CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Lexi wearily headed for Kayleigh’s office. The woman had phoned earlier and asked Lexi to come see her when she had a moment. George had told her he’d keep an eye on things, and if someone came asking for help on the ice, he’d tell them to come back later.
It had been a week of training and working, and just like Wilder had warned, she was burning the candle at both ends. She collapsed into bed each night, feeling like she had barely closed her eyes before her alarm went off. Even with the intense training they’d done before, it had never left her this exhausted.
As she stepped into the office, she greeted Andrea, Kayleigh’s assistant, who sat at a desk in the small space.
“You can go on in,” the woman said with a smile.
“Thank you.”
Lexi felt decidedly underdressed for the meeting when Kayleigh stood from behind her desk, revealing a deep purple pantsuit with a cream silk blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a twist, and her makeup was impeccably done.
It left Lexi wishing she’d had a change of clothes. But since the call for the meeting had come after she’d left her apartment, she hadn’t had a chance to bring anything.
“Thanks for coming,” Kayleigh said with a friendly smile, gesturing to a small sitting area on the other side of the office. “Let’s sit there.”
Lexi sank down onto the couch, grateful for a chance to sit, even if it was for a meeting with her boss.
“How are things going at the rink?”
“It has been busy since Thanksgiving. It’s like once people discovered it, they started talking about it.”
“Do you need more help there?”
“I’m not sure. It seems to be working okay as it is. I’m not sure about the café and the skate rental, though. You’d have to talk to Luke and George about that.”
“And how are you doing with training while also working?”
Lexi debated what to say. She didn’t want to say anything that might jeopardize her job there. While she did have some savings, she needed the money she earned at the rink to cover her rent and her not-so-cheap meal prep.
“It’s going pretty well.”
“Tiring, I suppose.” Kayleigh’s look was sympathetic, and Lexi worried it was going to be leading up to Kayleigh letting her go under the guise of giving her a break.
“Training always is.”
Kayleigh stared at her for a moment before nodding. “I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Yep. We here at Remington wish to get behind you in your bid for the Olympics.”
Lexi frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means that Alexander wants to sponsor you. He wants you to be able to focus solely on your training, so he’ll pay your expenses in exchange for you doing some promotion for the Remington hotel line.”
“He wants to tie his company’s name to me?” Lexi shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Given the controversy in my past.”
“He knows all about that and still wants it.”
“What do you and Hudson think?”
“I understand your concern,” Kayleigh said. “From a strictly business standpoint, I’m not sure it’s the best decision. However, we know that sometimes things aren’t so black and white. The bottom line is that the controversy was your father’s, not yours. No one would likely even know your name had you not been a high-profile athlete.”
That was true, and there had been lots of times Lexi had wished she’d had that anonymity.
“I think this is a good opportunity for you to separate yourself from your dad and his controversy. And if Alexander is throwing his support behind you, others will be less likely to come after you.”
“Do I have to leave here?”
“Nope. You can still use the rink for your training, as long as you’re willing to work around the hours there. We’ll hire another skater to work your shifts. Maybe offer Talya additional shifts, so your afternoons will be free for whatever you need to do to train.”
Lexi exhaled heavily, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Maybe she could do this after all.
It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how overwhelmed she’d been feeling. “Thank you. Thank you.”
“You can thank Alexander. He’s the one that made the final decision.”
“What’s the best way to thank him?” she asked.
“You can do it in person this weekend. He’s flying in with the family for a couple of days of skiing.”
Some might be nervous about meeting someone of Alexander’s caliber, but her dad had taught her from a very young age how to interact with the wealthy and famous. After all, until two years ago, they’d belonged to that world.
Her mom was still in it with her wealthy husband. But in all honesty, Lexi was glad she’d left it behind. Except she hadn’t, not entirely.
“We’ll arrange a dinner here at The Steakhouse on Saturday so that you can spend some time with him.”
“Is this proposal just for me, or is it for Mik, too?”
“You’re a team, so he’ll obviously benefit,” Kayleigh said. “But this time, I think it’s best that it’s just for you.”
Lexi had no idea how Mik and Irina were paying their bills. She hadn’t asked, and they hadn’t volunteered any information. Mik probably had funding through the national skating organization, though it wouldn’t be as much as they’d received during their time on the top of the podium.
She had some doubts that they were going to achieve the success Mik and Irina wanted, unless she and Mik could really solidify their partnership. There was still distance between them. She didn’t trust him entirely, and that needed to change.
But that didn’t mean romantically. That ship had truly sailed. Sailed and sank. Never to be heard from again.
“When does the new schedule start?”
“Next Monday. We’ll need to find someone to replace you.”
“Talya might have some ideas. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows other skaters around here.”
“Okay. I’ll give her a call and see what she thinks.” Kayleigh smiled at her. “We’ll get this worked out. No worries.”
Lexi appreciated her confidence, and for the first time since she’d started training again, she felt a clear sense of hope. Maybe they really could pull this off.
Back at the rink a short time later, she put her skates back on, then got to work.
Just after four, Wilder showed up. That had been the case every day so far that week, and Lexi had no idea what to make of it. Not that she was wishing he’d leave her alone. The opposite was true. She enjoyed spending time with him.
“How’s the ice?” he asked as he leaned up against the boards.
“Slippery,” she told him with a grin. “I’ve been told that a few times today.”
He stared at her for so long that Lexi wondered if she had something on her face. “Well, they’re not wrong.”
“How were the slopes?”
“Also slippery.”
“No broken bones?”
Wilder grimaced. “Yeah. Actually, we had someone injure their arm. Not sure if it was broken or not, but they were in pain.”
“That’s a shame.”
“It is,” he said. “Unfortunately, it happens. Usually when people aren’t paying attention to instructions given at the top of the slope.”
“I talked to Kayleigh today,” she said, glancing out over the rink, checking on the handful of skaters that were circling the ice. They appeared to just be enjoying skating laps to the music. A couple of them were even holding hands.
“What did she have to say?”
“She said Alexander was willing to sponsor us, freeing me up so I don’t have to split my time between work and training.”
That brought a wide smile to Wilder’s face. “That’s amazing. I’m glad you’ll be able to just focus on the training. I think that’s really what you need.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you have anything to do with this?”
He hesitated for a moment before he said, “I may have mentioned to Kayleigh that you were probably burning the candle at both ends, having to work and train.”
“I don’t need you fighting my battles for me,” Lexi said, trying to keep her indignation from her words. She appreciated that he wanted to do that for her, but she knew herself better than he did. “I am capable of knowing what my body can and can’t handle.”
She thought he might get uptight with her response, but he just nodded and gave her a small smile. “I know that. I was just stating a fact. I didn’t go to Alexander about anything. He doesn’t talk to me the way he talks to Kayleigh and Hudson. But what I do know about the man is that he makes his own decisions. He can’t be talked into anything he doesn’t want to do.”
Lexi clenched her hands together. “I just don’t want people to think I can’t handle things.”
“You’ve been to the Olympics and dealt with what happened with your dad,” Wilder said. “I think we all know you can handle whatever comes your way. But things are different for you going into this. You had support back then, and we’re going to give it to you now.”
“I don’t know why. You didn’t even know me until a few weeks ago.”
“What can I say? I’m a good judge of character.”
Lexi gave a huff of laughter. “This still isn’t about dating, right?”
Wilder hesitated a moment before he nodded. “You’re my friend.”
It was a bit of a left turn in their conversation, but the more time they spent together, the less it felt like just a friendship. She needed the reminder as much, if not more, than Wilder.
“Our lives are too different for anything but friendship.” The words hurt to say, but she felt it was necessary. “I mean, if you’d even feel any sort of way… about… things.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” he told her. “If the circumstances were different…”
His words and the shrug that followed made her heart race.
No. She didn’t want to think about that.
She couldn’t compromise her goals in life to follow him traveling all over the world, and she doubted he wanted to change the way he lived his life just to be with her. His work with the orphanages was definitely an important thing to him, as were his travels.
Wilder cleared his throat. “Anyway, does this mean you’ll have your evenings free?”
Lexi nodded. “We’ll be training more during the day, but I’ll have my evenings now.”
“You can join us for our pizza nights,” Wilder said. “And maybe come to church with us, if you want to.”
“Pizza?” She shook her head. “That’s not part of my meal prep.”
“We usually have pizza night every Friday. It’s family and some friends, and we get together for pizza and sometimes we play games.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It usually is. You could bring your own food, as long as you can handle being around pizza without giving in to temptation.”
“I’ll have to see.”
“Let me know if you want to come,” he said. “Even if it’s at the last minute, since you’ll be bringing your own food.”
“Well, I won’t be able to come this Friday since the new schedule isn’t taking effect until Monday.”
“It’s usually every Friday, unless there’s an early basketball game.”
“Basketball game?”
“Jay coaches the high school team, and they usually have a game on Friday or Saturday night.”
Lexi marveled at the normalcy in Wilder’s life. Pizza dinners. Church with family. Basketball games. It was a life she’d never experienced, but she knew that it was far more common than the life she’d lived as a professional athlete.
Did she want to become a part of that? To find out what it was like to live a normal life? Or would it lead to distractions that she didn’t need as she trained for another crack at the Olympics?
The normal life had never appealed to her, simply because she’d never imagined a life different from what she’d had. Getting back to training with two big competitions looming was once again offering that life. But now, she wondered if she could find a way to balance the skating life with something more… normal.
“I’ll have to see how my training goes,” Lexi said, reluctant to commit to anything before she saw how the change in her schedule was going to play out.
“Fair enough.” Wilder paused, then said, “Do you put up a Christmas tree?”
“I’ve never done it myself,” Lexi said, grateful for the change of subject. “My mom always hired someone to come in and decorate our house for the holidays.”
“A bunch of my family went to cut down trees on Friday.”
“Cut down trees?”
“They went to a nearby Christmas tree farm, and they got a couple of trees. One for our house, and one for Jay and Misha’s place. The kids had a blast, and they got to see Santa.”
“I’ve never done that.” Lexi had actually thought stuff like that only happened to Instagram people or in Hallmark movies.
“I used to love it as a kid, but my schedule hasn’t worked out for me to go in recent years. I did get to decorate with them over the weekend, though. That was a blast.”
Lexi really liked how much Wilder seemed to enjoy hanging out with his nieces and nephews. Her dad hadn’t had anything to do with children that weren’t his. Really, he hadn’t had a whole lot to do with her, either. Even though he came to her competitions, when he was home, he was busy with work. Or stealing… whatever it was he did.
“Did I tell you that Janessa announced her pregnancy on Thanksgiving?”
“Oh wow. That’s amazing.”
“It is,” he agreed. “It’s great that my siblings are making sure the next generation is plentiful.”
“Given how many people are in your family, even if each one only produced one kid, it would still be plentiful,” Lexi pointed out.
Wilder laughed. “This is true. So far, Charli and Blake have three. Jay and Misha have two, and Gareth and Aria have one. Janessa and Will’s baby will make grandbaby number seven for my parents.”
“Have I met Gareth and Aria?”
“I don’t think so, but you’ve probably seen Gareth. He plays the drums at church most Sundays.”
Lexi had watched another livestream Sunday evening, but she couldn’t recall what the drummer had looked like. She’d have to pay closer attention next time.
She still wasn’t sure about going to church yet. The change in her schedule meant that work wouldn’t keep her from attending, though training might.
This change would lead to a schedule similar to what they’d kept before, but Lexi sensed an impatience and intolerance in Mik and Irina this time. They weren’t happy about her working and had tried to subtly get her to quit before moving on to more pointed suggestions that she was being selfish by continuing to work.
So far, she’d managed to ignore them, but no doubt they’d think they’d succeeded in wearing her down when she let them know that she wasn’t needed at the rink anymore. But just because she wasn’t working anymore, Lexi wasn’t going to let them take over her life.
And maybe church should be the first stand she took with regards to that. She’d tell them that, just like before, she’d be taking off Sunday morning and early afternoon. Since they should have a day where they let their bodies rest a bit, it might as well be Sunday.
“I meant to ask you,” Wilder said, shifting on his feet as he reached out to grasp the boards. “Is it still okay that I’m showing up to watch you guys rehearse?”
“It doesn’t bother me.” In fact, she rather liked that he was so interested in her skating that he kept showing up. “I have no idea—nor do I care—how Mik and Irina feel. Okay, that’s not entirely true. They’ve asked why you keep showing up. However, it’s none of their business.”
“Good, because I’ve really enjoyed the glimpse behind the scenes. I can see how much the two of you are improving. It’s like you’re gelling. You’re more in sync than you were at the start.”
Lexi nodded. “I think we are, too. Mik had to adjust to skating with me again, and I think he’s done that.”
“Is it that difficult to switch partners?”
“Not for the singles elements. But his previous partner was a couple of inches taller and a little heavier, so he made adjustments for throws and spins with her. Now that he’s back with me, he needs to make those adjustments again.”
Wilder lifted his hand to the back of his neck before dropping it as he cleared his throat. “Is Mik… uh… trying to revive your personal relationship, too?”
“He made the suggestion once,” she said. “But when I shot him down, he let it go.”
“Shot him down with an ice arrow?”
Lexi couldn’t help but laugh. “You know it.”
Several people came into the rink, their laughter filling the space. Wilder turned to look at them, then said, “Looks like they’re making the rounds. Some of them were on the slopes earlier.”
Lexi thought about making a comment about spoiled rich kids, but then realized that to someone like Wilder, she was a spoiled rich kid. Or at least she had been.
“Guess I’d better be prepared for the influx onto the ice,” she said, watching as the majority of the group headed for the skate rental. Only a couple of them went to the café.
“Have fun,” Wilder said as he backed away from the boards. “Talk later.”
She nodded, then watched as he strode toward the exit. Someone called out to him, however, so he veered in the direction of the group that were standing at the skate rental.
One of the women smiled and stepped closer to Wilder. Unfamiliar jealousy swirled through Lexi, making her frown.
She blinked, then turned away. Jealousy had no place in her life right then. Especially over a man she’d repeatedly shoved into the friend zone.
There was no reason she should get upset when other women paid attention to him, and when he paid attention to them. But it was there, nonetheless.
Interestingly enough, she’d never really felt jealousy over Mik. But then, they hadn’t had the time to spend with other people. Their parents and coaches wouldn’t have allowed it. Other female skaters might have been interested in Mik, but one look from Lexi had them keeping their distance.
Looking back now, she realized it hadn’t been because she didn’t want Mik paying attention to them. She just hadn’t wanted him to be distracted from their skating. Distractions kept them from being able to perform at their highest level.
Wilder was different.
He’d offered her friendship and support that was completely separate and apart from her skating. Unfortunately, this time around, he was a distraction for her, and she wondered if she needed to shut down even their friendship.
She and Mik hadn’t cultivated friendships before, and they’d been at the top of their game. Was that what she needed to do this time around, too? Would the sacrifice be worth it in the end?
The thought of not having Wilder in her life hurt Lexi’s heart, which was probably a pretty good indicator that, yes, she should end their friendship. Continuing to hang around Wilder, even knowing the futility of hoping for something more, would only lead to heartache when he left again in the spring.
She couldn’t end things yet, though, because she’d made a commitment to the Christmas fundraiser. Plus, she wasn’t ready to not have Wilder in her life.
After Christmas, however… She’d need to focus completely on her programs.
Maybe it would have been better if she’d gone to Maine. Was it too late to suggest that?