Page 74 of Offside Secrets
Possibly both.
Ben’s wrapping up a question about the power play whenI push through the doors. The room goes dead silent. It’s the kind of silence that reminds me of walking outside after a huge snowstorm, when all the world is muffled and you feel like a lone alien in your backyard staring at the vast white tundra around you. Every head turns toward me, some slowly, some snap quickly, while cameras swivel in my direction, and I can practically see the reporters’ minds racing.
Sutton Mahoney. In the press room. After weeks of radio silence.
This is about to get interesting.
Ben spots me and his eyebrows raise slightly, but his expression remains neutral. “Ms. Mahoney has joined us,” he says simply, stepping back from the podium.
I walk to the front of the room on legs that feel steadier than they have any right to, my heels clicking against the floor in the sudden quiet. When I reach the podium, I adjust the microphone and look out at the sea of faces—some curious, some predatory, all waiting.
“I know you have questions,” I begin, my voice carrying clearly through the room. “And I’m here to answer them.”
A dozen hands shoot up immediately, voices calling out over each other:
“Ms. Mahoney, are you in a relationship with Campbell Stockton?”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Are you concerned about the ethics of dating a player?”
I hold up a hand, and somehow—miraculously—the room quiets.
“One at a time,” I say. “And yes, I’ll start with the obvious question.” I look directly at the reporter from theRichmond Times, a woman named Sarah Chen who’s covered the team fairly for two years. “Sarah?”
“Ms. Mahoney, can you confirm or deny the reports about your relationship with Captain Stockton?”
This is it. The moment where I either protect my carefullycultivated image or tell the truth and deal with whatever comes next.
I think about Campbell’s smile, about the way he looked at me in that elevator, about Gavin and Elle refusing to let me sabotage my own happiness.
I think about the woman I used to be before I learned to be afraid.
“Yes,” I say clearly. “Campbell and I are…well, we’re navigating that relationship while maintaining our professional responsibilities.”
The room erupts. Cameras flash, reporters shout follow-up questions, phones appear as people start live-tweeting. I wait for the initial chaos to die down before continuing.
“I know that raises questions about professionalism, about ethics, about my judgment as an owner. So let me address those directly.”
I take a breath, finding my center the way I learned to do in boardrooms full of men who thought I didn’t belong there.
“I am a thirty-five-year-old woman who owns and operates a successful professional hockey team. I have increased this organization’s revenue by three hundred percent, improved our win-loss record, and built relationships with sponsors and community partners that have transformed the Renegades into one of the most talked-about teams in the league.”
My voice gets stronger with each word, and true to who I am, my Southern accent is vibing really high as it does when I get stressed or serious. Today, I’m serious.
“I have done all of this while being questioned, second-guessed, and scrutinized in ways that my male counterparts never experience. I’ve had my decisions analyzed not for their merit, but for whether they prove I’m too emotional, too inexperienced, or too female to do this job effectively.”
A few reporters are actually taking notes instead of justrecording for sound bites. Sarah Chen is nodding slightly, and I see a sparkle in her eyes.
“So when I tell you that Campbell Stockton and I have developed feelings for each other, I’m not confessing to some scandal. I’m telling you that two adults who work together have found something worth exploring, and we’re doing so with full awareness of our professional obligations.”
A reporter fromSports Illustratedraises his hand. “But aren’t you concerned about the appearance of impropriety? The power dynamic?”
I look directly at him, my voice steady.
“I’m more concerned about people who create controversy where none should exist. People who are more interested in scandal than substance.”
I continue before anyone can ask follow-up questions.
