Page 49 of Playoff
“Yeah,” I said. “You know the story about my parents.”
Ducky nodded quickly. “Right. So it’s not you, like, not as a person, but your last name and what it means.”
“Right.” After the conversation with Jess last night, I understood better what his problem was. Not that it made a lot of difference. It was hard to forget the name Denbrowski when Coach was calling it in practice, teammates were yelling Denny on the ice, and the mass of letters on my jersey was impossible to miss.
“Okay, so what if we got rid of your name?” Ducky spread his hands, like he’d solved everything.
I frowned at him. I’d been tempted to change my name, back when everything happened. But it was pointless. I was an NHL player. I couldn’t arrive at a new team using a different name and not have it announced in all the sporting news.
John Smith, formerly known as Alek Denbrowski. He changed his name after his parents skipped the country with the proceeds of their Ponzi scheme.
It would be part of the pregame chat. I couldn’t escape it, so I hadn’t bothered.
“You want me to change my name.” Like it was that easy. Did he think people would mindlessly use a new name, and I wouldn’t be constantly referred to by my birth name?
“No!” Ducky shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask that. Not like it wouldn’t be brought up all the time even if you switched it legally. But I was thinking, maybe if JJ didn’t see it all the time, he could at least forget while you were playing.”
“So, I should wear a jersey with no name on it?” Pretty sure that wouldn’t fly.
Ducky was sitting up, excited. “Sometimes, for special nights, players have had different names on the back. What if we could get your first name on there, instead of your last name?”
I looked at Fitch with raised eyebrows. He shook his head. “I don’t think the league would allow it.”
Ducky shrugged. “So we don’t ask them. We do it and wait till they stop it. See if it works.”
I was skeptical, but beside me, Jess was nodding. “Why not try it? It might not work, but if it did…”
Just like that, I agreed. Jess looked too damned happy at the idea of doing something to help her brother.
“And even if we can’t keep it up, maybe we can all just switch to using the name Alek instead of Denny or Denbrowski. You okay with that, Alek?”
I wasn’t used to answering to my own damned name anymore, but while Jess was staring at me with big eyes and a smile, I’d never say no. A part of me liked the idea of escaping my family past, even if just in this small, symbolic kind of way.
“Sure. It’s my name after all.”
Katie smiled proudly at Ducky. Callie had her phone out. “I’ll tell Cooper and see if he thinks you can do it.”
And just like that, I stopped being Denny for the Blaze.
Chapter 21
Show me the money
Jess
* * *
I had no idea if using a different name for Denny—Alek—would help Justin overlook his problems with the name Denbrowski, but I appreciated the guys for trying. Especially Den— Alek. Did he really want to be known by his first name all the time?
I’d promised the guys I wouldn’t tell Justin in advance. They were excited like little kids at Christmas about starting to use Alek’s name at practice Monday morning and seeing what happened. They wanted it to be a surprise. I had my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I had a meeting Monday with Mrs. Garvin’s son, and I was apprehensive about it. I spent Sunday reviewing her file so I’d be ready for any questions he asked.
I might be biased, but based on things Mrs. Garvin had said, and how he’d appeared at her memorial service, I was prepared for an uncomfortable meeting. Especially when my supervisor mentioned how important keeping the account was to the firm.
I dressed carefully that morning, looking professional and competent. A brown suit, with low heels. Discreet makeup. My hair was behaving, and I threatened it with a perm if it didn’t stay in place. I left for work early so I’d have plenty of time instead of being rushed and distracted.
Surprisingly, the streetcar arrived as soon as I got to the stop and wasn’t crowded. No one splashed slush over my pant legs. The elevator was almost empty, so we didn’t hit ten floors before arriving at the one where I worked. I hoped that was a sign.
Karen led him in from reception to the board room I’d booked. She rolled her eyes, where he couldn’t see. My heart sank. He swaggered in, eyes scanning the place as if to assess our ability to invest based on the furnishings.
