Page 52 of An Irresistible Force (Vancouver Vice)

Greg shook his head. “I think you misinterpreted that. He’s okay. Uncle Thomas thinks very highly of him.”

He was confirming my idea that these people were too nice to run a hockey team. “Loyalty is a good quality, but you guys are losing games over and over. Evolve or die,” I said.

“Anyone else?” she asked.

There were quite a few guys on the team that I didn’t think belonged in the A, but that was going to be up to a new coach with a new direction. But there was one big fish in this little pond. “Daniel Ramsey.”

They both looked surprised at this. “Our captain?” Greg asked. “But he’s a great guy, and he’s one of the top scorers on the team.”

“I thought he was a great guy too, but I’ve done some looking into his history. He’s been involved in a bunch of incidents, like a bad rookie hazing, and a couple of bar incidents.” After Josie’s remark, I started asking scouts and players. There were tons of stories off the record. The fact that he appeared to be so helpful and friendly made me suspicious that he was a liar and a phony.

Amanda nodded. “He and a few other players were arrested last summer for wrecking a local bar. Apparently, there were sexual assault charges too, but they were dropped.” She turned to Greg. “I know we don’t have a lot of money, but if players are discounted because they have bad pasts, it doesn’t do anything for my hope that we can create a family atmosphere here.”

Greg rubbed his chin. “I hear you. But he’s always been one of our top players. That’s why he was made captain.”

She sighed. “Your captain should not have a criminal record. Your captain should be someone honest, hard working, and smart. Like Chris.”

Wow. Was that what she thought of me now? I felt a warm glow of pride coming over me. Andsmart, that wasn’t a word that I was used to hearing, especially from someone as bright as Amanda.

23

Revelations

Amanda

Today was Friday,which meant Chris was at the Millionaires’ offices. Somehow this made the whole place feel a little greyer, knowing that he wasn’t around to pop in with his easy smile and corny jokes. I gave my head a shake. I was too old to have a crush on someone—especially him.

When I walked in my office, there was a large envelope in the middle of my desk with black handwriting on it.

For Amanda Richardson. Personal and confidential.

I sat down, pulled out a letter opener, and slit it open. Inside were pages of typed notes, but no heading or explanation. It looked like a few pages from the middle of a bigger document. I shook out the envelope, but there was no covering letter or note. Curious, I began to read.

A: I became an Ice Girl two seasons ago. And then last season, I was promoted to work as the executive assistant for Thomas Richardson.

Shoot! I dropped the papers on the desk. This was the statement from Stella Laird who had filed the lawsuit against Uncle Thomas. It was confidential and there was no way it should be here. I went back to reception. One of the players was talking to Tori, but he disappeared when he saw me.

“Tori, who put the big envelope on my desk?”

She blinked at me. “I did. It was here at reception when I got to work this morning.”

“How did it get here? Was there a courier slip?”

“No, I didn’t see anything. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, it’s not signed or anything. I’m wondering who sent it.”

“No clue,” she said. We both looked around the lobby as if there was some clue hidden here. But we weren’t that secure a place, and anyone could have walked in early and left it. Or perhaps it was someone who worked here.

I walked back to my office. While I was pretty curious about what the document said, I didn’t want to jeopardize the case in any way. I called up Adam Vandenberg, Uncle Thomas’s lawyer, and explained the situation to him.

“Jesus. Someone just left part of her deposition on your desk?”

“Apparently. So, what should I do? Is it a problem if I read it?”

“Well, not a legal problem, as long as your knowledge remains confidential. As part of discovery, we have a copy here, but the full document is a lot longer than a few pages. It’s my impression that your uncle would prefer nobody in your family knows the details. The bigger concern is who leaked the document to you. Are there page numbers?”

I gingerly pulled out the sheets like they were booby-trapped. “Okay, I have pages twelve to fifteen.”

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