Page 81 of My Brother's Enemy
I said it again, resting my forehead against hers—that seemed to be our thing. “I know who your brothers are. I don’t know the specifics, but you told me who you were. And Skylar knows who you are. Even though she was pissy last night, she knows what it meant that I brought you with me to look for her. That means my family knows. The only thing they can get mad about is our sexual relationship, and I will say whatever the fuck I need to say so everyone stays off your back. If that means you and I are in a loving and committed relationship, so be it. If we need to make a trip to Vegas, I’m game. I mean it. I’m not going to let them fuck you over.”
“Stop.” Her hand pressed against my mouth, but it was shaking. She looked so sad and beaten, and I hated it. “It won’t come to that but thank you. It means a lot that you’d be willing to lie for me.”
I didn’t say anything to that, but as we got ready to leave, a question bounced in my head, and I couldn’t get rid of it.
Were those lies?I wasn’t sure anymore.
48
RAIN
It was going to come out. All of it.
I felt numb as we drove toward the arena. Tyler stopped to get us coffee. He was dressed in the same clothes as last night, so then he drove over to his hotel and quickly changed.
When he came back, he was wearing joggers and a white thermal long-sleeved shirt. He must’ve showered as well because his black hair was wet. He finished the drive and ran a brisk hand through it as we walked into the arena.
He led the way, calling the elevator to take us to the administrative floor.
When we stepped off, a few people from the social media team were walking around. They paused to watch us as we passed. Tyler opened the door for me and his hand grazed my arm as he led the way to Kashvi’s office. I could hear her on the phone as he knocked on the door.
A moment later, it swung open. Kashvi stepped back, her face tight with irritation, and motioned for us to come inside. As we did, I saw Mal was already there, sitting on a couch in the back corner. He gave me a sad smile but didn’t say or do anything else as we came inside.
Kashvi closed the door, still on the phone, and walked behind her desk. She didn’t sit but turned her back to us as she continued talking. Her office overlooked the ice with floor-to-ceiling windows. I assumed it was the kind that could only be seen through one way, so she could watch the games or practices from here, if she wanted, without disturbing anyone. It was a good office.
“I’ll have Stephanie at the front entrance waiting for you,” she said. “Thank you for this. Yes. I’m going to inform them right now.” The call ended, and she put her phone down and turned back to regard us both. Her eyes lingered on me before she took a deep breath. “Your contract will be considered terminated as of this morning.”
Tyler shot forward in his chair. “Wait a minute?—”
She spoke over him and kept her eyes trained on me. “There is a moral clause in your contract. You were caught having a sexual relationship with one of the team’s players. No matter how this plays out, your position is terminated. Once you’re identified, this could get ugly. The women take the blame. Always. If we’re lucky, mainstream media will not pick up the story, but hockey fans won’t forget. Your days of working with the NHL are done.”
“Except…” Mal spoke from behind us, sounding almost casual. “She accepted the job before she was aware Tyler would be on the team.”
I spun in my seat, mouth parting in surprise. What was he doing? That wasn’t true.
He refused to meet my gaze, raising an eyebrow at Kashvi. “That’s a loophole Ms. Connors could use to counter her termination. She could claim it was wrongful because she disclosed potential personal issues concerning Tyler Griffin after she accepted the job.”
Tyler studied Mal, his jaw clenched tight.
“What personal issues?” Kashvi demanded. “Were they fucking before he joined the team?”
Tyler twisted forward in his seat again. “Yes.”
“No, they were not,” Mal said at the same time. “But she raised other concerns.”
Kashvi’s eyebrows furrowed, and she turned to me. “What is going on here?”
“Rain isn’t losing her job, so make a different plan,” Tyler said heatedly.
I was in shock.
Kashvi looked from Tyler to Mal before returning to me. “Are you fucking them both?”
Tyler shoved up out of his seat. “Take that back?—”
“Ms. Kumar,” Mal exclaimed sharply, but he remained sitting.
Kashvi waved them off, still focusing on me. “If we’re moving forward with you remaining with the team, I need to be brought in, and I mean all the way. I need to know everything. The dirty. The gritty. Everything. You hear me?”
