Major League Trouble ; Cody Bellinger

Seven: You don't belong here

After the shuttle dropped us off back at the apartments, I went straight up to my apartment to get cleaned up and start cooking. Cody would be here soon.

I turned on the tv which was already set to ESPN and begin cooking. It had to be perfect, especially since I talked so highly of myself.

Soon enough, there was a knock on my door. I quickly rinse my hands off and answer the door. "Hey," I smile. He laughs at the mess I was. "You really go all out," he says as I moved aside for him to enter. He was referring to my apron that was tomato sauce stained. "You have no idea," I grin revealing the kitchen that was in full use. "Jenna Harper, you are the most insane woman I have ever met," he smiles. "If only you met my mom," I joke. "I can't even imagine," he goes along with it, not attempting to go into further detail. I finally notice he had a brown paper bag with a bottle in it. "Is that-," I begin hesitantly. "Wine? No," he reads my mind with amusement. "Oh okay, because I'm not the biggest fan of wine," I sigh in relief. "I figured,"  he shrugs. "That's why I brought tequila," he reveals the bottle and I light up. "Casa Dragones? That stuff is... well expensive," I realize what kind of tequila it was. "Yea I guess, but I thought it'd go perfect with the Enchiladas," he grins. "Are you just trying to get me drunk, Bellinger?" I narrow my eyes at him. "What? Of course not," he says unconvincingly. "Because it might actually work," I smile grabbing two glasses from my cabinet. "You're something else," he laughs at my undeniable excitement, but follows me into the kitchen, sitting at the island bar. He pours us glasses as I continued making the enchiladas.

"This stuff is amazing," I finish my second glass. "You might wanna slow down there, lightweight," he laughs at me. "You've had three glasses," I defend myself. "Yea, But I'm 6'4 and weigh 210," He's amused by my attempt to make a valid argument. "Touché," I admit. "Hey look, it's me," I add looking at the tv. "They've mentioned your name at least four times already. You haven't noticed?" Cody laughs. "I'm sort of blinded to it now," I reply. "But hey, it would be a fun drinking game. Take a shot every time I'm mentioned," I joke. "Then we'd really be in trouble?" Cody remarks making a point. "Not the smartest idea I guess," I agree. "Try this," I say after taking the enchiladas out from the oven. I feed Cody unconsciously. He smiles instead of fighting it. "Hot," he reacts immediately. "Shit, I didn't realize," I didn't even think about it just coming out from the oven. "I'm such an idiot," I scold myself. "No, it's great. Really," he says after a moment. "I must've burned off all of your taste buds," I smile apologetically. "Only like half of them," he jokes reassuringly. "I'm so sorry, I hate when that happens," I force a smile. He sips his drink to numb the pain. "Tequila and Enchiladas really do go great together," he shrugs. I smile at his surprised attitude.

Later that night, we had started watching New Girl on Netflix. We only made it to the second episode because we needed to end the night since we had our first game tomorrow. "So, on a scale of one to ten, how great were my enchiladas," I ask proudly, as I walked him out. "Probably... an 8," he thinks about it in order to annoy me. I pretend to be offended. "They were the best I've ever had," he says more believably. "I don't know if I'd go that far," I laugh. "You're an amazing cook, really," he smiles genuinely. "Well thank you. But the tequila made it better," I smirk. "Did it though? Or was it just my company," he jokes. "Definitely the tequila," I joke too. "Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, Jenna," he laughs. "Bright and early," I remind as he left.

Saturday Feb. 25, 2017
I woke up with the most nerves I've ever had. Today was probably going to be one of the most important days of my life. I get dressed into dodgers gear sweats. A great part about this job, was that I didn't have to wear heels or a dress to look professional.

There was a team breakfast in the conference room. Most of the guys were already there. I take a seat beside Kershaw after grabbing a parfait. He was laughing about something that Kike had said. "Morning, Jenna," they notice me, calming down from the joke. "Good morning," I sigh. "Is everything okay?" They notice my anxiety. "Yea. Just a little nervous about my press interview and the game," I force a smile. "I get it, but it'll all be over before you know it. Might as well enjoy it," Kershaw shrugs. "Yea, I guess," I sigh once more. "Hey, Kike. Mariana's here," Joc walks by to inform him. I hadn't talked to Joc that much. He glances at me, before leaving. He seemed annoyed. Kike and Kershaw look at each other, confused. I got the feeling that Joc didn't like me. "I'll see you later," Kike says getting up to go see Mariana.

After a team meeting, I had to meet Kaitlyn at the airport so we could go to the conference center there. "Jenna, we're kinda late, walk with me," she says not stopping after she exited the arrival gate. I quickly follow her pace. "Okay, So about Thursday," I begin. "That's in the past Jenna. All I can say, is don't comment on that or deny any assumptions," she tells me. "And it's alright to talk about the line up today, just don't reveal next weeks," she adds. "Okay," I say confused. We stop at a door, blocked by security guards. Kaitlyn shows her ID and signs in. A body guard shows us to the room where the interview would be held.

After going over what I can and can't talk about, Kaitlyn stands off to the side. I'm given a cue from the organizer and I go the the table to sit down. There were so many cameras and interviewers only a few feet away from me. I didn't get to pick who asked a question, but the organizer did. "What are you looking to accomplish today and for your first year as the Dodgers Assistant Manager?" A very vague question but appreciated seeing that most were about me being a woman.

"Thank you for your time Jenna, good luck with tonight's game," the organizer ends it. "Thank you," I say before getting up and exiting the panel. "Great job," Kaitlyn smiles. "Thanks," I sigh in relief. "Now lets get you to the field," she looks at the time. It was 11 so I had two hours before the game started.

After arriving there, I immediately changed into game attire and headed onto the field. The guys were taking batting practice. Cody and a few others were observing the current hitter. I walk over there. Cody notices me and smiles. "Finally you decide to show up," he says in an authoritative tone as a joke. "I bet being late to my first game makes me look really bad," I also joke. "How was the interview," he asks. "It was okay, surprisingly," I admit. "Hmm, I guess the snakes decided to stay home today," he was just as surprised. "Yea, I doubt it. We still have the rest of the day," I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself. "I'm not too worried," Cody says unbothered with a small smile. "Cody, you're up," Joc exits the the batters box and gives Cody a quick glance, completely ignoring me again. "I'll talk to you later," Cody says while putting his helmet on. After he enters the batters box, I head to the dugout. Right now he guys were just warming up and signing autographs. "Where the hell is my glove," I hear from beside me. I look over and see Joc angrily looking for something. He was aggravated. I quickly skim the dugout and spot a glove. I pick it up and read the embroidered name. "Joc Pederson #31". I walk over to Joc hesitantly. "Is this what you're looking for," I hold it up and give an assuring smile. "Thanks," he raises an eyebrow and takes it. He was still angry. He turns to walk away but I gather enough courage to call him out. "Pederson," I was completely still. He slowly turns around. He raises his eyebrows as a gestured response. "What's your problem with me?" I almost felt myself choking up. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he was clearly lying due to his delayed response. Good thing he could filter himself. "Why are you so bothered by me?" I question. He doesn't respond. He was holding back something. "I'm here whether you like it or not. So we might as well get along," I raise my eyebrows for emphasis. He smiles at the ground as if amused by me. "You don't belong here. And we will never get along. If you stay in your place, I'll keep my mouth shut, but don't ever think that you can say whatever you want to me, or anyone else on this team. You're just a little girl. This is the big leagues," he says not sparing my feelings. I was left speechless. After realizing that I had no response, he continued on his way out of the dugout. I take a deep breath before sitting down. Well at least I know how he truly feels about me being here. It hurt so much more coming from a player.

"Jenna," someone calls my name. I look up from thinking and see Cody. He was taking off his batting gloves as he entered the dugout. "What's wrong," he had a look of concern after noticing my watery eyes. I quickly regain my composure and stand up. "Nothing. I'm fine," I stop my tears before they could fully form. "You're not a good liar," he tried to comfort me but I distance myself from him. That gesture sent a clear picture to him. "I said I'm fine. You should go throw," I say finding my clipboard so I could pretend I was busy. "I-" he tried to make me feel better with a forced smile but I cut him off. "That wasn't a request," I give him a blunt look of authority. I hated being like this but maybe if I was more professional, I could be taken more seriously. Cody pauses for a moment as if waiting for me to say that I was joking. "Got it coach," he says with an attitude of disbelief after figuring out that I was serious. He grabs his glove and jogs onto the field without another word.

"Damn it," I sigh disappointed in myself.