Page 66 of The Fine Line
I glance at him, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. His gaze is fixed on my dad, who refuses to look back.
“Caroline…” Bryan finally sighs. “Look, I believe you.”
“You do?”
His lips pull to the side. “I certainly want to.”
My shoulders slump instantly.
“But unfortunately, that doesn’t really matter.”
“He’s right,” Linda says, her tone softening. “Because no matter what actually happened…this”—she gestures to the screen—“is how it looks. And now we have to fix it.”
A few seconds pass.
Rhett pushes back his chair.
“Look, this is all on me. Just deduct whatever fine you need from my salary to take care of the media mess and take my ‘C’ already. Give it to Wiz or Rags or any of the other guys that deserve it more—whatever. Just call it done.”
He starts to get up, but my dad stops him.
“Sit down.”
Rhett raises his brows. My dad points firmly to his chair. “As much as I’d love to take you up on that, it’s not that simple.”
“Exactly,” Linda says. “You were just named captain. If we take that away now, the organization looks unstable. Coach Barrett’s credibility tanks.”
“Okay,” Rhett mutters. “So how do we fix it?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” I say quietly.
Linda and Rhett both turn to me.
“You do?”
I nod, my voice low as I rise to my feet. “I’ll go pack up my desk.”
Before I can move, Rhett grabs my wrist. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving,” I whisper. “Before they fireme.”
“Why would they fire you?”
“The fact that you even have to ask shows how blind you are to your privilege,” I say, leaning in closer. “When it’s between the superstar hockey player bringing in millions and the replaceable rinkside reporter? I’m the easy sacrifice.”
“Caroline, that’s not necessary,” Bryan says. “In fact, we can’t have you do that.”
“Fine. Just toss it all, then. I don’t need any of it.”
“Nobody’s cleaning out your desk,” Bryan replies gently. “Because you still work here.”
I tilt my head. “What?”
“Neither of you are being relieved of your duties.”
I glance at Rhett. He looks just as confused.
“I don’t understand.”
