Gabriel
I sit at my desk as I watch film on the upcoming opposing pitcher and look up when I hear a knock on my door.
“Jackson fucking Turner!”
I get up from my desk, walk around to the other side and walk over to my longtime friend. Jackson and I were drafted in the same year, both going to Houston. We lost touch when I was traded to Miami, but he reached out when I was dropped to coach.
He's been a great friend and helped me get my head on straight, in a time when I was lost. We don't see each other as often as we used to but we chat here and there and get together whenever either of us are in the same state as the other.
Currently, he's the right fielder for the Atlanta Storm, and I usually keep track of their schedule. I didn't see a Texas game on there for another couple of weeks.
“How are ya, man?”
He grabs my hand, pulling me toward him and slaps me on the back.
“I'm good man. How's Lacey?” I ask.
“She's good, she's good.”
“Well, what the hell brings you down here to us little people?”
“Rumor has it your sister's been plowin’ through the league. I want in.”
“What the hell did you just say?” I growl.
“Easy, ” he says lifting up his hands in surrender. “I mean she's helpin’ a lot of guys out with PR gigs and stuff. I'm almost at the end, I wanna go out on a high note. I need some good press.”
“Oh,” I say, visibly relaxing, “Yeah, her company is takin’ off.”
“How is she doin'? I haven't seen her since her Lonestar groupie days. I ran into her a couple months ago, but she ran off,” he says, laughing.
“She’s been better. Divorced, ex-husband was a piece of shit, but you know her, she's pushin’ through. My girl actually works for her too, I'll get you a meetin’ with them.”
“Your girl, huh? Wanna elaborate?” he smirks, sitting in the chair, opposite my desk.
“Charlotte Daniels. No elaboration needed.”
“No shit. She was actually with Savvy, I wasn't gonna say anything. How the hell did you get her to take your sorry ass back?”
“It's uh..ha...well I have kids. Twins. Devin and Bella. They’re eighteen. Devin is actually my ace right now. It's a long story,” I say, shaking my head.
“Well, I'll be. Damn, Gabriel, look at you. I'm proud of you, man!” he says, rising from his feet, slapping me on my back.
He walks towards the door and then turns around.
“Wasn't your sister's company called SG Sports? The guys were tellin’ me it's Double Play, I could have sworn she had another name, right?”
“That's another long story. You stickin’ around? Wanna get a drink tonight?”
“Sure man. Call me later.”
Charlotte
I walk towards Savannah's office and knock twice.
“Come in,” I hear, from the other side of the door.
I open it up and walk through, holding the take-out bag.
“I'm holdin’ you hostage. I will handcuff you to your chair and force feed you, if you don't take a break to eat,” I say, walking towards her desk.
“You don't have handcuffs,” she says, eyeing me.
I raise my eyebrow and smirk.
“Ew, I don't wanna know. Gimme!” she says, reaching for the bag of food.
“You needa slow down, Sav. You're gonna burn yourself out. What's goin’ on?” I ask with concern.
“I...I just want this company to do well, that's all.”
I nod in understanding.
“Am I ever gonna know what happened with SG Sports?”
Her gaze snaps back up to mine and she opens her mouth to speak but shuts it.
“My ex-husband is a dick. That's all ya needa know,” she says, taking a bite from her sandwich.
“Sav, it's me. I’m not just an employee, I'm your sister. I know I don't have the greatest track record with tellin’ important aspects of my life, but...I thought we were gonna start over.”
She's silent for a long moment, looking down at her desk.
“Ya know that bar fight that Gabriel got in? The one that ended his career?”
I nod.
“It was my fault. The guy he beat up...that was my ex-husband.”
My mouth drops, and I mentally backtrack, remembering the headlines. He was in a strip club, so I shut it out. I didn't need to know about his crazy escapades as I was raising his kids. It just broke my heart and I couldn't do it to myself anymore.
“I...I had no idea, Sav. I shut everything out once he got to Miami. I saw the headline and I didn't wanna see the explanation.”
“Yeah, well, I'm an idiot,” she says shaking her head. “Plus of course they didn't post the reason. They made it sound like a lovers quarrel or some crap. You know how those magazines are.”
“Wait, I'm so confused. You didn't divorce him until recently, that happened like four years ago.”
“Yeah, well, after that night, I...let's just say my prenup wasn't fool proof, or it was I just…” She trails off and a tear escapes down her cheek.
“Shit Sav, I'm sorry, forget it. Tell me when you're ready, okay?” I say, moving to the other side of her desk.
We hug for a long time and when we break free, she takes off her glasses to wipe her eyes.
“It's not you, Charlie. I wanna talk about it, I just...it's tough. It's not about the money, I don't care about that. Just...appreciate what you have,” she says, smiling weakly.
“Of course I do. I love your brother with everything I have Savannah. I always have, despite it all. It scares the shit out of me but only the greatest things do, right?” I say, smiling back.
“Not just him...cherish everything,” she says, pulling me in for a hug.
My heart breaks for her. If I ever see her ex-husband in the street, he's a dead man. Only a complete shithead would break this amazing woman's spirit. I make a silent vow to Savannah at that moment. She is getting her happily ever after, I won't stop until she does.