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"No, Landon, I don’t have time for this right now."
Katie wiggled out of his grasp, glanced at the text, then moved towards the door. She got about half a step before Landon stopped her in her tracks.
"Hold it."
Katie grimaced at the door so he couldn’t see, then turned back to him with pink already coloring her cheeks. She’d been hoping they’d skate past this without discussion, but neither could she blame him for having questions.
"Why in the world did you bring up some D-list child actress in the middle of sex?" he asked.
Katieranherfingersacrossherforeheadandtuckedherhair behind her ear. "I uhhh, I heard that you two spent some time by the poolinPittsburg."
"Ha!Where’dyouhearthat?"
"Just, you know, stupid online tabloid gossip."
"Baby,c’mon,youknowthatshitismadeup."
"Not all tabloid stories are made up," she argued. "They wouldn’t have any return readers if they didn’t sometimes end up being true."
Landon gave her what she needed to hear. "Lazing around the pool sounds great and all, but we don’t have time for that shit during the season. And I’ve never even met Layla Lamar, okay?"
Katie nodded and Landon dropped her one last reassuring kiss before peeking out the door and giving the "all clear" sign. Without even thinking, she fell into step beside him, so caught up in the high of being with him that she didn’t see Lori coming towards them until it was too late to pretend they weren’t walking together.
chapter 28
Lori ambled toward them, smug smile in place, her black eyebrows raising while Katie’s stomach went the opposite direction.
"Well hello, how are we doing today, Ms. Masterson? If it’s not too much trouble, we’ve been waiting for you over in the VIP box for the past hour. Funny thing, I don’t see any table linens in your hands."
No way had it been that long, but Katie didn’t argue. In fact she couldn’t say anything because her voice stuck like tar in her dry throat.
Landon jumped in with his best charming smile and saved her. "Sorry, Lori, it’s my fault, I saw...oh uhhh shit…ummm...Carly? Right?"
"Katie," Katie corrected, with a tiny cough to cover up her smile.
"Right, sorry, I sawKatiehere in the hallway and I kind of bombarded her with a couple questions about the charity banquet and also this brunch you’ve been all over my ass about."
Loriwasalreadyrespondingbeforehe’dfinished."Mr.Takahashi’sahugefan,Landon.It’snotaskingmuch."
"You should thank your assistant here, because I’ve decided I’m going to do it, but you’re going to have to do something for me too. Walk with me? Thanks again Car—I mean, Katie."
Landon led the fire-breathing beast smoothly away, but Katie didn’t dare exhale a sigh of relief. Not then, and not later when Lori passed by her desk and went to her office without a word. Too many ballsstillhungupintheair.DidLorisuspectsomething?Hadthey in fact messed up his streak? How the hell was she going to extricate herself from this giant mess she’d gotten herself into with Landon? Andhowwasshegoingtolivewithherbrokenheartwhenshedid?
That last question weighed heavy all day, but the streak edged it out by the bottom of the sixth that night. In three at bats, Landon still hadn’t gotten on base and the Mavericks had been trailing by one for several innings. Katie was practically crawling out of her skin, in between running around to keep the Japanese businessmen satisfied. To be fair, they ended up being one of the more fun groups she’d hosted in the VIP, and endearingly polite despite their overwhelming requests for food, drink, cigars, and even a marijuana vape pen, which Craig The Intern managed to procure in a miraculously quick fashion.
Mr. Takahashi kept entirely to himself though, watching the game from a quiet corner that nobody in his entourage dared enter. Katiegrewincreasinglyconcernedandintriguedastheevening wore on with the media mogul slumped in isolation. He was shorter than she had expected, and also younger, probably just past fifty. She tried to approach him once, a fresh hot dog cradled in one palm, but he waved her off.
By the eighth inning, Landon still didn’t have a hit. With Lori nowhere in sight and two runners on base, Katie gave up any pretense of disinterest and put all her attention on Landon as he stepped up to the plate. She chewed on her thumbnail, heart pounding so hard in her ears she didn’t hear Mr. Takahashi sidle up next to her until he spoke.
"Ryan can get the hit as long as he does not drop chin when Thompson throws the breaker."
"That’s exactly what I told him!" Katie said triumphantly—before realizing what she’d said, who she’d said it about, and most importantly, who she’d said it to.
Katie’s hand whipped away from her face and she straightened first her dress and then her spine. "Oh, Mr. Takahashi, I’m so sorry. How are you doing? What can I get for you, sir?"
"That’sstrikeoneforLandonRyan."Theannouncer’svoice sangoutoverthespeakersintheVIPbox.
The media mogul ignored Katie’s question. "Ryan is good ball player, but very emotional. He lets his moods control his play."
