Major League Rookies Book 1 A Sherise Stone Mystery: A Sherise Stone Mystery, #1

By Ceici Christy

Sherise Stone was delighted to move from News reporter to Talk show host. No more stress filled investigative stories to cover. The transition, a few poof pieces on superstar athletes was supposed to be effortless. Simple, hassle free work. But nothing is ever simple in Sherise’s world. 

As host of a radio show covering a new team entering Major Leagues Baseball, Sherise Stone is thrust among a group of privileged rookies. The twin owners have no background in sports and never see eye to eye. The remarkable rookie player with amazing natural skill. The Manager is a hall of fame player with no experience as a coach. 

This has all the makings of a dream season until Opening day for the newest team in the Majors is overshadowed by a murder. Unable to help herself, Sherise investigates the murder and unwittingly becomes the target of an insane killer who will stop at nothing to protect the image of his hero. 

When the team’s star player is accused of the killing, his beautiful Pop Star wife must choose whether to honor her vows or a promise she made to herself. The team owners must decide whether to protect the millions invested in their star player or let him dangle alone in the wind.  The owners also find they have to deal with the leagues war on substance abuse as well as other distractions that have little or nothing to do with Major League Baseball.

Life has never been more exciting for Sherise who appears to be in way over her head when she realizes her own life is in danger. To make matters worse, she is instantly distracted by the handsome hardnosed detective whose job it is to solve this case and the irresistibly attractive rookie baseball player.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christy Endeavors
• Release date: Oct 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781532318559

Ceici Christy

Ceici Christy was one of the first female sportswriters in San Francisco. With well over 10 years of experience, she developed community ties with many Bay Area athletes and entertainers.  She is a professional Jazz vocalist, which helped her develop the music subplot for Major League Rookies. She has served as president of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is an avid bowler, songwriter and producer. She is a writer of sweet romance and romantic mysteries. Visit her at ceicichristy.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. 

Book preview

Prologue

Sherise

S

herise Stone couldn’t wait to smell hot dogs roasting and the scent of freshly buttered popcorn. She yearned for an ice-cold beer, cotton candy, and the sound of peanut shells crushed beneath her feet. Memories of games at Los Angeles Dodger stadium with her dad came to mind. Closing her eyes, she craved the scent of baseball.

While some smells like sweat and the steamy, musty scent of a locker room, especially when filled with players after a game, are not so enticing, aromatic or tantalizing, they are pure baseball. And at times, enough to make a reporter, or in her case talk show host, want to change her profession.

Sherise flashed a practiced smile to the guard stationed at the entrance to the San Jose, California, Royal Coliseum. He greeted her with a quick hello, checked her name off a list and waved her into the parking lot. She steered her black Mercedes into an assigned spot, turned off the engine, and glanced at the red Porsche in the space next to her. Supermodel Danielle Madison O’Malley had already made her grand entrance. Sherise grabbed her recording equipment and got out of the car. The press of a button on her key chain locked and activated the alarm.

One of only a handful of women, she would have access to the clubhouse, the dugout, the field, and an up close view of those hot, sexy, superstar athletes. Inside the press gate, another guard checked her name off a new list. She offered him a smile and walked down a long corridor. She moved past a group of baseball fans and entered a door that led to a private bank of elevators. Minutes later, she arrived at the clubhouse level and encountered another guard.

Hey Carl, she said. How are you?

Just fine, Sherise, how are you? He displayed his usual Cheshire cat grin, checked her name off another list, which allowed her access to the area.

Any news?

Quiñones is not in a good mood. Asked if you were here ‘bout half an hour ago.

Really? Bet he’s trying to avoid the press again and thinks I’ll help him do it. They shared a laugh.

Nah, just think he likes knowing his good lucky charm is around.

Yeah, well, I may need a little luck of my own today. I’ve got some tough questions I don’t think he’ll want to answer.

Oh just show him that beautiful smile of yours and it’ll be all right. He winked at her.

I hope so, Carl, she said smiling, and headed toward the playing field.

Quiñones was standing near the batting cage talking to the Panthers' hitting coach. The look he gave her showed he was not happy.

Several thoughts raced through her mind as she allowed herself to drink in his vision. He was utterly breathtaking. She imagined running her fingers through his thick wavy hair, running an index finger down his perfectly chiseled chest, and kissing his enticing lips. He turned toward her after his conversation with the hitting coach ended.

She was walking toward him when someone yelled, Noooo!

Before she could turn her head to see what the trouble was, a baseball hurled from the infield and hit Sherise against the side of the head. Quiñones reached her and she collapsed into his arms.

Chapter 1

Jake

J

ake opened the door to the garage and the telephone rang. Automatically, he yelled he would get it before remembering he was the only one home.

Yeah, he said lifting the house phone from the cradle. Is anybody there? I can hear you breathing. If you got something to say, say it. Silence. He jabbed the phone to disconnect. Damn, her!

How could this happen? What had he been thinking? Well, there’s the problem, he hadn’t been thinking. That’s what got him into this mess.

His cell phone rang and before he could speak, she was yelling at him.

You can’t continue to ignore me. I’m carrying your child and you need to pay me some respect. Accept your responsibility or I’ll have this conversation with your wife. 

Don’t you dare threaten me, he snarled and disconnected.

Marci Ellis, an executive assistant for one of the San Jose Panthers’ owners, was pregnant. She claimed he was the father and insisted on having the baby. What a nightmare. If word of this got out, his squeaky clean image would be ruined.

At thirty-two, Jackson (Jake) Matthews was one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. A strikingly handsome man with mocha chocolate skin, he usually wore dark tailored designer suits and appeared fashion model sleek.

An average football player has a short, oftentimes brutal career, five to seven years if he’s lucky, where an exceptional baseball player like Jake can have a career for 20 years or more. There’s a lot of money to be made in a nine billion dollar industry.

A scholar at Stanford University, Jake learned a lot about negotiating, the most important being never to represent yourself. Knowing this, he hired Darryl Hendrickson, one of the most feared sports agents in the business. 

He thought about the life of a sports agent. They earn huge sums of money negotiating contracts that include as many incentives as a team is willing to pay for  ̶  things like stealing bases, hitting home runs or RBIs. Jake didn’t want things like private trainers, a chef or even large blocks of tickets. He didn’t crave fancy cars or hotel rooms for kept women or visiting relatives. He did, however, desire access to a private jet anytime he wanted his family to be with him on the road. He wanted a clubhouse box for Tara and his kids to use when they attended home games.

While his first contract did not make history, it solidified his status as one of the most valuable and highly paid players in the major leagues. It included a twenty-one million dollar signing bonus paid over seven years, a No-Trade clause, bonuses for any awards he received, and lots of other incentives.

During his eleven-year career, Jake had created an almost spotless image. Together, he and his wife, Tara, had amassed a fortune worth over half a billion dollars. Kids all over the world looked up to him. A rumor of having strayed from his marriage could cost him millions in commercial endorsements and appearances. And his beautiful, hot-tempered wife would be livid and might actually leave him.

Being a pop singer, Tara understood temptation. She knew all about the pitfalls created by being alone on the road. She’d heard all the excuses from athletes claiming it went with the territory.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it, Tara had warned him she would leave and take half his money and his kids if he ever got another girl pregnant. Tara did not make idle threats.

He’d known her since the first day of high school. Jake had been running late to his second class, turned a corner, and literally knocked Tara on her beautiful butt. Stopping dead in his tracks, he stared into her sultry brown eyes, and almost kissed her right there on the spot. Tall, lean, and athletic looking, she glared angrily with red pouty lips. She shook her head, tossed her long thick auburn curls across her shoulder, some falling across her eyes.

You need to watch where the fuck you’re going, she cursed, while he helped her up, blocking her path.

He smiled, taking in all her exotic features, her gloriously thick bouncy hair, perfectly cut falling across her face covering her captivating almond eyes. You need to watch your potty mouth.

She tried to shove him aside, but he stood his ground before deciding to let her pass, all the while staring at her