He looked at Manny—at all of them.
“I need a change. What we’re doing isn’t working. And maybe someone new can help with that.”
“I don’t give a damn if a circus clown does your therapy, as long as you’re on the mound opening day,” Manny said. “Just be ready for the season. We need your arm.”
* * *
SHIT. SHIT. SHIT. ALICIA MASSAGED THE GIANT HEADACHE that had taken refuge between her eyes and counted down the minutes until her boss entered the office and fired her.
She’d always had a smart mouth, always spoke first and thought later. But to insult the entire St. Louis Rivers sports medicine team in one sentence had been a serious, colossal f**kup. She’d had some major success as a therapist and had been getting great feedback from her boss in the time she’d been here. This was the job of her dreams, and to make matters worse, her cousin played for this team. Gavin was going to kill her.
The frustrating part was, she knew she was right. Garrett Scott was a seriously amazing pitcher. His injury had been bad, but there was no reason to think he wouldn’t come back and be a great pitcher again, providing he cooperated with his rehabilitation. The problem was, he was the worst patient she’d ever seen in terms of cooperation. He resisted therapy, he argued with the treatment plan, and she knew damn well he wasn’t doing his at-home exercises. He was one of those athletes who thought of himself as some kind of superhero. Get injured, do rehab, and be fine in a few weeks.
Unfortunately, serious injuries didn’t work that way, no matter how young or virile you were. You had to work at your own recovery. The team had done a good job on their part. Garrett just hadn’t done any of his part. He blew off his therapists with jokes and promises to do better the next time. And they all liked him, so they placated him.
Ugh.
He wasn’t responding to traditional treatment. Which meant he needed a new plan, something she’d been working on during her off days. She’d wanted to present it to Max and Phil, but her methods were a little beyond the norm, and she knew they’d never go for it, especially not for Garrett.
Now, it didn’t matter since she wasn’t going to be treating any of the Rivers players any longer.
Idiot. She should have just kept her mouth shut and told Garrett that he should listen to whatever Max told him. This was going to be her penance for having a mind of her own. And a big mouth.
She lifted her head as Phil and Max came through the door, along with the Rivers coach, Manny Magee.
Great. They brought the coach with them. She was definitely fired. Manny had a reputation for being fiery and loud. She might even get yelled at before they canned her ass.
She sat up straight and lifted her chin, determined to take it like the professional she was.
Correction. If she was a professional, she probably wouldn’t have told the Rivers star pitcher to pull his head out of his ass.
“Alicia,” Phil said. “What you said to Garrett downstairs . . .”
“Yes, sir. I know. I was out of line. I’m sorry.”
“Actually,” Manny said, “it was exactly what he needed to hear.”
She frowned and shifted her gaze to the coach. “Excuse me?”
“Garrett has been the perfect specimen of a pitcher for five seasons,” Manny said. “We plucked him out of college ball, he spent six months in AAA before we brought him up, and he’s been in our starting rotation ever since, with one of the lowest ERAs of any pitcher in the league. He’s won the Cy Young Award twice, pitched a near perfect game last year, and held the strikeout record the past two seasons. He’s the golden boy.”
She’d reviewed his file. She knew his record. But hearing it from Manny gave her an understanding. “He’s never failed.”
Manny nodded. “At anything. He doesn’t know how. So this injury threw him for a loop, ya know? The kid is one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with, so don’t take his black moods to heart. He’ll get that kindness back once he finds his footing.”
She looked from Manny to Phil to Max. “Wait. I’m not fired?”
Max didn’t smile at her. She could tell he was still angry about what went down in the treatment room. “No, Alicia. You’re not fired. Instead, we’re putting you in charge of Garrett Scott’s rehab.”
Again—oh, shit. That’s what she got for opening her mouth.
Phil and Max went over her new assignment.
“I want to try some unconventional treatment methods with him,” she said to Max.
Max balked, but she figured if she didn’t suggest it now, she might as well hand Garrett right back to him.
“Look. He’s resisting. And yes, a lot of it is in his head. But some of his problem is boredom. His treatment is rote. He’s used to the plan you’ve run him through, and so is his body. Let me try this. If it doesn’t work, we’ll alter the plan.”
Max looked to Phil, who shrugged. “I agree it’s not a standard plan, but alternative therapies do have a high success rate with some athletes. It could work.”
Max shrugged then turned to Alicia. “Give it a try. I want weekly reports.”
Excited, she nodded. “Yes, sir.”
When Garrett came in a few minutes after they left, she stood, suddenly nervous. She’d always been a fan. The Rivers were, after all, her hometown team. And Garrett was nothing short of the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Six feet four inches of dark-haired, dark-eyed intensity, with a leanly honed body that was a work of art.
She’d spent her adult life studying body mechanics. She loved sports and sports players, and Garrett was one of the best. She’d watched him in the workout room, day in and day out, sweating through his therapy. From day one of his injury, when he could barely move his shoulder, she’d ached for him, wished she could be in there helping him.
And now he was all hers. Talk about a huge responsibility.
“They told you?”
She swallowed. “Yes. My question is . . . why me?”
He shrugged. “Because you stood up to me. I need to work with someone who isn’t going to take shit from me. The rest of them tell me what they think I want to hear. They pacify me. I don’t think you’ll do that.”
She needed to relax. Think of him as a patient, not a hot man standing only inches away.
“No, I definitely won’t do that. I’m not going to take shit from you. But I am going to help you. You have to believe that. And believe in yourself. That’s the first step.”