wasn’t telling me. “What’s really going on, here? What are you hiding?”
Theo stopped at the bathroom door and lowered his voice. “This move came from above.”
He glanced over my head. I twisted to see what he was looking at. There was a black bubble in the ceiling concealing a security camera.
Above. The only person above Theo was Jeff Delorian himself.
And in the blink of an eye, it all made sense.
“The speech Joel gave earlier this month,” I said slowly. “In the clubhouse. He pumped up the team by telling them they needed to start winning in order to get the owner to spend money. He said a lot of insulting things about Delorian.”
Theo pursed his lips. “I cannot go into detail. But I was told to get rid of Joel Rogers by any means necessary. All things considered, we received some incredible players in return for Rogers. We’re going to make a playoff push, Natalie. You wanted a starting pitcher, and I got him for you. Gallaraga is a very solid number-two behind Rafa. I hope you’ll bring him under your wing and show him as much warmth as you’ve shown the other pitchers.”
He didn’t mean it like that, but the comment still stung and reminded me that I had allowed myself to get too close to Joel and Rafael. That I was supposed to be the pitching coach first, and their friend—or more—second.
I caught Joel on the way out of the locker room, with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and still had a confused look on his face.
“You’re leaving already?” I said.
He smiled ruefully. “They won’t even let me run home to pack a bigger suitcase. The Dodgers are in the middle of a road trip, so I’m meeting them in St. Louis. I might pitch tonight if I can get there and warm up in time.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I’m sorry, Joel.”
He shrugged and smiled like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ve prepared myself for this day since I got drafted. All ballplayers do. At least I’m going to a good team. If I can’t help the Rangers win a championship, then at least I can help the Dodgers win another.” He frowned. “Shit. My grandpa is a huge Giants fan. I bet he’s pissed.”
I hugged him so tightly that he grunted and dropped his duffel bag. He returned the hug and kissed the side of my head.
“I’m the one who should be upset. Not you,” he whispered.
“I’m going to miss you,” I said with tears in my eyes. “I know this was supposed to be some casual relationship during the season, but I… I…”
He gently stroked my hair. “I know, Natalie. I feel the same way. For things to end like this…”
Someone behind me cleared their throat. One of Theo’s assistants. Joel and I stopped hugging and I wiped tears from my eyes.
“The plane is waiting at Love Field,” he said. “We need to leave.”
Joel gave me a final sad smile. “This isn’t goodbye, Natalie. I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” I repeated as he left. The assistant gave me a judging look before disappearing too.
I composed myself and then returned to the dugout and the game that was in progress. It was the eighth inning and Cortez was on the mound. Rafa gave me a sad look.
“The hell did you go?” the manager demanded of me. “I need your opinion on who to use as the closer, assuming this lead holds.”
“Move Hallaway back into the closer’s role for today. He hasn’t pitched in two days so his arm should be fresh. We can discuss our long-term options later.”
I sat next to Rafa on the bench. The two of us remained quiet for the rest of the game. There was nothing to say. Both of us had lost someone special today.
We won the game, and afterwards Theo came out of his office and addressed the entire team in the locker room. I exited my office and went to listen.
“Listen up, everyone! By now you’ve probably heard the news. We made a big splash today. We lost our closer and three prospects, but the haul we got in return was well worth it. Dezi Gallaraga is the biggest piece, but we also acquired Johnny Preston.”
An excited buzz passed through the locker room at that. Preston was a solid corner outfielder with a strong bat. That was an improvement to our offense for sure.
“You guys proved you’re