sell the team.
It’s probably the last thing I’m ever going to ask of you.
“I have to stay,” she said, almost silently.
“What?”
“You know how crazy I get when a deal is in jeopardy.”
Liv nodded. “Certifiable.”
“Well, Mark not being here puts the deal in jeopardy, and this deal is like no other. So much is riding on it.” She exhaled. “Turns out my father used the house as collateral in the stadium purchase.”
“Yikes,” Liv said.
“Tell me about it. I know it’s a pipe dream to sell this team before the season starts in three months, which is why I’ve given myself until the end of the season before I panic, but the pressure is on, Liv. If I fail, my father’s not only going to lose his net worth, my family is going to lose their home.” Helen Anne and Macy included.
Once again, the fact that her brilliant father made such an irrational business decision set her teeth on edge.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Liv said.
“I can handle it. And to handle it, I need to stay.”
“Okay. So we stay.” Liv smacked her lips around another mouthful of Buster’s infamous coffee. “Richard will love playing king a little while longer.”
Rachel shook her head. “I stay. You go. We’ll rent a car for you right now, and you can fly out of Pittsburgh.”
“But …” Liv frowned.
“I won’t be far behind. Maybe I can convince Mark to make it into town sooner. And if not, I’ll simply concentrate on helping him hire the rest of the front office, and then I’ll be off the hook and can focus on selling this beast.” Liv still didn’t look sold on the plan, so Rachel added, “I need one of us to be in Philadelphia to keep an eye on things.”
Liv sat a little bit straighter. “Can I use your desk while you’re gone?”
Rachel chuckled. “Yes. As long as you keep it clean. I don’t want to find one single sticky Frappuccino ring on the enamel.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Then Liv drank her mud water and got quiet, which gave Rachel way too much time to ponder the predicament she was in.
She sold commercial real estate. She developed commercial real estate. She wasn’t a human resource professional. RCRE’s Philadelphia division had its very own personnel department, which she occasionally interacted with. It was by no means an alternative to formal training. But that, along with common sense, would probably enable her to do a respectable job here. Too bad she didn’t know a little more about the business of baseball. Hopefully her father would continue to be a resource. If not, Mark was going to have to be brought into the Alzheimer’s loop sooner than her father wanted, because Rachel wasn’t sure she could do this on her own.
Ugh.
She hated being in this position. She rarely lost her footing. The steps to success were clear. At least they had been. Now, everything looked hazy.
As she drove, she stared out the windshield, watching the Hobby Mart, the super-sized Sheetz, and the high school fly by. Another week in Arlington. This was about to be her longest stay since the summer before her freshman year in college. She could handle it.
She could handle anything.
• • •
With some input from his father, Sam finished the stadium landscaping proposal Wednesday evening, but he waited until Friday afternoon to take it to the stadium. He’d heard Rachel was leaving town this morning. By now, she would be gone and her father would be back at the helm, which meant Sam could stroll into the office and have a man-to-man discussion about what made the most sense when it came to those trees.
He felt calm and confident and … kicked in the balls when he walked into the office and saw Rachel behind the desk.
“Surprise,” she said, sounding about as pleased as he must’ve looked.
“Uh, yeah. I was expecting your father.”
“I figured from the way your eyebrows tried to climb off your scalp. Sorry to disappoint you.” She stood up and walked across the room on a
It’s probably the last thing I’m ever going to ask of you.
“I have to stay,” she said, almost silently.
“What?”
“You know how crazy I get when a deal is in jeopardy.”
Liv nodded. “Certifiable.”
“Well, Mark not being here puts the deal in jeopardy, and this deal is like no other. So much is riding on it.” She exhaled. “Turns out my father used the house as collateral in the stadium purchase.”
“Yikes,” Liv said.
“Tell me about it. I know it’s a pipe dream to sell this team before the season starts in three months, which is why I’ve given myself until the end of the season before I panic, but the pressure is on, Liv. If I fail, my father’s not only going to lose his net worth, my family is going to lose their home.” Helen Anne and Macy included.
Once again, the fact that her brilliant father made such an irrational business decision set her teeth on edge.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Liv said.
“I can handle it. And to handle it, I need to stay.”
“Okay. So we stay.” Liv smacked her lips around another mouthful of Buster’s infamous coffee. “Richard will love playing king a little while longer.”
Rachel shook her head. “I stay. You go. We’ll rent a car for you right now, and you can fly out of Pittsburgh.”
“But …” Liv frowned.
“I won’t be far behind. Maybe I can convince Mark to make it into town sooner. And if not, I’ll simply concentrate on helping him hire the rest of the front office, and then I’ll be off the hook and can focus on selling this beast.” Liv still didn’t look sold on the plan, so Rachel added, “I need one of us to be in Philadelphia to keep an eye on things.”
Liv sat a little bit straighter. “Can I use your desk while you’re gone?”
Rachel chuckled. “Yes. As long as you keep it clean. I don’t want to find one single sticky Frappuccino ring on the enamel.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Then Liv drank her mud water and got quiet, which gave Rachel way too much time to ponder the predicament she was in.
She sold commercial real estate. She developed commercial real estate. She wasn’t a human resource professional. RCRE’s Philadelphia division had its very own personnel department, which she occasionally interacted with. It was by no means an alternative to formal training. But that, along with common sense, would probably enable her to do a respectable job here. Too bad she didn’t know a little more about the business of baseball. Hopefully her father would continue to be a resource. If not, Mark was going to have to be brought into the Alzheimer’s loop sooner than her father wanted, because Rachel wasn’t sure she could do this on her own.
Ugh.
She hated being in this position. She rarely lost her footing. The steps to success were clear. At least they had been. Now, everything looked hazy.
As she drove, she stared out the windshield, watching the Hobby Mart, the super-sized Sheetz, and the high school fly by. Another week in Arlington. This was about to be her longest stay since the summer before her freshman year in college. She could handle it.
She could handle anything.
• • •
With some input from his father, Sam finished the stadium landscaping proposal Wednesday evening, but he waited until Friday afternoon to take it to the stadium. He’d heard Rachel was leaving town this morning. By now, she would be gone and her father would be back at the helm, which meant Sam could stroll into the office and have a man-to-man discussion about what made the most sense when it came to those trees.
He felt calm and confident and … kicked in the balls when he walked into the office and saw Rachel behind the desk.
“Surprise,” she said, sounding about as pleased as he must’ve looked.
“Uh, yeah. I was expecting your father.”
“I figured from the way your eyebrows tried to climb off your scalp. Sorry to disappoint you.” She stood up and walked across the room on a
Similar Books
