Chapter 17: Chapter 17

KATE

I jumped out of my office chair, closing my door behind me. Piper and Bill stared ahead, while I attempted to remain neutral about the situation unfolding.

My mother tore her arm away from Nicolette’s grip. Smudged black makeup streamed down my sister’s face, and my mother was as unpleasant as she always was.

“You little fucking bitch,” she screeched.

“Hello to you too, Mom.”

My surprise knew no bounds when Nicolette walked away from our mother to stand beside me. I wasn’t even able to spit any words out.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to make of that situation. Nicolette had always been a mommy’s girl, and we never got along well. She had stood by our mom through everything, especially the divorce.

My confusion intensified when Nicolette wrapped her fingers around my arm. She was shaky and actually appeared nervous, maybe even scared.

Every employee on my floor was crowded around us. Even the security had come up, ready to haul her out; but no one moved because I hadn’t asked them to yet. I was impressed with my own level of calm.

I breathed in and out steadily. Now that Nicolette was on my side, I felt saddened that she’d see the way our mom treated me, the way she always had.

Normally she’d wait until my sister was out of earshot, but it was always painfully obvious that our mother hated me. “How dare you!” she yelled.

“What exactly are you talking about?” I asked.

I had a room full of people watching me. I had to be a boss, a leader, so I worked hard to keep my annoyance at bay.

“You took everything from Nicolette and me! Everything!”

I glanced at the sympathetic faces around me, all just waiting for me to utter the word to have her removed.

“I didn’t take anything. Dad left me everything.”

She inched closer to me; her red lipstick was smeared, and her eye makeup was uneven. When I looked at her, she seemed to have aged by years in the mere month I’d been gone from France.

“You were always his favorite, you scheming little girl, you,” she spit out. “You don’t deserve anything. You got his love, wasn’t that enough? Nicolette and I got nothing but hatred.”

My fists involuntarily clenched at my sides. I felt myself breathing heavier, wondering if I should yell back or keep my cool. The former seemed the better option.

“Care to step into my office to discuss this?” I attempted.

“That office should be mine!” she yelled back.

~Alright, game on.~

“Dad left me everything because I was the only one who bothered working or going to school. I wanted to learn the business, I didn’t want a goddamn hand-out~.~

“I wanted to work,” I said through gritted teeth. “And for the record? Dad loved Nicolette, he loved her so, so much.” My sister’s eyes filled with tears, and I knew I’d probably regret what I was about to say.

“You were the one he didn’t love, Mom; because you turned into a psychotic drug addict the moment you gave birth to me.”

She ran into me, knocked me to the ground, and repeatedly hit me across the face. It was only a matter of seconds before security hauled her out of my building.

Everyone bent over me, trying to help me up, but I didn’t need the support. I stood, straightened my dress, thanked those around me, and slipped back into my office.

I couldn’t cry, for they’d all be able to see me through the glass. So I turned to face the window showcasing the New York skyline.

A few tears may have slipped, but I wiped them away quickly. A few minutes later, knuckles gently hit my door.

“Kate?” I spun around to see Nicolette standing with Piper’s arms wrapped around her shoulders.

Seeing my sister cry was easy for me because she cried over everything. But there was something different this time. The moment I stood from my chair, she bolted over, throwing her arms around me.

She cried into my chest for the first time in our lives. I squeezed her back, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

We didn’t say anything, not one word. Finally, we were offering one another the solace we each needed; we had both lost our father.

I had lost my mom a long time ago, but now Nicolette was losing her too. I always found it odd how a time of desperation, sadness, and need could cause two people who were seemingly worlds apart to come together like magnets.

After a period of silence, her tears dried, along with my own. “I’m sorry. For everything. For Mom, for the person I am, for the hockey player, for everything I’ve done. I’m just sorry,” she said, sounding utterly defeated.

“It’s in the past. Let’s just move forward.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her index finger. “This only shows how good you are. I love you, Kate.”

“Love you too, Nic. I always have.”

She began biting on her nail, and I slapped her hand away from her mouth. It was a horrible habit she’d had since she was young. “Do you think we could maybe watch a movie or something tonight?” she asked.

My sister and I had never just hung out. That was new, but I knew I wanted to spend time with her.

“The Blades are playing at seven,” I said, but she looked truly disappointed, thinking I was backing out. “Want to come to the game with me?”

She nodded. “I’d really like that.”

I left the office shortly after. Nicolette had gone back to her Brooklyn apartment to clean herself up, and Piper and I went to my house to do the same.

Piper began talking about the encounter with my mother but decided against it as she noticed my expression darkening.

Something about the day’s events had put me in an abnormal mood. The kind of mood where I wanted to feel like a badass, which I never felt otherwise.

Now that my belongings had finally been shipped to New York, I had a lot of clothing choices. I opted for black jeans, a black tank top, and a black leather jacket.

I placed a large rose-gold necklace around my neck, with a teardrop diamond pendant falling between my breasts. It was beautiful and a birthday gift to myself while I was living in Paris.

I then put on leather booted heels, and for the first time in a long time, I applied dark red lipstick.

Piper grinned when I entered the living room. “Now you look like you’re back in college. I’ve missed your sultry side,” she joked.

Piper always looked sexy, even when she didn’t try to. I thought it was because she had those natural curves. Her outfits always screamed sex appeal, even if she was just wearing sweatpants.

I sent a car for Nicolette, and she appeared shortly after. My little sister looked cute, dressed simply in jeans and a red low-cut shirt. We looked alike, yet so different at the same time.

We rode the elevator down to the lobby and climbed into the back of a blacked-out Suburban. I had grown to know Kenton, Uncle John’s driver. He was sweet and was always driving me around to some place or the other.

I figured I’d hire my own driver at some point, but my uncle never rushed me. He knew how much I was dealing with on a day-to-day basis.

My dad had never bothered to hire a driver; he enjoyed his cars and always wanted to drive himself.

I couldn’t blame him. His massive collection of antique beauties, muscle cars, and shiny new sedans were a dream. They were all kept in a warehouse, but I hadn’t made my way over there yet.

I knew I’d feel his energy the moment I stepped into the warehouse, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to handle the waterworks that would surely follow.

Kenton opened the doors for us while nodding politely. I turned to my best friend and sister, who both seemed beyond happy to be attending a Blades game. I found it odd, considering neither of them actually liked hockey.

“Did you invite Ben tonight?” I asked.

Piper shook her head and a small blush crept on her cheeks. “No,” she replied.

“I was actually kind of done with him until I accidentally texted him the other night when we were…” I shot her a warning look that she thankfully understood.

She continued, “He was fun but I don’t know.”

Nicolette looked between the two of us but decided not to ask questions. But that was only until her mind started whirling and her blue eyes zeroed in on me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, Nic. You know that.”

She leaned in closer to me and spoke in a hushed tone. “Whatever happened between you and that hockey player, Tyler?”

I silently debated whether to trust my sister enough to tell her anything more about Tyler. She could turn it all against me, but I also wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Me telling her about him could be a test.

“Well,” I began. I took a deep breath, excited and nervous to say it aloud for the first time. “This morning we decided we’d be together, but we’re keeping it quiet. Silent, in fact.

“As you probably know, a relationship between us is off-limits. I guess we’re just taking it one step at a time.”

Piper squeezed my arm, and Nicolette’s eyes lit up. “Is my big sister falling in love?” she asked.

“I’m not in love, Nic; but I definitely feel something. It’s just a difficult situation.”

~Did I just lie?~ She hadn’t asked me if I was already in love, she asked if I was~ falling~. And I’d said I wasn’t.

Perhaps, I didn’t want to admit it, considering from the moment I’d met Tyler, I’d convinced myself I didn’t have time for a relationship.

After a few more minutes of small talk, we arrived at MSG. We were quickly escorted up to the owner’s box where we made ourselves comfortable.

The game wasn’t due to begin for an hour, so we asked the waitstaff to bring platters of Buffalo wings and pitchers of beer.

My uncles who were lounged back in leather chairs jumped up at the sight of Nicolette entering the lounge. She sat in between them and told them all about our mom.

She was never one to shy away from gossip, while I ran away from it any chance I got.

My uncle John stared at my face. “What the hell happened to you?” he asked, rushing over to me and tracing my swollen black and blue cheek with a finger.

I had tried to cover the bruise as much as I could with makeup, but there’s only so much one can do. “Mom beat at her face like it was a punching bag,” Nicolette answered.

Both of my uncles’ faces turned fire red. Neither of them was ever a big fan of Mom. It was actually quite difficult for anyone to like her. “Your mother’s in New York?” Fred asked.

“Apparently,” I said. “She stormed into the office and went crazy.”

“Did you press charges?” he asked.

“No. I can’t do that. I’m just pretending it didn’t happen.”

They both hugged me, planting sympathetic kisses on my forehead.

I sat at the front of the box, talking to my best friend. Bill and Tessa hadn’t arrived yet, so I gave Piper more details about my night and morning with Tyler.

“I’m here to support whatever you want to do,” she said. “I just want you to make sure you’re ready for whatever storm is coming.

“I mean you’re lucky I’m your assistant.” She paused to wiggle her eyebrows at me. “I got the picture of you and Tyler fighting on the Internet removed.

“Not only do we have Eliza, but I know a lot of people in PR. I’ll keep my eyes and ears out, and anything I find on you and Tyler, I promise I’ll work like a dog to get it taken down.”

“What would I do without you?” I said, hugging my best friend ~and~ the best person I could have as my right-hand woman.

“Nothing,” she said, running her hand down her jeans. “You have the interview with Sports Times tomorrow, don’t forget.”

“Don’t remind me.”

After the photo of Tyler and myself in the parking lot had surfaced, it had become clear that I was, in fact, the new owner of the New York Blades.

I noticed my name in the news far more often than ever before, but I tried to ignore it. The general public was fascinated that I was young, a female, and “beautiful.”

Not being the type of person who enjoyed the attention, I focused more on work, Tyler, and my friends—basically, anything other than my name crawling all over Internet sites and magazines.

I looked up when the door creaked open to see my slimeball cousin, Kevin, walk in. I leaned to whisper in Piper’s ear. “He’s horrible. I’ll be back soon.”

I ran out of the owner’s lounge, almost bumping into the door frame on my way. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I knew where I wanted to be.

I quickened my pace on my way to the locker room, and I managed to dodge a reporter. I had to sneak into the janitor’s closet to do so, but I was ready to do anything to avoid talking.

I stepped into the locker room, hands covering my eyes to ensure I didn’t see any of my players stark naked.

It was silent—no one said a word. I pulled my hands down from my face to stare into the eyes of twenty men dressed in Blades uniforms. They began laughing when a blush of embarrassment crossed my cheeks.

“I wasn’t sure if you guys were dressed…” I said, letting my voice trail off.

They laughed at me again until Tyler walked up and came within two steps of me. The rest of the players watched us curiously.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked, brushing my hair away from my face. His hand moved away quickly when he noticed the entire team witnessing the small act of affection.

“Do you guys see her face?” He turned to the guys behind him.

A few stepped in, along with Coach Julian who pushed his way over to me. I waved my hands in front of my face, trying to make them back up and stop staring at me. “I’m fine guys, really.”

Murmurs filled the locker room as everyone debated what had really happened. Tyler spoke close to my ear, “Who the fuck touched you?”

I smiled, having never seen anyone that angry. And what was he going to do? Beat up my mom? Obviously not. Not to mention, it was slightly embarrassing admitting that your mommy beat you up.

“It doesn’t matter,” I responded, yet his face didn’t change. “It wasn’t a man, if that makes you feel better.”

“Of course, it doesn’t.”

“Sh.” Tyler’s voice was always louder when he was upset, and I couldn’t let the others hear how oddly overprotective he was being. ~We are going to get caught.~

I touched his arm as briefly as possible. “It was my mom. I’ll tell you about it later,” I whispered to him.

Tyler stayed angry, but Julian sent the boys to the ice to skate. I walked behind with him and then sat on the bench, talking about the game that night. The other coaches shook my hand and stood on the other side of the bench.

“At this rate, we’re a shoo-in for the playoffs.”

“Ah, Kate,” Julian scolded. “Anything can happen. You know that.” I grinned, he’d been telling me that since I was a kid.

“I want to ask you something. Just between us.” He didn’t respond, but he did nod. “What’s your take on Kevin?”

“Your spoiled-ass shit-bag cousin, Kevin?”

I slapped my hand over my mouth when the laughter poured out. “I got my answer.”

“That’s only for your ears, Kitty-Kate.”

“You used to sneak in ice cream and candy for me, and basically anything I wanted when Dad wasn’t looking. You’d always tell me it was only between us.”

Julian reached a hand up and patted the glass, remembering the old days. “You’re like a daughter to me. I never needed to have kids, I always had you.”

I stopped caring about looking professional. I wrapped my arms around him and maybe even cried a little.

He looked so much like my dad with his crisp white button-down shirt, bright red tie, and black slacks. When my dad was in dress clothes, he only wore red or black ties, for he would never betray the Blades' colors.

Incoming text messages were making my phone beep constantly. I finally decided to look to see who was annoying me.

Piper

Ew. Kevin just asked me out. I told him to choke on a dick.

Piper

I didn’t really, but should have.

Piper

Just brought up the dating-a-player issue with John and Fred. I said I needed to know for when I bought a team 😉

Piper

“Absolutely not. That’s not even a question. Remind me to tell Kate to never allow you to buy into the Blades.” And then they laughed.

Kate

Shit. Thanks Pipe. I love you

I shoved my phone back into my pocket when I heard Julian’s voice speak up. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. Just work stuff.”

“I’m always here for you.”

We chatted for another half hour, watching the guys skate. My eyes were mostly glued to Tyler, but I tried to tone down the obvious favoritism. Eventually, I wished Julian good luck and returned to the suite.

“Didn’t realize you were here, cousin,” Kevin said like an idiot. He had seen me before I had gone into the locker room. I assumed he was attempting to annoy me, or portray that he was so above me that he hadn’t seen me beside him.

“Odd realization, considering I’m here for every game,” I spat back.

Kevin walked across the room, our uncles watching our interaction like two hawks. His shirt was only half tucked into his slacks, and his bright pink tie looked stupid.

He lowered his pale blue eyes to meet mine. “I guess, I’m still getting used to you being here, since you’ve been so busy prancing around Spain for the past few years.”

My brows scrunched, and it took all I had in me to not punch him in the face. My nerves were already in a disturbed state after the encounter earlier with my mother.

“You know I was in Paris,” I stated. “And you also know what I was doing there. Now please, enough with your childish insults.”

Uncle John and Fred stalked over. Fred shot his son a murderous glare before changing the subject to something hockey related.

Kevin stretched to place his arm around my shoulders and I stood stone still, hating the feel of his hand on me. “Let me make it up to you,” he told me. “Drinks tonight after the game?”

Piper jumped up from her seat incredibly fast. “Sorry, Kevin. She’s all mine tonight,” she said and pulled me away.

The rest of the game was quite uneventful, thankfully. Afterward, I had to turn down Tyler. As much as I wanted to see him, I owed it to myself and my sister to watch movies and binge on Chinese food together.

“What the hell is Kevin’s deal?” Nicolette asked, shoving lo mein noodles into her mouth.

“I don’t know. He’s always hated me.”

She scrunched up her nose. “He does hate you, but he also seems to be creepily into you.”

I threw a pillow at her. “Don’t ever say that again.”

“Anyway,” she began. “Are you nervous about your interview tomorrow?”

I was really glad a camera wasn’t following me around then, catching me shoving a ridiculous amount of orange chicken into my mouth.

I had sauce dripping down my chin, but I wasn’t going to eat pretty in front of my sister. Hell, I didn’t even eat pretty in front of Tyler, but I did pretend to be semi-sophisticated.

“Not really,” I answered honestly. “The interview prep was all about how I’m a woman and what my struggles are.”

“What are your struggles?”

“My struggles are that they keep bringing up my gender!”