The Lucky Charm (The Portland Pioneers) Read Online Free Page A

struggled to recall any other facts she’d read and came up empty. Finally, he stood and walked over to the window that overlooked the city skyline.
    “For years, Portland claimed they wanted a professional baseball team. The city adores the Blazers, the NBA franchise, and even the Timbers, the new MLS organization. But the Pioneers have had historically bad attendance, and nobody watches our coverage either. Basically, Portland couldn’t care less that we’re here, and that won’t change until the Pioneers can find a way to win when it counts.”
    “And you think this year is the year?”
    “We all thought last year was the year. There might never be a year.” He sighed and maneuvered behind the desk, flopping down in his massive leather chair.
    “I didn’t even want a new reporter,” Toby continued, his voice ripe with annoyance. “Seemed pointless to me, but I didn’t get much choice in the matter.”
    He hadn’t been lying when he said he’d been stuck with her, much as she’d been stuck with him. If he’d been anyone else, she would have tried to commiserate in their mutual misery, but with Toby’s eyes narrowing in on her, she couldn’t quite work up the nerve.
    Still, Izzy knew she should say something. Something about hope for the future, about being happy to work with him, but her mind was totally blank. After all, nobody was happy about this situation.
    “I’ll try my best not to make you regret it too much,” she finally said with the hardest edge to her voice that she dared. And she would. She wasn’t a quitter, even under these circumstances. It seemed impossible that mere days ago, she’d been so certain of her own invincibility, of her own ability to turn everything she touched to gold.
    Toby just grunted, and Izzy shut her mouth.
    The good news, Izzy contemplated as Toby grudgingly showed her to her cubicle—her cubicle , she thought with something that might have been affront; even the on-air talent didn’t rate an office here—was that it seemed like the Pioneers had hit rock bottom. So had she, so they had that in common.
    “I’m assuming you’ll need some time to get things settled in Seattle?” he asked, and she nodded, glancing around the beige walls of her new prison.
    “Then you can just meet us in Florida. No point in coming back here, because the entire office is practically relocating for the spring.”
    Florida. She’d almost forgotten that baseball’s one saving grace was avoiding the worst of the wet months by training in the state most resembling paradise. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
    Only one hundred and sixty two games, she thought sardonically, plus bad hotels, bad food, obnoxious boss . A job I don’t know how to do. Things are definitely looking up.
    CHAPTER TWO
    “I ’m sorry, sir, but you can’t put your feet up there.”
    Jack Bennett opened the eye closest to the flight attendant and didn’t bother to hide his grimace.
    It was her —the same girl who’d already interrupted his nap three times. First, she’d asked if he wanted a refill on his ginger ale. He’d replied, observing that in his experience, drinking more of the beverages the airplanes supplied usually correlated with an above-average need to use the airplane facilities and really, he needed more room than that little cramped closet with its black hole of a toilet. But thank you very much for asking. He’d then promptly shut his eyes again and forgotten all about the conversation until an hour later when she’d tapped on his shoulder again, this time bearing gifts: a pathetic little bag of lightly salted mixed nuts.
    The second time around, Jack wasn’t quite as nice. He’d raised an eyebrow at her offering and asked if they didn’t have anything more substantial. This was first class, after all. Blondie had given him an astonished look and disappeared back to the front of the plane, unfortunately pressing the paltry snack into his hands as she’d left. He’d