Page 91 of Wild Card

“I’d do anything for you, Tay. Don’t ever forget that.”

We finally broke apart, our faces soaked, our hearts torn open. I finally had a sister, someone who wanted me in their life, a real relationship, and now I had to let her go.

“Okay, next weekend.”

“Yes.”

“Mal…read that article.”

I nodded one last time before walking out the front door and crawling into the black town car. The soft white leather cradled me while my heart shredded in half. I watched the house, the ritzy wreath I’d given Taylor a hard time for buying, the teal door she’d insisted we get. Tears welled in my eyes as we pulled away from the curb. That house had been my home throughout college, and all the times I had envisioned leaving it behind, it wasn’t going to be sitting in the back of a town car with no degree and no internship.

I blinked away a few salty drops that coated my lashes as I thought about my dumb, shitty Honda and the fact that I’d practically donated it to a wreck yard. I had asked if there was anyone who could use it. It ran fine, just had a few rust spots. It was gone now, like Kline Global…like Decker.

Grabbing a tissue, I cleared away my tears and finally pulled up the tab Taylor had mentioned.

The screen displayed Kline Global’s website, and there in the trending articles section was something familiar. Was that…?

The Devil’s Playground

An expose interview with Decker ‘Duggar’ James

I sat up straighter in the seat, bringing the tablet closer.

Was this for real?

I started reading, unsure if I could keep my hands from trembling. There was no way…

This is certainly a different type of article for us here at Kline Global, but a special request was emailed to one of our staff writers, and we couldn’t resist the opportunity.

This piece will be more informal than our usual ones considering I will be talking with Mr. James and essentially transcribing our entire conversation. For reference, the Devils are a Division I baseball team, ranking number two in the entire country as far as collegiate level, and the names of anyone on the team will either be changed or omitted, along with the name of the writer for the article that’s featured below.

What article? I slid my finger up the screen, bringing the rest of the story up.

Aubrey: Hello Mr. James, thanks for talking with me.

Decker: Thanks for giving me this opportunity

Aubrey: So, I’m going to try to give you the floor so you can tell us why you agreed to do this article. I feel addressing that upfront might hook our audience a bit more.

Decker: The short answer? Love.

My breath caught in my chest as I read on.

Decker: I really hope you keep reading, because the article that’s included with this conversation was written by the woman I love. It originated from a deal we’d made where she was willing to put her feelings on the back burner so I could pursue…well, we’ll get to that.

This couldn’t be…could it? I swiped again, reading further, hating how hope began to inflate my chest. If this wasn’t what I thought it was or if it was fake, I’d deflate and probably just die.

Aubrey: I have to say, this article is one of the best I’ve read in a long time.

Decker: Well, when she reads this, I hope that first, she agrees to be my girlfriend, and second, she understands how talented she is.

Aubrey: Below is the article on the team. It’s informative and spicy, but there are still a few questions I have. I’ll attach them below.

I scanned the page, and the article I’d written was there. How had he gotten it? I’d grabbed it from him…but then again, he’d somehow snuck into my bedroom without security seeing, so maybe he’d found a way to sneak in again. Still, seeing the words I’d written on the screen—it was so incredible.

Knowing what I’d written, my eyes greedily moved past the article until I saw what other questions Aubrey asked.

Aubrey: So, Decker, in the article, there’s a reference to your past with the captain of the Devils—what’s the story there?

---