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Emily
It’s so strange being in the arena before everyone else,” I remark, walking alongside Andrew as he makes his way to Coach Hanson’s pre-game talk in the locker room.
“It’s nice, right? The quiet before the storm,” he muses, carrying Alissa in his arms. “I’ll definitely miss it.”
“Then don’t stop!” Ali chimes in loudly. She doesn’t realize how loud she’s talking because she’s wearing the headphones we got her. She’s supposed to wear them during the game to protect her hearing, but she loves them so much she wears them everywhere.
He lifts one side of her headphones and replies, “But I need to!”
“I just want to make sure you are really ready to retire?” I prod gently.
“I am, Em,” he says, resolute. “I want to. I just need to get everything resolved with Terry first. That new lawyer has been very helpful going back and forth with his legal team to help me sort this out.”
I bite down on my lip to hold back my response. It turns out that Terry’s contract entitles him to a significant portion of Andrew’s entire wealth, not just his earnings from the NHL. No wonder he worked so hard to make Andrew a billionaire.
I’m beyond upset about it.
As we reach the locker room doors, Andrew passes Alissa to me before planting a kiss on my lips. “Wish me luck?” he asks, caressing my hair and Ali’s.
“Good luck,” I whisper into his lips.
“Good luck, Andrew!” Alissa shouts again.
Once more, Andrew raises one side of her phone and says, “Thank you!”
“See you later,” I say, and we wave at each other. Then, I turn to Alissa, “You don’t need these now.”
I remove the headphones from her head, much to her protest. “Mom, can we go to the family room?” she asks.
“Of course! Do you want to see your friends?” I set her down to walk on her own.
“Yeah, Andrew said we can have a pool party soon, and I want to invite my friends from here and my friends from school!”
“Oh!” I say, taken by surprise. “And what else did he plan without telling me?”
Alissa looks up at me and shrugs, “I think that’s it.”
As we enter the room, I notice a huge ball pit in one corner. “Can I go, mom?” Alissa asks, and I nod to give my consent.
Tamara and Meredith are sipping wine by the door. “There’s a lot going on, huh?” I say as I approach them, glancing back to see the stadium’s employees bustling about.
“Is Andrew in the starting lineup?” Meredith ask, sipping the last of her drink.
“I'm not sure. He hasn't mentioned anything,” I reply but before I can say anything else, my attention is drawn to a familiar figure in a suit I see heading towards the bleachers.
“Terry?” I whisper under my breath.
“What?” Meredith asks.
“Can you two watch Alissa for me? I’ll be right back,” I say, apologetic but already with one foot out the door.
I do it without thinking; it’s just a gut reaction and I hope I’m not making a mistake by talking to him. I do feel like it may be appropriate since we spent a few days together during the Family Day activities a few weeks ago.
I hurry down the hallway and reach the mezzanine, where I spot Terry. d
“Hey, Terry!” I call out, this time louder.
He looks at me but only waves and continues walking. I start running downstairs and call him again, “Wait, I need to talk to you!”
