Too Hot to Handle: A Boys of Summer Novel (15 page)

Jeffrey, Pete, and John walked into her office the following morning. Nikki looked up from her mug, braced for her dismissal.

It almost didn’t matter. She’d woken with a raging headache, and there didn’t seem to be enough coffee in the world to get rid of her hangover.

She didn’t think things could deteriorate further, but her morning newspaper informed her that the baseball commissioner was looking into the fight, fines were being assessed, and players were going to be held accountable. It was a sickening mess.

Worst of all, she had a vague memory of Jake coming to her house when she was trashed and putting her to bed. She cringed at the notion, and was astonished when she made her way downstairs and saw the half-empty whiskey bottle. She didn’t remember drinking that much, or what happened later. She only hoped against hope that she hadn’t said anything stupid.

Like
I love you.

That thought made her head hurt even more, and she looked at the general manager and head coach in resignation, not at all surprised to see a satisfied smirk on the face of the communications director.

“Have you seen the papers?” Jeffrey said without preamble.

Nikki nodded. Even that simple action made her stomach heave. “Yes, this morning. I understand that Chase is better, thank God. But the rest is a disaster. I realize that this didn’t work out the way we’d planned. I can clean out my desk today and stop back tomorrow to cancel our contract.”

The director crossed his arms in satisfaction, but Jeffrey’s brows arched in stunned surprise. “Are you insane?” He ignored John’s awkward cough and continued firmly. “We need you now like never before. We have a public relations nightmare on our hands, worse than when that drug company, Johnson & Johnson, had that problem with their medication…” He struggled to think of the name.

“Tylenol,” Pete supplied helpfully, popping his gum. “The pills were full of cyanide. Everyone predicted they would never recover.”

“Right. But they turned things around in only a couple of months. And do you know why?” He glared.

Nikki shrugged, unable to form a coherent thought.

“They put the customer first and recalled all of the medication, replacing the capsules with tablets that were safe. It cost them a fortune at the time, but that strategy has paid for itself ten times over.”

“But that’s totally different,” John protested. “The public sees our team as a bunch of bullies. Did you see the headlines? They are back to calling them the Trenton Thugs, and the Garden State Goons. What are we supposed to do about that?”

“That’s why we hired a public relations manager,” Jeffrey said, making it clear that Nikki’s position had elevated in his eyes. “I like what you’ve done here, and have total confidence you can rebuild our brand. John and his team are here at your disposal. We have the full support of the owners in this. Without an aggressive campaign, this thing will go viral and the team may never recover.”

Stunned, Nikki sat back in her seat. Thankfully, she felt the coffee and Tylenol she’d taken beginning to kick in. John, of course, was furious and walked out, but she didn’t care. He’d been nothing but a thorn in her side anyway, and she didn’t expect that to change.

“Do you have anything specific in mind?” she asked, reaching for her notebook and clipboard.

“We have that charity event coming up that you and Darcy were working on. Let’s publicize the hell out of that. The owners have increased your budget and want to make this a real success.”

“That’s great news,” Nikki said, scribbling frantically. “What else?”

“We have our legal team working on this. It’s pretty clear that a rookie pitcher started the fight by hitting our guys, but Cody shouldn’t have charged him. We are going to have to take our licks on that, so I want some press explaining things from our side, but not being defensive. Got it?”

“Yep.” Her mind was already churning. “I think we are going to need a statement from you, Jeffrey.” Her eyes shifted to the general manager. “That the Sonics regret the actions of our team and take full responsibi
lity.”

“Right,” Jeffrey agreed.

“And I think we need some human interest stories. Like an interview with Chase when he feels up to it; he always handles himself so well. Show the compassionate side of the players. Maybe an interview with Ryan and his wife.”

“I like it.” Jeffrey nodded. “It’s that kind of press that changes public opinion. And like Johnson & Johnson, the owners are open to whatever we need in spite of the cost. Maybe a free hot-dog day? Or something for the kids. Whatever it takes, they’ve made it clear we have their full support.”

He then looked directly at Nikki.

“And if John gets in your way, we want to know about it.”

Jake saw Nikki standing outside with the general manager. He wasn’t at all surprised that the organization had no intention of firing her. They recognized talent when they saw it, and in a crisis, they would need her expertise.

He swung the bat in the cage, attacking the ball with more intensity than usual. He felt tied up in knots and wasn’t sure why. Part of it he blamed on the previous day, when the team imploded. It had been draining, devastating where Chase was concerned, and ruinous when it came to Nikki’s efforts.

His mind went back to the previous night, when she was tossing back glasses of whiskey. A smile came to his face as he thought of her actions, and how she must be regretting them today.

But the grin vanished quickly as he recalled their conversation when he was leaving.

She had been worried about him. And he knew what that meant:

She was beginning to care for him.

Jake waited for the familiar rush of fear he’d felt in the past whenever he got too close to a woman. When the next pitch shot toward him, he took out his emotions on the ball and nailed it, sending it almost four hundred feet. With Nikki, he realized, he’d had a glimpse of what life could be like with a woman who was on his level: a female who was not only beautiful, but smart, and funny, dedicated to her work, and sexy as all hell. Although he’d only known her a couple of months, the thought of her disappearing from his life made him feel as if someone had punched a hole in his stomach.

But the longer he let this go on, the worse it would get. He couldn’t offer Nikki what a woman like her would want: marriage, a family, stability. Even though she seemed content now, he was smart enough to know she wouldn’t stay that way forever. At some point she would want more…

This time he missed the ball entirely and spun himself around. He couldn’t face the fear that threatened to overwhelm him, so instead he fell back on his old ways.
What the hell was he doing? He was Jake Baldwin. He could have any girl he wanted. Why was he obsessing over her? Nikki Case! Their uptight, prim little PR rep! The one he’d gotten involved with over a bet!

He had to break it off with her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. But if he let her go, he knew he would lose her completely. Nikki wasn’t the kind of girl that he could drop and pick up again. Once he was out, it was game over.

And that thought was worse than any other.

Fortunately, Nikki was with Darcy working on the charity event when Jake walked in. The gala they were planning was going to be held over the All-Star break, benefiting the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It was a black-tie dinner, with dancing and a prize auction.

Relieved that Chase was doing well, Darcy had thrown herself into the event with amazing energy. Nikki marveled at the donations that rolled in every day. Surveying the list, she saw that not only had she gotten autographed baseballs and jerseys from the best players, but she had also shaken down local businesses for baskets containing everything from a collection of rare wines to a sparkling diamond necklace.

And Nikki was grateful to have something positive to focus on. The baseball commissioner had levied fines against three of the Sonics and two of the Atlanta players, and issued four suspensions. The Sonics had to bring up a minor-league player to catch, and had to replace Brian in the outfield.

The press, as predicted, was merciless against the Sonics. The old saying “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” was proven wrong once again. Nikki knew their recovery would be a slow process, and that they would just have to ride this phase out and implement their plan.

The first part was to admit fault and accept responsibility for what had happened. Jeffrey conducted an interview that morning, conceding that his team had misbehaved, and stated firmly there would not be a repetition on his watch. He reminded the reporters of all the progress the Sonics had made that year and blamed the brawl on an overwhelming desire to win.

It was not only true, but something New Jersey could understand. The Northeast was passionate about sports, and the fans were often swept up in the emotion of the game. You never saw them leaving in the seventh inning; the seats were always packed, the parking lot full of tailgaters. So while the damage had been done, the first steps had begun to rebuild the team’s reputation.

And fortunately, the charity gala had been in the works for months. The timing was perfect. The papers would have something good to write about where the Sonics were concerned, and it was all for a worthy cause.

Darcy rose with a grin as Jake came in and flopped down in a chair. “I’ll go get the guest list,” she said, her eyes switching from Jake to Nikki in amusement. “I’ll be back in a few.”

She disappeared, leaving the lanky ballplayer and Nikki together.

“You okay?” Jake asked, once they were alone.

Nikki nodded. “Other than a hell of a headache, I’m fine.” She cringed as she thought of how she must have appeared last night. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

“About what?” Jake leaned back in the chair and studied her curiously.

“I don’t usually go home and throw back half a pint of whiskey,” she said ruefully, rubbing her temples.
Nor do I go around acting like an idiot around a man. Even a hot one.

“So? You were upset. Everyone was yesterday. I don’t blame you for tying one on. Have you spoken to Jeffrey?”

“Yes,” Nikki breathed, observing Jake closely.
He was acting normal. If she had said or done anything stupid, he obviously wasn’t holding it against her
.
She didn’t know if that was bad or good
. “I met with him this morning, along with Pete. They made it clear that they need my help now more than ever. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I guess they’re right. They compared this to the Tylenol crisis. It was J&J’s handling of the incident that made all the difference.”

“Great news.” He gave her that grin that in spite of her headache, still made her shiver.

“Thanks for not saying ‘I told you so,’ ” she said, mustering the energy to smile back. “We have what I think is a pretty decent plan. Jeffrey already spoke to the media this morning. He’s addressing any and all questions up front, with total honesty. We have a series of PR initiatives planned to help the public feel more confident about the team and encourage families to continue attending. And I’m really excited about this.” She pushed the invitation for the gala toward him.

“Looks like a really nice event,” he said slowly, and then his eyes shifted to hers. “It’s a shame we can’t go together.”

He was right, of course. Although a few people, like Pete and Darcy, suspected something was going on between them, they didn’t want their relationship to go public.

It hadn’t bothered her much before, but something gnawed at her insides. At first it had seemed fun to have a steamy, secret affair, all sexy and hot. But now…it just made her feel like a second-class citizen.

What the hell was wrong with her? Wasn’t this exactly what she wanted, after all? Just sex. Just fun. No strings. Yet the sinking feeling got worse with his next words.

“I guess I won’t see you much this week. We’re leaving for the road trip to California and Arizona. I can’t imagine Jeffrey wanting you to join us with so much work to do here.”

Nikki nodded. “He didn’t come out and say it, but I’m thinking the same thing. And my sister is coming up for a visit. I have a lot going on myself.”

“I’m picking up Joaquin tomorrow morning, and we leave that night. Maybe we can meet for lunch or something?”

Lunch. Like professional business associates. He was pulling away from her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. She couldn’t put her finger on it, she but sensed some kind of distance between them.

“Sure, that’s fine.” As if she weren’t falling apart. She could handle this, right? She was a big girl. She’d known what she was getting into. She took a deep breath and continued as politely as possible.

“But don’t go out of your way. I know you have a lot going on, and you have to pack and everything.”

“I know,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll catch you later.”

He strode out of the room just as Darcy reentered with a stack of folders. She seemed to sense the tension in the room and her head whirled as her eyes followed Jake, and then turned back to Nikki.