Playing to Win

team in one sentence had been a serious, colossal fuck-up. She’d had some 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 worst 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, provided 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 fine job on their part. He 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.
    What he really needed was a fulltime babysitter. Which she didn’t want to be.
    She lifted her head as Phil and Max came through the door, along with the Rivers’ coach and general manager, 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 screamed 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 shouldn’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 strike-out 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 having 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 laughed. “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. After they had left and Garrett came in a few minutes later, 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 gorgeousman 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.
    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. And I’m going to work you until you beg me to stop. And when you beg me to stop, I’m not going to. I’m going to make you pitch again, Garrett. But it’s not going to be easy.”
    “Okay. I cleared your schedule so you’re only working