Page 69 of Renegade Ruin

WILLOW: I’m

BISHOP: Me too, Kitten.

BISHOP: Fuck.

BISHOP: Kitten?

BISHOP: Willow?

WILLOW: I’m pretty sure I just saw stars. I’ve never come that hard.

BISHOP: Glad to have been of service.

WILLOW: Are you really in my office?

BISHOP: Will you be pissed if I say yes?

WILLOW: There better not be cum on my chair.

BISHOP: No, I made sure to aim for Vaughn’s invoices.

WILLOW: Bishop.

BISHOP: I promise I didn’t defile your office.

WILLOW: Thank you. You okay?

BISHOP: I am for right now.

WILLOW: Good luck today.

BISHOP: When are you back?

WILLOW: Late Saturday. Maybe Early Sunday.

BISHOP: Expect a phone call before then. Next time I want to hear you come.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

BISHOP

One more out and an at bat.

That’s all that stands between me and the end of this shit show of a game.

With a full count, Bobby Townsend, the batter from the New Orleans Crescents, is jonesing to swing. His tell is his dancing feet. The guy can’t keep still in the batter's box when he’s been given the signal to swing away. Which is a problem because Townsend’s a powerhouse hitter, one that will have no problem connecting with a perfectly placed fastball delivered from our relief pitcher, Dominic Morales.

The Crescents need this win as much as we do. Baseball may be a physical game, but it’s also one hundred percent mental. This is the first game of many, but starting off strong, even in spring training, can set a team up to make a hell of a season run.

Too bad the Renegades didn’t get the memo.

Carson set us up in the first five innings, containing the runs scored to three. Our offense did their job, scoring two of our own. Then things fell apart. It started with errors on the field only to be escalated by the two relief pitchers who have continued to shrug off the pitches I’ve called, as if they know the game and the players better than I do.

Not that I’ve given them any reason—aside from my ten fucking years in the league—to believe I know what the hell I’m talking about. To be fair, it’s a miracle I even know the kid on the mound's name. He’s one of the rookie relief guys brought up from the minors to see if he has what it takes.

For the record, he doesn’t, and if I had to guess, this is his last week in the big show after his performance and the four runs he let in during this inning alone.

Maybe if you had spent more time with the relief guys instead of hiding behind Carson at practice, this wouldn’t be a problem.

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