Page 74 of Gross Misconduct

Yes, it had to be weird. Why would Tangi even suggest it? Before I could protest, Wolseley was jumping in.

“That would be totally cool. I hear he’s fun and a decent guy when he’s not tapping his teammate’s wife.”

“I’m sure he’ll say yes,” Tangi added.

I waved both my hands in front of them since I seemed to have vanished. “Do I not have a say in this?”

“You said you’re on friendly terms.”

“I said no such thing! I said we were seeing how things go.”

Tangi’s hazel eyes zeroed in on me. “Then why can’t Wolseley meet him?”

“Why does she have to?”

Now Wolseley was waving her hands in front of me. “Did I just disappear? Don’t I have a say in this?”

I wanted to throttle both of my friends!

“I’ll invite him,” Tangi said. “It will be fun.”

Apparently, she was going to do it whether I liked it or not.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Jeremy

Before Jill found out about Orla, I had planned a fun few days with her during the Kodiaks bye week. I knew her friend was coming in from Minnesota, but I’d planned around it. I thought we could head up to Whistler for a few days so she could finally see it. Now I was sitting alone in my condo, playing video games, and trying to stay under the radar. I’d already gotten a tongue-lashing from Mom about Orla, and my dad had given me a lecture about how disappointed he was. I deserved it all.

I’d avoided social media. The last thing I needed to see were all the nasty comments directed my way. Nothing anyone could say would compare to the things I’d said to myself. I immersed myself in mindless gaming, a place where no one knew who I was.

I was heading to bed when my phone chimed. I took a quick look to see that it was from Ethan.

Breakfast tomorrow? With all of us?

Who is all of us?

Me, Tang, Maddy, Wolseley, Jill.

The text came from Ethan, so I had to wonder if Jill even wanted me there. If she did, she would have sent the message directly, and I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. Another reason to say no had to do with other people. Would they glare at me? Give me a hard time? I didn’t think that was worth it. But then I thought of Jill. I did want to see her. Maybe this could be a way of showing her how much I cared.

Before making a decision, I decided to sleep on it. When I pulled myself out of bed and ignored my aching shoulder, my phone was on the nightstand, daring me to answer.

Sure. Where and what time?

I showered, changed, and headed to the restaurant. I’d never heard of it, but that didn’t surprise me. Even though I’d lived in Vancouver during the season, there was still so much I hadn’t seen, but I was shocked when I drove up to a greasy spoon. I assumed they’d want to have breakfast at some popular and expensive place, but this was neither. I went inside, and Jill was with someone with orange hair in a booth. The diner was half-full, and no one seemed to notice me as I made my way over. I got to the booth, and Jill watched me, her blue eyes following my every move. I smiled at her and focused on her friend.

“You must be Wolseley.”

“I am,” she said, her brown eyes twinkling. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many great things.”

“I’ve heard great things about you too. It’s nice to finally meet the third Musketeer.”

Jill frowned, unimpressed with the charm I was laying out. “We are waiting for Tangi, Ethan, and Maddy,” Jill said coldly. She picked up a menu and started looking through it.

“Sorry about the crap you’ve gone through. It must suck,” Wolseley said to me. “Good thing the Kodiaks have an amazing PR team.” She glanced over at Jill and beamed.

“It’s all self-inflicted,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile at Wolseley. She gave off fun energy, like a breath of fresh air. Based on her clothes, she wasn’t as stuffy and conservative as Jill. In fact, she looked like she was on the other end of the spectrum—a hippie, I could hear my mother say.

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