Chapter 18 Ben #2
“I will. It’s just not been easy to bring it up.” Lukas runs a hand through his hair and pins his friend with a sad look. “You won’t say anything, will you?”
He shakes his head with a small smile. “No. I think it’s a dumb rule to begin with, and how could I deliberately ruin my captain’s happiness? Just promise me you’ll follow procedure and let him know.”
“I will. I just need…” Lukas swallows and stares at Burnsy. “I don’t want to lose everything. I finally have everything I wanted, and I should be able to be just as happy as the guys who don’t have partners involved with the team.”
“I hear you, man, and I agree. But don’t get caught. That will look even worse if you’re not upfront about it,” Burnsy sighs. “We’re winning, Lukas. Just…make sure you do this right.”
Easier said than done. We aren’t very good at that part.
Lukas passes him the plant and sees him to the door.
They talk privately for a moment, and I pace the living room.
Now two people know Lukas is laying wood with the team beaver, and it’s against not just my contract but maybe his, too.
Dammit. I’ve moved in, and I’m falling for the guy. This has to work.
“Ben?” Lukas has his tie off and tosses his suit jacket on the couch while he unbuttons his shirt. “Do you still want Chinese?”
“Yeah. I’ll go pick it up, and you can unpack.” Grabbing my keys off the counter with my wallet, I press a kiss to his lips. “I’ll get the orange chicken you like. You find something to watch.”
He snags my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just need to think.”
“Not about leaving, though, right?”
His kind eyes say what his lips don’t.
“Don’t you know beavers are resourceful? I just got here, Lukas. I’m not going anywhere except to get us food and walk off my mood. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Lukas nods, and with my hand on the door, he calls out to me. Turning, I watch as he slips out of his shirt and flips his belt open.
“I’ll be waiting.”
The Chinese place is busy for a Wednesday, and I debate running up to the old-style candy shop on the corner of the block. Lick it Up always has these old-school cherry twists with the original flavour you can’t get anywhere else. It’s a comfort food of mine, and lord knows I need comfort.
While I’m debating if I need a bag of candy to go along with my Chinese food binge, a middle-aged man with the most amazing bluish-green eyes bumps into me as he steps into the corner of the restaurant to wait.
“I’m so sorry.” He smiles, and my eyes catch on the pin he wears on his coat. It’s an orange cat waving a rainbow flag, and it sets me at ease. So much so that I yap at him like he’s an old friend.
“No problem. I’ll assume you’re in just as much hurry to get home and binge on noodles as I am. There’s nothing like drowning worries in food, is there?”
The man smiles warmly and pulls out a chair at the tiny table in the back. He motions for me to join him. “Sometimes when things bother us, it’s good to talk to people we don’t know. I have time if you want to talk.”
His kindness and openness to listen to a complete stranger catch me off guard, but I admit I take his offer with more than a little relief.
“Thank you.” I sit in the chair opposite him and just go for it. “It’s… I mean…have you ever dated someone you shouldn’t and hid it?”
To my surprise, he laughs and grabs my hand. “Oh yes. I’m very…intimate with that situation.”
“Really? How did it work out?”
“I married my best friend, who I worked with after discovering I’m bisexual, so I’d say very well.”
Folding my hands together, I stare the man in the face and just unload it all.
“My contract says I can’t reveal my identity to anyone.
Even if we were dating, and that’s bullshit because I met someone I really like.
I mean, the sex is fire, and he’s like…I just really like him.
” I heave in a breath, and the man waits patiently.
“I told him who I was because I didn’t want us to start something with me lying.
It felt wrong. That and I found out he plays hockey and should probably know who I am. ”
The man I now notice has a New York hockey ball cap on, so he must be at least familiar with the game.
“If you played hockey, would it bother you to break a stupid rule like no dating within the organization? Or a conflict of interest? Which to me would mean a coach and a player.” Jesus Christ, I’m on a roll, and the words keep coming.
“Like, there have to be a lot of people doing this, right? How can you just tell someone if they have a connection with the leader of accounting that they can’t be together because they work in the same building? It’s just…not right.”
It’s only now that I realize I’m angry. Angry at the position I’m in and angry that jobs could have this kind of leverage over your entire life.
I won’t let it. I’ll quit and walk away from playing Slappy even if it costs me money to do it.
Falling in love is fucking scary enough as it is and having this hanging over us is a recipe for disaster.
“Well.” The kind man smiles. “My advice would be to speak to management, heck, or even to the owners if you don’t think it can be resolved at the level you’re at.”
“Do you think it’s wrong to control people’s lives like this?”
He chews on his lip, and those glacier-coloured eyes assess me. “I don’t think any career should control your personal life. Only if it interferes with your job, would I think they’d step in.”
“It doesn’t interfere with mine, but I wonder if it does his. He’s a hockey player, right? And he does stuff with his stick and punches people, but his teammates say he’s a good leader, and I know he is.”
“Can I ask if he’s a local player?”
I throw my hands in the air. “What the hell.” A strained laugh bubbles past my lips. “If I’m going to management with this, it’ll be out soon enough. He’s the captain of the Aspens. I’m Slappy the beaver. The mascot.”
“You’re Slappy?” The man smiles. “You’re an amazing entertainer. My husband and I love your routines.”
“Shit. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that either, but thank you. So you both like hockey?”
His lips quirk as he nods. “Yeah, you could say we both like hockey.”
“Maloney!” The order taker calls a name, and he waves.
“That’s me. I hope it helped to get that off your chest.”
“It did. Thank you.”
He leans across the table before standing and lowers his voice. “For what it’s worth, I’d go to the top of the chain with your boyfriend. Owners get the final say, and you shouldn’t have to compromise everything. But also…it has to stay out of his game and your performance.”
“Thanks for the talk, and I’ll do that.”
He nods again, and after he leaves, my order is called, and I go home without the bag of candy. Which is probably for the best, anyway. I ordered extra orange chicken, and now that I’ve unloaded to a complete stranger, I’m going to eat my food and fuck my boyfriend.
Maybe even in that order.
Then, I’m tracking down the highest level on this team and making an appointment.