When Alicia came back out, she was dressed in ripped jeans and a multi-colored sweater. Her feet were bare, and he zoomed right in on her toenails. They were the same color, with the same kind of sparkles as her fingers, and it sent a jolt through him. It was more intimate than he’d expected. While in Cancun, he might have slept in the room next to hers, but the door was securely locked between them. Then she was gone, and he was sent to Brazil to wait out his visa application process. He had to admit he’d enjoyed his time there and should have gotten used to such surroundings, Livia dos Santos creating a beautiful home. But this was his. He was paying for it with his money, money he’d yet to earn. The Greenliners were counting on him to fulfill his role at third base and at the plate. He wasn’t sure he’d live up to his hype. Was that why she was here? Dan must have sent Alicia to handle him because of the same kinds of concerns.
He looked over as she took a tentative seat on the other couch, that one a deep blue. It reminded him of the sea just outside his window. A thrill of ownership swept through him, pride filling his chest. Or was it this woman’s presence that made it vibrate and thrum so intently? She was holding the beer in both hands as if to occupy them. There was unease in her posture, but she opened up to conversation. “It must have been tough yesterday, being witness to that.”
She was speaking of Farina’s death. It had thrown him. He was as much amazed at the ambulance that had raced to the field and the way the medical personal had conducted the emergency as he was the actual death. He’d been taught that there was no better healthcare system than the one they had in Cuba but yesterday had proven that wrong.
“It was unnerving. I didn’t know the man well, but it would have been better had he lived to keep the ship on course, yes?”
She took a swig of the beer, licked the foam off her lips. A spike of heat caught him low in the gut. He’d need to keep his tone modulated.
She gazed at him with undisguised concern. “It is causing some problems for upper management.”
He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable.
“They were meeting today to discuss who will take over?”
“Yeah and I have a feeling we should be hearing something soon. They met hours ago, and I know they were already close to a decision before they did.”
Just as she said that, both of their phones pinged.
“This could be it.”
She thumbed the icon and the text popped up. Mateo did the same.
We have just reached an agreement with Mac Calipari and he has been hired as the new manager of the Greenliners. He will be assuming Jethro Farina’s duties immediately and will be handling all administrative concerns. He will be contacting all players and staff to discuss their futures with the team. He has a lot of ground to cover with spring training just weeks away, and I expect full cooperation from everyone involved.
Mateo was the first to respond.
“Seb is not going to be happy.”
“Neither is Casey. Her father counts on her for a lot, and it will mean interaction with the team, and a certain left fielder.” There was a downward tilt to her mouth as if his name was distasteful. “Seb…” She stopped, bit her lip as if unwilling to go on.
He helped her out by admitting, “I know he dated Mac’s daughter in high school and then broke up with her. He said Mac was not a forgiving kind of guy. Did you already know? About Mac?”
“Casey told me the owners met with him and it went well. Hiring him seemed the natural progression from there.”
She got up to put on the TV so they could hear any news on the new hire. After flicking through a couple of stations, she put the remote down. He figured it was the channel she usually watched.
When she’d settled back, he smiled and said, “I bet you get more inside information from your friend than from your boss now.”
She fiddled with the label on the beer, picking it away from the bottle.
“Maybe. Dan thought they were leaning that way, as well.” She gave him a pointed look. “Mac’s a good choice. I watched him play while I was growing up. There’s no one fiercer or more committed to win. It might be Seb’s bad luck but not the team’s.”
“You’ve known Casey a long time.”
“Yeah. I used to sit in the press box when I first started going to the home games with Dad, but before and after, he’d take me down on the field to talk to the players. She would be there with her mom and Mac and we hit it off, started hanging out together even off the field. As I got older, I sat with her and her mom most of the time.”
“You were around when they were dating?”
She knew who they were.
“Yeah. They dated their last two years of high school, inseparable really, and he was on both the school team and a town league. Translation? He thought Mac was the bomb, one of the reasons he became a left fielder, and he went to as many Greenie games as he could. They were so good together and I never understood…”
She opened and then closed her mouth, took a deep breath, and said, “Casey’s one of my best friends and I’m a bit biased when it comes to what happened. But Seb was honest with her and I can’t fault that. People don’t necessarily grow old together. That she wanted to was on her, not him.”
“Mac doesn’t see it the same way?”
“No. For a lot of different reasons, which I’m not going
