Chapter Twenty-Five

After they finished their work, they made their way back to the hotel.

“Look, I think we should talk about...” Darcy wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence.

Natalie walked past her into the hotel lobby. “If you want to talk, that’s fine, but I have to eat or I am going to lose my mind.”

Darcy jerked a thumb toward the hotel restaurant. “This good?”

Natalie nodded and led the way. After the waiter took their drink orders, Darcy set her menu flat on the table in front of her.

Natalie stared at her menu like she was trying to memorize it. “Say whatever it is you’re thinking.” She glanced up. “You know you’re going to say it eventually, just get on with it.”

Darcy closed her menu and took a deep breath. “You can’t go off on Raquel like that.”

“I didn’t go off. I was honest.” Natalie looked up. “It’s not like you were going to stick up for yourself or your value.” She flipped her own menu closed and slid it to the side. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Darcy ran one hand through her hair. Heat filled her cheeks and she tried to tamp down the anger and annoyance threatening to overtake her. “You are the most insufferable person I’ve ever met.”

“Bullshit.”

Darcy paused. The waiter arrived to take their orders and left their beers on the table. If she heard Natalie swear, she didn’t show it.

Natalie leaned forward. “We both know we’ve been teammates with way worse people than me. But go ahead, tell me why it was wrong for me to get Raquel to promise you a permanent gig when this is over.” Natalie tipped her beer toward Darcy before taking a triumphant sip.

Darcy’s fingers curled tighter around her glass. “This isn’t the same as college. You can’t pitch a fit about playing time and get what you want. You have to be able to back it up. I’ve been working here for three years.”

“Yeah, and it wasn’t until I showed up that they let you on camera.”

Darcy looked like she might commit murder right there in the restaurant. Natalie grinned. This was too easy. On the ice she usually needed half a game to get under Darcy’s skin, but off the ice it was much easier. And much less likely to end with a stick in the gut.

Darcy took a long sip from her beer. “Did you just take credit for getting me on-screen when I have been working at it for three years?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I put you over the top, would it?”

Darcy set her drink down and glowered at Natalie. She put her hands on the table and Natalie thought she was going to leave. Instead, she let her head fall forward. Her shoulders started shaking.

“Oh shit,” she whispered. “LaCroix. Darcy. Darce, I’m sorry.”

Darcy looked up and when she saw the terrified look on Natalie’s face she couldn’t contain her laughter any longer. “Carpenter, you are hands down the biggest pain in my ass to ever walk the planet. But no, you do not have the ability to make me cry.”

That makes one of us.

Natalie refused to allow herself to be dragged back into those memories. Not now. Not ever. Instead, she glowered. Whatever kindness she’d felt when she thought Darcy was upset evaporated.

“Any chance you can stop being a smart-ass for five minutes so I can say what I want to say? Then you can go back to be an annoying little shit, okay?” Darcy asked.

Natalie shrugged but didn’t say anything.

Darcy waited another second. Once it became clear Natalie wasn’t winding up for another onslaught, she took a breath and looked up. She held eye contact so fiercely Natalie squirmed internally. “You may think it’s pathetic that it took me three years to get on-screen when all it took for you was to waltz through the door.” Natalie started to interrupt but Darcy held up a finger. “Maybe it was that easy for you because I’ve been here, laying the foundation, doing the unglamorous work of showing up every single day so that when the timing was right I could take advantage of the moment.

“You didn’t think that you showing up was the only reason we won in college, did you? That would be stupid. It was all of us. Working every single day to get better. Just because you showed up when all the pieces fell into place doesn’t mean you won the title by yourself any more than you showing up here and getting on camera means this was all your doing either.”

Darcy lifted her beer. “I’m not trying to take away the credit you deserve. I think we have the potential to do something great together, but not if you’re going to act like you have nothing to learn. And while you’re here, I’d appreciate it if you don’t screw things up for me with my boss. Because you may not want a career doing this, it might only be a fun thing to try before you move on to whatever is next. But this is what I do. This is where I have been working for a break for the past three years and I will be pissed if you fuck that up for me. Got it?”

Natalie tried her best not to look like a teenager who knew her parent had made a valid point.

The waiter arrived with their plates. “Is there anything else I can get for you? Another beer? Some water?”

“No, thank you. This looks great,” Darcy said with a bright smile. Zero trace of the fierce tone she’d used with Natalie two seconds before.

Unfailingly polite. With fans, reporters, random people who asked her about her dad. Darcy was always polite. Natalie had never seen her lose her temper or be anything but the nicest person to everyone she met. Everyone except Natalie.

Natalie waited until Darcy bit into her grilled veggie sandwich to speak. Darcy wasn’t the only one who hated to be interrupted. “I’m not here to ruin your life, you know? I got cut.”

Darcy looked up as Natalie worked hard to swallow her emotions.

“When this job became a possibility, I figured it was worth a shot. And so far, it seems fun. I like it but I don’t want to be part of something that sucks just because you’re so busy trying to hold on to your job that you won’t go after doing something great.” She took another sip of her beer. “I might be a giant pain in your ass but maybe you’ve forgotten that we were great together once, too. We won, together. And I think if you stop thinking small and safe, we might be able to be great here, too. Tell me you don’t think a competition will be ratings gold. Tell me that and I’ll go back to doing whatever boring-ass thing they do every morning to sell paper towels and fabric softener.”

Darcy sighed. “Are you done?”

Natalie gestured for Darcy to have the floor.

“I don’t know where you got the impression that I’m some kind of risk-averse ninny.”

Natalie looked over the top of her glass at Darcy, whose gaze faltered for a barely perceptible moment. But neither of them was going to bring up what they were both thinking. That night, everything that happened after, was a big mistake. But it was also a long time ago. They were both over it, weren’t they?

Darcy continued. “There are a lot of easier jobs than this one. Closer to home, cushier. But this is what I want to do. And I’m happy to take a big swing and try to make this segment memorable with you, but I’m not willing to have you come in here full of your usual bullshit swagger and fuck it all up for me. You got it?”

Natalie smiled, a little stunned. “Got it. Now how do we make sure we’re unforgettable?”