Page 63 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
“Awww,” Brock coos. “Don’t you two just look so cute together?” Then he drops the fake happy act, turning to look directly at me, arms crossed over his chest. “What’s the scoop, Magpie?”
Narrowing my eyes, I take another sip of my coffee. “You know I hate when you call me that.”
He bares his teeth. “I do.”
Fucker.
Sighing, I shake my head. “I don’t know what kind of scoop you think I’ve got. Nothing scandalous happened at the game. You surely know the final score already. The Cardinals’ grand slam was pretty cool to watch, even if it did mean the Mariners lost.”
“Cut the shit, Maggie. You know I expect info from you. If you don’t have something by next week, I might have to have Janie pull resumes for other social media managers. I need someone who can deliver on their promises.”
I blink like he’s boring me. “Doubling your numbers and increasing your net worth doesn’t count as delivering?”
Baring his teeth again in the way that’s more threat than smile, he shakes his head. “Not when you promised me a network deal. And not when you’re holding out on me with your inside knowledge of the Emeralds.”
“You realize that me feeding you team gossip will probably make Jack break up with me.”
He shrugs. “So? It’ll take him a little while to catch on. Hockey players aren’t known for their brains, after all.” He lowers his voice conspiratorially. “Too many hits to the head, you know?” Another shrug. “And when he finally figures it out, well, that won’t be my problem, will it? But at least you’ll still have a job. You’ve got that cute kid at home, don’t you? It’d be a shame if you couldn’t afford to pay your rent anymore, wouldn’t it?”
Turning on his heel, he walks off, leaving that threat hanging in the air and me shaking with powerless rage in his wake.
I get into my office, close the door, and drop into my chair, face in my hands.
What am I going to do?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jack
Maggie’s been actingoff for weeks now. At first I’d chalked it up to stress from her upcoming court dates about her custody arrangements, and maybe that’s part of it, but ever since training camp started she’s been more distant. Our phone calls are short, she’s taking forever to respond to texts, and she keeps saying she can’t meet for lunch because work is too busy.
Meanwhile, my agent’s been hard at work all summer, using my relationship with Maggie to show that I’m not the asshole Maggie’s boss has painted me to be. His hard work has managed to salvage the sponsorship for the breast cancer charity, and I have a photo shoot scheduled in October for their next campaign. We still haven’t decided whether or not to pursue a defamation suit. Since it hasn’t yet damaged my career, at least not in ways I care about—Max says that the Emeralds are happy to discuss my contract and their initial offer wasn’t insulting, though of course he’s working to get me a better deal—it’s not something I’m willing to pull the trigger on just yet, despite Max telling I should. I don’t want to mess up Maggie’s job, and if I sueher boss, I worry what position that’ll put her in, and what that’ll mean for us.
“I think you should do it,” Max tells me again after discussing his latest contract negotiations. I’m halfway through the second week of training camp and we had a phone call after I got home. We start preseason games next week, and the team seems to be coming together.
“I’m still not ready to go that route,” I hedge.
He sighs. “Look. I get that you’re dating his assistant or whatever?—”
“Social media manager,” I jump in. She’s not that fucker’s assistant, and I know she’s relieved that he finally hired a new one.
“Whatever,” Max says, dismissing my correction. “She works for him. Given how far and wide the story about you spread, I’m not sure her being the social media manager is better, really.”
I grunt.
“Regardless, he’s tainted the public perception of you. And you and I both know that no amount of keeping your nose clean or looking like a standup guy with a steady girlfriend is going to undo that damage.”
“And a lawsuit will? That won’t just stir up more drama and cause more problems longterm?”
“It’ll show people that you’re not willing to let some jackass drag your reputation through the mud without consequences. And it might make him and other assholes just like him think twice before doing this to some other athlete who might not be able to recover as easily.”
I grunt again. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it that way. By suing Brock, I could protect my teammates and colleagues. Putting him out of business—which would be my ultimate goal with a lawsuit—might put Maggie out of work, but …
Wheels turning, I tell Max, “I’ll think about it.”
“You’vebeenthinking about it. For months now. What more is there to think about?”
“We have time, Max. The lawyers said as long as we file within two years, we’re good.”
