Chapter 42
OAKLEY
The doorbell rings, and Ava’s already at the door, ushering Alex inside our home before shooting me a soft, encouraging smile and heading back to the patio where she left Adalyn.
She’s putting on a strong front, but I know how hard this has all been on her, watching Maddox and Braxton struggle like this without having a solution at the ready to fix it all.
I’m tense on the living room couch, one of my wife’s favourite movies droning on in the background. My nerves are frayed, betrayal thick in my veins, and as much as I want to skip this meeting altogether, I know that I can’t. It needs to happen.
“Oakley,” Alex says gruffly, about as impressed to be summoned here as I am to have asked him to come.
His usual pristine attire has been wrinkled, a button loose on his dress shirt and a cufflink missing on the sleeve. Short grey hairs stick up in all directions, as if he’s been yanking on them for a while.
Having known Alexander since his father was the owner of the Warriors, I would have called us good friends.
He’s been there for my family for over two decades, and while we weren’t the Friday dinners at six every week and Christmas gift-giving type of close, I thought we had a better relationship than I’ve come to see over the past couple of months.
He was there for me when I retired after my final shoulder injury, was there for Maddox’s first U6 hockey game, and was even one of our visitors at the hospital after Ava’s emergency C-section with Adalyn.
His betrayal hurts more now than it would have years ago. Maybe because I really didn’t see it coming. I was blindsided. My entire family was.
“Alex.” I don’t stand and greet him, choosing to let him come to me instead.
“I cancelled a meeting for this.” He sits beside me, his body stiff. The energy around him screams fuck off, and I’m sure mine is pretty close to the same.
“You’re lucky that’s all you’ve had to do, Alex. What is going on?”
“An hour ago, your son told me that he’s done playing for me. Did you know he was going to do that?”
“Would it matter if I did? I didn’t know we were still being open with one another.”
Maddox didn’t tell me he was going to walk out today, but I can’t say that I blame him for it. If he were to have given me a heads-up, I would have told him to do whatever felt right. Clearly, that’s exactly what he did.
I’m proud of him. So damn proud. All I’ve ever wanted is for my children to be happy, and knowing that my boy is chasing his happiness makes me feel like I’ve done something right.
Happiness doesn’t have to come from success or popularity. My wife and children are my happiness. They always have been. Everything else has been an added bonus, and Maddox sees things the exact same way.
What isn’t there to be proud of?
“You should have warned me. Should have talked to me about it. I would have tried to talk him off the ledge. What am I supposed to do now? The team is in shambles. There’s no way we’ll make it past the fourth game,” he spits.
“What did you think was going to happen? You might not have been close to my children while they were growing up, Alex, but you were still around. There’s no way you didn’t know better than to tell my son to choose you and your team over Braxton.
If you thought for even a second that he would choose you, you’re dumber than I thought you were. ”
“I did what I thought would save this team, Oakley. I saw a possible fix for the mess your sons caused and tried to make it work. Clearly, I should have thought of something else, but it’s too late for that now.”
“I need you to be honest with me, Alex,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes on him. “I want to know your relationship with Rose Carpenter, and I want to know your relationship with Roy Heights. I need answers here.”
His face pales as he exhales slowly. Whether he’s decided enough is enough or he just doesn’t care anymore, he doesn’t hold back any longer.
“Alright. I didn’t know she was going to write that article about Maddox and Noah, and I didn’t know that she had Braxton’s car bugged. When I met her, I didn’t even know she was a reporter, let alone one for that rag tabloid.”
Surprise shackles me. “You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”
“I was. I cut things off with her after she wrote that first article. I think the bug and the most recent story was a mix of retaliation for the breakup and an opportunity to make a name for herself. The messages I got before and after the latest story ran helped fit the pieces together. I’ve had a PI watching her for the past couple of weeks,” he admits, face flaming with shame.
“You’ve what? What messages?” I grit out, fingers itching to curl into fists.
“I’ve had a private investigator watching her, trying to find something I could use to get her to shut up.
We’ve found out a lot about her, stuff that could help.
And her messages are what you would expect from a crazy woman.
Ones that said I would regret leaving her and that I deserved what was coming.
She thinks me breaking up with her is some sort of punishable crime. ”
“So, this was never about my son? Or Braxton? This was all about you and your dick?” I ask, growing more livid with each second that passes. “You blamed my son, withheld a contract from him, and blackmailed him . . . all because you got involved with the wrong woman?”
He pushes his shoulders back, going on the defensive. “Slow down. This wouldn’t have even happened if Maddox hadn’t gotten involved in Noah’s drama. The whole addict narrative Rose played at? That’s all on your youngest son.”
“You know, I’m getting really sick of you throwing Noah back at me. Are you really holding on to some grudge against a twenty-year-old because of an article the woman you were sleeping with wrote?” I shake my head, laughing incredulously. “Unbelievable.”
“The VW are my legacy! You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be me right now,” he snaps.
“You’re right. And you can’t understand what it’s like to be me right now, a father watching his son be torn apart by the public because of a man twice his age who cares more about himself than anyone else.”
“You know that isn’t true,” he says.
“No? Fine. Tell me how Roy ties into this. Is it really coincidence that he’s hip and hip with Rose? Or do you have more involvement than you’re telling me.”
He flinches. “You really think I would have allowed Roy to say such awful things about Maddox? About my organization?”
“So, that’s a no? You’re not involved with him?”
“No. Believe it or not, but his relationship with the woman I was sleeping with is coincidental. I think he just wanted to find someone desperate and with something to prove, and that just happened to be her.”
I push out a breath, rubbing at my jaw. “You understand how it’s hard to believe you.”
“I do. But I’m asking you to try. I’ve been your friend for a long time. Back when it was my dad running the show. I might have done a lot of shit that I wish I could take back, but I would never sabotage your family.”
He seems honest, but my protective nature makes it hard to believe a damn thing he’s saying. It’s not as easy as reminding myself of our friendship and letting it go. This is my family on the line here.
“Why the wait for Maddox’s contract? Why not offer it to him sooner, before this all happened?”
He huffs a rough laugh. “I was trying to find the money. The new GM is a disappointment. He offered too much to too many guys last season, and I needed to figure out a way to make it work.”
A small tinge of guilt settles in my stomach, but I ignore it, nodding tightly.
“You need to let Maddox make his own choices, Alex. Without judgment or your petty threats. Own up to your part in this, and stop blaming everyone else. He’s not going to change his mind on this, and pushing him even harder is only going to make things worse,” I say shortly.
His jaw pulses, eyes drifting shut for a moment before opening again. “You’re asking me to let my best player skip out on the final round of the playoffs and potentially cost the VW a shot at the cup.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m asking you to leave my family alone. As a friend. And to help me get rid of Rose Carpenter.”
brAXTON
The Sports Weekly office is small, tucked between a pet store and a seemingly empty hole-in-the-wall diner. Only a handful of cars are parked in the joint lot.
All it took was a quick phone call from my father to get an interview arranged for this afternoon. Rose Carpenter is a snake in high grass—impossible to see coming until it’s too late. But I’m ready, and I refuse to be taken by surprise again.
If a story is what she wants, then that’s what she’ll get. I’d do anything for Maddox, and if this will save his career, I’m going to risk the fallback. I will never let him suffer at my expense again.
My phone vibrates in the pocket of my jeans again, and I ignore it. Just like I have the past three times it started to vibrate.
I step inside the office and take in the strong smell of coffee and concerning number of potted plants.
There’s a young woman at the front desk, spinning the desk chair in circles and blowing bubbles in bright pink gum.
As soon as she spots me, she lurches in the chair and pops the bubble between her lips, sucking it back into her mouth.
“Hello! Oh my God, I am so sorry about that,” she rushes out.
I stifle a laugh. “It’s fine. I’m here to see Rose? We have a meeting at four thirty.”
She nods, dipping her head toward the computer and beginning to type. A second later, she’s bringing the corded phone to her ear and making a call to her boss.
“Mhm. Okay. I’ll send her back,” she says before setting the phone down. Clearing her throat, she glances up at me, smiling timidly. “You can head back. First door on the right.”
I’m not sure why I expected Rose to come rushing out to lead me to her office herself, but I’m a bit surprised she didn’t. For someone as hungry for a story as she is, I was ready for a bit more . . . excitement.