Miranda smothered a smile and exchanged glances with Lucas. At least they were talking, considering the ideas. The coaches threw around a few more ideas, then Sam asked the million-dollar question.
“We have less than two weeks before Opening Day. Can we honestly do this?”
“We have no choice. We’re all-in, gentlemen,” Miranda stated, exchanging firm, even eye contact one by one with each person in the room.
Sam grunted. “I guess there’s our answer. I’m not completely sold on it, but we’ll give it a shot. How will this work?”
Miranda rose to her feet and everyone in the room stood. She tried not to look surprised at the show of respect, something she never got before. “I’ll leave the details to you and Cole. He has my full support. Gentlemen, we need to do this to succeed. I appreciate your willingness to try something new.”
She glided out of the room, feeling as if she were floating on a cloud of success, when in fact, she had only overcome the first hurdle. Now to make sure it actually worked.
The door opened and closed behind her. Lucas stood there smiling. She flung her arms around him, not caring who saw her. “We did it! We convinced them.”
“No.” He corrected, his arms tight around her. “You told them they were doing this. You accepted no disagreements and demanded obedience.”
“Well, fortunately, they didn’t quit. Oh, this is wonderful! We have a chance.” She danced away from him. “Time to meet our team.”
*
Lucas hung backwhen Miranda entered the practice field and began greeting players, some of whom already knew her. She had some personal comment for each one, about their family, their hometown, their college. He leaned against a post and watched her charm her way around the field, with the players, the scouts, and coaches. The players were all respectful, despite her obvious sex appeal, and they avoided spitting and swearing. Miranda, for her part, looked like she was enjoying herself immensely, an enjoyment he saw with her every time she interacted with her staff– the average person who worked for the team. She had a way of making them all feel as if she cared and knew about each one and they all seemed to feel a valued part of the team. Not a ticket counter, a telephone sales person. A vital part of their success.
Yet, despite this nice side of her, she could be tough when needed. Just an hour prior, she sat across from a group of men who were determined to ignore her and wait it out until her father came back, or she gave up, whichever came first. She didn’t use her charm or try to persuade them. No, she demanded, ordered, and even used logic to convince them to give change a shot.
She was magnificent.
Just a couple of weeks on her own and she was proving him, and a lot of other people, wrong. She might have earned her position through working her way to the top, and her last name, but the last couple of weeks, and strain of the team, showcased her leadership ability. His doubts about her as a mouthpiece for her father might have been incorrect, or at least too simplistic. She hadn’t waited for her father or anyone else to tell her what to do. She had done the research and worked within the limitations she had, instead of crying and moaning about it.
Maybe the Knights had a chance.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t she?” Cole stepped next to Lucas and jutted his chin toward Miranda. “Most women in her position are ball-busters, intent on power and being equal. Miranda does her own thing and her staff loves her for it.”
“And you?” The words slipped out before Lucas could call them back.
“Nope, we never connected on that level. She’s not my type.”
“She’s everybody’s type,” Lucas said.
“Maybe so. But I respect her father too much to go there. What about you? Do you have any respect for the Callahans?”
Lucas slowly turned, a grin crossing his face at the sharp tone in the other man’s voice. “Are you warning me away, Hammonds? Have you appointed yourself her protector while her father is out of commission?”
“I’m just making sure that you’re not taking advantage of her fragile emotional state.”
Both men turned as Miranda’s laughter echoed in the dugout. He arched his brow at Hammonds. “She looks pretty solid to me.”
“It’s an act. She’s very close to her father. She always has been. Why do you think she’s working for the team, almost killing herself to save it? The Knights are more than an income source to her, more than a status. They’re part of her family. And you want to take it away.”
“I never said I wanted to take it away. I’m here to help save it. I’m on your side.”
“Are you? Why do I get the feeling that there is something else going on, something you’re not sharing with us?”
“Because you’re a suspicious and paranoid son of a bitch?” Lucas let his irritation shine through his words, tired of having his motives questioned every time he turned around. “Let me worry about my motives and you worry about getting the wins. Because if the team doesn’t win, nothing else will matter.”
He pushed off the wall and strolled onto the field where a young pitcher was showing Miranda a grip on a baseball. She had kicked off her heels and was standing on the pitching rubber in her bare feet.
“Like this, Cody?” she asked.
He grinned. “Yup, just like that. Now, try to throw it to Prosser. Snap your wrist at the end.”