I MOVED along the cement corridor of the stadium. My heels echoed in the silence of the big dome. I needed to talk to Dad. This whole ‘protect Rory’ thing was ridiculous. He couldn’t ask the players to babysit me if he wanted them to respect me. That whole meeting had been embarrassing and Baxter had made me sound like a joke. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Dad was half the problem. He couldn’t expect me to work in a professional capacity when he treated me like a child in front of everyone.
“Rory.” Max spoke from behind me.
I did not want to talk to Max. His knack in this world was to see me at my most emotional. Why couldn’t he bump into me in the morning when my make-up was fresh and nothing had yet gone wrong? No, the guy was always there, observing me when my plane was crashing, or I was being mauled by a mob. How was he ever going to want more from me when I was a walking billboard of big emojis?
“Not now.” I doubled my speed.
“Rory.” I glanced over my shoulder. He moved with deceptive casualness, but he was gaining on me.
“What!” I spun around on him. “What?”
His eyes crinkled with amusement as he took in my flushed face. “In a rush?”
When I stopped running, all my emotions caught up with me. I put my hand on my forehead. “Gah!”
“What?”
“Everything! No one respects me.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Were we not in the same meeting?”
“Still not following.”
I waved my hand around. “That whole thing with Baxter when he made me try to explain hockey to a bunch of professional hockey players?”
“You didn’t just try.”
I thought of all the players faces as they stared back at me after I spoke. “They all stared at me like I had three heads. It’s obvious I don’t know what I am talking about.”
“I think you caught them off guard by showing them how much you do know.”
“It doesn’t matter because Baxter ruined everything by asking for someone to babysit me.”
“No one sees it like that.”
“How do you know?!”
“Because we talked about it.”
I blinked and paused. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged but didn’t answer.
I put my hand on my hip. “If you’re talking about me, it matters.”
“The guys want to keep you safe.”
“Yes, because so many of them were rushing to volunteer.”
“It’s because of me.”
I froze. “What does that mean?”
“They knew it’s my job.”
That caught me off guard. “What is your job?”
“To have your back.”
This conversation was confusing me. “You don’t have to protect me! I can handle myself.”
“Rory, why is this such a big deal?”
“Because I don’t want to be different.”
“You are different.”
“What does that mean?”
He thought about his answer. “You’re not good in fist fights, so we watch over you. That’s the difference.”
“Max! There you are! Max!” A high-pitched female voice pierced the air.
We both lifted our heads.
Katrina was on the next level and she waved as she worked her way down the stairs towards us.
“I wish I belonged here,” sadness tinged my voice.
“You do.” He held my gaze.
Katrina ruined the moment as she rushed up to us.
“Max, I’ve been searching all over for you!”
“Katrina.”
Katrina stared down her nose at me. I knew she wanted me to leave, but for that reason alone, I stood my ground.
She tossed her head. “So, as you know, the Autumn Ashford Gala is coming up and your attendance is mandatory.”
Max didn’t answer.
She reached out and put her hand on his forearm. “I know you don’t love these events, so I thought we could make it a work event. I could go as your date and help you navigate the gala. You know, introduce you to the right people, that kind of thing.”
Max winced. “You don’t have to do that.”
Her laughter echoed through the corridor. “Nonsense. I’ve reserved us two seats at one of the best tables.”
I almost admired her for how she so effectively backed Max into a corner.
“Which table is that?” I joined the conversation.
She beamed up at Max. “It’s the hockey royalty table. Rory and her plus one will be seated there.’
What the hell? I hadn’t been planning on bringing a date. “You must be mistaken. I haven’t bought tickets for this event.”
Her singsong voice grated on my nerves. “I ran into your mother. She said you had a hot date lined up, and she was picking up your tickets for you.”
Oh shit. Mom was matchmaking again. She had told me that her friends had lots of nice sons who were worthy of dating me, but I had laughed her off. It appears she had taken that as a concession for her to proceed.
Max’s eyes zeroed in on my face. “Sure, Katrina. I’ll attend with you.”
He might as well have sucker punched me. Excuse fucking me? I never thought he’d agree to go with her. I felt myself flush hot.
He held my gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
She batted her eyelashes. “Great because I have the most amazing dress I’m dying to wear.”
I couldn’t take another second of this conversation anymore. “I look forward to seeing you both at the gala. If you’ll excuse me, please.”
Without letting either of them speak, I turned and walked away. Katrina was worse than a puck bunny. Why couldn’t I get this guy out of my brain? Now I would have to sit across from them for the entire night and watch them flirt. Maybe I could skip the event? Maybe I didn’t have to attend?
“RORY, DON’T BE PISSED.”
I stared out the car window and worked to control my frustration. “Dad, how do you expect me to gain respect in this industry if you treat me like your daughter?”
He gave a sharp laugh. “You are my daughter.”
“If I was your son, would you ask someone on the team to have my back?”
“That’s different.”
“It’s not!” I argued. “And not only was it embarrassing, but it undermined me. It made me seem childish and incapable.”
“I’m sorry Baxter’s delivery was so poor.”
“Dad, you can’t treat me like someone that needs to be protected with kid gloves and then expect me to be one of the guys.”
“You need protecting.”
“No! What I need from you is to show me how to protect myself.”
We both did the stare down.
“Rory, when I saw you on the news getting almost attacked by that mob, I thought my heart would stop.”
“Dad. You need to pick. Either you want me in this hockey world and you help me figure out how to survive, or you let me go. But you expect me to thrive in this world while being hog-tied in bubble wrap.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not trying to bubble wrap you.” His words rang hollow.
“The position you’ve put me in is unfair. So, I am your protégée or I’m your daughter, but I can’t be both.”
Dad turned his face away from me and the rest of the drive home we sat in silence.
