Page 23 of Leave It On The Field (Grand Slam 3)
“How about Seb’s friend Ricky?” Butch asks. “He didn’t seem to like you much at the wedding.”
“Yeah, he still doesn’t.” I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes. “I saw him this afternoon. He’s a passive aggressive piece of shit.”
“Could be him,” Raine says, scrolling through Twitter again. “Most social media trolls are passive aggressive. They like to hide behind their keyboards.”
“I don’t know,” I say, rubbing my temples. “It seems like a stretch that he would pose as a woman on Twitter to poke at me. He does a pretty good job of it out in the open.”
“Raine,” Butch says, “five minutes.”
Raine dials her phone. “Hey. We’re five minutes out. What’s the situation there? Yeah? Still on the warpath, huh?”
“Little man?” Butch looks back at Raine who’s nodding at him.
“He’s not important to us,” Raine says. “Are the police good? Yeah. Hold up. Sophie, do you know an Officer Dumar?”
“Yeah, Clyde. He works a lot of the games. He’s cool.”
“She knows him. Yep. See you in a few. Butch, ask for Officer Dumar at the entrance.”
“Just pulling up now,” Butch says as he rolls down the window. “Hey, man. I’m looking for Officer Dumar.”
“You found him.”
“Hey, Clyde,” I say, trying to lean up into the front seat. Butch’s hand flies up to block my face. “Butch, stop. Clyde, it’s me, Sophie Miller.”
“Oh. Hey, Sophie.” His head pokes into the window. “Joe said you were coming in. Did Seb finally hire you a bodyguard? I gave him a few names.”
“Uh, not really,” I say, trying to see around Butch’s hand. “These are our friends. They’re going to have my back for the series.”
“He picked the right guy to look after you,” Clyde says, laughing. “I wouldn’t fuck with you for a second with him at your side. You have a parking space right in front. Right next to that silver Jag. Head on in.”
“Roger that,” Butch says, rolling up the window. He maneuvers through the parking lot until he’s parked in the spot. His head spins around when I try to open the locked door. “I always open car doors for you, and they’ll always be locked from the inside and outside. Okay?”
“Okay.” I sigh as he gets out of the SUV. I look at Raine. “I hate this so much. It’s overkill.”
“Just embrace it. Butch and Mason get off on this kind of stuff. If nothing else, think of it as you providing a fun game for them.”
Butch opens the door and motions me out. His head’s still swiveling all around.
“Incoming,” he says. “Little man. The GM. Do you want me to stop him?”
“No, I’m good.” I look around Butch to see Drew charging at us. “Hi, Drew. Everything good?”
“No, it’s not good, Sophia,” he hisses. “I’m in charge of this team. Everyone works for me including your husband. I know you have some kind of spell over Dottie. That’s the only reason you’re here but don’t cross me. My rules are the law. Do you understand me?”
He spins back around and walks away before I can answer him.
Raine puts her arm around me. “I guess we can add him to the list of people who hate you.”
“I think little man hates everyone,” Butch says, pushing us toward the lobby. “I swear he’s going to stroke out by the end of this.”
