Page 56 of Rafferty

Brienne’s office door is open, and as we approach, I can see the river and city skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her desk. The office used to belong to her brother Adam, who managed the team but unfortunately died in the crash. The space has been done in dark woods with thick burgundy carpeting and heavy, gold-framed oil paintings. It’s clearly masculine, a holdover from her brother’s time, I suppose, and very reminiscent of Brienne’s family home.

Brienne stands from behind her desk, casually dressed in designer jeans, a cream sweater and red plaid scarf around her neck. Her hair is loose but held back by a matching plaid headband. She moves our way, her expression welcoming, but I see the worry in her eyes.

Her eyes land on Tempe and she blinks in surprise before turning to me. “I didn’t realize you’d have your girlfriend with you.” She looks to Tempe and her smile is genuine. “It’s nice to see you again, Tempe, but perhaps you’d like to wait out in the lobby.”

Tempe stiffens at my side but I quickly clear things up. “Actually, I need her to stay. She can corroborate what I’m about to tell you.”

Brienne motions toward the round conference table in the corner that seats four. “Let’s sit down. Do you two want any coffee or water?”

“I’m good,” I say, and Tempe echoes the same.

When we’re settled, Brienne clasps her hands on the table and looks me right in the eye. “First, let me say I’m incredibly upset about these false allegations against you. I know this is upsetting and I know you’re not happy with the suspension. You can be assured you have my full support and we’ll get to the bottom of this quickly so we can get you back on the ice.”

I take a breath, let it out slowly. “I really hope you mean that, Brienne. Because what I’m about to tell you will explain why these fake reports occurred and you’re not going to be happy about it.”

“I see,” Brienne murmurs, and I can’t help but think…You really don’t. “Why don’t you just lay it out for me then.”

I clear my throat. “First, thank you for meeting with us on such short notice,” I start, steady despite the turmoil inside. “And I appreciate the support you’re giving me just on my word alone.”

“You volunteered for a drug test right away,” Brienne points out. “That was all I needed to know, and I’m well aware that fake stories happen all the time. I fully expect we’ll uncover the truth of what happened.”

“I do too,” I reply, my eyes moving between Brienne and Callum, ultimately landing on Brienne. “But you need to know, your cousin Tansy Carmichael is behind it all.”

Brienne’s mouth drops wide open, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head. “Tansy? I don’t understand.”

“It’s a long story, so bear with me,” I say, and I cycle through all the pertinent information so I can give her a complete picture without droning on and on. “I had a one-night stand with Tansy several weeks ago. I knew she worked for the organization, but I didn’t know she was related to you. I guess that’s not really relevant, but it was consensual and then it was over.”

I stare hard at Brienne, as I want to be sure she understands that it was only a hookup, as seedy as that might make me seem.

“Go on,” she says, her words clipped.

“Tansy didn’t want it to be over though. She kept showing up at places I frequented and made innuendos that she wanted to see me again. Then she just started asking me to go out again. At first, I was trying to be polite and didn’t quite know how to say no to her without hurting her feelings. But she never got the hint, and then one night, when I was at the grocery store, she showed up.”

“Was this a grocery store she usually goes to?” Callum asks.

“If you’re wanting to know if this was coincidence, I can’t say for sure, but it didn’t seem like one to me. At any rate, I panicked when I saw her walking my way, and well… I grabbed the woman standing next to me, which happened to be Tempe, and kissed her.”

Once again, Brienne’s jaw drops but she doesn’t say anything.

“I won’t go into the details but suffice it to say, I pretended that Tempe was my girlfriend and she went along with the ruse. Tansy didn’t believe it, so I convinced Tempe to keep up the fake girlfriend bit and she came to the next few team events with me so that Tansy would hopefully leave me alone.”

“Except she didn’t?” Brienne guesses.

I shake my head. “She said she never believed we were the real deal, and the ironic thing is, we became the real deal, but Tansy still didn’t let up.”

Brienne’s voice is cold. “And it never occurred to you to come to me about this? Or at the very least, go to human resources?”

“No,” I say truthfully. “She’s your cousin. She kept threatening to go to you, which implied to me that there was a loyalty there that the truth wouldn’t breach. So I kept quiet, hoping she’d let it go. But she didn’t. The last exchange was at the party at your house, and she threatened again to go to you. I’d finally had enough and told her to leave Tempe and me alone and to mind her own damn business.”

Brienne stands abruptly from her chair, walks over to the window and crosses her arms over her chest. She’s silent as she ruminates but then looks over her shoulder at me. “And that was your last interaction with her? A week ago?”

“Yes,” I reply and say no more. The story is out there.

Brienne turns back our way but doesn’t approach. She looks at Tempe. “And you can attest to all of this?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she says, and Brienne impatiently waves that off.

“Call me Brienne.” She moves back toward us, then bends over and places her palms on the table. Her eyes snap back and forth between me and Tempe. “These are very serious allegations.” I swallow hard, a lump forming in my stomach. “But I don’t think you’d make up something like this.”

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