Chapter 46
THE THING IS
Hayes
That’s not the only business I need to wrap up. There’s something else I have to handle on my own.
When I arrive at the Avengers arena later that day, I don’t look for Ivy or Stefan.
I put on my blinders and head to Oliver’s office to see if we’re still on for the meeting with the big boss I’d set up by text earlier.
I told him I wanted to catch up with Jessie before our game tonight and asked him to join us.
“Ready as ever.” He’s waiting for me at the door. “Is there anything I can do to help in advance?”
I shake my head. “No, but I appreciate you arranging it.”
We head to the executive suite, a place I didn’t think I’d be twice in a month let alone in a two-week period. This time, though, my gut swirls. I’m not here to deliver a gift.
When Oliver escorts me into Jessie’s office, she’s finishing up a phone call.
Leaning back in her plush chair, she looks powerful and at ease, a smile framing her warm eyes.
“That’s right, Hannah. At the end of this season you’ll be eating crow when my team beats yours.
Love you, girl. See you at the next team owners’ meeting. ”
Straightening, Jessie stabs the end button on her desk phone and looks up, a professional grin on her face. “I swear that girl has serious ovaries if she thinks her team is going to beat us.”
She gestures to the chairs in front of her. I take one, Oliver the other. “We’re seeing a lot of each other, aren’t we, Hayes?”
Translation: why the fuck are you here again? At least she says it with a smile.
I keep my eye on my task, like when I’m on the ice and in a fight for the puck. The goal today? Honesty. “When I saw you in Las Vegas in the elevator, and you congratulated me on my wedding, I wasn’t straight with you,” I say.
Her brow knits. Beside me, Oliver tenses, vibrating like a Chihuahua who’s heard a smoke detector.
“What do you mean?” Jessie asks.
“When I told you Ivy and I were married and that we’d be happy to go to your golf event.”
“But I saw you there. At the golf event,” she says with shrewd eyes, trying to spot the lie.
It’s not really a lie though. It’s more like a fuck-up.
But…semantics.
“We got married on a dare. And we were on our way to get an annulment that morning. And I said we were staying married to impress you and go to your event.”
Understanding passes over her face as she nods. “I see.”
She steeples her fingers and taps them thoughtfully.
I’m about to explain that we’re still together, that it’s complicated but also not, and that I’m sorry I deceived her then even though it’s real now, but her phone rings and she nods to it.
“I have to take this. We’ll finish this conversation later. ”
There’s nothing to do but say yes and leave, then hope she’s not letting me go permanently.