Page 84 of Force Play
“Josh, tame your wife. She’s insane.”
Ella and Josh laugh before we all say our goodbyes and disconnect the call.
Well, they both know now that Ari and I are going to keep hooking up.
Which means that the rest of our friends will know in approximately ten minutes.
Tomorrow should be fun…
After my morning shower, I get myself ready for the day. I blow-dry my hair, fan it out over my shoulders, and add a light bit of makeup before getting dressed in a pair of jeans, a navy long-sleeve T-shirt, and an unbuttoned Stars jersey on top of it.
I did wake up to some texts from the girls—minus Harlow since she’s on her honeymoon—because Ella obviously spilledlast night, but I haven’t responded yet. That’s a problem for later.
Right now, I need to get to the stadium for our first meeting of the season.
Traffic is a nightmare, as usual, but I manage to get to the conference room with five minutes to spare. Dr. Coltrain is already in here with Logan, Dave, and a couple of other new trainers.
Even though I’m early, I’m still the last to arrive.
Awesome.
“Welcome, Lucia,” Dr. Coltrain says, gesturing for me to sit down across from him, right next to Logan. I sit down, and he continues. “Since we’re all here, I’ll just get this started. I won’t take up too much of your time today, but I wanted to make sure I spoke with everyone before we head down for Spring Training next month.
“I want us to focus more on injury prevention this season,” he states, glancing at all of us around the table. “We saw more injury time last season than we usually do. We lost Okada for the final three months with a torn rotator cuff. Rivas and Dailey both missed time with Achilles sprains. Even Spencer missed a few games when his old hamstring injury started bothering him again. These are all things we should be able to help prevent.”
“I think you’re right, Dr. Coltrain,” Logan states, kissing ass as per usual. “We could certainly do better.”
“We all have the knowledge and capabilities to help with that,” I add.
“Happy to hear you both agree,” Dr. Coltrain smiles. “I’d like to see all of you working with Dave to help our athletes stay on the field as long as possible.” He sighs now. “As you all know by now, though, Dave will be retiring after this season. That means the Head Trainer position is going to need to be filled at the end of the season.” Logan and I both perk up.
“Who are you considering for the position?” Logan asks, smirking like the job is already his.
“I’d like to think I’m open to all of the team,” Dr. Coltrain replies, and I love watching Logan deflate a bit. “Nathan and Greg”— He gestures to our two new trainers. —“seem to show promise, so I don’t want to exclude them from consideration. As of right now, though, I’m keeping an eye on both you and Lucia, Logan. You’ve both been with us for nearly a decade. I think either of you would be able to take on the Head Trainer role seamlessly.”
“Right,” Logan mutters. “Of course.”
Prick absolutely can’t stand me being included with him because how could a womaneverkeep up with a man? It’s not helped by the fact that I’m the only woman around here.
We need more fucking women in sports.
I’m tired of all these men thinking we don’t belong.
“Thank you for the consideration, Dr. Coltrain,” I state.
“No need to thank me,” he chuckles. “You’re both great at what you do. Logan is meticulous with his paperwork, and the players adore you, Lucia. You both have strengths, and I’ll be watching you through the season to see what you do.”
I already knew that Logan and I were both gunning for the Head Trainer position, but hearing from Dr. Coltrain that we’re basically the top two choices feels so good.
Logan will try to undermine me at every opportunity, but I’m not playing his games.
We’re in our thirties; I’d like to act like it.
I’ll focus only on helping the players and our training staff. Through that, I’ll make sure Dr. Coltrain sees that I’m perfect for the position.
You can’t deny thatHead Trainer Lucia Torreshas a nice ring to it.
Now, all I have to do is make it mine.
