Page 71 of Heartless As Puck

TWENTY-ONE

AUSTIN

“D-don’t you want me to come with you and Gus to make a p-plan?” Jane asked me, her lower lip quivering.

“You should stay with Hazel,” I assured her, my gut twisting at the sight of the tears in her eyes.

“It’s c-cowardly. I helped make this m-mess, so I should help fix it.”

“It’s not cowardly.” I kissed her cheek, resisting the urge to pull her close and never let her go. Now that we’d breached the invisible barrier between us, I constantly wanted to touch her. “You need to recover. I’ve got this.”

I knew how humiliated she’d feel if she had to walk past all the people in the office, aware that they’d probably seen the photograph of us together.

Fury simmered in my veins. Whoever had taken that, they’d crossed a line, and if I ever found out who it was, I’d sue the shit out of them. They deserved to pay for upsetting Jane like this. People may call me heartless, but whoever did this was a truly terrible person.

I wasn’t even letting myself dwell on what this might do to my career. If the team were under its old management and this had happened with a younger, more reckless player—someone like Jesse—it might not have been a big deal.

But in these circumstances, it was.

Stephen Robertson, Coach Dunn, and Joseph Trent wanted to polish the team’s bad reputation. My one job had been to help them steer that ship, and instead, I’d guided it right into an iceberg, just like the goddamn Titanic.

“Are you sure?” Jane asked.

“Yes. I promise.”

Hazel wrapped an arm around Jane and guided her inside the house. I’d sent her a message when we’d left Gus’s office, and she’d been waiting outside when we arrived. I was beyond grateful for her, especially as she shot me a look over Jane’s shoulder, silently promising to watch over her.

I locked the door and went to the garage, where I got behind the wheel of the Range Rover I hardly ever drove myself. I started the engine and paused for a moment to remind myself where everything was before pulling out onto the road.

I drove back to Gus’s office in a daze, thoughts of what this could mean for me and Jane spiraling in my head. I parked, took the elevator up, and gulped at the impending sense of doom as I cut a path through the open plan area.

Gus’s door was shut, and although I knew he’d be able to see me lingering, I paused for a moment to collect myself. As I did, I studied the assorted photographs and autographed player jerseys on the wall, guilt festering in my gut. I’d known when we started this that Jane didn’t like to be in the spotlight and did her best to avoid it, yet I’d talked her into joining me in our ruse against her better judgment.

I’d promised to protect her, and I’d failed.

Of course you did. You’re not good enough, Harris. You never have been.

During the entire length of the drive back to my place, she’d been scrolling through the articles about us and reading the posts and comments on social media. Every passing second had only made it worse.

And this was all on me. She’d hidden herself away, done everything she could to avoid scrutiny, and I’d exposed her vulnerabilities to the world because of some ingrained desire to achieve the level of success that a father I hated had told me I should want.

What the hell?

I was an idiot. I never should have engaged in such a stupid scheme. The instant Gus suggested it, I should have shut him down.

“Come in,” Gus called, apparently sick of waiting for me.

Squaring my shoulders, I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open.

“Good.” Gus was standing, a coffee from the café down the block in his hand. All his earlier signs of weariness had vanished, and was that a new suit? “We’ve got five minutes to talk, and then we need to meet Robertson at the rink.”

“Perhaps we should have met there instead of here then,” I pointed out.

He shook his head. “We need to strategize, even if it’s only quick, and here, I can be sure that no one malicious is listening in. There, the walls have ears.”

I couldn’t deny that, so I closed the door behind myself and sat. Gus did, too. He took a long draught of coffee and exhaled sharply.

“Obviously, I don’t need to tell you that our plan backfired spectacularly,” he said.