Alien Romance: Interview with an Alien (Football Paranormal Invasion Abduction Alpha Sci-fi Romance) (Fantasy First New Adult Contact Science Fiction Mystery Sports Alien Short Stories) (70 page)

Bonus Story 21 of 24

Sweat trickled down Blaine's spine as he entered the clubhouse and tossed his glove onto the bench, then ran down the center between the lockers. Despite the blasting air conditioning system that attempted to freshen the air as it chilled it, the room was quickly filled with the heavy, nearly overwhelming smell of red dirt, grass, and sweating men.

"Good practice, kids," the manager said, following the rest of the players inside.

Blaine laughed as he opened his locker to toss his wristbands and sunglasses inside. He liked the way that Coach Maddon referred to them as his "kids" even though the youngest player on the team was nearing his twenty-third birthday. Jacob came up beside him and Blaine patted his best friend on the back.

"That was a pretty awesome double play," he said approvingly.

The two of them had been playing baseball together since they started Little League at the age of six and had remained on the same career path ever since. As they moved through All-Stars, travel leagues, high school, and then college, and now the Minor Leagues, the two of them played as if they were one person, anticipating the other's moves in a way that let them complete plays that other players only imagined.

Of course, it wasn't just baseball that bonded the two of them together. Though that was how they spent most of their time together and what had truly cemented their friendship, they were, in a way, destined to be friends. Both born into a secretive clan of shifters, they knew that they shared something completely unique, something that they wouldn't be able to find in any other friends. By sharing the same experiences and knowing what each other dealt with, they formed a closeness that was truly unbreakable.

"You aren't kidding," Maddon said.

The white-haired manager crossed to the tall, old-fashioned cooler in the corner of the clubhouse and pulled out a glass bottle of cola. This was only one of the fun little bits of changes that he had made when he first joined the team as manager two seasons before. Though the team was saddened when their old manager had decided to retire in order to become an analyst and announcer, Maddon, who looked much older than his years, was a breath of life and energy in the team. Even though his brief foray into the Major Leagues the season before had made Blaine hungry for the permanent call-up that was inevitable, he knew that he would miss Maddon.

The manager looked down at the bottle of soda in his hand and sighed. Blaine noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes when he looked up at the team.

"Guys, I need you to come sit down for a minute."

"We've got to get showers, Coach," Ryan said from across the clubhouse as he wrapped a towel around his bare waist and headed for the shower room. "It's getting nasty in here."

"You'll have a chance to shower in just a minute," Maddon said, gesturing for Ryan to come back over to the locker area so that he could take a seat in front of him with the rest of the team. "This is important and I need to tell you before you find out from someone else."

"Is something wrong, Coach?" Jacob asked, sounding nervous.

"Not really wrong," the manager said, sounding as though he were trying to control his voice carefully. "It just might be a little different."

"What's going to be different?" Blaine asked.

"The team got bought out."

*****

"What do you mean the team got bought out?" Blaine asked.

His mind raced through every worst case scenarios that he could think of.

"The former owner was dealing with some financial issues and didn't feel that the team was going to be lucrative enough to help him get out of them in enough time. A private buyer made an offer for the team several seasons ago, but at the time, he was doing well financially and told the potential buyer that he wasn't even going to consider it. Apparently the buyer resurfaced last week and they made the deal."

"What does that mean for us?" Jacob asked. "Who bought the team?"

"The new owner's name is Preston Fletcher."

"Fletcher?" Blaine asked. "As in the man whose name is splashed across three-quarters of the buildings at Trentsville College?"

"Well, technically I think that those buildings were named after his grandfather, but, yes, that's the same family."

"He's not even from here." Anthony said, verbalizing what all of the other players were thinking.

Even though they were one of the most successful Minor League clubs for several seasons running and nearly all of the players currently on the roster were already being courted by the Major League club, the town still saw them as a little local team. There was a tremendous amount of pride surrounding the team and the thought that it was now owned by someone who didn't even live in the town was jarring.

"I'm sure that where he lives isn't going to make a difference in how he controls the team," Maddon said in his best effort to be diplomatic.

When Blaine looked up at him, though, he could see that the manager was thinking the same thing that they were. He could see the nervousness and even hints of anger in his eyes, but he was trying, just as he always did, to keep the players — his boys — as motivated and positive as he possibly could.

"What kinds of changes is he going to make?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know any of that," Maddon said. "He is coming in from Trentsville for Thursday's practice and we'll all get a chance to meet him and talk with him then. I'm sure that we'll find out that everything is going to stay the same. If anything, maybe he will improve some things around here and funnel a little bit more money into marketing so we can sell out all of our games this year."

Blaine hoped that Maddon was right, but Thursday crushed all of those hopes.

The team had only just stepped out onto the field to start stretching when Blaine looked up into the stands and saw a thin man wearing a dark suit and expensive-looking sunglasses sitting in the center seats of one of the middle sections. Another slightly younger man sat on one side of him. On the other sat a woman.

Even though she was just sitting still in the stands, Blaine could see that this woman carried herself with incredible grace and confidence. Thick, copper-colored hair tumbled in rich waves past her shoulders, framing a pale, heart-shaped face. She was too far away for him to make out her features, but even at that distance, he could see that she had full, bright red lips, and she did not look like she was smiling.

He thought about those lips all throughout the practice, going back and forth between wondering why she looked so displeased and wishing that he could see her more closely. At the end of the practice, he did get to see her lips up close, but they didn't look any happier and the words that they were saying did nothing to comfort him or any of other players.

"Team, this is Mr. Preston Fletcher, our new team owner," Maddon said, gesturing toward the man in the dark suit from the stands.

Despite the dark glasses and severe suit, Mr. Fletcher looked pleasant and friendly as he looked out over the team.

"I know that everyone is feeling a little unsure about having a new owner for the team, especially one who isn't from your town. I understand that, but I want to assure you that I am very excited to be a part of this organization and I look forward to watching you for many seasons." The team applauded and there was a sense of relaxation in the clubhouse. Mr. Fletcher smiled. "Now that we're friends," he said with a little laugh, "I will let you know that I am not going to be managing most of the elements of this team. For day-to-day operations and presenting ideas for improvements, I will be entrusting the team to my daughter, Lenore."

Perfectly on cue, the door to the clubhouse opened and the woman who had been sitting beside him in the stands stepped into the room. She was still wearing her sunglasses, but she removed them as she approached the team. When she did, wide blue eyes fell on Blaine and he felt his stomach clench.

"Hello, team," she said, not sounding anywhere near as excited as her father. "Let's talk about changes."

*****

"Changes?" Blaine asked. "What do you mean changes?"

"Mr. Fletcher said that the team was going to stay the way that it already is it was just going to get better," Jacob said.

"We don't want any changes," Ryan said, the anger evident in his voice.

Lenore held up a slim, pale hand. The gesture made Blaine feel like a scolded child and he hated it. She looked at him first and he tried to mask the attraction in the expression on his face, though he knew that it was likely obvious in his eyes.

"Whatever my father told you, he also told you that I am the one who will be running the day-to-day operations of the team. That means that what I say, goes. And frankly," she turned to give a sharp glare to Ryan, "you don't really have a choice or say in the matter. You are merely players. We own the team now, which means that this is our business, and what we want for the team is what matters and what will happen. Have I made myself clear?"

The team remained absolutely silent, none of the players responding to her with even so much as a grunt of derision. She looked out over them as if waiting for someone to say something more, and Blaine thought for just a moment that he saw a flicker of something sad in her eyes. He didn't know if it was because she wasn't getting the level of respect and following that she expected, or if she was just a beautiful woman accustomed to adoration, now feeling the sting of a room full of men despising her rather than falling at her feet.

Either way, Blaine didn't really feel bad for her. No matter how attracted to her he was, and no matter how much he wished that he had met her in some other context so that he might have the opportunity to explore that attraction more deeply, she was still standing in front of his team degrading them and announcing that she had all kinds of changes in mind for them for the coming season.

Lenore shifted uncomfortably for a few moments and then straightened her chin as if resolving to be even more ruthless.

"We are going to start with the dress code. We’ve been following the team for quite some time while we made the decision for this to be our primary investment, and I have noticed that this team looks incredibly sloppy when you are on the road. You might just be playing baseball, but you are professional players. That means that I expect that you look and act like professionals wherever you are and whenever you are representing this team. There will be no more jeans or casual attire of any kind when you are traveling to games or when you are in another city to play, even when you are on your personal time. You will wear a suit while traveling and for official appearances, and you will dress in business casual when you are on your leisure time."

"How can you tell us what to do when we are off?" Ryan demanded.

"If you are in another city representing this team, you are never off. You might have some personal time in between games and practices, but you are still being paid and you are still a representative of the organization, and, therefore, a representative of my entire family and of me. I will not have others looking at the players on this team and thinking they are undisciplined and unprofessional. That is an image that I do not tolerate in any of our other business ventures and I will not make an exception for you."

"Guys, I don't think that a dress code is too much to ask," Maddon said, his voice calming as if trying to bridge the gap between his players and the woman who was quickly whipping them up into an infuriated frenzy. "If we look better, maybe we will feel better about ourselves and we will do even better on the field."

"I agree," Lenore said, glancing at Maddon with a tight smile as if she felt like she was rewarding him for agreeing with her. She looked back at the players, her eyes falling directly on Blaine, and the smile faded. "The changes are not just going to stop with how you look while you are off of the field, however. I also expect that the policies of the entire team will change. This clubhouse is a disaster. You are not children and you should not expect others to clean up after you as if you were. From now on this area will be spotless at all times and you will be responsible for it. Infractions will result in fines. You are also expected to arrive at the field no later than twenty minutes before a posted practice and five hours before a posted game. This is an absolute deadline and there will be no grace period or exceptions. Getting some structure and discipline into this team is what it's going to take to make you start winning games again."

"We haven’t had a losing record in any season that any of the players on this team have been playing. We were second in the League for the last three seasons," Jacob protested.

"And this year, I expect nothing less than first."

"So you're doing all of this because you care so much about baseball?" Blaine asked.

Part of him truly hoped that this was the case. If she was being this pushy and aggressive because she wanted to get them to their best, then it would be more forgivable.

"I care about business, Mr. Williams," Lenore replied coldly. "Nothing more. Nothing less. I will be the first to admit to you that I have never followed baseball until my father got me involved in this team. I don't care about the thrill of the game or whether all of you get called up for the Majors next season. All I care about is ticket-buying fans in the seats. The more games you win, the more fans will come. The more fans that come, the more tickets, concessions, merchandise, and advertising that we sell. It is that simple. I will make decisions for this team that are the best for business. That is my job and it is what I will do regardless of what others think about it."

"The fans aren't going to like it if you are making so many changes that they don't even recognize the team anymore," Blaine said.

"I don't really care what the fans like."

"You better if you want to fill up these seats," Jacob interjected. "This town has loyalty, and if you start changing things to suit your big vision of business success, they aren't going to want to be a part of it."

"Which means no ticket sales," Ryan said. "No merchandise, no concessions, no advertising."

Lenore took a deep breath. Blaine could see the anger shaking through her shoulders. This wasn't going the way that she thought it was going to go, and it was infuriating her.

"You just keep running around in circles and throwing the ball. Leave the business and hard stuff to me."