“Do you want me in there with you? Or will I wait out here?” I give her the option because I want to support her the best way I can. And if that means I stay out of sight, then I stay out of sight.
“I think we should get people used to seeing us together. We’ve already been splashed all over the internet today, this isn’t going to make anything worse.”
“It won’t make it better either.”
She slips her arms around my waist and looks up at me. “I don’t want you to hide. Don’t want us to hide. I’m not planning to keep our relationship a secret so I don’t see why you should wait out here when you can be in there.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her closer. “I don’t want to hijack your conference.”
“How?”
“By drawing attention away from you. From the Rogues announcement.”
“I don’t care if you do.” She shrugs. “It might make it easier to avoid certain questions if you’re there to distract the press.”
“You’re not going to announce anyone other than KAW owning the team and where they’ll be located, right?”
“Right. When we announce other things, I want it to be about the Rogues and nothing else. Right now it’s us, the leaked info, and the league.” She shakes her head. “Not to mention Cantrell’s part in it. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight but when I’m discussing team details, I want nothing taking away from that.”
“Okay. I’ll be by the door.” I press a finger to her lips before she can speak. “I won’t hide but I’m just the supportive partner today. Next time I’ll be up there with you.”
She grins against my finger. “I want us to have matching jewelry by then.”
My mouth curls up in a smug smirk because I already know the ones I want. “Oh, we’ll definitely have those by then.”
“We’re ready.” Natalie Redding, the Rogues GM, marches toward us. “Dugan is making the announcement about the franchise, and he’ll make it short and to the point.”
“Did you give him the words we prepared?” Oakley turns in my arms so she can face Natalie.
“Yes. I explained our stance on the situation and that we’ll gladly see them in a court of law or public opinion if he doesn’t do this our way. He knows he fucked up. Knows the fact the franchise was linked to you in the media is on their heads, not ours.”
“Good. I don’t want enemies before we start but we can’t just roll over and play dead when they fuck up either. They need to be held accountable. We held up our end of the deal.”
Natalie nods. “Agreed.”
“Is Cami pissed?”
I haven’t seen Cami or Blake yet but they’re both here somewhere. According to Oakley, her Pa decided even if Cami doesn’t want anything to do with the day-to-day running of the team, as a partner of KAW she should be present for this conference.
I’d love to have been a fly on the wall to see how he got the woman on a plane to New York on such short notice.
“She was. Blake talked her down. And she’s promised to be in on all the decisions even though she says she won’t have any input.”
Oakley laughs. “So she’ll just be in the room or on the call when things come up?”
Natalie sighs. “Look, I know you think we should all be involved but I think she’s right in staying out of it. She has no interest in the sport, no real knowledge of the game or how to run a professional team, but she did get this organized for us on short notice so it’s not like she’s putting nothing in.”
Oakley holds up a hand. “I know. I get it, I just thought…” She shakes her head. “Never mind. It’s not like she’s had much input on Rogue sportswear over the years.”
“We don’t need her to put in on this either. We’ve all got our roles, and the ones we don’t fill, we will hand over to capable experts.”
I choke and cover it with a fist to my mouth and a fake cough.
“Something to say, Mr. Alcott?” Natalie asks me, her eyes narrowed, assessing.
“Ah.” Fuck, that look makes me want to cup my balls. I clear my throat. “I’m not sure expert is the right word for me.”
“Of course, it is. Don’t sell yourself short or be short sighted.” She leans closer. “If you think for one second I would put someone in a position they weren’t capable of doing, you’d be an idiot and you’re not.”
“I.” No more words form so I snap my mouth shut.
She indicates the direction she came from. “Now, let’s get your girlfriend in there and get this thing over and done.”
Spinning on her spiked heel, she stalks off, and I’m not sure how I feel about the woman.
I know she’s one of Oakley’s closest friends, her business partner, and they’ve known each other for years, but she’s brash and I think maybe a little mean.
“Her bark is worse than her bite. In fact, she barks so she doesn’t have to bite. Plus there’s the whole dickhead husband thing she’s got going on.”
“Husband?”
The sigh she emits is heartfelt. “Yeah. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to that conversation or not.”
“Not. Johnathon—not John—Whitman is not a man you want to know.”
“You don’t like him, and she married him?”
“They were married before we met. At this point I’m pretty sure it’s in name only. Oh, and her checking account. He hasn’t had a real job in years and I’m not even sure what he’s qualified to do anyway. As far as I know, she hasn’t even told him about the Rogues franchise.”
“How can she be married to him and not tell him?”
Oakley shrugs. “I don’t know if they even talk, and she never takes work home or leaves anything like her phone where he can see it.”
“Wow. I think you’re right. I’m not looking forward to hearing about or meeting this guy.”
“You’ll have to at some point, I guess.”
“And I guess we should stop talking and get in there before she comes back and barks at us again.”
Laughing, she links her arm through mine, and says, “Let’s go and get this done.”
When we enter the room, I’m surprised how orderly everyone is. I don’t know why I expected chaos, but I figured there would at least be some shouting going on.
Moving to the side of the door, I lean against the wall while Oakley talks with Natalie, Blake, who I know vaguely through her hockey career and her brothers, and a woman I’m assuming is Cami.
They have their heads together whispering and I glance over to see Rodney Dugan and Boris Mortimer frowning at them.
My spine stiffens and I’m on the verge of moving over to the men when Oakley looks in my direction. Sending me a wink, she smiles and turns. With her shoulders back and head up, she moves toward the two men.
They speak for a few seconds then all four women follow them to the microphone perched on a podium. It kind of reminds me of a White House press conferences and I smile when I think of Oakley in that place.
She’d raise hell, kick ass, and take names if she ever decided to go into politics.
“Evening, everyone. Thanks for joining us on short notice,” Dugan says into the microphone. “We’ll keep things short and sweet so you can all get home to your families and dinner plans.”
“Is there—”
Dugan holds up a hand. “Please, we’ve prepared a statement. If you can keep your questions until later. Thanks.”
Taking a breath, the man tugs at the cuffs of his shirt, and from here I can see the sweat beading on his forehead.
“We had planned this to be a little more celebratory but as information has found its way out to the public, we’ll have to go without what we had in mind.”
He glances at the four women behind him, his smile apologetic.
Facing front again he leans closer to the mic and says, “It’s with great pleasure that we announce the winning bid for the National Hockey League’s expansion franchise. KAW, the parent company of the globally successful Rogue sportswear brand, is the proud owner of the league’s newest hockey team.”
He takes a breath while numerous reporters yell out questions. Ignoring all of them, he continues with what I’m assuming is the speech Natalie gave him.
“We’re excited to expand our reach south, and I’ll step aside and let KAW CEO, Oakley James, give you the details of the new team.”
Stepping forward, Oakley moves into Dugan’s position. “Thank you, Rodney.”
I can’t help smiling at the use of his first name. Most of the owners and GMs call the league executives by their first names and I’m thrilled she’s not shying away from doing it just because she doesn’t have a penis.
“As Rodney said, two days ago, KAW was awarded the league’s expansion franchise. It won’t come as a surprise when I tell you the new team will be the Rogues, but you might not feel the same when I say the team will be based in Baton Rouge in a seven hundred million dollar arena and training facility.”
The questions drown out anything else she says and there are a few reporters on their feet now. I have to admire her as she patiently waits out the furor.
Once the noise dies down, she looks around the room before speaking again.
“We’re thrilled and excited and looking forward to joining the central division the season after next.”
“Who’s the coach?” someone shouts from the back of the room.
“We’re not announcing staffing or players at this time. We’ll be sure to let you know when we are.”
“When will the arena be ready?” someone else calls out.
“We will be making more announcements in the coming weeks. Until then you can direct any inquiries to the Rogues website.”
Shit. We’ve got a website? I’m pulling my phone from my pocket to look it up when some yells her name.
Glancing up I see everyone heading my way. Looks like the conference is over.
“Oakley!” Her name is shouted again. “You owe us answers!”
I can’t see who called out the demand disguised as a question, but I know the second she decides to respond to it.
She stops, frozen in place for a second while everyone else continues toward me.
Turning slowly on her heel, Oakley leaves everyone behind and moves back in front of the mic.
Standing tall, her gaze scans the room before stopping near the back on someone I can’t see. “I owe you answers?” she asks, her voice portraying confusion when I know she’s anything but.
“You’re being tight-lipped about your plans—”
“Let me educate you on a few things. One, I owe you nothing. Two, any plans I have or do not have are irrelevant. Three, the question you should be asking is what does the Rogues organization have planned. And four, because I’m in a great mood and feeling generous, the Rogues plan to build a winning hockey team, a family, a community, that everyone involved with, including the fans, is proud of. Anyone outside of that doesn’t matter.”
“That attitude won’t win you friends in the league.”
Oakley laughs, the sound echoing through the room. “We’re not here to win friends. We’re here to win hockey games.”
Multiple questions fly at the podium, but Oakley ignores them and once again turns to face me. She doesn’t need to speak for me to know the conference is now officially over. And like the dedicated partner I am, I follow my woman out of the room.
I hear my name called out and it’s the first time anyone has acknowledged my presence. Ignoring the shouting behind me, I close the door and follow the others into a room across the hall.
When I close that door, Oakley and Natalie are talking with Dugan and Mortimer and I can see neither man is happy.
If they think they’re going to blame the mess we left in the other room on these women, they’re in for a rude awakening.
None of these women are about to back down. If they were men, and this debacle was happening, the league would be making a public apology.
I doubt that will happen.
Then again, these women seem capable of anything, so I won’t be surprised if there is one in the coming weeks.
Or if not an apology, at least extra effort in helping the Rogues off the ground.
I can’t help smiling, I can’t imagine the women of KAW wanting anyone’s help.
“Hey.” I turn to find Blake standing beside me.
“Blake.” I hold out a hand. “Great to see you.”
“Same.” We shake, then she leans closer and lowers her voice. “Any chance we can convene at your place for some private conversation?”
“Of course. There’s room for you all to stay.”
“Oh, I think the plan is to head out tonight but thank you.”
“Back to Baton Rouge?”
“No. We’ve got a plan to get you two hitched then we’re hunting a hot shot.”
She’s grinning and I have no idea at what, but it’s contagious and I smile back at her. “Are you talking a firefighter…”
“Nope. Although I have heard his slap shot referred to as being on fire.”
“A player?”
“I find it funny how you didn’t blink when I mentioned getting you two hitched.”
“That wasn’t the surprising part of your statement.”
“Guess not.” She tips her chin up. “They’re heading out.”
We watch in silence as Dugan and Mortimer leave. No one says a word for a good minute before Natalie turns to face me.
“The car’s out front to take us to your place.”
I glance at Oakley. “Let’s go then.”
“We’re waiting until the security team gives us the all-clear.”
“Security team?”
“They came in with these three.” She indicates her partners. “Pa insisted.”
“Okay. Are they coming with us to my place too?”
She nods. “They will. They’ll station themselves around the entrances to your building until we’re ready to go.”
“I heard we’re getting hitched then going hunting for a hot shot.”
Oakley looks at Blake. “You found him?”
“No. But my brothers are working on it and I think this guy”—she thumbs in my direction—“might have a few ideas of where to look too.”
“If you give me a name…”
“Not here.” Oakley’s phone beeps and she looks at the screen. “Let’s go.”
Opening the door for the women, I see a couple of men in dark suits waiting. They couldn’t look any more security if they had the word tattooed on their foreheads.
If we’re going for discreet, we’ve failed before we get out of the building. If we’re going for masculine power and stay-back vibes, we’ve got that shit down.
But then I think about the women I’m with and the amount of money they’re worth.
I’m surrounded by billions in human form.
The enormity of their wealth hits me.
I’m no chump when it comes to money, but these four women have me beat hands down.
Some men might be intimidated by the success surrounding me. Me? I love it.
I know they were all born with wealth, but each of them has shown their worth by founding a globally successful brand worth billions in its own right.
Yeah, intimidated isn’t what I’m feeling.
It’s awe.
They could have used their trust funds to live a cushy life. Instead, they used a small amount each to build an empire.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogue sportswear is worth more than their trust funds combined.
“Hey, what are you thinking about?”
“How in awe I am of you four.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And back there you proved why you’re so successful.”
She arches an eyebrow at me.
“You didn’t flinch when the shit hit the fan. You just got down to work to clean it up and you did it in a way that left no one looking like an idiot.”
“I’m pretty sure they felt like idiots.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s because you revealed the mistress of one is sleeping with the wife of the other. As well as Cantrell.”
“They were not happy when I gave them that information.”
“I’m expecting to hear from her about this.”
“I’ve got things in place to stop that. I’ve also got Shelby covered because I think Kristina might go there when she can’t get to you.”
“Shelby moved in with Gannon. He’ll keep her safe.”
Oakley hums. I can’t decide if she agrees with me or not.
“You don’t think he will?”
“Oh, I know he will, but I’ve got it covered as well to give you extra peace of mind.”
Bending, I drop a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you for thinking of my sister while dealing with this mess.”
“She’s important to you so she’s important to me.”
Her words say it all.
And make me fall in love with her a little deeper.