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Nila
“I don’t even have the words,” Frankie snaps, pulling up the article on the screen in the conference room. “We should’ve been notified this was going to drop.”
I glance around the room, recognizing the owner of the team as well as Tucker. Beyond that, I have no idea who the other five faces are sitting at the table...
But Cameron is not one of them.
“You’re going to have to give me some time to figure out what I can do,” Tucker says, his voice low. “Freedom of speech is a real thing.”
“So is slandering someone,” Frankie sneers. “We have to get control of this.”
“Obviously,” Tucker says wryly. “But it’s just a worthless tabloid—”
“It’s accusatory and casts Cameron in a terrible light,” one of the women I don’t recognize offers up. “It’s making him sound like a selfish hothead with major problems. She’s insinuating that he was toxic at minimum.”
“I can’t have someone like this representing the Glaciers,” the owner, Mark Davidson, speaks up. “People are going to start boycotting the games. She’s made comments that we can’t ignore. It’s not like she’s just complaining about heartache. She’s saying that he has issues with his temper.”
I blow out a sharp breath, my eyes scanning the title of the article.
My NHL Boyfriend Put Me Through Hell.
My stomach churns at those words alone, and as much as I feel sympathy for Cameron, I can’t help but wonder if there’s any truth to Lacey Reign’s words.
I mean, he did punch a fan...
But he’s never gotten angry in front of me.
Though, it’s not like I know him all that well.
“Why isn’t he here for this meeting?” one of the others demands. “We need to know if there’s any truth to what Lacey is saying. If we were to release a statement against it and it turns out to be true, we’re going to look like we support this type of behavior.”
“I’m representing him today,” Tucker says, his voice matter of fact. “This article has devastated him. He’s not in the best headspace right now.”
I swallow hard, thinking back to the way Cameron’s face fell when he saw the title. He didn’t read it there with me, and before we could even talk about it, Tucker called him—and then Cameron left, instructing Addy to give me a ride back to the hotel.
I chose to take an Uber instead, which is a good thing, because an emergency meeting was called and I wound up right back here at the office.
“There’s not many things we can do right now,” Frankie begins, her grayish hair in a messy ponytail. It’s the first time I’ve seen her appear less than immaculate—and it’s strangely becoming on the woman. “But we need to combat this narrative as soon as possible.”
“No, I think he should lay low,” Tucker speaks up, his sternness startling. “There’s no combatting anything right now. I have to figure out if more is going to come from this before we take action. If we aren’t careful, she could easily try and sue.”
“And so could he,” Frankie argues.
“Yeah, but the worst thing we could do is to act like it never happened, flooding the media with Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. It won’t work, and it shouldn’t even be an option.”
“Are you saying that your client might be guilty of these accusations?” Mark demands, standing to his feet in a dramatic move.
“No.” Tucker glares at him. “My client is not guilty, but that’s never stopped someone from filing a lawsuit. I’m not here to play political games. All I care about is Cameron’s well-being, and right now, he’s not in a good headspace. Why would I agree to subject him to more public pressure?”
“It’s strange for his social media account to go quiet. People will be looking for him to make a statement,” Frankie jumps in.
“No one needs a statement right now,” Tucker argues. And I have to admit, it’s admirable watching him go up against a whole herd of people.
Frankie turns to me. “What do you think we should do, Nila?”
Oh no...
“Um.” My face feels hot as all eyes fall on me. “Honestly, in this situation, I think it’s best we stay quiet until we have a solid plan in place. We don’t want to appear like we’re ignoring it, but we also don’t want to jump to defend Cameron, either.”
