Page 61 of Offside Angel

I don’t actually believe it. No one is more even-keeled than Coach. He keeps his mouth shut and his head down. It’s hard to get embroiled in drama when you mind your own fucking business.

He shrugs noncommittally. “I wouldn’t stop it if someone else wanted to make it happen, I’ll tell you that. Not if someone had given me as much trouble as Carson has given you.”

“Is that why you weren’t captain of your team? Too set on revenge?”

Coach bites back the start of a smile. “I wasn’t captain, but I learned something important: you don’t need a ‘C’ sewn into your jersey to be a leader.”

23

MIRA

“I’m going to be honest: I don’t fully know why I’m here.” Taylor adjusts her smartwatch on her wrist and tightens her ponytail. “Am I acting in a bodyguard capacity or is this more for moral support?”

“Evan is the bodyguard.” I hitch a thumb to where Evan’s hulking shadow can be seen through the frosted glass. “You’re here because you came to pick me up for pre-kickboxing coffee even after I told you I had other plans.”

Truth be told, I knew Taylor didn’t hear me tell her I had other plans. She was prattling on the phone about picking me up and grabbing lattes, and I realized all at once that I didn’t want to go see Hollis by myself. So I let her organize picking me up at the condo, knowing full well oat milk lattes were not in our future.

Sue me.

We are at an attorney’s office, after all.

I told Zane I wasn’t ready to make any decisions about how to handle the PR nightmare that is my bloody past, but he told me I should at least go and figure out my options. I agreed, but only because he was supposed to come with me. But that was before he got checked in the game last night, and I begged him not to rush home on the first flight to Phoenix.

Head injuries + overnight flights = bad news, I texted. I’d rather have you alive tomorrow than dead tonight.

After a lot of back and forth, he finally agreed to sleep in Jace’s hotel room—on the condition Jace would wake him up every few hours—and fly home with the team today.

Which means I had a vacancy in the “moral support” department.

Taylor swirls the collection of fountain pens in the cup Hollis has on the corner of his desk. “So, what does this guy think he can do for you? My dad has good lawyers, you know. If you want help, I can get it for you.”

“I don’t even know if I want help. I’m just here to talk. Or, listen, I guess.” I sigh. “I want to hear what he thinks.”

Taylor hums, unconvinced. “This guy is a sports agent, right?”

“And a former attorney.” Hollis pushes through his office door with a smile. “I don’t practice much anymore. This consultation is a favor for my favorite client.”

I jump to my feet, but Taylor just juts her hip out defiantly. “How do we know we can trust you? This is a big secret my bestie is carting around. You could destroy her if you wanted to.”

“Taylor!” I hiss.

“What?” she shrugs. “I’m looking out for you. I don’t know this guy. Neither do you. If you’d asked me for help, I could’ve given you the number of an attorney I trust.”

I never quite know what to expect from Taylor, but her getting territorial over where I go for legal help wasn’t on my bingo card.

Hollis doesn’t flinch. “At this exact moment, I have no less than fourteen pieces of information with the power to blow up headlines the world over. But it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen. If confidential information leaks out of this office, I’m out of a job. It’s something I work hard to avoid.”

Taylor narrows her eyes for a second and then nods once. “Okay, Mimi. You can trust him.”

“Yeah, I know.” I brush her aside and shake Hollis’s hand. “I’m sorry. She’s just here because—actually, I don’t know why she’s here.”

“Then maybe she’d be more comfortable waiting in the lobby.” It’s a suggestion, but it’s really not a suggestion at the same time.

Taylor looks at me, silently confirming that’s fine before she slips into the hallway with Evan.

“Sorry,” Hollis says, softening immediately. “I prefer one-on-one consultations. I like to control the ears in any room. If there’s a leak, I want to know who is responsible. Because I know it won’t be me.”

“That makes sense.” I fold my hands between my thighs. “I don’t really know where to start.”

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