Chapter 8
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. First, I had to relocate to my new office two doors down from Clay’s, and this office had a gorgeous window looking out at the Rockies on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. A girl could get used to that. Second, I had to sign off on the NDA Clay had insisted on, but only after I’d had a former colleague from Richardson’s look it over. Cam oversaw the legal department during the Richardson’s failed Canadian expansion, so we’d gotten to know each other, and he happily looked over the NDA and emailed it back with a few changes which Clay’s legal team accepted.
Then Lex got traded and took the Orla problem with him. He’d been traded to Las Vegas and about as far away as the Kodiaks could get him. That meant that Jeremy’s mystery injury had healed, and he was preparing to rejoin the team. It also meant that we were going to soon go public with our very fake relationship and claim that we’d had instant chemistry the first time we’d met. I still hadn’t told Tangi, my “advisor” about this plan, but once I’d finished moving into my new office, I’d planned to take off what little of the afternoon was left to meet her at her place for drinks.
I was unpacking boxes again in such a short time, but every time I looked out the window, I knew it was worth it.
Dave passed by my office and stopped after glancing in. He backtracked and came in, a perplexed look on his face. “When did you get a new office?”
“Just the other day.”
He seemed to understand, and instead of giving me some kind of disgusted look, similar to ones I’d gotten from a few of the marketing staff—specifically Mark Lanark, head of the department, who liked to pick fights with the PR team for reasons that escaped me—Dave laughed and shook his head.
“I hope you took him for bundle. While I’m not sure I agree with what Clay is up to, if it works, then this whole scandal will be a distant memory.”
“So he told you all the details?”
“Some of them. I’m the only one who knows. He wants to keep it to a small circle. Imagine if that came out on top of it all. I’m not sure that’s something Jeremy could recover from.”
I liked that Dave and I got along even though we saw little of each other. He treated me like an equal, which I couldn’t always say for my time at Richardson’s, and it was too soon with the Kodiaks to know how relationships would shake out. “About Vaughn. Anything I need to know? You seemed to be frustrated with him.”
Dave shrugged. “I’m disappointed. The guy has done so much in the community, and then he goes and screws it up by getting involved with Lex’s wife. Now we’ve lost our best defenseman and have the stink of this incident hanging around the dressing room. The guys love Jeremy, but they liked Lex too. My concern is that the guys will take sides, but Coach Anthony has assured me that won’t happen. We’ll have to wait and see. He has great control of the dressing room, so I have hope.”
“Jeremy doesn’t seem like he’d be much of a community guy,” I said, a little surprised to learn that, although how much did I really know about him? I had to admit that I hadn’t bothered to learn anything about him, and even in the last two weeks, I’d been too busy with Kodiaks business to do my research on Jeremy. But now was the time, I guess.
“He’s huge in the community, and he makes sure the other guys are too. He always signs up for the children’s hospital visits, runs a few hockey clinics in the summer, visits schools all throughout the season. He rarely misses a community event, so now you see why I’m so angry with him. It’s not just about the team. He’s gone and ruined his own reputation.”
He’d given me a lot to think about, and now I felt bad being so critical of Jeremy. He was still a doofus, though. “I appreciate the info. It does help.”
“Good luck with the move and with him.”
Dave left, and I finished my unpacking. By the time I was done, I was starving, so on the way to Tangi’s, I picked up some Greek food and told her to get the wine ready. As we sat around her dining room table, Maddy asleep in her swing after a boob full of milk, we dug into our souvlaki, spanakopita, and salad. I passed my green peppers to Tangi, and she gave me her olives. That’s how we compromised with a Greek salad.
“I’ve been sitting on something,” I said as Tangi grabbed some pita.
“How juicy is it?” she asked, popping some pita in her mouth.
“Juicy enough that I had to sign an NDA, and I can only tell my advisors.”
Tangi nodded and smiled. “So I’m obviously one of your advisors?”
“And Wolseley, when she has time to talk to us.”
“Then this is juicy. You have my word that I will keep this strictly confidential.”
“You can’t tell Ethan, at least not until I tell you, you can.”
Tangi was vibrating with excitement. “This is going to be good. Okay, you have my word. Now spill.”
“Jeremy and I are going to be putting on the performance of a lifetime as a couple, to get him and the team through this scandal.”
Tangi’s hazel eyes narrowed. “Oh. That’s not what I was expecting.” Disappointment dripped from her voice.
I wasn’t expecting her to react that way, so I explained it all—from Clay’s proposal, my negotiation, to my discussion with Jeremy afterward, but she didn’t seem all that impressed. In fact, she seemed turned off by the whole thing.
“You know I’m not going to hold things back from you because I would expect the same from you, so here are my two cents: I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
“I know what you’re thinking. That it’s all a bit like Indecent Proposal, but this is totally different. I’m just fake-dating the guy, and then it’s over.”
“But Clay Rothesay is paying you to do it. Like a glorified escort.”
Now that she put it that way … “It’s not like theres sexual favors in return. It’s more like Pretty Woman.”
“Vivian was a prostitute.”
Suddenly, my office with a window was feeling gross, along with the new chunk of money in my bank account. I massaged my temples, contemplating it all. I loved my friend for her honesty, even though I hated what she had to say. “So you’re telling me to give the money and office back? And back out?”
“I’m telling you, you should do this because you want to. Or in your case, because I know how you think, and it’s a challenge for you to make this work. But when you add the money and the office, and then the potential condo at the end … no, it’s not good.”
And I’d just moved into that office! But Tangi was right. The ick factor was too much. I’d have to see Clay in the morning to tell him the deal with off, or at least the monetary part of it. That’s if I still wanted to go through with this charade. Did I? It was one thing to do it for the team and to show my commitment, but wasn’t that still gross?
“Why did you have to awaken my conscience?”
“Because you’d hate yourself later. But I will commend you for the fantastic negotiation you did. And if I were you, I’d still insist on the job security aspect of it. I guess the real question is if you want to still go through it—for nothing—and help Jeremy out. That part is up to you.”
I thought about that for a second. “I would like the challenge of it.”
“I know he rubbed you the wrong way that first day here, but he’s really a good guy. He’s one of my favorite guys on the team. And maybe the two of you would have fun.”
“Highly doubtful,” I said, taking another piece of spanakopita. “He seems goofy. And didn’t you say he’s a big-time player? Sorry, but he’s not my type.”
At that, Tangi laughed, and I bristled a bit.
“I have no idea what your type is! We’ve been friends forever, and I have no idea what kind of guy you like. You date them a few times, and we never see them again. Unless you’re keeping some secret boyfriend or husband somewhere.”
I sipped some wine and tried to give nothing away. I didn’t exactly have a long dating history. The first real boyfriend I had was Nigel, and we dated for a few months my first year in college. He’s the first guy I had sex with, and that hadn’t been earth-shattering. No surprise we broke up a few weeks later. But then there was Eli. I hadn’t told Tangi and Wolseley about him because they wouldn’t have approved. He was my boss at Richardson’s and fifteen years older than me. We’d started dating after his divorce, and I’d fallen hard for him. But everything about our relationship had to be a secret. He didn’t want his kids to find out, he certainly didn’t want anyone at Richardson’s to find out, so everything we did was always in the shadows. When I finally got tired of it, I confronted him. He didn’t take kindly to that and dumped me. Within a month, I had been “promoted” to the Canadian division and shipped off to Toronto. He had to have known that the Canadian expansion was in dire straits, and not even a year later, I was laid off and out of his hair forever.
Looking back, I clearly had a daddy complex. Eli was the wise one, who took care of dinner, who bought me nice gifts, and made sure I was safe. What a crock of shit.
“No secret boyfriend or husband. How could I keep that a secret from you and Wolseley? As for my type, I’m not even sure.”
“Tell you what, I have an idea. If you are going to fake it with Jeremy, let’s do a trial run and have a nice night out. Maybe a lounge for drinks? I would love a night out. But there is one thing I want you to promise me.”
I groaned. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this condition.”
“You’re going to be nice to him.”
“I knew I wasn’t going to like it.”
Tangi playfully punched me in the arm. “I’m serious. I want you to try to be nice because if you want to convince people you’re in love, you better sell it.”
I could see so much hope and excitement on Tangi’s face. “Fine. I’ll try to be nice.”
“Good. Let’s have some fun.”
I caught Clay the next day just as he was preparing to jet away to his home in Hawaii. He planned to be vacationing for the next month. I walked him to the elevator and was happy no one else was around to listen in.
“I’ve had a change of heart,” I said.
“No,” he said, not even glancing my way. “You haven’t.”
Right. He thought I was completely backing out, but I’d decided this could be fun, and I wanted to see if I could pull it off. “I don’t mean about Jeremy. I’ll still do that, but I can’t accept the office, the money, the potential bonus, or the condo.”
He gave me a quick look before pursing his lips. “You want to keep your job security?”
“Yes, even though I was on the fence about that too.”
He sighed dramatically. “You can keep the office, Ms. Bowman. And the hundred-thousand bonus. Please, that’s nothing. And that’s non-negotiable. Why this attack of conscience?”
The elevator door opened, he stepped inside, and by the look on his face, I was expected to join him. Thankfully, it was empty.
“I feel as though I’m a paid escort.”
He shook his head. “No. You are being a team player, and you should be paid for that. Now, if you feel that it’s all inappropriate and you’d rather do it for nothing, that is your choice. However, you can keep the office. And if you want, donate the money, but Ms. Bowman, put those nonsensical feelings aside, and look at your endeavor as a business transaction. You are going to be an actress for the next six months, not a paid escort. I’m not sure you realize this, but negotiating with you was the best bit of fun I’ve had in years. Why not keep the money just because you’re such a great negotiator?”
What would Tangi say? She’d insist I give it back. Wolseley would tell me to keep it because Clay didn’t care about it. At least Clay was giving me time to think about it, and really, was keeping the office so bad? Nah. I was definitely keeping the office. And my damn window.