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Chapter One
Charlie Westmore did not want to be here.
He didn't want to be in this stupid suit in this stupid conference room in this stupid law firm.
There was a hockey game tonight. The Chicago Otters were playing Los Angeles and he wanted to make it to one last game before the team's ownership would be handed over to one of his ungrateful cousins. After tonight, he wouldn't get to sit in the owner's box anymore.
The team still technically belonged to Charlie's Uncle Tony, a self-made billionaire who started a real estate company in Chicago and then sold it for a ton of money. Then he turned around and bought Charlie's beloved Otters.
There were benefits to being the nephew of the team owner. Charlie loved inviting his friends from work to spend a night in the owner's box and get a taste of luxury compared to the construction sites they would work on every day. He also enjoyed talking hockey with his uncle or trying to give him advice on what to do next.
Charlie and his uncle always seemed to be on the same page when it came to team decisions, even more than Tony's kids who would hang out in the corner drinking expensive wine at the games while their cousin Charlie talked to their dad. But Uncle Tony seemed to enjoy Charlie's interest in the team even if Tony's own kids didn't care -- or so Charlie thought.
Because right now, they did care. A lot.
Only a week ago, Charlie watched the Otters clobber Salt Lake City and said good night to his uncle in the team parking lot before they headed home in different directions. He woke up in the middle of the night to a call from his mom. Tony had collapsed in the lobby of his high-rise building on the Gold Coast after he got home from the game. They said it was a massive heart attack.
That's how Charlie ended up in this stupid suit in this stupid conference room at some law firm with his smug cousins trying to hide their glee with each one assuming they would be inheriting their father's billions as well as take over as the next owner of the Otters.
Bianca Kildore didn't care about any sports and her husband didn't either. Her brother Robert was your typical rich country club golf guy. Neither of them even knew who played for their father's hockey team.
Charlie assumed he was here at the firm's offices because his uncle may have left him a little cash or his prized Bobby Orr jersey or something. His mom Barb was here with him so assumed she would be getting something as well.
But it also meant Charlie would have to watch in pain as his access to the Otters was ripped away and given to the cousins who didn't know a good goalie from a good gouda on some fancy cheese board.
"Good afternoon, everyone," said a man in a black suit as he walked into the conference room. "My name is Bill Wilkins, and I am Anthony Kildore's attorney. I have gathered all of you here to read the last will of Mr. Kildore."
Bill started to go around the room taking attendance of everyone there. Bianca and Robert were now staring each other down from opposite sides of the conference room table while Charlie was at the other end with his mother, who was Tony's sister, sitting next to him. There were a few more people closer to the front of the room including some people he recognized from the Otters organization and some from Tony's former real estate company. Everyone was accounted for.
Bill removed some paperwork from an envelope and told his assistant to make a note that he had unsealed it. Then he looked up and gave everyone a tight smile.
"Are we ready?"
Bianca and Robert looked like bobbleheads nodding up and down. Charlie's mom grabbed his hand and he gave it a little squeeze. It had not been easy for her to lose her only sibling so Charlie was thankful he was here with her.
Bill cleared his throat and started reading the will. Bianca and Robert got big chunks of money and Tony's beloved vacation home on a lake in Wisconsin. Bianca leaned over and loudly whispered in her husband's ear, "Don't worry. We're selling it."
Tony left money and some family heirlooms to Charlie's mother. Tony's ex-wife got a final alimony payment. Charlie got the Bobby Orr jersey.
"He knew you would appreciate that," his mother said quietly.
Bill took a sip of water and resumed his reading. "And finally regarding the matter of the Chicago Otters professional hockey franchise."
The team's representatives shifted in their seats while Charlie slumped down in his chair. This was it. The team he adored and the owner's suite he enjoyed access to were about to slip from his grasp.
"The ownership of the Otters along with one billion dollars in cash to pay the lifetime salary of the owner goes to my nephew Charles Westmore."
Charlie looked around to see everyone in the room staring back at him. The front office guys from the Otters were in disbelief. His cousins were in shock. They were so busy being smug about their dad's money that they probably never expected he would leave the team to--
Oh.
Oh fuck.
Charlie's head snapped around to see his mother's eyes on him, her hand squeezing his tighter.
"Oh, Charlie." Her hand came up to touch his cheek and she gave him a small smile.
"What the hell?" Robert yelled. "He gave the team to that guy?"
