Page 2 of Bad Run

Lance rushes his friend Cameron and lifts him as the entire team cheers, throwing their hands into the air and jumping up and down.

An image of Lance lifting me into his arms and kissing me flutters through my brain.

“Pfff.” I blow a nearly silent raspberry at the errant thought.

I really need to get over my stupid crush on him. Lance doesn’t even know I exist, so the chances of him kissing me in celebration are slim to none.

Not that it matters. Dating any of my father’s players is out of the question.

But a girl can dream. Which is why I usually leave visions like this for nights when I’m alone in bed with my BOB.

“Yo, ladies!”

I turn to find Tristan on his way over to me and Jenna. “Hey, big brother.”

Tristan struts toward us, flipping his curly hair off his forehead. Like me, he inherited our mother’s curly blonde locks.

I can practically see the drool dripping from the corner of Jenna’s mouth as Tristan smiles at her. Talk about crushes. She’s been crushing on Tristan since seeing the family portrait my mom had framed for my dorm room.

“You’ve got something on your chin,” I whisper in her ear. I give my bestie a good revenge shove to break her from the thirst trap that is my brother.

I’m not an idiot; I get it. Tristan is good-looking, but he’s also my brother, so … gross.

Tristan knows exactly what Jenna’s thinking, and he lays it on thick, flashing her a smoldering smile as he purrs, “Hey, Jenna.”

“Hey, Triss,” she says, her voice dipping into a flirty lilt.

“Yeah, no. Not happening,” I grumble.

“Spoilsport,” Jenna teases.

“Are you two coming onto the field with us for the trophy ceremony?” Tristan asks.

“Um.” I bite my inner cheek.

I really want to go down, but I’m not sure if my father would approve. He’s been extra hard on me since I moved back to Los Angeles to work for him and the team.

He wants me to wait until the new season begins before I work with the team. My position will be under the current chief marketing officer, Maryse Hanover-Diaz.

Maryse is the wife of a former Evaders player, and ten years my senior. She is amazing at her job and has changed the way the team’s brand is valued, so I am going to learn a lot from her.

Although, I will admit that waiting for my dream job is annoying. When my three older brothers wanted to work for the Evaders, Dad replaced employees with a snap of his fingers.

It doesn’t make sense.

Aside from being a Montgomery, I’m qualified. I have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marketing and communications from UNY, the University of New York.

During college, I interned at a prestigious public relations company in town. After graduation, I took a job in New York as a social media manager in brand strategy, laying the foundation for my dream career—working for the Evaders, and with my family.

I love baseball. It’s in my blood.

I thought spending almost ten years away would help my father see me differently. No such luck. In the meantime, thanks to Sylvie—the Evaders’ front office manager—I’m the assistant and social media manager for Cameron Miller, or Cam as everyone affectionately calls him.

Being a PA isn’t what I want to do, but it works for now. Besides, being Cam’s PA is great. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Even when he was a rookie and I was an awkward teenager, he was always kind to me.

“Well?” Tristan asks, his patience running short. He’s desperate to get onto the field for the trophy ceremony.

I give my brother’s arm a reassuring pat. “No, I’m good. I think we are going to head out in a bit and change for the after-party. But you have fun, and make sure you take a picture with the trophy for me.”