What position are we speaking of?”
Doc stares at Mr. Bowman, waiting for him to answer. Finally, he does, “The massage therapist.”
Sofia’s position.
I need to remain calm and not flip out because she’s my sister. “Why?” I stare at Mr. Bowman. He clears his throat and doesn’t answer me right away. “I don’t like to repeat myself,” I firmly add.
“I believe the person in the position is too close to the team.” He doesn’t look or even glance at Sofia.
“Doc,” I look over at him. “What’s your opinion of the person?”
“I think Mr. Bowman is a fool to give up the position. Sofia is an amazing employee and yes, she is close to the team. But in all sense and purposes, she’s become like a den mother to them. The guys go to her first not only for physical issues, but also personal. I believe she’s helped a lot of them stay on a good path; personally and professionally.”
The smile spreads on my face. “Her soul is gold.” I finally see Sofia’s face, and her feelings are hurt. Blake is holding her hand tightly. “Do we have Sofia’s evaluations?”
The woman next to Doc, whose name I can’t remember, but I know she’s the director of human resources, hands me the file. “Thank you.” I take the file from her and glance through the pages. “Everything looks good. What’s the issue? If Sofia is a good employee and she does her job well, as her evaluations list, there’s no reason for it.” I shut the file. “Mr. Bowman, care to tell me why?”
He doesn’t answer me. He’s a prickface. Yep, he’s a prickface.
“Sofia stays where she is,” I announce since prickface can’t answer me. “Doc, what’s your other issue?”
“About two months ago, our assistant to the department left for another job. I’ve been trying to have Mr. Bowman give me the okay to hire another one, but he seems to be dragging his feet and it’s putting a lot of more pressure on us.” Doc’s face is getting red with anger. Prickface really isn’t really doing his job.
“Care to tell us why?” I turn back to him.
He remains quiet again, and it causes me to roll my eyes.
“Forgive me, but Ms. Human Resources?” I slightly cringe because I’ve forgotten her name.
“Ramona,” she answers with a smile. “You can call me Ramona.”
“You have my approval to start looking for someone. My suggestion would be find someone with an established background in the medical field. It’ll be easier to train them.”
Ramona nods and makes notes on her pad.
“Anything else?” I glance around the table, but no one says anything. “Okay, everyone has Claire’s email and phone number, please contact her and she’ll get me all the messages. I’m also going to be making it a point to come to everyone’s departments and speaking to you one-on-one.” Dad always said it was important to know everyone who works for you.
They all nod and I dismiss them, except for Prickface. We need to talk, and I’m going to make sure he hears me. Once everyone is gone except Claire, Sofia, Blake, I face prickface. “Do you have the files I asked for?”
“Yes.” He pats the ones in front of them.
I stare at him. “Well, are you going to hand them to me or am I just going to have to guess.”
“I think this is something we should discuss alone,” he suggests.
“No, I don’t think so. Please hand them to me.” I hold my hand out.
Prickface looks at me with an evil eye. “You know I’m the general manager.”
“You know, I’m the owner. I sign your paycheck. Hand me the files and then you can go.”
I can see his chest rising and falling, and I know he’s pissed. Then again, I am too.
“These are contracts; they need to be dealt with by the general manager.”
I put my hand down and very coldly say, “I’m the owner. I want the files and you’re going to hand them to me and then wait for us in the hallway before we go and tell the players.”
There’s a stare down between us, something I always win at. Never, ever have I lost. And I didn’t this time either. He slides them over to me and, in a tantrum mode, kicks his chair back, and leaves the conference room.
I make sure he’s gone before asking if he’s always that way.
“Actually, yes,” Blake answers.
“Harmony, what are the files?” Sofia leans over and tries to see.
“These are the three remaining contracts that need to be handled. I want to look over them.” I open up the first and it’s Tanner, the second, Spencer, and the last is Blake. “Oh shit.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is harder than I thought. The guy I’m sleeping with and my sort-of brother-in-law are on the list, and I have to be unbiased.
“You see my file, don’t you?” Blake smirks.
“Maybe,” I answer vaguely.
There is a knock on the conference door, and I call for them to come in. Prickface comes in with another sheet of paper. “You need this too.” He’s still mad.
“Thank you.” I take it from him and glance over as he’s about to leave. “Wait,” I call out. “What’s this? By Colby Wilson’s name.” I point to it.
He doesn’t want to answer me, and I’m about to throat punch him in about two seconds if he doesn’t say anything. “Colby came to me and discussed retiring.” He leaves before going into more detail.
“Colby’s retiring?” I ask and look over at Blake who’s in shock.
Blake shrugs. “There’s been a rumor, but he hasn’t said a word to us.”
I like Colby. He’s a few years older than me, but a great guy. He’s swe
et to everyone and is the big brother of the team. I know how much the guys look up to him.
“All right, let’s go deal with the team and then Blake, you might have to help me figure out these files.” I stand and take the files with me. “I wish I could figure out a way to fire Prickface Bowman.”
“You can,” Blake says standing with us. “GMs get fired and replaced all the time.”
“Great, but I don’t have a replacement,” I smart off.
Blake’s mouth falls open, and he snaps his fingers. “Yes, you do.”
“I do?”
“Colby.”
“Huh?”
“Colby is a baseball genius. He knows everything about baseball and contracts. He hasn’t had an agent in years and has been going at it on his own.” Blake grins. “He’d be perfect. Plus, he loves the Angels. I know he’s not going anywhere because of Ariella and his daughter, Alexi. He’d be fantastic.”
I nod, thinking about it, but begin walking out of the conference room where prickface is standing. “I’m ready to meet my team.”
Sure, I shouldn’t be a child about the situation, but technically they are my team, and I still want to throat punch him. He doesn’t say anything and moves toward the elevators and we all follow.
The elevator ride is torture because no one speaks, and I can feel the tension between us, and it’s no way to work. Was he this way with Mr. Ricker? I doubt it.
“I gathered the team in their locker room,” he says as we step out of the box and head toward the locker room.
I’m not nervous, although Spencer will be there, and I need to keep my game face on. We’re friends; it’s not serious, and I shouldn’t even be worrying about it at all.
Blake opens the door and we all walk in. I can see Claire’s face is as bright as the sun. She might even pass out.
“Don’t pass out,” I whisper.
She shakes her head, and her cheeks are red.
“Guys, I need your attention for a moment. I know you’ve had a long day with practice, but I told you we had announcement. Mr. Ricker has sold the Angels.” There’s a collective gasp followed by silence. “But we were bought by Gardner Enterprise. Your new owner is Harmony Gardner.” He steps to the side, and I smile at the shocked faces.
Spencer (The Ninth Inning: Season Three #8) Page 9