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“You look happy today.”
Allie set down her messenger bag and smiled. “I am happy, Kyle. Even this shitty coffee couldn’t ruin my day.” She’d forgotten to stop at her favorite coffee shop and had to drink the office’s brown water.
“You’re probably the only happy person around here. There are rumblings about firings. Maybe the coach. Trades too.”
Allie’s ears perked up at that. “Trades? Any names?”
“Maybe Patterson. Baker’s name was thrown around too, if you can believe it. I always thought he was untouchable, but this losing streak is really a downer.”
An eight-game winless streak was hardly something to cheer about. “If Baker is traded, that will be huge. How serious is this?”
“Not sure.”
“He’s our only decent franchise-like player.”
“I know. If he’s gone, this team is going to suck a whole lot more.”
Allie tried to focus on foundation work, but what she really wanted to do was talk to Will and see what he knew. She texted him but the chances of him replying right away were slim. He was prepping for a four-game road trip to the Sun Belt. She was envious that he’d packed a pair of shorts. It didn’t seem right.
Safely alone with Kyle at security training sessions, she decided to call Eddie. Trade talk made that morning coffee not sit so well. Anyone could be traded, including Will. Eddie answered right away.
“Hello, dear. You’re calling at a strange hour. Something going down with the Falcons I should know about?”
“You might already know about it. There’s a lot of trade talk going on.”
“I’m listening.”
She could hear the squeak of his leather office chair. He’d had it for as long as she could remember. The once pristine black leather had given way to almost nothing and he’d even had it patched a few times. He’d tried to replace it, but nothing compared to it. The squeaking had started a few years ago.
“Baker’s name has come up.”
“I see. I told them to do what they had to. I want to see a team that performs, and we can unload some deadweight now and get young talent in return.”
“Baker is talented.”
“He’s not a leader, he only thinks he is. The team doesn’t listen to him.”
That wasn’t the impression Allie had but that could be debated with Eddie later. “Anyone else on that list?”
“They’re talking about getting rid of a defenseman. We’ve got too many decent ones. What we need is a great one. A playmaker who can also defend the line.”
A lump balled up in her throat. Too many defensemen? She swallowed hard, her mind processing a million scenarios. She had to find the right way to approach this. “Who’s on the block?”
“They’re all potential carrots. No one is safe.”
Allie’s hunched over and tried to calm her quickened breath. Will could be trade bait. “All of them?” she repeated.
Eddie said nothing for a moment. “Is something wrong?”
“No, why do you ask?”
Another long pause. “You’re acting rather strange. Why are you so concerned about this?”
“I’m not concerned. I figured you’d want to know and if there were some players you liked, you’d want to protect them.”
“Why would I want to protect any of them?”
He was right. Very few of them were worth saving, but Will was worth saving to her. “There are some good guys on this team. They hold the guys together. They’d be worth protecting.”
“Which ones?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A few of them.”
More silence. “Or is it more about who you want to protect?”
He could see right through her, like when she was eight and she was playing with Aunt Eileen’s tea set when she wasn’t supposed to be. She’d been very careful, but when she dropped one of the teacups and the handle broke off, she thought she’d die. That Aunt Eileen would never forgive her. Eddie had been the one to find her hiding the evidence under a sofa. He took her to get a replacement and Aunt Eileen was never the wiser.
Allie closed her eyes, trying to come up with something to throw Eddie off the scent, but she got a lot of nothing.
“It’s not about me. It’s about keeping the right people. The good ones,” she finally said. “Look, there aren’t that many great players on this team, so keeping the goods ones is essential.”
“Yes, good strategy. Who would be your first choice?”
He was playing her and she knew it. Her only option was to deflect. “I’m not sure getting rid of Baker is the right idea, but I don’t know that for sure. I’m not on the inside like others are.”
“What about the defensemen? Who would you keep?”
“I’d get rid of Hardy. I don’t think he adds much depth. He gives up the puck a lot because he’s too small. The opposing teams run over him.”
“I see you’ve been watching the games.”
“Every last one of them.”
“Who else?”
“I don’t know. They’re all good.”
“What about the one who’s been teaching you to skate?”
If it could, Allie’s jaw would have slammed to the ground. “Wh-what?”
“Would you keep Cavallo?”
Her mouth was moving, but words were caught in her throat. “What—when—how do you know about that?”
“Dear, I know everything.”
She wanted to shrivel up and die. If Eddie knew, then everyone knew. “Who told you?”
“Louis did. He’s been doing building maintenance since I bought the team. I helped put his kids through college. He’s a good guy, always tells me what I need to know.”
She massaged her temples and fought the urge to throw up. “We work together on the foundation. He couldn’t believe I didn’t know how to skate so he’s been teaching me. It’s no big deal. It’s all very harmless.”
“I suppose I find it a little hard to believe that he would randomly teach you to skate. I didn’t think any of the Falcons were chivalrous.”
“He’s a nice person.”
“Really. So you have nothing else to say about him?”
Did she lie? She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “We’re kind of dating.”
“Kind of? You are or you aren’t.”
“We are dating,” she said. She just couldn’t bring herself to lie to Eddie. “It’s nothing serious.”
“Allie, this is not good.” He was using his fatherly voice, the same voice he used when he told her how much he hated Blake. He’d been the one to warn her that Blake was a social climber, that he wasn’t genuine, but Allie hadn’t listened.
“Are you going to try and stop us?”
Eddie cleared his throat. “Allie, if this is a fling, then you should end it now. But if this is something meaningful, I want you to be happy. It doesn’t mean I like it. In fact, I think it’s a terrible idea, but if it had to be anyone on the Falcons, I’m glad it’s Cavallo.”
“In my heart, it’s not a fling.”
“And how does Cavallo feel?”
“The same way, I hope.”
“You’re playing with fire.”
“Eddie, I—” She didn’t know what to say.
“Allie, I love you like one of my own, so take this simple advice. Be wary. I’ll tell Cam not to trade him, so you can sleep a little better tonight.”
“Eddie, does anyone—”
“Just me. Let’s keep it that way.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No.”
“Well, I think you got what you called for. Next time you better have something for me,” he said. She could almost see him smiling on the other end. She loved Eddie.
“I will.”
She hung up the phone and made a call to Will. Voicemail. They needed to talk and they needed to talk soon.
#
FIVE HOURS LATER WILL called her back. By then Allie was a little calmer but her fingernails had suffered the consequences. She’d torn them to shreds.
“Allie, what’s up?” he asked. He was out of breath.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m walking. I left the hotel and told the kid I room with that I needed a walk. I figured it was urgent with all the texts and phone calls.”
Allie closed her office door and sank down in her seat. Kyle had left early, at Allie’s insistence, to get his girlfriend a Christmas present.
“Eddie knows,” was all she could get out.
A long silence. Allie could hear Will’s heavy breaths but nothing more. “Crap. How did he find out?”
“Louis told him. Did you know that Eddie helped pay for Louis’s kids to go to college? I didn’t.”
“Shit. I thought I could trust Louis. Now what?”
“Thankfully Eddie isn’t making a big deal about it. His only advice was to be careful. But if Eddie knows, who else knows?”
Will’s breath normalized. “So, what are you saying?”
“I don’t know, but I’m scared.”
“Should we lay low for a while?”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Do you want me to talk to Louis?”
“What would you say? Won’t it bring more attention to this?”
Will sighed heavily. “We’ve been together a few days and my ex has been a nightmare and we’ve already been outed to Eddie. Do we have the worst luck? I don’t know what to do.”
“What I don’t want you to do is worry. We’ll figure this out. As long as we aren’t careless, it will be fine. Eddie has our backs and if I know my uncle, he’s already had a chat with Louis. Let’s take Eddie’s advice and stay on the down low.”
“Okay. We’ll talk more when I get back.”
#
IN ALL THE EXCITEMENT of her new relationship with Will, Allie had forgotten to call Cate to fill her in on all the details. She left her a message that evening while making gala notes. Cate returned the call a few hours later, her voice thick and heavy.
“What’s wrong?”
Cate, someone who never showed any weakness, sniffled a few times. “Andy broke off our engagement,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What?!”
“I know. It’s nuts. I’m falling apart, Al.”
Allie pushed her papers aside. “Do you want me to come there? I can try and book a flight while we’re talking.”
“No, no. I can’t be a baby about this and have my friend fly halfway across the continent to come console me. I’ll be fine. I just . . . it came out of nowhere. We were planning a wedding, for crying out loud. Instead he dumps my sorry ass. He says he met someone in his department, someone who gets him. Can you fucking believe this! I moved to New York for him. I took a crappy job I hate for him. I moved away from my friends and family for him!” Her anger was bubbling up to the surface, revealing the Cate Allie knew so well.
“Then quit the job and leave. Why are you going to stay there? Better yet, come here. That job with the Falcons is still available. We can work together.”
“Just leave?”
“What are you going to do there? Pine for Andy? It’s not like you’ve been there long. You have no other ties there. I can all but promise you the job with the Falcons and it would be like old times. You and me together again. A force to be reckoned with.”
“And if I don’t get the job?”
“You’ll get the job.”
“Can I think about this?”
“Of course you can, but don’t let Andy influence your decision. I don’t want you to consider taking this asshole back.”
“He’s already moved in with this other woman, so there’s no going back. Not that I would.”
“Then take a few days. In the meantime, I’ll let HR know we might have a candidate for the job. The Falcons would be lucky to have you.”
“Thanks, Allie. Why did you call?”
Allie thought to tell her about Will but decided the time wasn’t right. She’d let a few days pass before she dropped that news on Cate. “Can’t I call to see how my best friend is?”
“Aren’t you sorry you did?”
“Never.”
They chatted another hour, mostly Allie commiserating with Cate who promised to call her in the next day or two with an answer. If Allie knew her best friend, she knew that Cate was already researching the position and looking at real estate in St. Paul.
Allie flipped on the Falcons game. She knew she’d fall asleep before the beginning of the third period but she watched anyway. Her eyes followed number thirteen until she drifted off to sleep.