Page 118 of Hot for the Hockey Player
My face was already warm from Maverick’s continued starting.“I may have read up on this last week when you said you were hiring Damon to do your editing.I just wanted to know his rights.”I shrugged then sipped my orange juice again.“It’s what I do.”
Maverick’s lips twitched in amusement.Then he picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite.“It’s what you do.”
“What if I work on it in the evenings?”Damon asked.“Like at nine o’clock before bed for an hour or something.Is Mav going to get in trouble because I didn’t stop at seven?”
“And can you explain it for us whodidn’torhaven’tgone to law school yet?”Maverick asked, a smirk on his lips.
All I did was smile.“Yes.I can.So, these are extenuating circumstances.You’re technically working under the table since you’re not workingthatmuch.But if you would like to put these hours worked toward something necessary for school or graduation, then Maverick will need to obtain a business license and file the proper documentation.You could either hire Damon on as an employee, or we could have Damon be a soul proprietor and be contracted out by you.I’m happy to do more research and help with this.Make sure all of our butts are properly covered.”
Both my son and Maverick nodded fervently.“Yes, please,” Maverick said first.
Damon scrubbed his hand through his hair, then down his face.“Man, I had no idea how crazy all this was.I thought it was easy.Just do the work, get the money.”
“Nothing is that easy,” I said simply before ladling fruit salad into a bowl.“But we’ll figure it out.There are templates for everything, and I can easily fill everything out for you.I can even help Maverick file for a proper business license and get that all set up.I used to help clients with it all the time.Women who escaped difficult relationships and had no way to support themselves.Some of them set up homebased businesses, and I helped them with that paperwork.”
Eyes wide, face still missing some color, Maverick shook his head.“Boy, are we lucky to have a lawyer in the family.”
The kids both snorted.Meanwhile my heart was palpitating wildly at his casual mention of “family.”
I cleared my throat, eager to keep talking about what I knew and not get my brain all muddled and confused by matters of the heart.“Labor laws—laws in general—exist to stop people from getting exploited.And while I don’t think Maverick will exploit you, it’s always better to do things by the book.Transparency is key.He’s a public figure, and we don’t need to give the media or anyone else any fodder to come after him negatively.”
“Anymorefodder,” Damon added.
Maverick grimaced.“Yeah … the league isn’t happy.Neither are my brothers or dad.Rebel sent me quite the nasty text yesterday.”
I didn’t know about this.“Really?What did he say?”
Maverick shook his head in dismissal.“Just how I started my own ‘woke, douche podcast’ and that my career is over because I can’t keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself.”
“Then he asked that if he was in Henderson’s position if you’d call him out,” Damon added, also shaking his head.“Uh, yeah you would.”
Maverick merely bobbed his head, but a haunted look made his eyes go dark and the creases around his eyes and mouth deepen.“It does make me wonder if maybe Rebelisguilty of some of this stuff.The way he’s coming after me.Like the best offense is a defense, you know?”
“Isn’t he married with kids?”Laurel asked innocently.
“Even husbands and fathers can be predators,” I said softly, doing my best to push thoughts of my ex-husband and his brother out of my head before they took root and ruined the day.
“I suppose,” she murmured.
“Luckily, I think there’s more people out there supporting Mav than against him,” Damon replied positively.“He’s had over seven thousand listened hours now, which is just crazy.Every time I check, there’s like two or three hundred more.”
“I think you should take more of an active role on the show,” Maverick said to him, sipping his orange juice.“I want you to speak up.Ask questions too.Give your opinion.You’re part of the reason I’m doing this, and I want you involved.I want the world to hear you and know that not all hope is lost for the next generation.”
A heavy rush of color flooded my son’s cheeks, reminding me of the little boy he once was, refusing to come inside even though it was painfully cold outside and his nose was dripping from the icy wind.I loved it when he finally relented and would run into the house and my arms, smelling of toddler sweat, fresh air, and innocence.His cheeks were as rosy then as they were now, and that same excited spark was in his blue-gray eyes as well.I got a little choked up from the memory and how happy he truly seemed now versus just a few weeks ago.And it was all thanks to Maverick.
“I mean … we can see,” Damon finally said, his voice cracking a little.“Maybe.”
A faint, understanding smile curled Maverick’s mouth.“When you’re ready.”
We finished breakfast, all of us together, then the kids and Maverick insisted I go have a shower and get dressed, that they would clean up.It was a weird sensation, not cooking or cleaning in my own kitchen, but I embraced the change and had a nice, long shower.By the time I emerged from my room, dressed and ready to make cheese, my kitchen was spotless.Maverick was just getting out of the shower, and Damon was in his room editing their latest recording.Laurel was, of course, reading in her room.
“Just going to get dressed.Then we can head off,” Maverick said, walking past me into the bedroom.I hesitated for just a moment before following him, then closing—and locking—the door.He dropped the towel, a roguish twinkle in his eye.“Are we going to be late to Fred’s Ched Shed?”he asked.
“Maybe?”Nibbling on my bottom lip, I walked slowly toward him as he grew hard and ready in front of my very eyes.I sunk to my knees and took him in my mouth, humming softly as I brought him to the back of my throat.
“Fuck,” he breathed, his fingers making their way into my hair and holding me there.
I sucked the crown, then suppressed my gag reflex and took him as far back again as I could.
