Page 25 of One Goal in Mind

“No,” I snap, then take a steadying breath. “None of this is your fault. I shouldn’t have gone after him. I need to call my agent. Can I call you back later?”

“Of course. We don’t have a game tonight, but I might be with one of my players.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I’m done. Love you.”

Scarlett sucks in a breath, and it takes me a moment to register what I said. So many times, the confession nearly slipped from me. There were no empty words or promises last night—I’m hers.

“I love you too,” she sighs, but there’s still a smile in her voice.

My heart swells at her admission. We hang up and I call my agent. Unfortunately, the reports are true. Smith is facing a worse fate than I am—he’s being released from his team. Scarlett mentioned yesterday that this wasn’t the first time someone touched her, and my blood boils at the thought of anyone putting up with that kind of harassment. There’s no excuse, and while I can’t beat the shit out of every man who touched her, I won’t sit idly by when there’s something I can do about it. I pull up my group chat with the boys and send off a quick message.

What are your thoughts on an awareness campaign?

Will

Awareness for what? Like saving sea turtles?

Workplace harassment.

Lucas

Doesn’t that already exist?

I’m sure it does but I can’t recall anything after we sign with a team.

Will

Elle put something together before the season started. One of the players of another team assaulted one of our cheerleaders, and she worked with the team owners to ensure there are harsher penalties for sexual harassment. Want me to have her give you a call?

That would be great, thanks!

The next few hours are packed with video calls, meeting with my team’s public relations staff, lawyers, and my agent. They’re all supportive of me working with the league to bring awareness to sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, even with my suspension. As we hang up, an incoming call from an unknown number with the same area code as Will pops up. Hoping it’s Elle, I answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Russell Campbell?” Will’s always described Elle as being an ice queen, but the woman on the other end sounds anything but. While she’s professional, there’s a lightness in her tone. Maybe it isn’t Elle?

“Speaking,” I hesitantly reply.

“Hey, this is Elle Davis. I’m one of the media relations coordinators for the New York Cougars. Will Darling asked me to give you a call.”

“Yes! Thank you so much. He mentioned you spearheaded a sexual harassment awareness campaign. To my knowledge, onedoesn’t exist for my hockey league, and I’d love to talk to you a bit more about what you helped implement for football, so I can pitch it to them.”

“I heard about what happened with the player from Québec City. I’m glad the team has released him. That’s part of what we pitched to the football league—harsher punishment than just a fine. If there’s no consequence to their actions, people do it again. The world saw what he did, and nearly all of the comments on social media were calling for him to lose his contract. That isn’t always the case.”

“So, what can I do to help?”

“Other than trying to murder a man with your skate?” she chuckles.

“I wasn’t trying to murder him,” I huff, though it’s absolutely a lie. I was blinded by rage last night.

“Rumour has it this wasn’t the first time you’ve come to her rescue. While we all love a good fight on the ice, violence is never the answer.”

“I know,” I grumble.

“Your HR director likely has something in place, but there’s always room for improvement. A lot of leagues—from rugby to ice hockey—have required therapy for all players. The ones that do have lower incidents of assault in general. My suggestion, if you’re looking to shine a light on what happened more broadly, is to promote a proactive approach and normalize therapy. It’ll take the spotlight off the incident itself and direct it to something actionable.”

“That’s a great idea.” The last thing I want is Scarlett to deal with any added scrutiny; there are fans who will likely blame her for their favourite player being let go.

“I’m about to step into a meeting, but if you text me your email, I can send you everything I have,” she offers, and I’m still surprised Will has issues with her when she’s been nothing but helpful.

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