Page 49 of Home of the Brave

“And some never leave,” Hartman teased.

“I’m sure that’s how they feel,” she laughed. “Like they can’t get rid of me.”

“Except this time,” Erik leaned forward. “How did you end up with us if your focus is on the women?”

Her face immediately dropped. “That would be due to a terrible judgement call by my bosses. Once they heard about the additional network coverage of the women’s games, they decided to throw in a more recognizable face. As if the viewers care about Joe Banks.”

I didn’t realize that had happened. She’d been around a lot, but I assumed she was hanging around the area all day to interview all the teams.

“That sucks,” I blurted.

“It does,” her eyes locked with mine.

A waiter stepped forward, pulling my attention from her. The food I hadn’t realized we’d ordered began to come out. It was family style so I assumed Hartman or Derek took the lead.

“This looks wonderful,” she smiled at the waiter, who set a steaming pile of pasta in front of her.

“Enjoy,” he replied with a quick grin.

Something hot coiled in my stomach, and it took me a moment to recognize it as jealousy.

What was going on with me?

I barely knew her, had only been able to share the same space as her for a few days now, yet I was jealous of the waiter?

I needed to pull myself together.

“Victoria, where do you live?” Amelia asked as we passed plates.

“New Jersey,” she said with a slight grimace.

“Oh is that where Sports Now is based?”

“No, well, the office is in New York, but rent’s astronomical and with how much I travel, it didn’t make sense for me to spend so much on an apartment I might not even spend a full week in each month.”

“But you need to be based there?” Erik asked.

“Not necessarily. I may go into the office once a month, and that’s only if I happen to be home for a few days in a row. Most of my meetings are online. The only real requirement I had is to be close to an airport.”

Hartman and Erik nodded as if her answer pleased them.

I watched them with narrowed eyes. They were being suspicious.

“So you could live in Phoenix, Los Angeles, or say, Salt Lake?” Erik asked with a completely straight face.

She nodded and cut a piece of chicken. “Yeah, actually, most of my colleagues live out west these days.”

“Interesting,” Hartman said mildly. “Would you ever consider moving?”

“Maybe,” she answered before taking a bite.

“Anything, or anyone, tying you to New Jersey?" Erik asked.

She dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Not really. My roommate is nice, but we didn’t know each other before. Most of my friends are in the same industry, so we’re all scattered most of the time.”

“What about your family?”

“My parents live in Michigan now. My sister and her family are in South Dakota near her husband's family.”