Hard and Fast

He flashed her a bright white smile. “That’s what a wingman is for.”

“So…what did you think about the story?” she asked, anxious to hear but afraid to at the same time. So much so, she continued talking before he could respond. “I went for a dual audience. Draw in the men with the facts. Entice the women with the real man and a promise of lots more to come.”

“Stop already,” Reggie said, leaning on the wall. “You scored big-time. You’ve got just enough sports to keep it real, but you’ve got that edgy, speculative quality that sells papers.”

She bit her bottom lip. “So as a guy, you’d still read it? You weren’t turned off by the real man stuff.”

He shook his head. “Actually, as a guy, I loved the part about Brad’s lucky necklace. It made him seem human. Besides, men are all about superstition when it comes to our sports. It’s something a guy could relate to.”

Before Amanda could comment, Kevin appeared, resting his arms on the top of her partition walls. The shininess of her boss’s bald head did nothing to detract from the scowl on his face—the one he’d worn in her interview that she would have sworn meant he hated her.

“My phone is ringing off the hook,” he declared, his tone clipped and rough.

Amanda and Reggie exchanged a concerned look. “About?” she prodded because Kevin seemed to expect her to ask the obvious.

“Some of the players are worried about your promise to expose the real men.”

Reggie made a sound. “Then they must have something to hide. Sounds like news to me.”

Kevin didn’t say anything. He stared at her, ignoring Reggie. Amanda’s heart settled in her chest and proceeded to beat so loudly she was quite certain the entire building could hear. “Right. I—”

Kevin cut her off. “The papers are flying off the racks.” Then, to her shock, he smiled. Almost. His lips sort of lifted on the sides a bit. She doubted the man ever full-out smiled. “You need to ease up a little. I printed the story, so obviously, I thought it worked. Every newspaperman worth a grain of salt knows sex and scandal sells. Good work.”

Amanda blinked, taken aback and thrilled by the compliment. “I, uh, well, thank you.”

“Speaking of ‘Undressing the Rays,’ there’s a rumor of steroid usage on the team. Jack’s working the story.”

Steroids? That was the kind of story that ruffled feathers. The kind of story one treaded lightly around. The wrong information could ruin careers. “Do I get to know your source?”

“No.” His tone was clipped. “I’ve been around a long time. I’ve earned my contacts. You haven’t yet. All you need to concern yourself with is getting this story before Jack. Understand?”

Her response was instant. “Oh, yes. I want that, too.” Amanda made sure her voice held the conviction she felt.

Kevin’s eyebrow inched upward, but he didn’t comment. “Good. I expect an update soon.” Without another word, he left.

Hand pressed to her chest, Amanda felt both relieved and happy. “Oh, my God, I just knew I was getting fired.”

“You scored big,” Reggie told her. “Now you have nothing to worry about except—”

“Getting this story before Jack Ass.”

“Right,” he said with a nod. “But don’t fixate on Jack. Do this your way, not his. And that wasn’t what I was going to say, anyway. I was going to say you need to find a place to live.”

“Oh,” Amanda said, settling into her chair. “I know. Kevin said to get here, so that’s what I did. I need time to find something I can afford. So far, everything the real estate agent has showed me is crazy expensive or so far away it’s nuts.”

“I might have a solution,” Reggie offered. “Karen Tuggle, our weather woman, has a duplex and she rents out the other side. I’m not sure when it’s available, but it’s in a good area of town and it’s affordable.”

“Sounds good. I’ll contact her today. I’m hoping Kevin lets me travel with the team for the Texas series in six weeks. That way I can drive my own car back.”

“I’d bet on it. The Rangers and the Rays have a competitive history with some tension between the coaches. Jack Ass will be going for sure. All the more reason for Kevin to want us there.”

Amanda’s cell phone rang before she could respond.

“I’ll check in with you in a bit,” Reggie said, before departing.

Amanda managed to retrieve her phone from her purse by the third ring. Caller ID told her it was her father. “Hey, Dad.”

“How is my baby girl?”

“I’m fine.” Amanda smiled into the phone. “My first story hit the paper today.”

“I saw that,” he said, his voice holding a fatherly authoritative tone as if he wasn’t completely pleased his daughter had written it. “And quite the story it was. I bet you got some notice.”

“I did,” Amanda agreed. “And the good news is, I’m still employed.”

“Well, of course you are. But let me get this straight. You wrote the article thinking it might cost you your job?”

“No.” She blinked. “Well, maybe. It is a bit daring,” Amanda admitted.

“You certainly made everyone sit up and take notice, and you did it right out of the gate.” He paused. “I noticed you picked Brad Rogers as your first feature, too.”

“I knew you’d approve.” Her father had a thing for pitchers. Not teams, but pitchers. Brad was a favorite. Amanda loved watching baseball with her highly opinionated father. Just listening to him complain about the bad calls, bad pitching, bad coaching and a long list of other bad things, kept her entertained.

“You didn’t happen to get—”

She rolled her eyes. “No, Daddy, I did not get you an autograph. Give me time to be accepted.”

A heavy sigh filled the phone. “All right, but don’t wait too long. You know how I like my autographs.”

“Yes,” she said, thinking of his den filled with his collection. “I do know. I’ll get you one. I promise.”

“Before he quits pitching.”

She frowned. “You think he’s going somewhere?”

“He’s playing hurt. You know from your own history what that means.”

She knew very well. “I noticed, too. He kept doing that little flexing movement between pitches. Discreet, but obvious if you’re a doctor.”

“Or the daughter of one,” her father said.

“I couldn’t listen to you and Kelli talk shop and not pick up something. The odd thing is that no one with the Rays seems to have noticed that Brad’s hurt. I noticed, but not them. How crazy is that?”

“You’ve been in the locker rooms. Broken bones and blood get attention. The rest is easy to miss. Especially when it’s being hidden.” A female voice sounded in the background. “Hold on,” he said. “I have lots more to ask, but your mother feels it’s her time to talk. Love you, honey.”

“Love you, too, Daddy.”

“Don’t forget my autograph.”