Page 134 of Bleacher Report
"Go ahead," she says.
I hit the button on the steering wheel to answer.
"Hunter, hey," he says. "Got a second?"
"Driving Ma home from the hospital, but shoot."
"I won’t take up a lot of your time, but you’re not going to believe who called me just now.”
I glance over at my mother—both our curiosities piqued. “Who?”
“The head lawyer for the New Jersey hockey team, and get this…Mrs. Richards.”
“Bethany Richards?” I ask.
“Nope. The real original Mrs. Richards—Kevin’s mother. Turns out that the New Jersey team is part of a family trust thatKevin’s father set up years ago—Kevin doesn’t own it. In fact, he owns very little, as it turns out."
“You’re kidding,” I say, though I’m now not sure what this means for the trade offer that Bethany made to me if Kevin doesn’t own it.
“Mrs. Richards was furious and divulged more information than she might have done otherwise. I told her that I was surprised to hear from her since I was under the impression that Bethany and Everett Kauffman were working this trade deal.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said a lot. Mostly about how she didn’t know about Kevin giving Bethany half the rights to the team in their prenup. She only found out since Kevin asked for more money from the trust to hire an investigator to prove that Bethany has been unfaithful, which would void her prenup. She gets nothing if she cheated on Kevin, and from what his mother says, they have surveillance of Bethany sleeping with every player on the team…inside the stadium.”
I glance over to my mother, as if to say, “This is the woman you keep telling me to forgive.”
My mother says nothing, but I can see her mind running a mile a minute. This is the kind of stress I didn’t want her under right now.
“So what does this mean for my trade deal?”
“It means that not only was Bethany never entitled to make that deal since the family trust owned the team and not Kevin, but that Bethany isn’t getting anything in the divorce at all.”
I blink. "She’s not getting anything?”
"Not besides the jewelry and clothes he bought her—nope. Her car was purchased through the trust as well.”
I say nothing. The road blurs a little.
"Why would she call and tell you all of this?”
"Because Mrs. Richards wants you back on the team. She is willing to make an even better deal with Everett to get you. And from my conversation with Mr. Kauffman this morning, he’s only willing to make the deal if you want to go because of your mother’s health. It’s all up to you. What do you want to do?”
I grip the wheel tighter and then glance over at my mother who doesn’t look happy. "I don’t know. Maybe."
“Well, give me a call…soon. We need to work this deal asap if this is something you want to do.”
“I will. Thanks for calling.”
The call ends, and it’s quiet in the car for a moment.
"One of your clients is a realtor in the area, isn’t she? You think she has listings available nearby?"
She shoots me a glare. "Are you seriously thinking about moving back?"
I shrug. "You need help. You need someone checking in on you. I can’t do that from Seattle."
Her voice sharpens. "Hunter, no."
