Page 52 of Playoff
Fitch shook his head. “You’ve done it now.” He skated off.
Cooper grinned. “Come on, we’ll get something to eat out of the building and then I can help with the car. I know a couple of guys.”
He would. This was his town. It would be stupid to pass up the introductions he could make simply because he would grill me during lunch. He couldn’t force me to tell him anything I didn’t want to.
Turned out, he didn’t want that. We talked mostly about the All-Star Game while we caught a quick bite at another place Cooper knew. The league kept switching up the format of the midseason extravaganza, so hearing his take on it was amusing.
He pushed his plate aside when he was finished. “So, what are you looking for in a vehicle?”
I leaned back in my chair. “I’ve got the Lambo back in Cali, but it’s not the right car for a Canadian winter.” That would give him an idea about what I was willing to pay and that I wasn’t in the market for a Subaru.
He nodded. “Yeah, my Ferrari stays garaged till the ice is gone.”
“So the Bentley is your winter car?” I’d now ridden in it a few times. It was a nice ride, but not what I was interested in.
“Yeah. I promo for them, so I got a deal. A lot of the single guys like trucks for a winter vehicle. The dealers like the visibility, but there might not be a lot of availability now for another truck deal. Is that what you’re looking for?”
Did I want a pickup? Not really. “Maybe more along the lines of an SUV?” Something a little smoother driving, less cowboy-looking. My Lambo was five years old, but driving it still caught attention. I had a few endorsements, and those brands weren’t selling diapers. I wanted the same kind of image while I was here in Toronto. “I’d be happy to just lease one. Who knows where I’ll be next season?”
Cooper shot me a glance. “Did you want to stay in Toronto?”
“Hell no.” An image of Jess flashed in my head, but I shoved that down.
“Don’t hold back.”
“It’s nothing against the city or the team. But like this whole thing with JJ proves, in Canada, I’m the Ponzi guy. In the States, no one gives a shit. I’m tired of taking the flak for what my parents did.”
“That has to be tough.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, just telling it like it was.
Cooper let it go, thankfully. “What about a G-Wagon? I know somebody at the Mercedes place near here. Let’s see what we can do for you.”
By dinnertime I was driving my new leased G-Wagon home. Having wheels again felt good. Compared to LA, Toronto might have better transit options, but I didn’t want to ride the subway or buses.
I’d been recognized at the dealership, despite the drastic makeover. My new look was familiar to the fans now. I was letting my hair grow again but kept my jaw at the scruff level. Maybe I’d need a playoff beard this year and could grow it out then, but this was a chance to play with my image.
The GPS brought me safely back to the condo. Traffic was a bitch, but at least most of it was heading out of the city center, not in. I waved my pass, and once in the underground parking, found the second space that came with Fitch’s condo. I was lucky he didn’t have a spare vehicle.
In his slot was his Volvo, because apparently anyone from Sweden was required to own one. He had an XC90 T8, so it could handle the winters. For all I knew, Fitch went to Sweden in the offseason.
While I had been signing the paperwork, Cooper called the team admin people, and they’d promised to send a parking pass for the arenas over. What Cooper wanted got done, fast. I grabbed the passes from the concierge and took the elevator back down to leave them in the Mercedes for morning. I hoped I remembered how to drive in winter conditions.
On the way back up, the elevator doors opened on the lobby floor. One person was waiting to get in the car. It had to be Jess. Of course it did.
A smile crossed my face before I could stop it. Something about that buttoned-up exterior when I’d seen the woman underneath appealed to me. I liked that hidden woman. Jess looked up from her phone and flinched. That ended the smile. “Should I give you the elevator or do you want to wait for the next one?”
She stepped through the doors with a sigh. “I’m sorry. It was a bad day, and that’s not a good excuse but it’s all I have.”
I appreciated the apology—she didn’t have to give me one. “We don’t have to talk, if that helps.”
She let out a breath. “I don’t mean to be rude. I know Justin is out with a sponsor thing so he’s not even here and all we’re doing is talking, but I imagine him finding out about us and…”
Logically, that was just another aftereffect of my parents, but it still made my mood dive. “Believe me, I don’t want him to find out either.” There was anger in my voice, which didn’t make sense, but still, it hurt.
She rubbed her eyes with one hand. “Fair. I didn’t mean to sound like anyone knowing we hooked up was something to be ashamed of.” She lifted her eyes to me. “You don’t deserve that.”
My breath caught. When had anyone said that to me? I swallowed. “It is what it is.” And since it was depressing as fuck to think about why I couldn’t take her to my place for amazing sex, I moved the conversation on. “What made it a bad day for you?”
