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Chapter Sixteen

Bex

I catch Cammy’s eye at the reception desk as I head for Sam's closed office door. She glances up, nods, and says, “Go right in. He’s waiting for you.” There’s a hint of something in her tone, something that puts me on alert.

Sam texted me ten minutes ago to meet him here. It’s not often he summons me without a heads-up. If Sam has something on his mind, he usually heads straight to my office or finds me on the ice or in the gym. But here I am, being called up to his office with zero explanation, and I don’t like the mystery of it.

As I reach for the handle, I hear muffled voices on the other side of the door. One voice cuts through the others—familiar, soft, but slightly strained. It’s Rowan.

A cold twinge grips my chest. Is this about what happened in my office last week? Does she regret it, or has she said something to Sam? I take a steadying breath, hoping to shake off the unease in my gut. Whatever it is, I’m about to find out.

I twist the handle and step in, taking in the scene. The room’s more crowded than I expected. Keely and Reeve are standing off to the side, both looking tense. Keely’s expression flickers with guilt as she glances at me, then quickly looks away.

"Bex," Sam’s voice breaks the silence. "Come on in. Close the door behind you,"

I shut the door and scan the room, feeling the weight of every eye on me. In the corner, Phil’s leaning against the wall, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He nods at me, tight-lipped, his expression unreadable. And then I see them—Autumn and Rowan, standing together by the window, speaking softly as they exchange glances, barely noticing me walk in. My pulse spikes, though I keep my face blank.

“What’s going on here?” I ask.

Keely clears her throat, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “This… is actually about me,” she says, looking as sheepish as I’ve ever seen her.

Keely takes a breath, eyes flicking to Reeve and then to Sam before she finally speaks. “I was just… confessing, I guess. Telling Sam and Phil about my father’s history and the fears I have about how it might affect the team.”

“Your father?” I echo, struggling to make sense of this. “What does he have to do with the Hawkeyes?”

Keely glances over at Reeve, who gives her a slight nod of encouragement. She visibly steadies herself, then looks back at me, her expression tightening with something between fear and determination.

“He used to work for the mob.” Her confession has my chest tightening at the thought that Keely might be in some kind of trouble. “He went to prison for organizing the throwing of the World Cup fifteen years ago. Rowan’s been keeping her ear to the ground in case there’s anyone in the media that might be stirring up a story about my connection to my father, but so far, she hasn’t heard anything.”

There’s a beat of silence, and I piece it together, though her explanation only brings on more questions. Suddenly, Reeve’s concerns over Keely since Thanksgiving, and the whispering in the hallways with Rowan are all starting to make sense. “So you’re worried about his reputation sticking to you,” I conclude, my tone gentler.

Keely nods, her shoulders slumping in relief. “But more than concern for myself, I am concerned about the Hawkeyes' reputation and Reeve’s sponsorships dropping him.”

“You know I don’t care about that. They can drop me if they want. It won’t change us being together.” Reeve tells her reassuringly, pulling her hand into hers.

She nods. “I just don’t want anything from my past to cast a shadow on this team—or on Reeve.”

“Nothing is going to happen to the team or to Reeve. Even if a reporter got their hands on this, it might last a week or two at most. Then they’ll move on to something else,” Rowan says.

“The media might move on, but what about the investors for the Hawkeyes? Will they forget so easily?” Keely asks.

“Rowan’s right. If anyone wrote an article about the Hawkeyes PT having a father that was involved in an incident a decade and a half ago, it would have to be a slow week. We’ll support you if the story comes out. Though I wish you would have given us a heads up a lot sooner so that we could have prepared our backers about any possible angle the press might take on this.”

I glance around the room, taking in the faces of everyone here, realizing that this is more than just Keely’s confession. They’re all here to figure out how to shield her—and by extension, the team—from any potential fallout. And while this is Keely’s story, it’s clear that everyone in this room is affected by it in one way or another.

I meet Sam’s gaze, silently asking what he expects from me in this conversation.

“We’re trying to come up with a strategy,” Sam explains. “Something that will put distance between Keely’s family past and her role with the team, while also getting ahead of any potential stories that might try to dig this up.”

Autumn raises a hand. “I have a connection with WomanFit magazine. They are one of the biggest magazine brands for athletes out there right now. The Editor loves Briggs’ charity and she donates a huge amount each year. I briefly spoke to her about how we hired a female head PT for our men’s hockey team and she was thrilled at the idea of doing a monthly edition of women in sport related careers.”

Phil rubs his chin. “Interesting. What’s your angle on this?” he asks.

Autumn looks to Rowan who takes the lead. “We might not be able to hold this story back for long. Keely and Reeve have been getting a lot of publicity lately over Reeve saving her and Keely nursing him back to health. It’s a feel good story, but with it, people are snooping around.”

Sam crosses his arms over his chest. “You think that someone is going to find this story?”

“Eventually,” Rowan says. “But this magazine is an opportunity to control when, how, where and with all the facts told from Keely’s point of view.”

I stare over at her and she finally meets my eyes after Sam and Phil nod in agreement.

“You knew about this? For how long?” I ask.

She swallows and then looks around the room as if she feels guilty too for keeping it from everyone.

Keely steps forward toward me. “It wasn’t Rowan’s fault. I asked her to keep my secret. If it weren’t for her, Reeve and I wouldn't be dating. But I should have told everyone sooner. Reeve has been worried they’ve been trying to come up with a solution.”

My eyes search out Rowan again. That’s what the hallways whispers have been about and why Reeve has been distracted. “This would have at least brought it some click-bait readers. Charles isn’t happy about this, I’m sure.”

“He doesn’t know,” she says, her eyes narrowed on me.

She kept this from her boss? A story like this?

“You kept a story from your boss to protect the team and Keely?” I ask.

“Can we do this another time? This is about helping Keely, not about The Seattle Sunrise . I have other loyalties than just my chosen profession,” she says, already turning her eyes back on Autumn as if to cut me out.

I deserved that.

I thought for sure that she had something on Reeve and now I know that I was wrong.

Phil clears his voice. “I think Autumn and Rowan have a good plan. Let’s excuse this and keep me apprised of any sponsorship squabbles. Nothing a few executive box tickets to the game won’t remedy.”

“Thank you, sir,” Reeve says, Keely, Autumn and Rowan quickly agreeing.

“You’re all excused, Phil and I have a few things to discuss. Have a good day everyone,” Sam says. “Autumn and Rowan—keep me in the loop about the magazine spread.”

They both nod, and we all make our way toward the exit. I hang back, keeping my eyes on Rowan as she lingers at the rear of the group, exiting last.

“Can we talk?” I ask, leaning closer to her ear as she passes by me, my voice low enough that only she can hear.

She glances over her shoulder, her eyes sharp, then takes a quick scan to ensure we’re far enough away from Sam and Phil before speaking.

“I thought you said your tongue did enough talking yesterday,” she says, her tone laced with both challenge and irritation, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

I deserve that.

But I’m not about to let her brush me off, not after everything that just came to light.

I gently hook my hand around the inside of her elbow before she takes another step away from me. She shoots me a look over her shoulder, but she stops and I release her.

I got her attention, now it’s up to her if she wants to stay and discuss the misunderstanding we had earlier.

“I’m sorry about yesterday. About what I said when you came to see me… and how I acted. What did you really come to talk to me about yesterday?”

“The gala, as I said when I knocked on the door,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and peers past me.

I turn to see Cammy sitting at her desk behind me with a smirk on her face.

“Can we discuss this somewhere more private?” I ask.

“We’ve tried privacy Coach Bex. It seems that privacy is the last thing you and I need any more of. If that’s all you had to discuss, I need to get back to work,” she says, already turning away.

That’s not all. It’s not even close to what I need to say to her, but Sam’s office isn’t the time or the place for this conversation.

My mind is still reeling with what I just learned in Sam’s office.

Reeve and Keely, along with all the Hawkeyes WAGs have been keeping a huge secret from the franchises for all these months, and Rowan not telling her boss about this story could have gotten her fired.

I’m beginning to see that Rowan isn’t who I thought she was.

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