Page 87 of My Brother's Enemy
I shrugged. “There was no physical or sexual abuse.”
“It’s sad that you’ve made that your baseline, and that’s why you don’t feel you have a right to be upset.” She included Tyler. “I’ll write it so there’s minimal blowback on the women, but I’d also like to talk to your sister. Is that an option?”
Tyler raked a hand over his face, standing. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced after the interview than when it had started, as if going through everything had aged him. “I’ll reach out to her and ask. I’ll be honest. I don’t know if she’ll want to talk to you, but I’ll explain the situation, and we can go from there.”
“That’s all I can ask. Thank you.” She gave us both a nod before leaving. As she did, Kashvi came in, her arms raised. “I have good news. We killed the story.”
“What?” I gaped.
“We bought the rights to the original image. The person who took it can’t sell it elsewhere or say anything further. They signed an NDA as well.”
Tyler stood next to me. He didn’t seem entirely relieved. “What does that mean?”
“Well, we have some time even if the story does eventually drop. Martine messaged me while you were talking to her and said there’d be a lot to research. So, there were two potential scandals we wanted to get ahead of. First, you kissing your team’s shrink, and from the Grays perspective, Mal will statethat Rain took the job before knowing you were part of the team. The other scandal is Rain’s estrangement from her family. The Connors brothers are franchise stars and good click bait. Hockey fans love the fact that they’re brothers. Mix in a secret sister caught kissing their longtime rival, that’s a good old fashionedmess.” She shook her head and brightened. “But now we can control the narrative, as long as you two can keep your hands off each other in public.”
I glanced at Tyler, startled to see him staring right at me.
“What?” I asked.
He didn’t respond, turning to Kashvi. “We can still see each other?”
She snorted. “Are you asking for permission? You? Tyler Griffin?”
He didn’t blink. “Not really.”
“Didn’t think so.”
“Wait. What’s the bad news?” I asked.
Both focused on me again.
“You said the good news. That means there’s bad news too.”
Kashvi shrugged. “I guess the bad news is that this story still has the potential to drop, and we may not get a heads-up next time. But we’ve done our part to cover us if that happens. I’ll talk with Martine about the timing of her story, but right now, I wouldn’t worry. Don’t worry until you have something to worry about, you know?” She gave us a wry grin before gesturing to the door. “It’s still early. I’d take off if I were you.”
“I resigned.”
She huffed. “Considering that Mal is backing you up, I also wouldn’t worry about that. But you can stop by his office, if you’d like. They’ll probably have guidelines for both of you.” She waved us off. “Now go. Get out of my hair so I can do my job. You have to fly out today for the game tomorrow.”
Tyler’s hand came to the small of my back and guided me out the door. Once in the hallway, he asked, “Did you want to stop in and talk to the owner?”
“Not particularly. I’m a bit raw right now,” I told him. “I’d rather wait to have that meeting.”
“Coach will probably have something to say.”
“Yeah.” My stomach churned. I wasn’t looking forward to the fallout there. I’d crossed the line. I had a sexual relationship with a player, and any credibility I might’ve had was gone. There was no point in even being here anymore, but I still owed Mal and Coach Hines a meeting. “I need to regroup a little, build up my walls, and then I’ll reach out.”
Tyler’s hand pressed against my back in support, and he pushed open the door for me as we spilled out onto the parking lot. “Until then, I need a nap, coffee, and breakfast,” he said. “Maybe not in that order. You get to choose.”
I doubted I could sleep. “Coffee first.”
Then I’d figure out my next steps.
52
RAIN
My next steps came in the form of a text message I received while Tyler was napping. We were at his hotel room for once.
