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“Hey, I didn’t want to believe it either. I know it sounds crazy.”
“Listen.” He looks at me, sympathy shining from his eyes. “Things are going to get ugly for the next few days. I don’t know how much of the truth is going to come out. It’s hard to keep these things under wraps for long. People may be talking about your mother, and about Lexi, and the lady at Queensby Publicity. There’s one game before the All Star break. Let’s keep this under wraps while I have people look into the accounting. When that’s done, why don’t you get out of town for a few days. Somewhere away from here so you don’t get dragged into this more.”
“Maybe. Probably a good idea,” I concede, knowing shit’s going to go up in flames, and my name is likely to be drug through the mud before it’s all over with.
“Have you given any thought to what you want to do after the season’s over?”
I nod. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. “I think I’ve got two more good years in me. I want to go out when I’m on top of my game and take over my father’s company. I still want to stay involved in hockey, though. I’ll do some volunteer coaching. I’d like to see about building rinks in underserved communities, and Rowan really got me going with the charity stuff. I would love to be able to involve Rovers team members in charitable outreach.”
He blinks. “So… you want to stay here? After everything?”
I smirk. “I’ve done my fair share of ‘everything’, Mr. Talman. So, yeah. I wanna stay here and play for you.”
Mr. Talman smiles in relief. Maybe he thought this was going to be too much for me and I’d storm out. “One hundred percent. I think that’s an excellent solution for all of us. We’ll make an announcement about you committing once all of this nastiness has blown over. We won’t go into specifics about what will happen after the two years are up, of course. That can wait until you are actually ready to retire.” He reaches out and shakes my hand, pumping it vigorously.
He looks around the office. “And now, I’ve got to get on the phone with my lawyers. Paul Hartley’s going to find out he screwed with the wrong team. Know any good coaches?” He smiles wryly. “I thought I had more time to interview.”
“I’m sure you’ll find one.”
Once I reach the parking lot, I call Andrew, my sober coach. “Hey,” I say to him. “Do you have some free time late next week?”
“I can make some free time.” I can hear the concern in his voice. “Everything okay?”
“Basically. Yes and no. Everything’s okay, but everything’s also a disaster. It’s a lot to explain. I’d rather tell you in person,” I say.
“Do you need me to come meet you right now?”
“No, I’m not in imminent danger of a slip-up, but I appreciate the offer. Things are mostly good. I’ve found out some more stuff about my mother, and I think I’m finally ready to move on from that.”
“Well, thank God. So, free time ... does this mean you want to go on a trip somewhere?”
I nod. “Yes, I want to get as far away as possible. I’d like to run from my problems, thank you very much. You choose a place.”
“How about golfing, in Arizona?” he suggests.
“Sure. You make the arrangements,” I say listlessly.
After we firm up the details, I hang up.
I should be ecstatic. I’ve identified the source of all my recent problems, purged the harmful people from my life, and made important decisions about my future.
But that’s the problem.
What kind of future do I have, if I don’t have Rowan to share it with?
43
ROWAN
“You have gotto be freaking kidding me,” Amanda screams. “You believe her over me? She’s so bad at her job that the Rovers demanded she be removed from the account mid-campaign.”
“Well, actually, Amanda, as you know, it was only Mason who made that request, and it had nothing to do with the campaign itself. I talked to Mason today.” Cecelia is the picture of calm in an ice-blue Chanel suit as we face off against Amanda in the Queensby conference room. Cecelia’s sister Ansley stands by her side, frowning at Amanda.
We also have a building security guard standing by. Amanda’s building pass has been revoked and all of the belongings from her desk are piled into a shopping cart.
“You talked to Mason?” Amanda’s eyes widen in alarm. “What did he say?”
“He told me how you tried to blackmail him with a picture of him and Rowan, and said you would ruin her reputation if he didn’t get her removed from the campaign.”
