Chapter 64
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
MIA
The kettle clicks off and I stare at it like I’ve forgotten what I got up for. Tea. That’s what I came into the kitchen for. Something warm, something comforting, something to wrap my hands around while my thoughts unravel like threads pulled loose from the hem of a too-tight dress.
I pour the water into the mug, watching the colour bloom from the bag, but it’s all background noise. The real storm is behind my ribs.
Dylan’s message is still open on my phone.
Every time I read it, it breaks me a little more, and stitches me back together at the same time.
Like he poured everything he couldn’t say to my face into those words.
I could hear his voice in every line. That low, gravelled voice when he’s trying to keep it together. The pauses. The honesty. The ache.
I miss him so much, it’s making me stupid.
I take the mug into the living room and curl up on the couch, wrapping the blanket tighter around me even though the heating’s on. It’s not cold, I’m just feeling hollow. Like I lost something essential when I left him at the rink. When I left us.
My phone vibrates with an incoming call. Sophie.
“Hey,” I answer, already bracing myself.
“You’ve gone radio silent,” she accuses immediately. “I had to hear from Murphy that you haven’t been at the rink. What’s going on?”
“I needed some space,” I say softly. “It’s been a lot.”
“No kidding. You and Dylan are basically a live-action romance novel and the whole internet is foaming at the mouth. Are you okay?”
I hesitate, then sigh. “Not really.”
“Talk to me.”
I pause. Then everything tumbles out. “I went to Mike. Told him I needed time off. He didn’t argue.
Said it might be best, given the circumstances.
And then I showed him everything I’d found.
About the clause. About how it doesn’t apply to contracted staff in the same way as club-employed medical personnel.
I even brought receipts and logs and everything, Soph.
He didn’t say anything. Just told me to take a couple of weeks. ”
Sophie whistles. “And then you left?”
“Yeah. Drove here with my stomach in my throat the whole way.”
“Christ, M.”
“It’s not just the job,” I admit. “It’s Dylan. The way they’ve talked about him. About us. Like I’m some distraction and he’s some cliché. He’s not. He’s so far from that.”
“I know,” she says gently.
“I love him,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to. I fought it every step of the way. But I do.”
“I figured,” Sophie says. “I could see it the way you looked at him when you thought no one else was watching.”
I press the heel of my hand to my eye. “Ben’s helping me. He’s written a formal counter to the management team. It’s not just about the clause anymore. Ben said it’s about precedent now. About the way this has been handled.”
Sophie’s quiet for a beat. “You’re serious.”
“I have to be. This isn’t just about me. Or Dylan. It’s about the next woman who works in a room full of men and gets torn apart for having the audacity to fall in love.”
“What’s in the letter?” she asks gently.
I grab the folder from the table and flip it open. My brother’s is devastatingly professional.
“To whom it may concern
It is my legal and ethical opinion that the current handling of the situation involving Mia Clarke and Dylan Winters constitutes a misapplication of internal policy and a potential breach of employment rights.
There is no direct violation of the existing no-fraternisation clause, as Ms. Clarke is an independent contractor and not bound by the same internal team conduct policy as directly employed staff. Further, the clause itself is ambiguously worded and lacks enforceable parameters as written.
Should this be pursued as grounds for dismissal or punitive action, we are prepared to file a formal grievance with the Employment Standards Branch and initiate legal proceedings for reputational damage, professional misconduct, and gender bias,”
I trail off. “You get the picture.”
“Damn,” Sophie breathes. “Remind me to never get on Ben’s bad side.”
“He wants to come with me when I go back. Said I shouldn’t face them alone.”
“Good. You shouldn’t. Let him scare them a bit.”
I close the folder and lean my head back against the couch. “I don’t want to fight, Sophie. I just want to go back to work and not be treated like I’m some scandal because I dared to fall for someone I work with.”
“Someone who loves you back.”
I close my eyes. “Yeah.”
There’s a long pause. “So, when are you going back?”
“Tomorrow, I’ve emailed the General Manager and requested a formal meeting,” I say. “Ben wants to be in the meeting. We’ll show them the letter. Make them look us in the eye when they try to justify any of this.”
“You’re brave, M,” Sophie says softly. “Even when you’re scared.”
“I don’t feel brave. I just feel tired.”
“But you’re still going. That counts.”
After we hang up, I stay curled up for a while, letting the silence settle around me like snow. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But I do know I’m not backing down. Not from this.
When I go upstairs to check in with Ben, he’s at his desk, poring over the printed documents like he’s going into battle. He looks up as I step in.
“Hey,” he says. “I added a section on precedent from another case in London. A female trainer was forced out after starting a relationship with a player; different sport, same league language. She won and was awarded a huge payout. They had to issue a public apology.”
I blink. “Wow.”
He leans back in his chair. “You’ve got a strong case, Mia. You did your research. You documented everything. They don’t have a leg to stand on.”
“But it’s not about money,” I say quietly.
He nods. “I know. It’s about doing what’s right.”
I sit down on the edge of his bed, tucking my legs underneath me like I used to when we were kids and I’d come into his room to steal his textbooks and pester him for stories.
“Do you think I should go back?”
Ben studies me. “Do you?”
I swallow. “Yes.”
“Then we go.”
“You’d come?” I don’t want to put any pressure on him but I really could use my big brother right now.
“Of course I would,” he says simply. “You’re my little sister. And they don’t get to make you feel small for being human.”
I bite my lip. “It’s not just the job, Ben. It’s Dylan. I don’t want to lose him.”
He softens. “Then fight for it all. The job. The Man. Yourself.” I nod, my heart thudding. He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Let’s go remind them who they’re dealing with.”