5. Alexie
5
ALEXIE
The ceremony wraps on an exhilarating high. Caia and I invite the team members to join us at a restaurant for dinner. I’ve arranged a six-course meal at Snowy Orchid, one of the premier new restaurants in the area.
The guys make a bunch of kissy noises as we dig into our plates. The meal is as special as the night. I’ve done my best to make this day one she can remember with a smile.
But when we get home, with no spectators to chime in, the inevitable discomfort sets in.
She insists we can sleep in the same bed. We are a married couple, after all, she reasons. I won’t budge. The last thing I want is to be tempted to breach the terms of our contract— this is basically a PR relationship, nothing more, nothing less.
I sleep on the couch. I wake up with aches the next day, grumpy ahead of practice.
Cade observes me with a skeptical look. “You’d think that after your wedding night you’d be fucking kicking ass today. Light in the crotch to skate faster.”
I shrug. “It’s not like that.”
One of the younger guys, Peter, comes over. “Did I hear that you got… married?”
“Just stick to hockey or I’ll ram this stick up your ass.” I growl.
Peter holds up his hands in surrender. “Jeez. I was just going to say congratulations.”
Well, I’m not in the mood .
I’m about to continue indulging my bubble of self-pity when Cade pulls me to the side. “What’s going on?” he asks, his jaw tight.
I hesitate, then release the tension that has built up inside of me. “We only got married to stop me from getting deported,” I blurt.
Cade’s skin pales as if I told him ghosts are real. “Alexie, what the fuck? You mean GM Anderson doesn’t know anything about this?”
I shake my head.
His mouth opens and closes a dozen times with disbelief before he can put a sentence together. “You’re dead. I’ll start planning the funeral and I’m sure some will say nice things about you. Not Peter, but some.”
I mumble, “We’re going to bring it up at Sunday dinner at her parents’ house.”
“It’s going to get to him before that, Alexie. You need to tell him— and now.”
“I want Caia beside me.”
Before Cade can reply, Head Coach Ryan, who we call “Iceberg”, calls me over.
“Alexie! GM Anderson wants to see you in his office.”
I start retreating from the ice.
“Well, there you go,” Cade says, “It was nice knowing you.”
A puck to the groin might not hurt as much as this will.
Caia
When I receive a call from Dad to meet him at his office, my gut twists.
I have an extremely bad feeling of what awaits.
Someone found out. The paparazzi is insatiable and I’m sure they came to marketing with a story to make sure they got all the names right. Just another way to say, pay us off and we’ll make it go away.
Dad says nothing as I sit there, just pounds like a ninja on his keyboard.
Alexie enters the room. His practice gear is still on and he doesn’t look my way.
Seeing him all sweaty from practice, I grow even more irritated that we haven’t consummated our marriage. But I’m not giving up.
My dad withdraws his hands from his keyboards, leans back as he clasps them in his lap. “I think you two have some explaining to do.”
Beating around the bush isn’t something he’s known for.
From the corner of my eye, I spot Alexie parting his mouth to speak— I beat him to the chase.
“What do you mean?” I question innocently.
Years of experience have taught me to never give Dad more to go on than he knows. It’s the hallmark of being an Anderson. In a family of three girls, someone was always doing something, but you never assumed one of our parents knew exactly what.
I’ve also escaped speeding tickets with this method… handy.
“The immigration lawyer called me,” he says, his delivery curt as if he sucked on a lemon. “Seems immigration was notified that you two got…” he glares at Alexie, wringing his wrists, “Married?”
I nod. “Yes.”
Again, only give the truth and don’t dig a lie-hole.
He’s laser-focused on Alexie. “Alexie, what do you have to say?”
I flit a glance in his direction. He’s paler than the papers haphazardly strewn across my dad’s desk.
“Sir, Mr. Anderson, I’m sorry that we went behind your back, but… your daughter and I, well, we fell in love,” he begins shakily. “I know that this woman is the one for me and I think she’ll say the same about me. We’re sorry we left you out, but as you know, time was of the essence, and we’d be glad to have a big reception to celebrate with all your friends and family.”
My dad reclines further in his chair, his eyes peeled on Alexie. “And what do you have to say, Caia?” He doesn’t look at me, his ways of ascertaining when someone’s lying are well developed from teenage girl years.
But I’m completely stunned. Unsure if Alexie lied or if that was the truth. Either way, he came across convincingly, at least to me, but since I want him to say those things, I’m not probably the best judge. The man across the large mahogany desk is judge, jury, and executioner.
“Everything he said is the truth. We met while I was managing the apartments and things just sparked from there. I’ve admired this man for longer than we’ve been together, but I’ve loved him for long enough to know that it’s a love like you and Mom.”
My dad relieves himself of a long-held breath. “You better not be pulling any shit. That would be fraud and the federal government doesn’t like that.”
Alexie says, “I promise, sir. I love your daughter more every day and even when I can’t love her more, I need her more.”
My cheeks go hot. This guy is smoother than I thought and I’m way too invested to even care if it’s a lie.
Dad stands and Alexie does the same.
Outstretching a hand, Dad says, “I don’t know if I like this or hate it, but I’m willing to see it play out.”
Alexie shakes his hand.
Dad holds it and pulls him toward him. “You fucking hurt her and those razor-sharp skates will make my job of cutting off your dick easy.”
I spring up from my seat, rushing my dad with a tight hug. He stiffens but doesn’t brush me away.
Dad rubs my back. “Now, your mother’s another thing. She’s going to be furious, and I want to be far, far away when you tell her that her baby daughter got married without her there.”
Oh fuck.
I thought Dad would be the one who was furious.
I was wrong. Really… really wrong.