Page 41 of From Ice to Grace
Harry’s eyes harden. Behind him Jenn gently closes the door to give us privacy, sealing us in the foyer.
“I’ve been giving you the benefit of the doubt. You’ve been toeing the line for a long time, doing just enough to stay on the right side of it. But these past few months, you’re crossing it without thinking. You can torch your own career if you want, but I can’t stand by and watch you take down my team in the process.”
“I would never hurt the team on purpose, Harry. You know that.”
He frowns deeply. “I don’t know anything, Murphy. I can only go on the facts. And the fact is, the sponsors, the media, the fans, are all losing confidence in you.”
“And that means you have too.” I turn away from him, not believing that I’m even having this discussion. The loyalty feels one-sided. I have given him everything. Hours and hours on end, my body, my talent, my skill, everything. And what do I get in return?
Harry sighs behind me.
“This guy will be coming here on a professional tryout. Nothing is definite regarding his position with the team.”
He continues, his voice a little softer, “I didn’t have to warn you. I’m here telling you that you have a chance to clean up your act and keep your place in this organization.”
I turn to face him, hating that I have to stand here and plead my case. But I can’t lose hockey, I can’t lose my place on this team.
“It’s not my fault…” I start.
“I really don’t care who’s fault it is,” he snaps. “It’s done. Now you fix it.”
“How?”
He shrugs, his eyes hard and without sympathy. “I don’t care how you do it. Go see a therapist. Get a steady girl. Go for anger management. Go to church. Just sort out your mess or I’ll do it for you. And you won’t like the way I do it.”
Without another word, he heads back into the ballroom. Everything seems to have quieted down in there, but there’s no way I’m going back in there now. I’m pretty sure Lynn would be more than happy to be rid of me after what just went down.
And I have nothing left to say to anyone in there anyway.
The doors open one more time, revealing Melissa in her short, red dress.
Frustration stirs inside of me. If it wasn’t for her, none of this would’ve happened. I would’ve been able to get through the mind-numbing night without a media circus.
“What are you doing here, Melissa?” I ask her as she steps closer to me, her eyes sparking with anger of her own. “You can’t just show up at my events.”
“Oh,” she says, pressing her hand to her chest, her eyes wide with mock innocence. “I wasn’t supposed to show up to your event? Well, that’s not the agreement we came to a month ago. An agreement where you specifically told me where you needed me, when you needed me, and when I should show up…and when I shouldn’t.”
She’s twisting my words…making it seem like she’s a puppet and I’m pulling the strings. “Melissa?—”
“Don’t get me wrong, I was more than happy to agree with the terms,” she cuts in, her tone sharp. “Let’s not pretend like this is a love-match. We both know what this is. It’s beneficial, plus the added part of physical fun.”
She jabs a finger to the ballroom behind her. “But what happened in there, wasn’t part of the agreement.”
I bite back a groan. I thought we were on the same page of what this isn’t. No promises. No strings. Which means she shouldn’t be this riled up about a missed call or a different woman on my arm.
“I had to show up with a different date tonight, for PR reasons,” I tell her. My voice is flat, tired. “I thought you’d know not to come when I didn’t call you to make arrangements for tonight.”
“I’m not a mind-reader.” She sighs, exasperated. “I’m keeping up my end of the bargain, Declan. What am I supposed to do when I walk in and find you already entertaining two other women?”
She doesn’t love me but gets territorial? Seriously. “I thought you knew this wasn’t a love match.”
She chuckles without humor. “Even when there’s no love involved, I’m going to get irritated when someone steps into my territory.”
Territory. Like I’m something she claimed.
“I should’ve called you, let you know. It won’t happen again.” The apology sounds hollow, even to my own ears.
She shakes her head, unable to meet my gaze.
