Chapter 24: Chapter 24

KATE

Thirty minutes later, we arrived back at The Regency. We could have stayed out a little longer but decided against it. Marching straight to the hotel bar, we ordered a round of drinks.

I looked at the clock; we had forty minutes until the ball dropped. I wished we were back home in the city, watching, but realized it made sense to make the best of where we were.

“If you boys want to head up to your rooms to call your wives, girlfriends, whatever, feel free!” I yelled. Tyler winked at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m forever single, Kate,” Chris said proudly. Some of the guys told him he was an idiot, while some slapped him on the back in a way to congratulate him. Jaromir’s eyebrows scrunched as he stared off at a blank wall.

“Jaromir!” I yelled. “I want to show you something that you’ll love.” He walked over with a cheery smile, his brown shoulder-length curls bouncing with each step.

Taking him by the arm, I stepped out into a little patio that was probably used a lot when the weather was nice. But, of course, in the heart of winter, it was empty then.

We stayed close together for warmth, and I pointed at some building in the distance. “Talk to me,” I said.

“I’m not sure what that building is, Kate.”

“Me neither. What’s going on with you and Annabelle?”

Jaromir turned to me, surprised. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I have pretty good instincts. I’d like you to feel that you can talk to me if you need to. And if you don’t want to make it personal, then it can be for the game.

“All players’ performance declines slightly when things are going bad in their personal lives.”

He sighed audibly, pulling the hair away from his face in a small ponytail. “She has asked for a divorce.”

My eyes widened. She was about to give birth to their child. I had assumed they were only fighting or something.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t see that coming. Why?”

He leaned against the cold metal rail. The stars behind him lit the sky along with the city lights.

He looked frustrated, not sad. “She’s been having an affair for a year. Blamed it on my job.”

“Oh God. I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t be. She chose to have an affair; she just wanted an excuse. The only way she could have one was by making it my fault.” He shrugged and laughed a cold laugh.

“I knew she was bullshitting about the job. The guy she had an affair with plays for Jersey.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth. I wanted to slap her, but I couldn’t. Jaromir didn’t deserve that. I hugged him tight and apologized over and over.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Actually, yes,” he answered. “Help me find a better divorce attorney. Mine sucks.”

“Done. I’ll set up a meeting for you this week.”

“Thanks, Kate.”

Returning to the bar, everyone’s spirits were high as a kite. Tyler pinched my butt when I slid past, igniting my excitement to be upstairs with him.

When the ball dropped, we cheered and hugged around. Everyone retired to their rooms, while I snuck into Tyler’s.

“Happy New Year, gorgeous,” he said. I’m looking forward to spending it with you, confusing the media, and making our own lives difficult by hiding our relationship.”

I slapped him on the chest. With his arms around my waist, we danced together to no music, swaying only to the beat of our pounding hearts. “What I didn’t say is that you’re worth every bit of that,” he added.

I kissed him. I kissed him like it was our last, and we continued swaying in each other’s arms. His tattooed biceps tightened around me as he dramatically dipped me low. “That was fancy,” I joked.

“Only the best for you, Ms. Martin.”

“Oh, shut up.”

He threw me over his shoulder, carrying me to the king-size bed. He dropped me on it and pounced on me like a lion hungry for its prey.

In between kissing my neck, he said, “I hated staying away from you all night. Hated it. And I hated even more that everyone else got to touch you whenever they wanted.”

“I know,” I replied with a moan. “As soon as the world finds out how boring I truly am, things will be slightly easier for us.”

“You’re far from boring,” Tyler said. “And say things never get easy for us, I still won’t care. You’ll still be worth it.”

“You’re so sure of that?” I asked.

“You’re the only thing I am sure of.”

With three minutes left in the third, Blades and Maple Leaf were tied with a score of ~2-2~. I was sitting in front of the glass between my uncles right behind the player’s bench.

We could have used a suite, but we enjoyed the game nice and close if we weren’t at the Garden.

My death grip around my uncles’ forearms didn’t seem to faze them. Our eyes were glued to the ice and the black and red jerseys moving around it with ease. Of course, we watched the blue jerseys like hawks as well.

“What do you think about Kemper?” Kevin asked from the far side of Uncle Fred.

“He’s a really good player,” I answered. “We could probably pick him up for a decent price, but he won’t stay cheap for long. He’s got that spark, but it’ll all depend on what happens with Gustav.

“If he stays with us, I don’t want to spend that kind of money on a defenseman we won’t need.”

Kevin’s face changed. He hated when I said anything, more so when I was disagreeing. “We always need defensemen,” he said.

“We do, yes. And we have plenty. If we lose one, then we’ll replace him with Kemper.”

“Kate,” Uncle John said from my left. “Just let it go for now. He won’t stop.”

Annoyed, I turned my attention back to the game. With only thirty seconds left, the score was still tied. I reached for my forehead, worried that I was sweating inside an ice arena.

The buzzer rang, and overtime was about to begin. Tyler skated onto the ice, gliding toward the glass we sat in front of. His gloved hand ran across it, and through his helmet, I could see him smile.

The teenage girls watching the game next to me with their dad almost died when he skated up that close. I’d never seen someone pull a cell phone out so quickly. It was impressive.

Watching that boy play hockey was invigorating. Hockey was superbly masculine, a huge turn-on for anyone with eyes, really.

As much as I loved the sport, I was a horrible skater, making me envy their moves even more. Every step of theirs was effortless and graceful, yet backed up with muscular strength and talent.

I found myself grinning. Not only was I falling deeper in love with the ever-talented Mr. Carlson, but he was also a blessing to our team.

The previous year, the Blades hadn’t made it to the playoffs, which was quite a sore subject for my father. But Tyler was helping the team propel with a fascinating record.

That success wasn’t due to him solely; a single player could never make or break a season. It was the chemistry between the players, because quite frankly, no guy on the Blades team sucks.

Overtime ended, but the tie remained unbroken. The players headed into a shootout. “Shit,” Uncle John said under his breath.

Jaromir poured more water on his face by the bench before skating back to the net. The Leafs’ goalie did the same.

First up was Mathieu. His shootout percentage was decent, but the best ones rarely went first.

I held my breath as he skated toward the net, the puck rattling by his stick. He moved to the left, got ready to shoot, deceived the goalie, and stuck it in the upper right-hand corner.

I couldn’t believe it. I jumped up and down and screamed obnoxiously. There were only a few other Blades fans in the crowd.

We were mostly surrounded by the opposing fans who enjoyed shooting dirty looks at me any chance they got.

That was probably because I was wearing my Blades jersey, sporting Jaromir’s name and number that night. I had pants on at that time though.

Toronto’s skater stepped up. And… He scored. I cursed loudly and waited to see who would come up next for my team. Chris Jagr was up next. He was one of our best with shootouts.

I crossed my fingers. He slowed right before the net, but the goalie predicted his move. Toronto missed their next shot too.

I jumped out of my seat, seeing number eleven skate onto the ice next, my heart pounding. He stood on center ice, breathed in and out, then moved with the puck.

He went up to the left-hand side, and just before he reached the goalie, he tapped the puck to the right and backhanded it into the net. Five hole, right through the goalie’s legs.

Tyler skated around the rink, pumping his fists in the air. The other players on the bench jumped over the boards and moved to congratulate him. They yelled, hugged, and as always, tapped helmets with Jaromir.

Tyler’s smile was a mile wide. He was thoroughly enjoying winning against his old team, especially in a close game and during a shootout. The game couldn’t have ended better for him.

Toronto’s players had already cleared out, upset with their loss. Tyler was still making the few Blades fans in the audience scream. I was one of them.

He made his way over to where my uncles, cousin, and I were sitting. He stopped right in front of us, put his hand on the glass, and nodded.

He then moved to find the rest of his team while I stayed there practically drooling over how sexy he was, especially all sweaty in full hockey gear.

Not long after the game, we were on the plane headed back to New York. The men looked effortlessly stunning in their suits and freshly washed hair.

I congratulated all of them for the win before sitting beside Jaromir. The entire flight was spent talking to him about divorce attorneys.

It was a depressing subject, but I would always be there for him. That was the kind of owner I needed to be, just like my dad.

A week had passed since our trip to Canada. It was Friday night, and Piper and I were standing in front of a large brown bag in my kitchen.

“I fucking love Chinese food,” she said, digging into the bag. Nodding in agreement, I grabbed forks, and we moved into my living room.

In between mouthfuls, she said, “I still can’t get over how badass you were leaving that club in Toronto. First, you looked sexy as fuck. Second, all those guys on your arm? Fucking brilliant.”

“It was one of my player’s ideas. I’m literally thinking of buying him something for that. He’s a rookie and doesn’t make too much money. I could get him something cool.”

“You should,” she said with a clap of her hands.

“Or what if I buy all the players something cool, like a bonus?”

She weighed the idea in her mind. “Your financial manager did tell you to spend more money. You could write it off, it’d be well worth it.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t want to buy them something because I was told to,” I said. “It’s because I want to.”

“I know. I know.”

She smiled and shoved orange chicken in her mouth. The sauce dripped down the sides of her mouth. Knowing she wouldn’t bother wiping it, I lifted my napkin and cleaned her face for her.

My phone buzzed. It took me a few minutes to find it under the pillows.

Nicolette

Can I come over?

Kate

Of course. Piper and I are eating Chinese food.

Nicolette

Okay, good. I’m already here.

A minute later, the elevator opened to my foyer and my sister stepped out.

Piper asked how her Christmas vacation was. After Nicolette showed us some pictures and exchanged some fun details about a local boy who worked at the resort, we moved on to why Nicolette was really at the penthouse.

“It’s Mom,” she said. Those words were typically said when someone was sick or had passed away. I geared myself up and tried to be sad. It didn’t work.

I guess after twenty-seven years of being treated horribly, it’s hard to feel upset. “Is she sick?” I asked.

Nicolette shook her head. “No. She’s psychotic.”

Piper and I both laughed. “Yes,” I replied. “I’m well aware of that. What did I do this time to make her crazy?”

“It was me.”

I squinted, not liking where the conversation was going. It was one thing if my mother was mean to me. I was used to it and could handle her, but not Nicolette.

She’d been best friends with Mom since forever, and I didn’t want anyone treating my sister horribly, even if that someone was a part of my family.

“She’s suing me. And you.”

Unintentionally, I laughed again. “Nic,” I started. “She has no grounds to sue either of us. And honestly, she doesn’t even have enough money to sue us.”

My sister looked skeptical and saddened. Her blue eyes became watery as she looked around our father's barely lit living room.

“She remarried a few weeks ago. Some French businessman. He’s rich, not comparable with you, but he’s wealthy. Mom told him what had happened and basically, this was all his idea.”

Something came over me that I hadn’t experienced before. The room felt like it was closing in on me, but the walls remained where they were. More money, more problems, people liked to say. It was true.

Greed was an ugly drawback that many seemed to possess. I knew I would be taken advantage of because I was young. People mistook young for stupid. Little did they know, I was taught everything I knew from a business genius.

Nicolette started crying. “They may not succeed with you, but she will get my money. She said she’s serving me this week.”

“She’s not getting a dime of yours.”

I turned away from my sister to chat with Piper momentarily. She dialed some numbers and once again, I thanked her for being the best assistant I could have ever asked for.

“Alright, Nic. Monday morning, meet me at my office, eight o’clock sharp. You’re going to sign your entire trust over to Martin Financial.

“I’ll set up a separate personal account in Piper’s name and wire 150 million to it—the net amount of your trust fund. You’ll be the secondary benefactor, and the only one with real access.”

“I won’t touch it, Nicolette,” Piper assured. Nicolette knew she wouldn’t, that’s not how Piper was.

“I’ll have lawyers on standby,” I told her. “Our mother is not getting a dime of our money. I’ll make sure of it.”

My sister jumped across the couch and squeezed me tightly. She thanked me over and over, not letting go for a solid ten minutes.

“And Nic? I’m sorry you had to find out who she truly is. I was hoping you’d never have to know.”