9. Indie
I’d spent the rest of the evening after seeing Theo steadfastly ignoring his entire existence.
I told myself that I was long over him, and while, yes, it had been a shock seeing him so unexpectedly, I had been able to keep my cool.
I was no longer the impressionable nineteen-year-old looking for someone to love her. My early years consistently taught me that others only looked after themselves. My parents looked after their own interests first, as did everyone in their circle.
I was an afterthought, if they thought about me at all. I’d spent my childhood convinced that the only reason my parents acknowledged my existence was because one or more of their admin assistants sent them an email reminding them there was an event I should attend to show what a perfect family we were.
It was Angelina, our housekeeper, who had come to all of my ballet and piano recitals because my parents were “away on business.”
I’d gotten things mixed up spending time at the Yao-Miller house. It was like walking into a Hallmark special. Lots of excitement and inevitable drama, but the love of family always overcame any obstacle.
My walls had come down around Emery and her family. And then Abbie joined our little crew too. Her ability to hold on to the joy in simple things had further thawed me to the idea that I could trust someone with my heart.
That Christmas morning had shattered any delusions about opening my heart to anyone other than the slivers I gave to Abbie and Emery. It jolted me back into the reality I should have learned when Alice passed away. Love doesn’t stop bad things from happening.
Theo’s rejection cemented the lessons I’d learned from my parents’ neglect year after year. Love wasn’t in the cards for everyone. At this point, I had no desire to involve myself with anyone other than the short flings I’d had since starting college.
I didn’t want to need anyone so much that they had the power to devastate me. Watching Abbie go through her struggles with Aiden had made me vicariously ill. They’d had so much power to make each other miserable.
I busied myself filling out the detailed foster application for Gizmo. Now that I’d been talked into it, I was kind of looking forward to having a little company in this apartment.
Plus, I was keen to keep chipping away at what I called my “Learn to Do Normal Stuff” list. Each year, I chose one thing to learn that a regular kid might have experienced growing up. It was written on a cheesy piece of Abbie’s kawaii stationery from a rare drunken night in college. Now more wrinkles and coffee stains than paper and ink, it held an ever-growing list of things I wanted to try.
I’d enjoyed learning to bake from Alice. Emery had taught me how to climb trees. Chase and Liam had shown me how to ride a bike in a rare moment of patience.
Once I left for college, I’d continued the tradition by continually seeking something I’d missed out on.
With my unplanned relocation, I’d added tourist attractions as my goal for the remainder of this year and until I returned home. It always made me sad when I thought about all the business trips in North America and Europe that I’d gone on during my childhood years, but I never got to experience any of those cities.
Now, I was going to find out what Toronto was all about.
Even better, I’d get to live the life of a pet owner, at least for a little while. On the plane, I’d read that it sometimes got to -20°C during January and February in Toronto, which was freaking cold when Google converted it to F. I’d be buying two new winter coats, one human and one canine.
I liked the challenge of not being able to do something and then learning how. I was lucky that the office was pet-friendly, so I’d be able to take her to work with me if she was chill enough.
We’d hang out while she waited for adoption. Then, she’d be off enjoying her new life as a Canadian canine.
Simple.
Just as I was starting to get into a daily routine at work, I was summoned to my boss’s office on a random game night.
The moment Jermaine gave me a big smile when I arrived in his office two hours before the Saturday night game was due to begin, I knew something was up.
“Indie! Come in and have a seat.”
Apprehension crept up on me as I settled into one of my boss’s extra comfy chairs. I idly wondered if he’d chosen these cloudlike chairs to lull unsuspecting employees into a false sense of security before he fired them.
Was that what was about to happen to me? Jermaine was a positive person, but I doubt even he would fire someone with a smile on his face. So I was probably safe.
“So how has your first month been?” Jermaine’s expression remained pleasant.
Was I here for chitchat? My fingertips embedded themselves into the plush cushion where I sat.
“Fine. If by fine, I mean I’m now dreaming of columns and columns of hockey stats,” I joked, trying to shake off my own nerves.
Oh shit! These chairs were inhibition lowering. Was I at the joking comfort level with my boss? I zipped my lips lest anything else unprofessional slip out.
Jermaine just laughed in response. “I’m glad to see you settling in. I can tell you’re not one for small talk. Truth be told, neither am I, despite appearances to the contrary.”
He was so good-natured it seemed that he would actually like talking to people. But as I knew well, appearances were deceiving.
“On to why I called you in here. Now that you’ve had a month to acclimate yourself to the organization, I’m about to assign you to assist me on a fairly big project. With Cadence away, I’m going to need an extra set of hands. I’ve been impressed by your ability to hit the ground running, so to speak. Now, you’re going to learn to wrangle athletes.” He chuckled to himself.
Why did he make them sound like feral toddlers? How hard could it be to get grown men to fulfill their contractual obligations? Was I missing something?
“Thank you?” I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t used to being complimented on my work. At my last job, I had avoided applying for any promotion opportunities. I’d been focused on learning as much as I could in a midsized company but didn’t feel right standing in the way of another employee’s career advancement when I knew my time at Appeal Media had a set end date.
I’d also been mistaken in my belief that holding a steady job was going to keep me off my father’s radar. My relocation to Toronto had shown me I was wrong.
“We’ve been contacted by one of the country’s rapidly growing and widely read online sports publications, The 49th . They want to do a feature on a few of the players.”
A sense of foreboding filled my veins, flooding my system head to toe.
Jermaine glanced down at his notes. “They want Andrews, Campbell…”
I knew what was coming.
“And Yao, of course. The Rookie, the Showman, and the Veteran.”
My stomach sank. Maybe getting fired wouldn’t have been so bad. I could have been on a plane back to Amado by the afternoon. My life plan would crumble, but I wouldn’t have to spend any time with Theo.
Was the opportunity to avoid further mortification worth my ten-million-dollar inheritance if I was fired?
Realizing my career dreams with a nonprofit versus losing ten million dollars but never having to face the most horrifyingly embarrassing moment of my life?
I was still on the fence.
Totally oblivious to my internal teenage-crush existential crisis, Jermaine barreled on with the explanation.
“When I said ‘assist’ me, I meant you’re going to have to shoulder most of this, I’m afraid. The powers that be are pulling me in too many directions to do it justice. We need good PR to keep the investors happy. And I need someone to micromanage the crap out of these boys to make sure this goes smoothly. I’m talking about Campbell specifically. That kid is as predictable as a hyena on cocaine.”
It was a struggle not to smile when he called twenty-one, twenty-six, and thirty-one-year-old men kids. I just nodded along instead of commenting.
“You’re lucky in one respect, though. They’re going to start with Andrews first. He’ll be the easiest one for you to tackle, figuratively speaking. He’s like an overgrown puppy. He won’t give you any trouble. He just needs a review of the media protocol of what to say and what not to say. We don’t want to censor them.”
“Okay. I can do that.” There was a media relations package that I’d practically memorized to prepare for game night posts. Hell, I’d had media training myself at my parents’ insistence before the age of ten.
My life had been one big show-and-tell when it came to the media. That’s why I’d always tried to remain as unremarkable as possible in public. The paparazzi would salivate over catching the “Heiress to the Layne Fortune’’ in a compromising position.
I could teach a college class on media relations at this point. I didn’t say any of that, though. The last thing I wanted to do was ever draw attention to my background. I couldn’t help who my family was. I absolutely did not want to draw attention to the fact that I was here because of nepotism.
“On second thought, you’re going to need to censor Campbell. Make sure you reiterate that they are obligated to give us final approval on the article. You never know what that wildebeest will say.”
“No problem. You can count on me.” And he could. Letting my bosses down was not something conceivable in my world. I may not have wanted to stand out at my last job, but my work was always well done. I wouldn’t let this first big assignment be any different.
Even if my father had thrown me into this new position, I had my pride. I wouldn’t succeed for him; I’d do a great job in spite of him turning my life upside down.
With no new updates required outside of the norm after Saturday’s game, Monday found me waiting outside the Tempests’ locker room after their morning skate. There was no way I was going into that changeroom full of half-naked, hungry athletes who expected to go home for food and their pregame naps.
It was less about a sense of propriety and more about a self-serving approach. None of them wanted to see a member of the communications team there to interrupt their day. Instead, if I stood just outside the door, I could catch an unsuspecting Connor Andrews rather than facing a cacophony of hangry groans.
Plus, it was kind of nice listening to the muffled sounds of the team ribbing each other good-naturedly. I couldn’t make out what was being said exactly, but their boisterous tone, punctuated by various amounts of laughter, made it seem like they had a genuine sense of camaraderie with each other.
A few efficient players started exiting the changeroom, notably avoiding eye contact with me. The alternate captain, Campbell, seemingly a lone wolf in his lack of reticence, offered me a charming smile as he slowed down to pass by me. When it became clear that I wasn’t there for him, he gave me a wink and made his fingers into the signal for a phone and mouthed, “Call me,” much to the amusement of the two third (or fourth?) line players walking with him.
I wonder how Theo has settled in? Does he feel welcome in that room?
I shook those thoughts from my mind. I didn’t have time or inclination to dedicate space in my head to Theo. He was a big boy and could handle himself.
But what if he misses home as you do? Did he have best friends like Emery and Abbie that he left behind too?
Thankfully, Andrews finally made his way out the door of the changeroom, offering me a small wave. He seemed like a sweetheart. I felt a little bad about disrupting his routine.
“Hey, Connor. Can I borrow you for a sec?” I waved him over, using his first name.
Campbell, who apparently was not far enough out of earshot, turned around at the end of the hall. “Indie! You wound me, darlin’. What does the rookie have that I don’t?”
He was endearingly incorrigible. I couldn’t stop the smile that I directed his way. I tried and failed to put a haughty look on my face.
“Well, if you were half as charming as you think you are, we’d have something to talk about… darlin’.” I parroted his cheeky endearment back to him. “For now, it’s Andrews I’m after.”
“Dammmmmn, Campbell. She put you in your place,” one of his teammates called out as he slapped him on the back.
A faint redness tinged Connor’s ears. I’d bet most of his feelings, especially embarrassment or anger, showed on his pale, freckled skin. It was pretty cute.
Despite his size of six foot two—it was decidedly weird knowing the personal health statistics of most of my “coworkers”—Connor was deceptively stealthy as he appeared by my side while I was distracted by episode 1000 of The Ryan Campbell Show.
“Oh! Wow, how’d you do that?” I asked, commenting on his ability to sneak up on me.
“I have three older sisters. It came in handy when I used to sneak up behind them at unsuspecting moments.” Connor offered me a warm smile .
Damn. Once this guy relaxed a bit, he was almost drool-worthy. The media and fans were going to eat him up.
As someone nearly five years his senior, I gave him what I thought was a pretty good impression of a mock stern tone. “My goodness, Mr. Andrews. I can’t imagine a consummately professional young man such as yourself stooping to such antics.”
“I take it you’re an only child.” He laughed. “My favorite pastime is annoying the hell outta my sisters.”
“You got me there,” I admitted. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“You mean, you didn’t come looking for me so we could spend some time getting to know one another.” Connor widened his beautiful blue eyes in some sort of deadly kicked-puppy expression.
Caught in some sort of trance by his cute pout voodoo, I heard the locker room door swing open and shut again in the background. I sensed more players passing by us, but I didn’t turn to acknowledge them.
Jesus, his adorableness factor skyrocketed. I bet he could get out of trouble with anyone with that look.
I tried to think of an appropriate non-flirty response—I wasn’t here to hook up, only do my job— as my gaze slid to the side.
To Theo, of course. Theo was taking his sweet time in leaving the locker room. He made no secret of glancing between Connor and me pointedly.
I offered him a dismissive nod before turning back to the reason I was standing here.
“You are dangerous. Save those pretty eyes for someone they’ll work on.”
Oops. So much for not flirting.
“Well, I think they might be working on you just a little.” Connor winked. I heard Theo choke in the background.
God, Theo. Just keep moving. This is none of your business .
“That’s neither here nor there.” The truth was it would take a lot more than a pretty face to get me interested in someone, though I appreciated Connor’s commitment to his game, both on and off the ice.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Theo moved far enough down the hallway to be out of earshot.
“Okay. Enough fun and games. We’re going to be serious. I’ve got a date—” Connor’s face fell comically as I slipped my phone from my back pocket to check the time. “—with the CN Tower in about three hours. And I’m not going to miss it.” It was on my “list.”
I barreled on, keen to get us back on track. “So here’s what’s happening. Jermaine has made me the messenger of all things media today. You, Mr. Andrews, are going to have your first major feature in a magazine since joining the Tempests. We need to spend the next hour going over some pre-interview prep.”
“Wow. Okay. I’m not going to pretend that isn’t pretty fucking cool. My mom will love it. She’s made a hobby of collecting my hockey stuff since my first ‘rookie’ card when I played Timbits hockey at the age of four.” His eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Aw. That’s sweet. Well, we can make sure to showcase how important your family’s support has been during your career. Give her a shoutout for being such an amazing mom. That would be a nice surprise, right?” I threw out the suggestion.
Truth be told, I didn’t know what the hell a person could do to make their mom happy. I hadn’t been able to make my mother happy or proud a single moment in my life. But it seemed like the sort of thing that would’ve been really meaningful to Theo’s mom, Alice.
His eyes softened. “Yeah. She would love that. ”
I had to swallow against the very real pain in my chest. Moments like these always brought up how much of a relationship I didn’t have with my parents. The gaping void of that parental bond was a never-healing wound. I could ignore the pain for a while until life ripped the scab off again and left me bleeding inside.
Connor narrowed his eyes briefly, his gaze scanning my face. I wonder what he saw there. Was my mask of forced confidence slipping?
“You know what would make my afternoon?” He smiled.
“I can imagine.”
“If a certain someone would let me join her at the CN Tower after she wraps up at work. Just think of all that extra media prep time we could get in. Besides, no one has eyes for the second-line center rookie anyway. I want to do as much stuff as possible before I have to think about privacy and all that.” He didn’t bat his eyelashes, but it was close.
Now I was desperate for a distraction. So, even knowing I probably shouldn’t agree without thinking it through first, I found myself not wanting to go see one of the landmarks I’d missed out on as a kid alone.
And I could understand wanting to seize a moment of calm while we both could. I was working on anonymity while he was a rising star.
“Sure, Connor. That sounds good. We can meet there. You can climb the stairs. I’ll take the elevator,” I agreed.
“Deal. How many stairs does it have? I never got to go as a kid living way up north. Being from Northern Ontario, I just haven’t made the time to play tourist since hockey always had to come first,” he explained.
“Not too many for a fit NHL athlete such as yourself. Piece of cake.” I snickered, all of a sudden even more excited to see his face when he realized the actual number.