17. Macy

Chapter 17

Macy

My eyes are locked on Cord as he rounds first. I'm on my feet and holding my breath as he slides into second. He's going to be sore, but that doesn't stop him. He always puts his all into the game, it doesn't matter if this is practice.

Really, he puts his all into everything he does in life. The man doesn't half-ass anything. Which is why I'm shocked he suggested we fake date. It doesn't seem like a Cord Powell thing to do.

I watch him talk to Wheeler, knowing he's probably being cocky. I love it. He glances down at his chest and grimaces. Yup, he's going to be sore. He's already red and the skin looks irritated from here.

His eyes move to me and I couldn't look away even if I wanted to. It's always been like that for me. Any time Cord's focus is on me, I can't pay attention to anything else going on around me.

The slow smile that spreads across his face is contagious. I wish I were down there with him. I'm pretty sure I'd be standing on my tippy toes and pressing my lips against his. I want to know if there's still something between us, but I'm terrified the answer will be yes.

Can I handle being with him again? Knowing there are always going to be women throwing themselves into his arms. They'll always be looking for a way to sneak into his bed and push me aside.

"You're still in love with him." Charlie appears next to me and rests her arms on the railing next to me.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to, your face said it all. If this were a cartoon, you'd have hearts popping out of your eyes and floating into the air above you."

"You look at Wyatt the same way," I murmur, not even trying to hide my feelings from Charlie. There's no point.

Charlie's one of the few people I'm real and honest with. I don't feel the need to hide from her. She's seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of my life and she's still here.

"I do." She nods her head. "Which is why I stopped fighting it and gave him another chance."

"Do you regret it?" I glance over at her.

"Absolutely not. He's not the same boy I dated in high school, he's better. He's stronger, more loving, more caring. He's more… everything. I never stopped loving him and you never stopped loving Cord."

"But things haven't changed. All of the reasons I broke things off are still there. It's different for you and Wyatt." I turn my attention back to the field, finding Cord instantly. He just touched third base and he's staring down home plate with hunger. He wants a run, especially since no one else has made it home since they started practice.

"I was talking to Wyatt about that," she trails off as she watches the field. She really should be down there with them; I don't know why she's up here.

"And?"

"Wyatt said he's changed a lot. He explained how Cord acts with fans now and how much he's changed since you walked away."

"I just don't know if I can trust it."

"The fans or Cord? Because I have no doubt you can trust Cord. He looks at you the same way Owen looks at Carrie. You're the only woman who exists in this world to him. You always have been."

"What if one day he has a moment of weakness and one of the cleat chasers convinces him to do something with her?"

"If you really think that's even a possibility, I think you have to look at yourself, Mace. Cord would never do that. His moments of weakness only occur when you're around. He's never going to cheat on you. He's never going to make you regret giving your heart to him. Anything you're feeling isn't because of Cord, it's because of your parents and that's not fair to Cord. He did nothing wrong."

"You took off the kid gloves, huh?" I ask softly .

"Someone had to." She nudges me with her shoulder. "If you let him walk away again, you risk losing him to another woman. He can't hold on forever. And I don't think you want that. I think it would kill you to see his arms wrapped around another woman. To see him get married to someone else. To hold a baby that wasn't yours."

"I wouldn't be able to handle it," I whisper, hating how true those words are. It would destroy me if Cord got his happily ever after with another woman.

"Then you need to pull your head out of your ass and realize he's never done a thing to hurt you. He's not your parents. He's an amazing man who just wants to love you." Charlie squeezes my shoulder before she leaves me to think. She knows I needed to be metaphorically slapped, then left to think by myself. She's a good friend.

I lower myself into a seat as Cord walks back towards the dugout. He made it around to home and there's a big smile on his face. He glances up at me and his smile slowly slips. His brows draw together as he tilts his head to the side.

" What's wrong?" He mouths the words to me.

I shake my head. Not only do I not want to talk to him about this, but I'm definitely not having a silent conversation with him like this.

He watches me until one of the guys comes up behind him and slaps him on the back. He reluctantly pulls his gaze away from me and gets back to work. I know this isn't over though. He'll be asking questions in no time.

I slip through the door of the locker room and head straight to Owen's office. I've learned to keep my eyes straight ahead of me and ignore all the men around me. Sure, I love seeing hot men half naked, but I don't need to see everything these guys have to offer. No thanks.

I've had more than my fair share of players flirt with me, and I quickly turn each one of them down. They all think they have something to offer me and while they might, they aren't who I want.

Knocking on the door, I wait for Owen to tell me to enter. After quickly taking a seat on the opposite side of his desk, I wait for him to finish with a phone call.

"Sorry about that. It was another reporter wanting a comment about Stubbs and the allegations he's throwing my way."

"And what are you responding with, Mr. Powell?" I arch a brow as I open my notebook and have my pen poised to take notes.

"Damn, it always catches me off guard when you go all professional on me." Owen chuckles and shakes his head.

"I can be an adult when I'm forced to be." I raise my brows, silently asking him to answer my questions.

"As much as I want to tell everyone what a piece of shit he is, I've kept my mouth shut. I simply said after Stubbs has created a lot of problems within our clubhouse, we decided to let him go. Injuring our catcher, being too aggressive with his teammates, and trying to attack our newest physical therapist was too much."

"Good. Did you get me that video?"

"Yeah. That was why I asked you to come here." He turns his computer monitor so I can see the screen and presses play.

I watch Stubbs scream at Charlie. Telling her this is all her fault and flipping a chair over. He makes a move towards her and it's clear he wants to lay his hands on her and hurt her. Only Owen doesn't allow that to happen. He slams him against the wall and makes sure to keep Charlie safe.

My best friend is sitting in Owen's chair, shaking like a leaf. Owen was smart to keep her on the opposite side of the desk from Stubbs. I wonder if he anticipated something like this happening.

Even Danny is pissed and looks seconds away from launching himself at Stubbs. I blow out a long breath as Stubbs sends Charlie a murderous glare and stomps out of the office. Owen instantly gathers Charlie in his arms and holds onto her tightly.

"What do you think?" Owen's voice pulls me from the video and my thoughts of how scared Charlie must have been.

"I hope you gave this to your lawyer."

"Of course. As well as all of the incidents from practices. Stubbs has been trying to injure my players since he came back for spring training. I don't think any of them realize there are cameras everywhere. You can't step foot in this property without being on camera almost the entire time."

"That's good to know," I say as my cheeks grow hot. I can only imagine what he might've seen of me and Cord. The vulnerability he might've caught on camera. "If you can email me the videos, I'll leak them to the press. Has he sued?"

"No. My lawyer is actually friends with his. He said he doesn't think Stubbs is going to sue. Apparently, there are some other teams interested in signing him, but he knows if he sues, he could lose that interest. No one is going to sign someone in a lawsuit with their previous team."

"That's very true. So, we should just be battling the media aspect and them painting you in a bad light. I can handle that." I nod my head as I jot down a few things in my notebook.

"Thank you, Macy. I really appreciate this."

"It's what you pay me for, right?" I peek up at him with a smile.

"Yeah, but you're going above and beyond. I've already heard through the grapevine that you've been talking to each player, getting their side of the Stubbs situation and keeping tabs on who you can trust in front of a mic and who you can't."

"I'll do everything I can to protect you and this team." I shrug, trying to brush off his appreciation. I don't need it. "I'm going to ask Wyatt and Charlie to do an interview too. I think getting them on camera will tug at people's heartstrings too. "

"Smithy's best friend is a reporter. I'm sure she'd be happy to run with the story."

"Do you know her name?"

"Liliana… I don't remember her last name, but I'm sure you could ask Smithy."

"Perfect. I'll make sure to catch him before I leave for the day and get in contact with her." I close my notebook and slip my pen inside the spiral piece of metal. I'll lose it if I don't keep it there.

"Mace? One more thing."

"Yeah?" I stand to my full height, ready to get to work on a press release as well as getting in contact with people to leak these videos to.

"Sunshine wants you at dinner on Sunday. Will you come?"

"Of course. I'll even bring some dessert." I smile at Owen before I open his office door and take a step into the locker room. My gaze collides with Cord's and I suck in a sharp breath. I think I just ran out of time to think things over.