Game Changer by Kelly Jamieson Page 0,31

And now you.”

“Nobody else knows that about you?”

“Well, my mom does.”

“Of course. She probably cursed when she had to buy two pairs of skates.”

I grin. “Yeah.”

My cell phone rings on the small table where I set it. I pick it up and see Paul’s number.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” I tell Molly.

I answer the call, swinging my legs over the side of the lounge chair and standing. “Hey, Paul. What’s up?”

“I have no news for you,” he says immediately.

“Shit.”

“I know.” Paul sighs.

I glance at Molly. Even with her sunglasses on, I can see the concern on her face as she listens.

“July first is coming up,” I say, mentioning the start of free agency in the NHL.

“Yep. I’ve been talking lots to Yarish, but we haven’t made any progress. I don’t want you to worry, but we do need to be thinking about arbitration.” Ian Yarish is the GM of the Aces.

“I don’t want to go to arbitration.”

“I know, I don’t either. I want to sign you to a big fat contract that fairly represents what you’re worth. But you know how it is. We’ve talked about your rights and how it works.”

“Yeah.” Paul is really good about explaining things and treating me like I’m running a business. It’s just me, so it seems weird, but looking at it that way helps.

“We know what your strengths are. I know you’re willing to hold out. It takes guts to do that. But I think we’re in a good situation.”

“Jesus, Paul. You need to push harder. We need to get this done.”

A few seconds of loaded silence greet my little outburst. “What do you think I’m doing, Jax?” he asks quietly.

I close my eyes. I have to trust Paul. It’s just hard leaving everything up to someone else. “Sorry. I know you’re on this. Keep me posted.”

“Yeah. I’m flying to Chicago after the Fourth of July. We’ll talk more then.”

“Okay, thanks, Paul.” I end the call with a heavy sigh, dropping my arm.

“What’s wrong?” Molly asks.

“That was my agent. My contract expired this year and negotiations aren’t getting anywhere.”

“Oh.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Do you think…you might end up somewhere else?”

“It’s possible. I don’t want that, but I want to be paid what I’m worth.”

“Of course.” She purses her lips. “There’s still time, though, right?”

“Yeah. I wanted to get things done before summer, but that didn’t happen. Hopefully it will before training camp. Hey, let’s go out on those paddle boards.”

We venture out onto the ocean, staying in the calm cove, spying a seal on some rocks that gets Molly all excited. I go up to the pool closest to us and return with beers and sandwiches, and after more lounging, we try the kayaks. Molly’s never kayaked, but she’s up for anything and it’s fun helping her learn to paddle the small craft.

The day passes quickly and soon it’s time for me to go change and get ready for dinner with my family. I don’t want to leave Molly on her own, but she already said she won’t come, so I don’t push, and she’s probably right—this is a family get-together.

I hesitate at the door, dressed in pants and a button-down shirt, fidgeting with the key to the rental car. “You sure you’ll be okay by yourself?”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course. I’ll have dinner in the bar, take a walk, maybe watch a movie.”

I nod. “Okay. See you later.”

I don’t know why it feels wrong to leave her, but I force myself out into the hall and out of the resort. I found the restaurant where we’re meeting on Google Maps on my phone, a seafood place in Manhattan Beach. The drive is about forty minutes, traffic heavy in spots, and Everly, JP and Théo are already there.

“Nice place,” I say, taking a chair. “Great view.” The big windows look out onto the ocean.

“You didn’t bring Molly?” Everly asks.

I act surprised. “Why would I?”

She wrinkles her nose. “You just left her alone at the hotel?”

“She’ll be fine.” A server approaches and I order a scotch on the rocks.

“What happened with her wedding?” Everly asks, leaning forward. “It was quite the news story.”

“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “I guess it was. What all has been said about it?”

Everly grimaces. “She apparently read out explicit text messages her fiancé sent to another woman.”

“Okay. That about sums it up. He was screwing around on her and she found out.”

“Well, she definitely has ovaries,” Everly says.

Asher and