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“Oh, come on, Alex.” Benjamin pats me hard on the shoulder. “Don’t be like that. You don’t need to freak out, man. It’s going to be fine.”
I shoot him a thin-lipped smile, which is about all I can muster right now. “Where’s Coach?”
“His office. You going to face the music already?”
I might not want to, but this isn’t something I’ll get away with, and the longer I leave it, the worse it’ll be. So, with grim determination, I walk like a gazelle entering the lion’s den.
“Alex.” Just as I suspected, Coach is very unimpressed. That vein in his forehead is popping. “Take a seat. I think you know we have a lot to talk about.”
I sigh as I sink into my seat. “Yeah, we do. Obviously, I didn’t know that anyone was following me at all last night. I didn’t know there were photographers anywhere.”
“What have I told you? You should always assume that there are photographers everywhere, all the time. Anyone on my team needs to be prepared for that all the time. The fact that you weren’t prepared concerns me. I don’t even know what to say to you right now, Alex. I’ve been fielding phone calls about you and your ‘mystery woman’ all morning long. What am I supposed to say when I don’t have any clue that it’s even coming?”
I hang my head low. “Yeah. That sucks, sorry about that.”
“Who is she? Because I don’t want to believe that she’s the journalist you’ve been working with. Even if that’s all I’ve been hearing.”
It’s like a thick ball of emotion has lodged itself in the base of my throat. The way Coach worded that lets me know how this is going to go. If I’ve done something wrong on the ice, I can givemy side and argue that, but I don’t really get a say here. This is bad.
“Okay, so it is her. Great.” Coach’s cheeks turn a funny shade of red. He’s madder than I ever thought he could be. “Fucking hell, Alex. Did you really have to do that? Did you have to get involved with the one person from the media you’re finally opening up to? What is this—some kind of game or something? You think you can get out of talking to the press because you’re fucking around with her? Are you trying to get her to fall in love with you so she doesn’t write something crazy? I need to know your angle.”
After a beat of very awkward silence, I manage to formulate my reply. “There is no angle.”
“What isthatsupposed to mean? Do you have something going on with this woman?” How can I answer that when I have no idea? Not that my silence impresses Coach. “You gotta give me something to go on here. I don’t knowhowthe hell I’m supposed to manage this media storm when I don’t knowwhat’sgoing on!”
All I can do right now is give him a one-shouldered shrug. I can’t tell him that Riley and I are working towards something when I have no idea. We haven’t even thought about it, never mind discussed it. Plus, the way I left things earlier wasn’t great.
“Fucking hell, Alex.” Coach shakes his head, a disappointment unlike anything I have ever seen before rolling off of his shoulders in waves. “What do you expect from me? This is ridiculous. The first thing I’m going to have to do is take her off the story…”
“I think the story is already written.”
He doesn’t like this. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, especially when I don’t know if it’s true or not.Idiot!
“And you think people are going to take it seriously now? They know about you and Riley. You know what the Internet is like. Web sleuths will know everything about the pair of you probably within the next hour. There’s no way this will be anything other than a shit show.” He throws his hands in the air in frustration. “I suppose I could tell you to end things now, so it’s just one kiss and alotof speculation, but I still don’t know what this will mean going forward. If it starts affecting your performance on the ice, then we’ll have someseriousissues.”
“It won’t,” I promise immediately, a gut reaction because I donotwant Coach worrying about that. “It won’t affect my game. I swear to you, Coach. You won’t notice any difference in my game.”
He isn’t looking at me like he believes a word I’m saying right now, but I’ll prove at least that much to him. There’s no way in hell I’ll let any of this affect my playing. If there’s nothing I can do to make this go away, or even to help it, then I’ll play well.
That much I can always promise, no matter what.
Chapter 13—Riley
The world knows Alex Barrett as a hockey sensation, the star player who dazzles with his incredible skills on the ice. But behind the shining surface of this sports icon lies a man with a complex story and a depth of character that defies stereotypes. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the life, experiences, and thoughts of the man who has captured the hearts of millions.
It’s so hard to write this story when my heart is hurting, but I’m trying because if I don’t get this done soon, I won’t have a job to go back to. I don’t even want tothinkabout what Chad and the guys are saying about me in the office. I know it won’t be good, and it’ll be even worse if I don’t get this done.
Ineedto do a good job, which is why it’s incredibly frustrating that my brain doesn’t seem to be working in the way I want it to.
I run my eyes through my notes because I can’t bear to listen to the recordings again. Hearing Alex’s voice is crushing when I don’t know what he’s doing and what’s going on. I don’t want to be annoying and call him every five minutes, even if I really feel like it. I know he has to deal with this as well. I have to keep writing.
From our first meeting, it was clear that Alex Barrett is not just another hockey player. The imposing figure, standing at six foot five, is both physically and emotionally imposing, a man who has dedicated his life to the game he loves.
As soon as I’ve typed that, I immediately delete it. That sounds stupid. Too uptight, too professional, too… I don’t know, just wrong. In the midst of everything, I still want to do a greatjob at this, not just for Alex but for my career as well. I’ve needed this for so long.
This was supposed to be my first step towards making my father proud, following in his footsteps. He definitely wouldn’t have done anything like this.
Ring, ring…
