Chapter Two #2
“He has never liked me and never considered me good enough for his sister. That opinion is correct, of course. With my long hours and odd schedule, she was a saint dealing with it.” Meeting her gaze, he added, “Reid saw me at that club, and hated that it was me alive. He took a swing at me. I only fought back to defend myself. It can potentially be edited and used as evidence, too, that I am an unfit father since Kate’s family want custody of Maisie. ”
That was . . . absolutely horrendous to hear. However, she could work with that. Reid was incredibly loud, but self-defence would get more sympathy.
“Thank you for letting me know. I will come up with a plan and talk to you and your agent. I will include Louis as well, so he is aware.”
Giving her a single nod, Spencer smiled weakly. “Looks like you aren’t so bad after all. Thanks, Rosemary.”
Eyes wide, Rosie just stared at him for a moment. Had he just used her name? That made her proud, knowing he was accepting her.
But she wasn’t out of the woods. He sounded more respectful, but she knew those eyes. Anger was boiling under his skin, and he was saying the right things so he could leave.
There was more to this. A custody battle was bad, yes, but there was so much fear. Pain. Until he spoke to them, they could not help him. If she pushed, he could shut down completely. It would take time.
He needs to trust you.
“Don’t thank me yet. Let me see what I can do first. You better head back to training before they come searching for you.”
Dismissed, they walked out. Spencer gave another nod while Hank waved. She followed them out, planning to get some food since it was almost lunchtime and her stomach was rumbling.
Only, her plan came to a grinding halt. Louis was still there. He looked so uncomfortable on one of her plastic seats. She had gotten them deliberately, so the players would want to spend less time on them.
“Why are you still here?” she asked, tense.
Spencer and Hank stared. They were just as confused.
“It’s all good,” Hank told him, obviously thinking like Rosie that he was here to look out for his friend.
“Good.” Louis nodded. “I wanted to make sure there were no issues, but I also wanted to talk to Rosie.”
Spencer narrowed his eyes since Louis hadn’t used the nickname. Rosie was also just as shocked. Well, look at that. Two opponents were playing nice with her today.
Hank’s face? Why was he smirking.
“All right,” Hank said, hiding his smile behind a scratch to his nose. “We will see you on the ice. Come on, Spencer.” He started pulling Spencer away.
“Wait! Wait! What if he needs saving?” Spencer argued, trying to turn around and watch whatever was about to happen.
Judging by the big smile, it wasn’t to protect his friend, but to be nosey.
“He’s a big boy. He will be fine,” Hank assured him.
Since he was bigger and stronger, Hank won and they disappeared. Spencer pouted the whole way while he was muscled out of the corridor. Which meant Rosie was alone with Louis.
It suddenly felt very small out here, especially when he stood up.
He didn’t crowd her, but his size, presence, and tender expression made her feel closed in.
Tilting his head, he seemed to realise he was making her nervous and stepped back.
That did really help her feel better, knowing he understood and cared enough to do it.
“We just did,” she reminded.
Those lips of his twitched again.
Stop staring at his lips!
Her eyes lifted, meeting his blue gaze. “No. We shouted,” he corrected. “I would like to talk now.”
“About, what?”
“How we can do better for our team.”
That “we” was certainly something, telling her he had been thinking the same way as she had.
They had to work together or at least be willing to try.
On that note, she let him in, and they sat down.
It felt different this time, less tense.
Maybe they could actually succeed in having a civil conversation.
Rosie was intrigued enough to hear him out.
“I want to start with an apology,” he began with.
He was fidgety, his body moving while he tried to get comfortable on the chair.
“Sitting out there got me thinking. We both have a job to do, so we need to work together. You didn’t deserve my anger when you are just doing what you are supposed to do.
And instead of coming up with solutions, I just argued and made your job harder. ”
Her mouth went dry. Hearing his genuine words? It felt good. He was accepting her presence and making the best out of it.
“Thank you. I want to apologise, too,” Rosie responded. “You are an excellent captain, and I was just lashing out. You didn’t deserve that.”
That huge body of his relaxed, making her realise how badly she had affected him. He may not be intimidated by her, but her words had hurt him. “Thank you.”
He offered a hand. Eager to take it and shake on their unsteady alliance, she grabbed it. It was warm. They shook once.
Crossing his arms, he got down to business.
“The team needs something positive. You have done a great job of getting big names and sponsors to support us, and we now have more fans and season ticket holders, but sometimes it is about the everyday things, too. Fans want to see us out in the wild. How much do you know about our players?”
About to open her mouth, she was going to share statistics.
“Not our statistics.” He smirked, seeming to know where her thoughts had gone. “About us as individuals.”
At that, she deflated. That was not part of her job, but he had a point.
Focusing on them as individuals gave her no end of opportunities to work with for outreach and community work.
Something that appealed to them would make them more likely to do it, instead of forcing them into situations they didn’t like.
It would also seem more natural, instead of forced.
“Not a lot,” she admitted.
That smile was sweet, not condemning. “And that is okay. You came here to do a job, but hopefully this information can help.
“An example is Hank who is by far the easiest to start with because you work with him the most. As he is retiring at the end of this season, he is making plans. He really wants to teach kids the sports and build their enthusiasm. Just like how he got into the game.”
“Really?” Rosie asked. “That was how he got into the game?”
Louis nodded. “He was about five or six. It was a career day at school, and a retired goaltender came to talk to them about the sport. The man showed them some basic skills, and Hank was drawn to that role immediately.”
Which went to show how someone being present can really make a difference. Had that goaltender not done that, where would Hank be today?
“We can be heroes to kids,” Louis pointed out. “Maybe we can do a call-out for those that want to learn and get him to teach them. This would help him in the future while he settles into his new life and open those possibilities and contacts, not just for himself but for the kids.”
Nodding, she made notes. Kids and teenagers were always eager to meet their heroes and learn from them. The business also needed to support future generations to make sure the sport continued. Who better to do that than a player so many loved?
“I can look into it. I know when the ice is available, so we can pick a date and do a call-out quite soon. Maybe we can get other players involved so they get different perspectives from different positions, and different career paths,” Rosie suggested.
Some of the players came from money, some did not, so their opportunities to work their way up were different. Either way, it could help give those interested some advice. It made it more accessible, and a more achievable goal to the children.
“Sounds great,” Louis responded.
“What else?” she asked.
“Spencer is by far the favourite with fans because of how passionate and protective he is. Which means, he could have a lot of sway with opinions and actions of those fans.
“Spencer’s daughter absolutely loves penguins. Get the team to go to the zoo. Support penguin protection and projects. That helps raise awareness. Hopefully, more people will pay attention and also donate to the cause.”
“That is super cute. I like that idea. Maybe we can sponsor day trips for children to visit the zoo and feed the penguins. If we have some players attend as well, they can meet their heroes and meet the animals, making it an exciting day out.” She was on a roll now.
Louis nodded, liking the idea, too. Then the smile dropped and he glanced over his shoulder to the direction his friends had gone.
“You’re worried about Spencer,” she guessed.
That made Spencer a potential distraction, so her job was to focus Louis and get his head back to where it needed to be. She needed to convince him it will work out.
“I will do what I can to protect him,” she vowed. “I don’t know what I can do yet. It sounds serious, but I will do what I can to help. For now, we just need to limit his interactions with Reid and make sure he doesn’t get in any more fights.”