AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Today is the first in a while where I’ll be seeing anyone from the hockey world. If I’m being honest, although things have moved along and conversations are still in motion, I feel no more settled than I did when I boarded that plane with Hunter last week to head to Vegas.
It’s hard to believe a full week has passed. In some ways it feels like it went by too quickly. In other ways it seemed to drag like tar sliding down a cracked wall. Probably because I spentmost of the time either looking for my mystery girl or thinking about her.
Venus.
I never found her.
I looked everywhere for her and even resorted to paying for information, which led nowhere.
When I found myself bordering on stalker territory as I spied through the window of a hotel room I thought might have belonged to her, I knew I had to stop.
But I only accepted defeat when I got the confirmation that the room I was standing outside belonged to a red-haired trucker with a taste for strippers dressed as nuns.
Now I’m here, still thinking about her and trying to accept that she was just a dream. Just a memory of a girl I probably shouldn’t have.
Being here means walking back into the real world, where I have to fight for my legacy.
I don’t plan to stay long. Maybe an hour or two tops. After that I’m heading to meet my best friends, the Grayson brothers—Knight and Jericho. Jericho is having a just-because barbeque. I haven’t seen them since the day after my incident with Evan.
If I wasn’t a big charity supporter I would have ditched the fundraiser and gone to see my friends, or even sailing with Hunter and Asher. But I know what my presence at these events means for investors and other prospective donors.
Having the whole team there often means they’ll donate more, especially when they can get a picture taken with me. Today’s event is for the children’s hospital my mother used to campaign for when she was alive, so I’m here out of duty. I also promised that prick Jakobe that I’d be here.
I spoke to him as I promised Preston. The call was surprisingly positive in the sense that we talked like men and didn’t argue like a bunch of wild dogs.
I talked through my grievances, made my demands, and laid out my expectations.
In the end the asshole agreed to put me back on track to being considered for the role of captain by the end of the season, but I don’t trust him.
It would be just like him to make me think I’d be getting what I want, then snatch it away from me at the end.
At least he admitted that he’s considering Evan for the position, too.
We’re meeting officially on Monday—the three of us. It’s sort of a review meeting to see where Evan and I stand and how we plan to move forward for the team’s sake. Jakobe also suggested talking more about the captain’s role then.
I don’t like any of it, and everything feels like a gamble, but I know to get what I want I have to play it safe. At least for the moment.
The one thing I achieved last week is that Jakobe now knows how much I’m worth to him. Heknowshe needs me.
He might notwantto need me, but he does.
Unfortunately for me this new liaison means doing things his way. Of course, I already factored that in and knew I’d have to meet him halfway. I’m just not looking forward to the long, rocky road ahead of me.
A man doesn’t get to a status where he’s being paid seventeen million a year and still need to prove himself. This is a pissing contest about ego and power I don’t want to play.
I walk into the buffet hall, where a number of people have gathered.
I expect the place to be packed within the hour. These sorts of events attract everyone whose net worth is large enough to start a small country, or those who aspire to be like them. This event is the first of the year. The team usually does a couple per quarter, especially in the lead up to the playoffs.
I spot Heath and Jake, my teammates and brothers-in-arms. I’ve known Heath since freshman year at Princeton and I met Jake when we played for Philly, my first team. We all got back together again five years ago when I signed with the Hawks.
The two of them are the remaining alternate captains of the team. Right now I feel like even they stand a better chance of getting the full position over me.
They see me approaching and their faces brighten.
“Oh my God, the prodigal returns,” Heath says, stretching his arms out on either side for dramatic effect.
“This is your return, right?” Jake asks, taking a sip of his wine.
