Just a Little Faith

JUST A LITTLE FAITH

Copyright © 2012 AMY J. NORRIS

ISBN
978-1-62135-030-9

Cover Art Designed by
For the Muse Designs

Edited by Kay Springsteen

 

To my friends and family who always believed in me…

To Steph for understanding…

To Tanya who loved this book as much as me and suggested all the right tweaks and became a dear friend in the process…

To my Mom who not only is my mother but my friend and biggest supporter. And the person I call after Alabama football game and every Cardinal baseball game…

And for my Dad who could weave words together like no other writer I know and never ever lost faith in people and our God.

 

Sitting across from his
sports
agent, Sebastian Quinn played with the paper cocktail napkin, tearing it apart bit by bit as he stared into his water glass, lost in thought.

“Seb? That napkin do something to you?”

“Hmmm?” Startled, Seb looked across the table at Jim who
,
with knife and fork in hand, nodded in the direction of Seb's hands.

“You tear that thing up any
more and there won't be anything left of it before the meal is over. I know you
're
disappointed in the outcome of the game. It's just one of those things. They were just destined to win this time around.”
Jim returned his attention to the steak and potato dinner in front of him.

Seb brushed the remaining pieces of the napkin into a small pile before he picked up his water and took a long drink. Placing the glass on the table, he rested both hands beside his plate and sighed. “It's not the game. I mean
,
of course I
'
m disappointed.” He leaned back into the booth, skimming his hands along the tablecloth until his fingers reached the edge of the table. Gripping it, he exhaled. “Do
you really think I should do this
charity thing?

Jim, still focused on the meal in front of him, didn't look up. “Seb, we've been through this.
The public needs to see you out doing some community work
.
It's good for your image.
”

“I know that, but…
”

Sitting up straight, Jim put his utensils down and rested his elbows on the table. “You know
you're
playing for one of the best teams in the Major Leagues, right?
But there seems to be a sentiment out there that some are growing tired of. I know a lot of athletes can get away with the partying lifestyle. But people sometimes need someone to believe in.
You
can be that person
,
Seb
,
with just a little work. Don't you want to be that person?
”

Seb held up his hand. “Come on, Jim.
You're
making it out like I
'
m some kind of hardened criminal.
This city loves me.”

“
They do
,
Seb. But they
c
ould love you more.
Working with a charity
will help, I promise.
”

“I didn't like people using my image for money-making before; I sure don't want people using it now.”

“
Just have a little faith, Seb. It might just surprise you.
”

Seb snorted. “Faith
,
huh? W
e'll see
.”

 

Seb
hopped out of his black sapphire BMW convertible and slammed the door shut. He double-checked the time on his watch.
Hadn't
Jim
said
to meet him at the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society
office?
Noting
no sign of his agent's car,
Seb
studied each
vehicle
that
passed
with a frown
.
The aroma of a nearby
coffee shop
wafted through the
cool
breeze.
He could almost
feel
the warmth of the bitter brew
on his tongue
,
but knew grabbing a cup would have to wait
.

With his body against the frame of the car
,
and
eyes hid
den behind dark sunglasses,
Seb
surveye
d the parking lot and adjoining businesses. It wasn't long before
he
spied a
woman peering
at him through the front window of the office building next door.
Seb
smiled
. This wasn't the first time he
had
garnered attention from the opposite sex.
He'd been told h
is sandy brown hair and blue eyes drew people in
,
so
Seb
expected it to some degree.
Plus
,
if there was one thing he'd learned
in
the past in this baseball loving town, an All-Star centerfielder couldn't really live life anonymously.
Maybe after the meeting, he could p
op in and surprise the blonde.

Seb's
thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his agent's snowy white Mercedes slipp
ing
into the parking place next to his
.
Sebastian casually waved.

“Hey
,
Seb.”
Jim stepped out of his car with an outstretched hand. “You're early or I'm late
.
I'm going with the former.”

With a slight shake of his head, Se
b rolled his eyes and chuckled.

Jim's head disappeared inside his vehicle and he popped back up, something in hand.

“Here. Put this on.”

Seb grimaced seeing the thin piece of crimson fabric in his hand. “A tie. Really, Jim?”

“Seb
,
you need to make a good impression. Put it on, okay?”

“You know how much I hate these things.”

“Yep. I know.”
Jim smiled
, slammed
the car door shut
,
then
turned in the direction of the LLS office.

Using his reflection in the car window, Seb hurriedly slung the tie around
his neck
and knotted it. He
started
to follow Jim
to the office then
hesitated
. Resting
his hands on the top of the car,
he
bowed
his head
.
T
his is a complete waste of time.

“Yo, Seb
.
You coming?”

He looked
up
at Jim
,
who held open the door with an expectant look.

“Yeah, yeah. Be right there.”

The
cool breeze penetrated his lightweight
suit
jacket. He rubbed his hands together to generate some warmth and stepped in Jim's direction.

His agent's hand rested lightly on his arm. “You okay, Seb? You seemed to zone out there for a minute?”

“I'm fine. Let's just go in and see what they
have to say and get this over with.
”

****

“Michael! Do you have the most recent pamphlet
explainin
g
Team in Training
?”

Thirty-two year old Paxson Taylor
scooted her office chair back a few feet to thumb through the file cabinet to her right. Panic stricken, she rolled her chair forward and sighed in frustration. She closed her eyes, bent her head from side-to-side
,
and tried to release the knots that inched their
way up her back and shoulders.

“So, are you nervous?
This is the first client Michael's let you take on by yourself since you
started
here.
”
Paxson
looked up when her receptionist
,
Tori
,
plopped in the chair in front of her desk.

“
I don't know
. Can
we really call him a client
when h
e's only here because
his agent thinks he needs
'
to do some charity work
?'
I know we need the publicity, but I'm not sure this is the best way to go about it. But I guess it doesn't matter what I think.
”
S
he glanced at her watch
grimacing
.
“
Great. They'll
be here in a ma
tter of minutes.”

“
I know it's not exactly what you were looking for in regards to
someone wanting
representation, but he's
a hot-shot professional baseball player,
and
an extremely good-looking one at that.
That's got to count for something.
”

“Tori, do you ever think about anything else?”

“Yes. How I might look standing
at the altar
next to a handsome baseball player.”

Shaking her head in frustration, Pax shooed her away. “Get out of here. They'll be here soon
,
and someone might need to be at their desk, I don't know, doing their actual job.”

“Ha! Seriously though
,
Pax. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Her attention
was
focused
on
look
ing
for the brochure
,
until
she no
tic
ed
the clock displayed on her office phone's screen
.
H
er nerves got the best of her
again
. “Oh great, only five minutes till my nervous breakdown commences!”

Pax glanced at the clock once again and stifled the feelings of anxiety. Rifling through her papers one
more
time, she spied a corner of the elusive brochure sticking out from between two pieces of paper. Relief ran through her body. “I just need to calm down for a minute.” She sat gathering her thoughts and asked God for peace and strength to get through the next half-hour.

Finishing the silent prayer, her office phone buzzed. Pax paused, took a deep breath and picked up the handset. “This is Pax.” She heard her receptionist's chipper voice report, “Sebastian Quinn and Jim Thompson to see you.”

Pax took one last deep breath to steel herself and spoke into the phone with more assurance than she felt. “I'll be right up
,
Tori. Thanks!”

She smoothed out her black pencil skirt and tugged on her plum colored sweater
.
She skimmed her hand over her hair to tame the loose strands that
had
escaped the clip she'd put her long brown hair in that morning. “Why is it my hair always seems to rebel when I need to look my best?” Exhaling, she stood up with confidence
, remembering
God would see her through if she let Him. She took a deep breath and smiled.
Even though she wasn't thrilled to be meeting Mr. MVP, she knew she needed to get it over with.

Pax pushed open the glass door which led to the lobby and chuckled as she witnessed starry-eyed Tori staring at their guests. Only when she reached the lobby chairs did Pax
understand
the receptionist's reaction.

From one glimpse at the all-star athlete, Pax's pulse raced. Sebastian Quinn was the most attractive man she had ever seen. It was evident he never missed a workout, and displayed just enough muscled definition to cause a hitch in her breath. Seeing him on TV and at a live game at Busch Stadium didn't do him justice. Although not an exceptionally large man, his presence made the room appear smaller somehow. Tearing her gaze away, she quickly put forth her hand and introduced herself to the two men now standing before her.

“Good afternoon! My name is Paxson Taylor. I
t's good to meet you
.” She hoped her hand wasn't shaking as much as her knees.
S
he focused her attention on Sebastian's agent, Jim. Being the age of her father, he offered a warm smile. From their brief conversations on the phone earlier in the week, she knew a polite businesslike man when she met one.
His client's penchant for playing hard but partying harder didn't make Jim's life an easy one
in trying to clean up Sebastian's image
. Pax hoped LLS wouldn't suffer the same problems as a result of taking
Sebastian
on
for his community service
.

Switching her focus,
she reached out her hand to Sebastian. He grasped hers in return. His hand was warm
,
yet the skin, abused from years of playing baseball, felt rough against her
s.

With a firm grip, his
blue
eyes twinkled as he surveyed her from head to toe. The attention sent a jolt of electricity to all her extremities.
Yet s
he couldn't decide if she should be flattered or annoyed.

Jim cleared his throat. “Thanks for having us, Ms. Taylor.
I'm
sorry for the short notice. Seb's in a bit of a time crunch getting back into town and having to clean out his locker at the stadium. I appreciate your willingness to work with his schedule. As you can imagine, during the season
,
it can be rather unpredictable. He didn't know what day he would be able to meet. It all depended on how the Series went.”

This morning
,
as Pax
had
prepped herself for the meeting, she
'd
decided not to acknowledge the failure of the Cardinals in the most recent World Series
, b
ut with Jim's comment, she felt the need to say something. Anything.

“Oh, it's no problem at all. It would have been nice to be able to wait another week after the Cardinals brought home the World Series ring...”

Oh
,
my. That
was
not
what she planned to say at all. Turning as quickly as possible to hide her red face she led them down the hall to her office.

“Could I get you gentlemen anything? Coffee, water, a soda of some kind?”

“Bottled water would be great for me. Seb, you want anything?”

They entered her office
,
and Seb eased back in one of the chairs and crossed his legs as he shook his head. He and Jim sat at the small conference room table situated in the larger portion of her office and waited for her presentation to begin.

Hoping her face
had
changed to what one could only assume to be a more pale pink than the heat of the fire engine red she felt only a few seconds ago, Pax grabbed a water bottle for Jim from the small fridge behind her desk.

After handing
them the brochures, Pax spent the next thirty minutes going over in detail the type
s
of charitable works
LLS
helped to organize
,
and how the funds were used for research. She explained how the research not only helped leukemia and lymphoma patients, but all cancer sufferers
.

Pax turned directly toward Sebastian and looked him in the eye.

“
I'm
confident you have gotten offers from several charities in the area. But after talking with Jim,
I think we can
each
find a way to benefit.
With your skill set, o
ur
Team in Training
program
might be the best fit
. Even though you aren't an endurance athlete per se, we thought having you support a program which emphasizes athleticism in running, biking
,
and swimming could be a great boost to participation in the greater St. Louis area.
What Jim and I discussed
previously
was having you
appear at a training event
,
or perh
aps
participating
.”

Sebastian lifted his hand to his chin and nodded his head
,
but beyond that she got no reaction
. Pax began to wonder if he could speak at all. She'd seen him
,
on occasion
,
give the token interview after a game
, b
ut that wasn't like carrying on an actual conversation.

Pax furrowed her brow as she tried to figure out just what his problem
was
.
Maybe
she
was
boring him to tears? Was this his standard behavior? If so, his looks
must
be what attracted others
to him
, because as far as Pax could tell, his conversation skills were clearly lacking. They were going to have their work cut out for them. How
did
you take a great-looking guy with the personality of milk toast
,
and make him appealing?

She laughed to herself. Milk toast
.
Ha!
In this town,
no matter his past indiscretions
,
his name alone would draw the crowds
, b
ut Pax still wasn't sure she wanted
someone with his playboy status
affiliated with a charity she loved so much.

As the meeting progressed, Seb rarely seemed to take his eyes off her
face
. Flummoxed, Pax
tried to not squirm in her seat under his intense scrutiny
.
Only on rare occasions would she glance in his direction and find his eyes focused elsewhere around the office.

Jim's
gaze
met hers. “
I know LLS has been looking to get more notoriety. I also know you didn't have to take this situation on, but I can assure you
,
Seb will do everything you want and more. Won't you Seb?
”

Sebastian cut his eyes to Jim, but didn't say a word.

Jim sighed.
“Thanks again for your time and willingness to work with his hectic schedule
, Ms. Taylor
. It does not go unappreciated.”

Jim stood from the table and slipped his coat on. Seb remained quiet as he continued to look at her like some sort of abstract art work he didn't understand. After an awkward few seconds, he stood
,
and they walked out toward the lobby.

Pax wondered if she had something stuck between her teeth and resisted the urge to come right out and ask him. His behavior confused her to no end. Her first impression of Sebastian as
a jock with an attitude
hadn't
change
d
in the past thirty minutes
. In
fact, it might have intensified.
Oh well,
she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.
Pax could deal with his odd behavior. She hoped.

Shaking hands
with Jim then Seb
, she wished them both a good day. Pax watched until the doors of the lobby were closed before turning to Tori, a
small
smile on her face. “Well, I
think
i
t went well
.” Pax let out a deep sigh.

Tori grinned
.
“
No matter the circumstances
, it was worth getting an up close and personal look at him. Isn't he dreamy?”

Pax rolled her eyes
.
“I'll give you dreamy
,
but he's also kind of strange. We sat through the entire meeting, and he never said one word. I mean he didn't say
‘y
es
'
,
'n
o
'
,
'b
ooya
'
or
'y
ou and your charity are crazy loons
.
'
It was a bit unsettling
,
actually.”