“Anyway, I don’t know what to do. I can’t exactly ask for a transfer or it’ll delay my graduation. I just have to do my best to avoid him until I’m done.” I swallowed a huge lump in my throat as tears stung my eyes. “I’m so scared, Mom. I don’t want him back in our lives. Can he take the girls?”
Mom got up and hurried around to my side of the island, pulling me in close. “Honey, he will never, ever take those girls. Do you hear me? He hasn’t been around for five years. No court in their right mind would grant him any sort of custody. The most he could hope for would be minimal visitation, but if I have to sell this damn inn to hire the best lawyer in Minnesota, so be it.”
Court. Custody. Visitation.
Those were things I hadn’t even thought about. The knot in my stomach was so big and heavy, I felt like it might crush me. I thought telling my mom about Zach would make me feel better, but she had brought up things I wasn’t prepared to deal with. The last thing in the world that I wanted right now was a court battle.
My head dropped down to my folded arms on the island and I sobbed.
After another mediocre practice, I was frustrated and stressed and decided I needed to take care of something that had been disrupting my focus.
I showered at the rink and drove straight to Andy’s office. My palms started to sweat as the elevator stopped at the forty-second floor and the doors opened. The Shaw Management sign stared me right in the face. I hadn’t spoken to Andy since he showed up at my condo right after Piper’s accident. Everything between us was fine that day, but it wasn’t like us to go this long without even a harassing text. I also couldn’t remember a time in my whole life when I was nervous to talk to him.
Andy’s secretary, Ellie, was sitting behind the large granite desk.
“Brody!” she sang cheerfully as I walked out of the elevator.
“Hey, Ellie. How are ya?”
“Really good, thanks.” She smiled and batted her fake eyelashes at me. I had never seen teeth as big as Ellie’s. They were like white Chiclets in her mouth. She glanced at her computer screen and frowned slightly. “Is Mr. Shaw expecting you? I don’t have anything on the schedule.”
“Nah, he has no idea I’m here. Is he busy?”
She looked down at her watch. “He’s in a meeting with Brice Foster, but they should be just about done. Do you want to wait a minute?”
“Sure.” I walked over and slumped down in one of the oversized black leather chairs.
Before I even had time to pick up a magazine, his office door swung open and the hottest up-and-coming college baseball player walked out.
I stood up and rubbed my damp palms on my jeans when I caught Brice’s eye. He was a little over six feet tall, but skinny as hell. Someone needed to plump this kid up if he was going to make a run at a professional sports career. He had long hair, brushed off to the side like that annoying Bieber kid, and a baseball hat propped on the very top of his head.
Who the hell taught this kid how to dress?
“Brody Murphy?” He said my name excitedly as he extended his hand.
I smiled politely and shook it. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things about you.”
He grinned as his eyes went wide. “Wow! That’s awesome. Can I take a picture with you?”
“Sure. Ellie, would you mind?” I called out, but Brice shook me off.
Brice waved at Ellie to sit back down. “I got it. We’ll just do a selfie.” He held the camera out in front of us. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I sighed, putting my arm around his shoulder and flashing a quick smile.
“Thanks so much!” He grabbed my hand and shook it quickly before rushing off.
I looked at Ellie who watched Brice walk into the elevator. When he was out of earshot, she looked back at me and rolled her eyes. “Cute kid.”
“If you say so.” I laughed.
I heard Andy on the phone, so I turned the knob quietly and slipped inside. His back was to me as he stood looking out the window with his phone at his ear. Being the boss had its perks, especially when it came to offices. You could’ve played a full-court basketball game in there. A seating arrangement off to my right looked more like a high-end living room than office furniture. I parked my ass on the brown leather couch and propped my feet up on the coffee table while he paced back and forth, still oblivious that I was there.
“No. You have more than enough. Send the bill to my assistant and I’ll pay it, but I’m not giving you any more cash, Blaire.”
Wait. What?
I cleared my throat to get his attention. When his eyes snapped up and caught mine, I grinned at him and flipped him off. He rolled his eyes and pointed toward his phone. “Look, I gotta go. A client just walked in, a real pain in the ass.”
I picked up the Sports Illustrated with Brice Foster on the cover and threw it across the room at him.
“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Set it up with my assistant. Bye.” He turned the phone off, tossed it on his desk, and ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus, how did I deal with her all these years?”