Chapter 60
RAIN
Isat there for a full five minutes, trying to comprehend all of this. Mal came in, took hold of the floor underneath me, and whipped it away. I was no longer grounded. I was floating in the air and feeling like a fish trying to get oxygen that wasn’t there.
“You’re my brother?”
“Half.”
“So.” I was thinking about what else this meant.
“Dane and Daniel are my half brothers?” Was this why he hated me so much?
My father—no. Not my father. Keith Connors loathed me growing up.
Was this why? Was this the “bad” thing about me?
What was so inherently wrong with me? Because I wasn’t actually his child.
As if he were following my train of thought, Mal leaned closer and spoke, “As far as my P.I. could find, Keith never knew. He stepped out regularly on your mom, but from what my investigator could find, the only affair she ever had was with my father. Keith would’ve had no reason to suspect your mom of cheating on him.
My investigator couldn’t find anything indicating Keith knew you weren’t his real daughter. ”
“Other than how he treated me.”
“Other than that, yeah. But knowing how Keith Connors is, he would’ve said something to you. He never did?”
I shook my head. He was right. Keith would’ve shoved that information in my face the second the funeral was done. “He would’ve kicked me out if I wasn’t his kid.”
“I know this is a lot.”
I started laughing. It was high-pitched and tight, and my goodness, I was having a nervous meltdown in this bar. In front of my boss who wasn’t just my boss, but also my brother? And oh my God, I had a dad. A real dad.
“Your dad—” What did this mean? All of it.
Mal’s smile was so gentle. “He’d like to meet you, but only when you’re ready.
He’s a good dad. He wasn’t a great husband, but after we lost Miriam, he made a lot of changes in his life.
His family was his first priority. He and my mom decided to end things, but both are happy.
They’re in good relationships with new partners.
It’s why I took over the team. It was a family venture, but I’m the CEO of the family businesses.
” He paused another second. “When we found out about you, we had you added to the business. Technically, you own a small fraction of the team as well.”
My mouth dropped all the way to the table. “What?”
His grin was small, but authentic. “It’s a small percentage.
Not enough where you really have a say so you’re not in violation of any ethical concerns.
The team’s board met and decided to terminate your contract with us, effective immediately.
They’re using the morality clause, saying you violated it not only once with your relationship with Griffin but twice because of ‘whatever Daniel Connors is referring to.’ Those are their exact words. ”
I couldn’t stay numb any longer. I was trying, but something had changed. Now I felt all the pain, all at once.
“Want to know what the team had to say about that?” Mal asked.
My eyes lifted.
“They told the board to fuck off. Griffin led the charge, while he was also going nuts because he couldn’t get ahold of you.
Everyone else added their agreement. Bruge.
Meester. Brick. All of them. Including the coaches.
Every single one of them. I wasn’t aware of the board meeting.
It was done in my absence. I just got back from Dubai. Want to know what I told the board?”
My heart was frozen, not daring to beat.
“I told them to fuck off too.” He leaned forward.
“I informed them of our connection and that you had a small percentage of ownership as well. It was pointed out to me how this is also a conflict of interest, but frankly, I don’t care.
If you want to remain working for the Grays as a consultant, I can have my lawyers draw up a contract that in the event where you might actually have a small say in some vote, that you’d defer because of your employment as a consultant.
We can do it that way, if you’d like. Would you like to continue working with the Grays? ”
At this point, I didn’t even know where I was sitting anymore. If I was still sitting. But I heard myself saying, “When I take on clients, I stay for a season. I’d like to see the season through.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. I only got Griffin to calm down enough to focus on the game tonight because I told him I knew where you were.
I promised I’d bring you back.” He glanced up at the game on the screen.
“I’ve already paid your tab. My car is outside waiting for us. Will you come back with me?”
I felt entirely flabbergasted by everything he’d just said. All of it.
“Rain?”
Tomorrow, I promised myself. Tomorrow, I’d start my research on the lost child.
I looked at him. “Is this real?”
“It’s real.”
“You really want me to continue working with the Grays?”
“Yes. Family connection aside, Rain, we’re hockey.
I saw your face when I first mentioned I was representing a hockey team.
It was a look of absolute yearning, and knowing now what I know, I get it.
Hockey’s family. If you come back, you’re accepting that you’re part of our family.
I’m opening the door. I need you to step inside. ”
I shook my head. “This doesn’t feel right. My job—”
“One of the coaches went through a divorce last year. He struggled, started drinking, started gambling, started doing other bad shit. Coach Hines is the one who drove him to rehab, and he’s the one who picked him up, bringing him right back because they needed to get to work.
That’s the definition of a hockey family.
You’re one of us. It’s time to accept a new family. ”
My hands shook. Was I actually going to do this?
Gingerly, I slid from the booth. I couldn’t meet his gaze. My eyes watered, and I couldn’t get them to stop.
“Rain,” he murmured. “I didn’t hire you because of my cousin or because you’re my sister, but I’m also not going to let you go. Let me help you, in any way you need it, because I didn’t help her. And I am going to be damned if I lose another sister.”
I struggled to breathe but managed to jerk my head in a nod. He looked wrecked, but I was sure I was a mess as well.
“We’ve still got third period,” he said.
I barked out a laugh. My voice sounded strangled.
We left the hotel. A man opened the back door to an SUV as we approached. Mal slid inside first, and I followed. As the doors closed and the vehicle pulled away from the curb, I told him, “I would’ve liked to meet Miriam.”
“I’m going to her grave soon. You can come along.”
“I’d like that.”
We fell quiet after that, because we were only a few blocks from the arena, and I needed to regroup. I was raw on the inside, but whether he knew it or not, he’d cleared the table so I could start putting myself back together. The right way this time.
When we pulled into the players’ entrance, Mal hesitated. “When was the last time you checked your phone?”
“I haven’t. I couldn’t bring myself to turn it on. I was…” Embarrassed, I realized he knew exactly what I’d been doing. Isolating. Pulling away. It’s what his cousin did.
An odd look crossed his face. “Tyler doesn’t know about our connection.
No one does except the board, my PI, and our father.
The board won’t release that information.
They’re all locked in with iron-clad non-disclosure agreements.
And my father won’t say a word. He’s just hoping to meet you sometime.
But regarding everything else, Tyler went public. He had Martine publish the article.”
“He did what?”