Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
“It is,” Roman replies.
“When did this happen?” Vander Zee asks.
Roman drapes his arm across the back of my chair. “Does the when matter?”
Vander Zee pins him with an irritated glare. “If the two of you are married, we need to know. We have a process in place that’s been blatantly disregarded. Did you learn nothing from your daughter?” He scrubs his face with a palm. “We need to bring Shilpa in.”
Fielding dials Shilpa’s extension. They speak for a moment before he hangs up. The silence in the room is tense as we wait for her to join us. Fielding and Vander Zee both look like they’re trying to keep it together.
Shilpa takes the seat next to Fielding. I don’t know if it’s just me, but she looks as green as I feel. She sets a thick folder on the table in front of her and motions between us. “Is this real? Are you legally married?”
“Yes,” Roman and I say at the same time.
She pinches the bridge of her nose, then levels me with a look that speaks volumes. “You I’ll get to in a moment.” Her attention shifts to Roman. “You’re retiring in a couple of months.”
“I’m aware.” He’s so calm, unruffled.
I want to channel some of that, but there’s a storm brewing and we’re in the middle of it.
Vander Zee clicks his pen in agitation. “Of all the players on this team, you’ve been the one who can prioritize the game and the welfare of the team over your personal relationships. Why, in the final weeks of a twenty-year career, would you choose now to change that? And with the only female-identifying assistant coach in the entire league. Do you have any idea how difficult you’ve just made our jobs, and Shilpa’s? Hemi is going to shit a brick.”
Shilpa looks like she could spit nails. I don’t love being on her bad side.
“Do you think I fell in love to spite all of you? That I did this on purpose?” Roman motions to our superiors and crosses his arms. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been for Lexi? The challenge this poses? It’s my fault she’s in this tenuous position. I pursued Lexi, not the other way around.”
“Are you saying this was coercion?” Fielding crosses his arms.
“Is that a serious fucking question?” Roman snaps.
“What the hell are we supposed to think? Yesterday Donnie came in with allegations, and today you show up married.” Vander Zee points to our hands.
“Think whatever you want, but Alexandria is my wife. That should tell you everything you need to know about our feelings for each other. Lexi and her personal welfare take precedence above all others, except for my daughter. They sit at the same level.”
I cover his hand. “I’d like to hear these allegations.”
Fielding sighs, and Vander Zee shifts around. Shilpa rolls her eyes.
“Donnie expressed concern that Lexi only took the job for financial opportunities,” Vander Zee says, keeping his face carefully neutral.
“Because it’s a better-paying job than my last one?” I ask. “Isn’t that how the job market and career growth work? Did he completely disregard the fact that I took a position in Niagara that paid significantly less than the one I had in Windsor so I didn’t have to uproot my sisters after we lost our mom and their father?”
“I’m explaining the allegations, not telling you I believe them.” Fielding’s jaw tics. “Donnie suggested that your friendships with the office staff and some of the personal ice sessions that included Roman were meant to…” He clears his throat. “…seduce him.”
I scoff. “Because seducing him in front of his teammates wouldn’t have garnered negative attention from the other players? Talk about ludicrous. Not to mention that Roman is a forty-year-old man with the ability to control his hormones, especially when he’s on the ice. We are both professionals who can and have separated our personal feelings from our professional duties.” I turn to my husband. “Would you agree?”
His lip twitches. “I would.”
I turn back to Fielding. “What else did Donnie say?”
“He believes you’ve been planning this for some time. That you targeted Roman specifically and curated your friendships to get you closer to him.”
“Wow. That’s just…wow.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “So from his perspective, I’m what? A sociopath? Do you believe your star goalie, who mentors his teammates and who you regularly talk through game strategy with, would fall for someone with no moral compass?”
“This sounds like someone reaching because they didn’t get what they wanted.” Roman rests a protective arm across the back of my chair. “Lexi is a remarkable leader and an inspiration, which is what I and everyone sees when we look at her. She came to this city as the sole guardian of her two grieving sisters, while also grieving the loss of her mother. She made hockey history when she became an assistant coach. Do you not agree that it would be impossible to bear that load of responsibility alone?”