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The PR agent turns her attention to me then. “Mr. Chase, glad to meet you.”
“Hey,” I greet, offering my hand. “You must be Leilani.”
“Leilani Kahale,” she says back with a nod as she shakes my hand. “It’s good to have you back, Ian.”
“Sure as hell is,” Coach says with a grin. His beard has gained a lot more gray in the years since I’ve been away—almost stark white against his ebony skin. I know from experience, though, that regardless of how he looks, he could probably kick my ass if he felt inclined to. He stands from his desk, coming around it to pull me in for a hug. “Good to have you back home, son,” he says, squeezing me.
He’s an inch taller than I am and just as wide. It’s like hugging a brick wall, fifty-seven or not.
“It’s good to be back,” I tell him, clapping him on the shoulder before pulling away. “I just wish I could have come back a little more quietly.”
Leilani frowns then, gesturing to one of the chairs across from Coach’s desk. “That would have been ideal, but we don’t count on wishes around here. We deal with what we’ve got.”
“I like the sound of that,” I say.
“So do I,” Molly agrees.
“The internet can be a madhouse,” Coach sighs. “I wish it was only about hockey, but people like a story. Everything has to be sensationalized nowadays.”
“I thought after so much time away, maybe things would have blown over, but I guess with my ex-wife getting remarried…”
Leilani nods. “It’s unfortunate, but not impossible to deal with. I’ve dealt with old scandals before, and usually the best approach is to give the people something better to talk about.”
I flinch at her calling everything that happened a scandal—but I guess to an outsider, that’s exactly what someone would peg it as.
I nod stiffly. “Sounds reasonable. I don’t suppose winning games would suffice?”
“We’ve got six weeks until the season starts,” Coach says.
“Right,” Leilani agrees. “The last thing we need is for people to spend our entire training camp spreading negativity in regards to the team, which is exactly what a smear campaign against you will be. I know everyone likes to say that all press is good press, but the truth is—giving potential attendees a bad perception of you, and, by association, the team, could hurt ticket sales.”
I nod. “So…if we can give them something positive to talk about…”
“It will hopefully boost the public’s perception of you, and again, by association, the team as a whole.”
“Okay,” I tell her. “I’m open to any ideas you might have. I want to make sure the focus stays on our game, not my past.”
Leilani’s smile is Cheshire cat–like, looking pleased by my answer. “That’s perfect, because as it turns out—we’ve already got a great start lined up for you.”
“Oh?” I arch a brow, looking between her and Coach, who chuckles at my perplexed expression. “What’s that?”
“We got a call from BBTV this week, and they were interested in a collaboration of sorts.”
“BBTV?”
“The food and home network based in Boston,” Leilani explains.
“I don’t understand,” I admit.
“You’ve got a good rapport with your teammate Jack Baker, right?”
I turn to look at Molly, but she just shrugs.
“Yeah?” My brow creases. “We grew up together. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Does that mean you know his sister, Delilah, fairly well, then?”
“I…” The mention of Lila throws me, mostly because it makes me feel oddly homesick. I spent the better part of middle and high school—even the beginning of college—having Lila Baker tail after me and Jack, and now after having not seen her for so many years, it’s odd to have her mentioned twice in one hour. “I mean, it’s been a while since we’ve spoken; we sort of grew apart when I got drafted. Then there was getting married, getting divorced, moving to Calgary…” I frown. “I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
