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With Laurie, it just feelseasy.
Of course, I seize every opportunity we go out to try and read where his head is at. Not with me personally, but with my players. So far, Laurie has hinted that if he were to be successful in buying the Guardians, the Donavan brothers’ roles on the team would be secure, whereas Nathan’s wouldn’t.
Safe to say that I’ve spent most of our evenings together talking about Nathan, highlighting his accomplishments and significant contributions to the team in the past while also emphasizing his loyalty to the club and its fans. Anytime I see Laurie wavering or showing uncertainty about Nathan’s position in the team, I make sure to do everything in my power to squash it down.
It doesn’t help that that stupid blog is still going strong, though.
With the Guardians’ winning streak, the person responsible for the blog has been digging up dirt from Nathan’s past, claiming he was already a delinquent with anger tendencies long before he made Boston his permanent home.
The IT department back at ESA still hasn’t managed to get a trace of who is managing the sabotaging blog. They claim that whoever is responsible must be using a VPN to protect and mask their IP address by encrypting their internet connection, making it almost impossible to trace their online activity. Even with ESA’s unlimited resources, I’m not any closer to discovering the culprit behind the scathing website.
Lately, I feel that all I do is put out one fire after another when it comes to Nathan.
I’m just glad that Lottie has taken a personal interest in him and is doing her best to smooth out his rough edges.
But Nathan isn’t the only one I’m worried about losing his job.
To my bitter chagrin, I find myself talking with Laurie about Trent’s impeccable management of the club, more often than not.
Not that I’d ever admit it to him.
In fact, I’ve been avoiding him ever since that night in the alley behind Roy’s.
I don’t even answer his calls.
And Trent calls a lot, leaving voice message after voice message.
I never reply, not even with a single text.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t fall asleep every night just listening to the sound of his voice.
Trent:Did you get my flowers today? I picked those ones out myself. I thought you’d appreciate the white and pink lily magnolias. Their uniqueness reminded me of you. But then again, everything reminds me of you.
Trent:You didn’t come to the sports museum’s grand opening tonight. Why? Was it to avoid me?
Trent:We’re inevitable. Don’t you know that?
Trent:I miss you. And you miss me. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.
Trent:Is it fear? Is that why you refuse to see me or answer my calls? Out of fear?
Trent:Are you scared of me or scared of yourself, Piper? For the life of me, I wish I knew which one terrified you most.
“You really are good at your job,” Laurie muses while taking a bite of his steak, pulling me out of my tempestuous thoughts. “By the way you talk about him, you’d think Trent Nichols could do no wrong,” he adds, reminding me that all I’ve done for the past half hour was talk about Trent and how he’s essential to the club.
“I’m just stating facts, Laurie.” I swallow the lump in my throat that Trent’s name always provokes. “If you’re truly interested in buying the Guardians, then it’s only fair you have all the information at your disposal. And that means who is most valuable to you and who is a waste of your time.”
He shakes his head with a small chuckle.
“Are you ever going to tell me how you came to learn that the club was being sold? I know Rex Jones has been keeping the possible sale of the Guardians close to the vest, so I am curious how you stumbled on that particular nugget of information.”
“I have my ways.” I smile, grabbing my wine glass so the cool liquid can quench my suddenly parched throat.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that you do.” He smiles brightly. “It’s one of the many reasons why I enjoy your company. You’re a woman of many talents, and it shows.”
“And here I thought it was my dry wit that tickled your fancy,” I retort with an appalling attempt at a British accent.
“That, too.” He chuckles. “It’s actually quite refreshing to have a meal with a woman who is more interested in talking about hockey than my personal family affairs.”
