Page 32 of Hot Puck
“Yes. The girls would have one home with the two of us living in it?—”
“Then how do you plan to keep this proposed marriage of convenience a secret?”
“I’ve recently purchased a house that has an in-law suite that I would reside in, you and the girls would have the rest of the house.”
“We’d still be living together.”
“Yes, but we’d play it as I’m helping you with the girls when you need it. And it’s not like I plan to make a media announcement about our marriage or living arrangements. We don’t have to tell anyone anything. I don’t plan to tell the other three KAW partners.”
I can’t see how that would work. “How can you keep this a secret from them?”
“It doesn’t affect either of us work wise. It’s a purely personal business arrangement.”
“I don’t see how we can keep this quiet. And what would we tell the girls?”
“Exactly what we’ll tell anyone else who asks, I’m helping you with the girls while you settle into Baton Rouge and your position with the Rogues.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything.”
“No. But you want to. I can see it in your eyes, Chase, you want this more than anything.”
“Not more than anything but the thing I want the most is impossible.” I see it in her eyes that she understands what I mean.
“Your parents would want you to go after your dream. And I haven’t had anything to do with your father for a while, but when I first approached him years ago about stocking our products in his stores, he talked about his family. He’d be proud of you no matter what you decide to do with the company or your life.”
“You met him?”
“Yes. When we started Rogue sportswear. He was one of the first to take a chance on four college women with more money in their trust funds than most people earn in a lifetime.”
There’s a story there. I can only imagine Natalie and her friends going after what they wanted. She came through our front door and took charge. Helped a drowning man take a moment to refresh his energy and spent time with three girls she has no ties to other than she wants me to play for her hockey team.
If her friends are anything like her, they’d be a formidable team. And I can’t imagine the Rogues being anything but successful.
Do I want in on that? Fuck yes. But is it really possible?
“You’ll do anything to make sure the Rogues are a success.”
“Not anything.”
“But you’re talking about tying us together for years.”
“I am. But that isn’t about the Rogues.”
“Then what is it about?”
“You and your sisters getting everything you deserve.”
“Why are you determined to help with that? You know I’m going to do everything I can to make their lives what Mom and Dad would have. And I’ve got the money to do it.”
“You do. And money can buy a lot of things. But it can’t buy you family or a spot on a Cup-winning national hockey team.”
“I’d say you’ve got tickets on yourself for that last comment, but I don’t think you do.”
“No. I have a support system and employees and coaching staff and players who all believe, or soon will, the same thing. The Baton Rouge Rogues are going to hit the ice and win. And when we lose, we aren’t going to do it easily.”
Her confidence is inspiring, and in some ways encouraging. She seems to be one hundred percent sure of herself and her team. And from what I know about Rogue sportswear, she’s come by that confidence from experience.
She knows she can succeed, and she knows what it takes to do it too. I can’t even comprehend her going into owning a national franchise without knowing exactly what it takes to make a winning team.
