Page 18 of Playoff
"Justin isn’t here, since the team has practice.” Based on how Justin had behaved last night, there was a good chance Mom’s buddy-up plan was already shot. I hoped Justin wouldn’t punch him or something. “I need to get some groceries, so I should go before the stores are crowded." We had food delivered, but Mom didn’t know that and I had to get off the phone before she went further down this rabbit hole.
"You won't forget what I said?"
I only wished I could. "No chance."
"Oh, and while I have you on the phone, we need a bit of money."
Of course they did. Justin had been supporting them for the past ten years. He’d left college to play hockey full-time, even though he’d wanted to get a degree first. Once he was on bigger contracts, he’d paid for the condo my parents lived in.
Their direct communication with my twin had been cut off when I'd discovered they were exploiting him. Asking for money for renovations that instead were used for some shady investment that was supposed to recoup their money. Justin was a soft touch, so I now managed their interactions. I had his power of attorney for financial matters. When they needed money, they had to deal with me, not him.
"Send through something by email with all the figures."
A long sigh. "You make it such a hassle. Why can't we just have a quick conversation and not go through all this?"
Because my parents would bleed Justin dry if I wasn't here to prevent that. They wouldn’t hurt him deliberately, but they had complete tunnel vision and justified everything because their goal was supposed to benefit all of us.
"I deal with numbers all day, Mom. Remember, I’m an investment advisor. It really is important to have the details in writing. I would hate to confuse anything."
Which was my way of covering up that I'd have to check that whatever they asked for, beyond the money they got every month, was a legitimate need. Not a payment to a lawyer to try to squeeze Alek Denbrowski, or yet another private detective who was supposed to find the senior Denbrowskis. Sometimes it was money they wanted to invest in a high-risk, likely fraudulent venture. You’d think they’d have learned after losing everything in a Ponzi scheme, but nope. Despite my training, they never heeded my warnings or advice.
Like people I worked with.
"Very well. I'll leave you to it."
"Wait—how is Grandma doing?"
"Your grandmother is fine."
"When did you last visit her?"
"I've been busy, Jessica. She doesn't recognize anyone so what's the point?"
The point was that Grandma was a lovely woman who'd done most of the work in raising us. Five years ago, she'd pushed me to move to Toronto to be with Justin. After the way his marriage had blown up, he needed someone, since his default response was to crawl inside his shell. Considering what he’d sacrificed for me, it was my turn to help him. And Toronto was the place to be in Canada for the type of investment work I was trained for anyway.
But I'd hated leaving her behind, alone, since my parents were no help. And now dementia had eaten her mind away with devastating speed.
"As soon as I can take some time, I'll come to see her." Justin always stopped in when he played in Vancouver.
"It would be nice if you could come and see your parents as well."
She hung up in a snit.
I walked to my bathroom to get some of the painkillers I kept on hand. Dealing with my parents always gave me a headache.
Maybe I’d clean out the fridge. Since it was already a crappy day, I might as well include all the shitty jobs I hated to do. Maybe I should have spent the night with my hookup after all.
Chapter 9
I just play hockey
Alek
* * *
I stripped down quickly in the emptying locker room and headed to the showers. As with the rest of the facility, they were nice. Separate stalls, clean tiles, plenty of thick towels. Also seemingly endless hot water, which I appreciated as the last guy on the team to get into the shower. When I came back, Cooper, wearing dress pants and a coat that looked both warm and expensive, was waiting by my cubby.
I nodded at him. "Captain."
