Page 47 of Must Love Dogs… and Hockey

I look at her. “Whistleblower?”

“Yes.” She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and her eyes shift away. “Like when a business is doing something wrong, someone can ‘blow the whistle’ and tell someone higher up. And not be punished.” The words come out edged with bitterness.

I frown. “I don’t think so.”

The server sets our coffees in front of us.

“I’ve had bad coaches,” I continue. “I’ve been playing sports my whole life, you’re bound to run into some. But usually it was just incompetence. Or someone too focused on winning.” I pick up my cup. “Oh well. It is what it is.”

Lilly picks her coffee up too. “But if it’s making you miserable, that’s not right.”

“Maybe I need more fucking.” I lift an eyebrow at her as I sip my dark brew.

“Ha ha. Maybe so.”

I like that she’s not freaked out by my crudeness. Our eyes meet across the table in what feels like a sizzle. Good. She’s thinking about fucking too.

She’s turned down my dates—well, at first—but I’m pretty sure she’s as attracted to me as I am to her.

“Why do you feel like you’re letting people down by starting your own business?”

The change of subject makes her eyes flicker. “Oh.” She drops her gaze. “It’s a long story.”

“The story of why your life is a dumpster fire married to a train wreck?”

Her head snaps up, her eyes wide. “You remember that.”

I chuckle. “Yeah.”

“Well, yes.”

“So tell me. I confessed my anger management issues.”

She tips her head. “I think you’re managing your anger okay.”

“Until the day it builds up to the point where I punch my coach in the face.”

She grimaces. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m not making any promises. So…”

“Well. When I lost my job about eighteen months ago, it was a retaliatory firing.”

I lower my chin. “Retaliatory?”

For a moment she says nothing. Then, “I blew the whistle on a bunch of unethical practices. They were pissed off, so they fired me.”

“Holy shit. Really?” My jaw slackens. That’s why she was talking about whistleblower protocol.

“Yes.” She lifts her chin and straightens her shoulders. “But I was pissed too, so I sued them.”

“Did you win?”

“Not yet. The case is still ongoing. It takes forever.” She rolls her eyes.

“Well, good for you.”

“Eh, not so much. They spread a lot of rumors about me in the industry. Even some of my co-workers were angry about what I was doing. It was impossible to find another job in the hospitality industry. Finally I got a job as a front desk clerk at a small motel, but that didn’t last long.”

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