Chapter 9
REBOUND PLAY
REMY
The next morning, I finish dotting all the i’s and crossing the t’s for an upcoming event at Doctor Insomnia’s Coffee and Tea Emporium where the guys are going to be serving drinks, with proceeds that day benefitting a neighborhood job training program.
I save the spreadsheet. Double check that it’s in the correct folder. Email it to my boss.
With that done, I practice what I’m going to say to him in a few minutes when I swing by his office.
It’s not against the rules to date a player, but I want to be upfront.
That’s what I did last year, too, when I told Daniel I wanted to start a romance design-slash-dating coach business.
I already had my podcast, so he knew I had some side gigs.
His response was As if I’d hire anyone but you to plan a date for my tenth anniversary.
I step away from my standing desk in a cluster of cubes in the marketing department and head down the hall to his office. The door’s ajar. He’s on the phone, the receiver cradled against his black hair. “Right, sure. See you soon.” He adds something in Chinese, then ends the call.
When he hangs up, he waves me in. “Rems, the herder of hockey baristas, what’s happening today?”
“You reviewed the event plan already? I just sent it,” I say, amazed he’s already checked it out.
He checks his watch. “Five minutes ago. And yes. It looks good.” He gestures to the chair across from his desk. On the corner sits a photo of his husband and their young son, adopted from Taiwan, where Daniel’s from originally.
“It’s going to be great for socials too,” I add, feeling a little frothy from the praise. “I lined up Leighton to take pics. She’s the best, though I wish we could get her to work just for us.”
“Things I say about you every day. Or did you finally come here to tell me you want to work full-time for me?” He clasps his hands together as if in prayer.
“You’re never satisfied, are you?” I ask, teasing him, and maybe evading the question too, since I don’t want to work full-time for the team, though I love that he asks.
“I’m not ever satisfied. But that’s a story for another time.
And look, I get that you want to do your own thing.
Brinkley’s the same way,” he says, referencing the other part-time community relations manager who he also asks to work full time on a regular basis.
“He wants to be a sports talk show host. At this rate, I’ll have to post a job listing since you’ll all be leaving me soon. ”
“I’m very happy with my thirty hours a week,” I say but that’s not why I’m here, so I take a breath.
My mind churns with all the ways this conversation can go wrong, but I think I’ve familiarized myself with them.
“And along those lines, I want to give you a heads-up that I’ve started dating Lake Axelrod, and he’s going with me to my sister’s wedding. ”
Wow. That felt more uncomfortable to say than I expected. Probably because it’s not entirely true.
Daniel gives me a look like I can’t quite be serious. “Really?”
“Is that such a surprise?”
“No, it’s just…”
Too soon? Too much? I want to say are you disappointed in me but that’s a weird question to ask my boss, even though we were friends first before boss and employee. Still, I prepped for this, so I add, “It happened quickly. And my friends thought it would be a good idea to get back out there.”
There. That’s true enough. I don’t feel terrible for saying that.
“Oh sure,” he says. “It is. Trust me. You’d never get any judgies from me about getting back out there. I met Clay three weeks after my ex, who shall never be named, left me.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
But it barely lasts, since Daniel pushes up from his chair to shut the door.
When he returns, he sits leaning forward, hands clasped, assuming the caring older brother role he’s taken on with me.
“It’s just, you know the media made a big deal about him being a widower a few years ago,” he says.
“You weren’t working here when his wife was killed.
But with her being a hockey player too, and them being—”
“The first couple of hockey,” I supply since I know what he’s getting at.
Even though I didn’t work for the Foxes back then, I researched the team when I applied for the job.
Lake met and fell in love with his college sweetheart their freshmen year.
She was a center for the college team. They both went to the pros.
Even played in the same city for a while.
Heather Hadley Axelrod rose to fame as one of the fiercest women in the game, and her team finished one season with a championship.
They were a beloved couple, until a motorcycle accident took her life a few years ago.
“Exactly and when she died,” Daniel says with a reluctant sigh, “let’s just say the press was a little obsessed with him. How was he doing? Was he okay? Was he wearing an armband with her number on it? Every move he made was under a microscope.”
And soon after, Lake made fewer and fewer public moves. “I get that.”
Daniel takes a beat, offers a small, thoughtful smile. “You could come under a lot of scrutiny, especially after what you just went through. That’s all I’m saying.”
I hate that he’s not wrong, but I do appreciate his concern. “I know. But I think it’ll be fine. Really, I do.”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Daniel warns, “again.”
Like I did with Jameson. But no one will get hurt this time around. No one will be humiliated. Because it’s all fake.
“Thanks for understanding,” I say brightly, flashing my biggest isn’t dating fantastic smile, even though my stomach twists with guilt. “It’s just fun, really. That’s all.”
Daniel leans back in his chair, eyebrows wiggling. “Everyone needs a rebound now and then. Good for you.”
I do need a rebound, and later that night, I slide into one of the suites for the employees so I can watch my rebound play.