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“That brings me to your second activity, Rake. In addition to making yourself available for charity events, you will be volunteering to help the kids’ hockey league.”
Hmmm. That doesn’t sound so bad. But still. “I can get down with that one, Vince. But I just don’t have the time. Sorry, man.”
He looks at me square. “You will find the time, Rake. Your career depends on it.”
Huh?
“Do you know something I don’t, Vince?”
Smug washes over his face, and I wish I could wipe it right off. But I keep my shit together. I smile, pretending I’m enjoying this.
“I told you, Rake. Next time you mess up, you’re out.”
I look at him for a moment, on the verge of laughing in his face. But he’s serious. Real serious.
And this, actually, has caught hold of my attention.
“I’m not sure about that, Vince?—”
He shakes his head. “You can be assured that’s a fact, Rake.”
“Okay. Fine. I did the auction thing. I’ll teach the kids. But after that, I’m done, right?”
He chuckles. “Oh no. You are far from done.”
I groan. “I’m not going out with that woman who bid on me. One, I’m not for sale, and two, she looked about as thrilled to meet me as I did her. I helped the charity raise money. In fact, I’ll match the amount that woman paid for me. My very own donation. But she and I do not need to spend any time together. I’m telling you that right now.”
Nothing against the woman. She seemed pretty normal, and was nice-looking enough. In fact, she was damn hot. But that’s neither here nor there.
Vince takes a deep breath. I’m clearly trying his patience but fuck all, he’s tryingmine. “Do you know anything about her, Rake?” he snips.
I shrug. “Her name is Rose, right? Her mom works at the Cable Car Museum?”
He rolls his eyes. “Her name is Petal. Petal Parker. She comes from a San Francisco family that’s been here for generations. She’s also wealthy. Very wealthy. In fact, some would call her an heiress. And her mother does not work for the Cable Car Museum, she’s raising money for it.”
Who fucking cares?
“Look, man, I got my own money, I don’t need some rich girl?—”
“My point is, she’s higher profile than the women you usually… meet,” he says after a pause. “She’s smart, successful, and respectable. She has her act together. You will have a date with her, you will be nice, and you will at least pretend to be enjoying yourself. That’s all there is to it.”
How does this guy think he can talk to me this way?
“Look, Vince. I’m planning on staying out of trouble. There will be no more brawls or drunken whatevers. We really don’t have to do this.”
He raises an eyebrow like an evil little elf. “Oh, but we do. And we will. We’re starting tomorrow. You and I will be meeting Petal and discussing, over coffee, the particulars of how your date will go. Where you are going and when. There will be photographers, for whom you will smile broadly. You will say nice things about the charity benefitting from your largesse. And you will be the perfect gentleman.”
I slam back in my chair. “I don’t think all this is necessary, Vince. Look, I did the auction. Now, let me play a couple games with the kids. We’ll call it a day.”
“Rake, you can lose your job. I don’t give a damn. But I’m not losing mine. Not over the likes of you, a spoiled, unruly athlete who thinks he’s God’s gift to hockey. You know how many hundreds of guys are out there waiting, just waiting to take your spot? You’re not indispensable. Nobody is. I’m not and you’re not. It’s time you learned that.”
5
RAKE
“Well,fuck me sideways. Vince has lowered the boom on your sorry ass,” Tyler laughs, spilling Dorito dust down the front of his shirt.
“God, you’re a pig, Ty,” I say, as he brushes off his shirt onto my sofa. “Anyway, Vince doesn’t get to lower the boom on anyone. He’s just following the directions of the higher-ups. You know, the people who could trade me off to another team.”
