Page 116 of The Assist
“Take a seat,” he says, his voice low. “They’ll join us in a minute.”
My knees bounce in the chair making the table vibrate. I can’t stop them. I should be composed, should be prepared. I’ve gone over this a hundred times in my head. But it’s different now. Now they know. Now we’re not talking aboutifthis all blows up. We’re already standing in the ash.
The door opens and Mike enters, followed by Coach. Neither of them looks surprised to see me. Just tired.Resigned even. Like they’ve been dreading this as much as I have.
“Thanks for waiting,” Mike says, settling into the seat across from me. Coach stands behind him, arms crossed. Watching.
Jonno closes the door, then leans against the back wall, arms folded.
“We’ll get right into it,” Mike says, placing a folder in front of him. “I trust you’re aware of the situation.”
“I am,” I say. My voice is even. “You’ve spoken to Dylan already.”
Mike nods. “He told us the relationship is real. That it’s not casual. That it began after your professional responsibilities toward him ended.”
I sit up straighter. “That’s correct.”
“And before that?”
I meet his gaze. “Before that, it was complicated. There were feelings. But I kept my distance. I made sure everything remained professional. I have records of the sessions I cleared with Jonno, and you’ll see in the scheduling logs that Dylan was transferred to another physio before anything personal began.”
Coach mutters something under his breath. I ignore it.
Mike opens the folder. “We’ve also received a formal complaint from a teammate.”
“Danny,” I say before he can. “I figured.”
Jonno shifts slightly at the mention, but Mike doesn’t react. “He alleges preferential treatment, that you fast-tracked Dylan’s rehab or gave him an advantage on the roster.”
“That’s categorically false,” I say, sharper than I mean to. “If anything, I washarderon Dylan. I kept him off the ice longer than he wanted. I made him prove himself in every test before I cleared him. He worked his arse off.” Coach flinches,but Mike stays still. “I didn’t compromise my ethics. I wouldn’t ever do that; I’ve worked too hard to get here. I’m not going to throw away my career.” I add, softer now.
There’s a long silence before Jonno finally speaks. “I backed her decision every step of the way. I reviewed her notes. If there’d been anything inappropriate, I would’ve flagged it.”
Mike turns a page. “And what about now, Mia? You still think this relationship is worth risking your job over?”
The question lands like a punch and I swallow hard. I think of Dylan’s face when the door opened. The way his eyes burned with something bigger than fear. Love. And guilt. And fury. All tangled up.
“Yes,” I say, my voice clear. “I do.”
Coach steps forward. “You understand what this could mean? For you? For him?”
“I do,” I say again.
“And you still don’t regret it?”
“No,” I say. “Because it’s real. It’s not a fling. It’s not a mistake. And I know how it looks, but we’ve tried everything we could to keep it separate from our work lives. We weren’t flaunting it.”
Mike’s expression hardens. “There are photos of the two of you kissing at a public beach.”
“I didn’t know we were being photographed,” I snap. “We weren’t trying to be reckless. We just wanted one day. One day to feel normal. Those photos were not taken at the rink, we weren’t at work. We were having a day out together, in our personal time.”
Coach lets out a long breath, like he’s holding back something stronger.
“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” Mike says. “But if this escalates, the club will have to protect itself. That may mean disciplinary action. Or termination of your contract.”
“I understand.” My voice wavers now, but I don’t back down.
Mike closes the folder. “You’ll be informed by end of week.”
