I laugh nervously. “Oh, we’ll see. I work with about half the people in this room so not so sure how well that’ll go down.”
She shrugs and returns her attention to the drink in her hand as Jamie comes up beside me.
“Well, hello there. You’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,” he says as he takes in my appearance. “Didn’t think we’d actually see you here tonight.”
I tilt my head at him in question. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you tend to keep very strict boundaries—which is all fine, it’s your business—that we didn’t expect you to be here this evening since it blurs those lines a bit, hm?”
I suddenly feel nervous and like I’m intruding. “Oh.” My eyes drop to my hands where I’m picking at one of my cuticles.
“Hey, hey. I didn’t mean that as a bad thing. It’s good you have those boundaries. Healthy, even. God knows we probably need some,” he says with a laugh, throwing a thumb over the shoulder at the rest of the team sitting around the table. “It’s nice for us to see you outside of your natural habitat is all I was tryingto say.” I offer him a small smile in thanks, and he holds his hand out toward me. “How about a dance?”
I shrug and take his hand. “Why not?”
“I’ll admit, I have an ulterior motive for asking you to dance,” Jamie says as the song picks up.
“Oh? And what is that?”
“I wanted to thank you.”
I miss a step and stumble a bit before regaining my footing. “Thank me for what?”
“For everything you’ve done for us this season. You’ve been such a huge help.”
I’m taken aback by his words. His words are reminiscent of the feedback from Mr. Boseman, making me think a large number of those compliments came from him. “Jamie, I’m only doing my job.”
“Yeah, but you walked into this job at the start of the season knowing absolutely nothing about baseball—truly your lack of knowledge was offensive to a lifelong fan—and look at you now. You threw your everything into learning the sport, our team, and how we operate. The things causing us issues. Helping us find the best solutions without causing disruptions elsewhere. I don’t think we’ve had a broadcast season go as smooth as this one has. And we owe all of it to you. We owe you so much more than a thank you, but it’s all we have to offer.”
Tears well in my eyes and it takes everything in me to hold them back. I playfully smack his shoulder. “Jamie, you ass! You’re going to ruin my makeup.” I let out a watery laugh. “You want to know a secret?” I ask, leaning in and dropping my voice to a whisper. “I didn’t want to be on this assignment.”
He lets out a mock shocked gasp. “No! You don’t say!”
“Yes,” I respond, equally exaggerated. “But I’m really glad I took it.”
“I’m glad you took it too, Rossi,” he says as he wraps one arm around to pull me into a half hug.
TWENTY-SIX
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
RYAN
I’m proud of myself.I only wanted to rip Isa out of Coop’s arms a grand total of five times during the entire three-minute song they danced. That’s lower than I thought it would be. It’s not that I’m jealous. Well, not for the reasons one might think. I’m not afraid of Cooper making a move. It’s more that I’m jealous of it not being me. I want to sweep her up in my arms and twirl us across the dance floor. But he beat me to it. And if I try to interrupt, I’m afraid it’ll only make this thing between us seem entirely obvious.
So, instead, I’m sitting here at the table by myself while I watch the two of them chat and laugh whilehe’sthe one to twirl her around the room.
They step away as the song ends and I’m about to make my move when I see her make her way through the crowd to her table.
I sigh and drop back into my seat.
Later then. I’ll dance with her later.
Cooper finally joins me, sliding into the seat next to me. “Why are you hiding over here?” he asks, sipping from his water.
“I’m not hiding,” I grumble. “Iwasgoing to dance with Isa, but it seems someone beat me there.” I shoot him a knowing look.
He shrugs and flashes a smile at me. “You snooze, you lose, Fletcher.”
