Page 21

CHAPTER 21

OLLIE

I don’t think I’ve ever spent ten minutes with my jaw swinging from its hinges, yet here we are.

When Anna picked me up, she had the recording she’d captured cued up for my listening pleasure. Once I’d listened to it and heard Jimmy’s disgusting plan, I filled her in on what was going on with the other players. She mumbled something about “not today, Satan” before getting Ben on the phone immediately so we could hatch our own plan.

By the time I arrive at the ball with Anna, the whole team is there along with Ben and Molly, too. We’d asked everyone to wait outside by the valet, right at the main entrance. While Anna distributed the tickets to all of the guys and their dates, Ben, Molly, and I pulled the players aside to explain what Anna heard. As their faces reflected our inward shock, Ben and I both told them what we wanted to do and got their buy-in. Once everyone agreed, Ben and Molly sent them inside to their tables, leaving the four of us outside.

“Are you ready for this?” Anna asks, threading her hand through mine.

“More so with you here,” I say, squeezing her hand and pulling her closer, like a security blanket. “By the way, I don’t know if I said it earlier, but you look amazing.”

As she blushes and fights a little grin, Sutton’s voice echoes around us. “Oh, y’all. What a day.”

I turn around and find her standing there in a long black ball gown, looking like a queen. Her eyes bounce, landing on each one of the four of us individually for a moment, checking in. “Are you guys good?”

“I think we’re more than good.” Ben’s standing with Molly, gripping her hand as well. It’s like we’re both sucking the calming life force of our partners out of them to keep us grounded right now, and I’m okay in admitting it. If Anna wasn’t here, I’d be less tethered, that’s for sure.

“Good.” Sutton points to a car slowly sliding to a stop in the valet line. “Cause there’s my big brother.”

The five of us stand stock-still, in a line, waiting as Jimmy and Lara exit. When Jimmy sees us, I find it a little comical how relaxed he looks.

This man has no clue.

“Well, a welcoming committee headed up by my sister?” He takes Lara’s hand and weaves her arm through his as they stroll up to greet us. “You did not have to wait for us, Sutton. Very kind of you.”

“Not really waiting for you to greet you, Jimmy.” Sutton opens her purse and hands him a folded-up piece of paper.

“What is it?” Jimmy asks.

“It’s a signed document stating that as of”—she looks at her watch—“five minutes ago, I was instated as the sole owner and manager of the River City Renegades. This document will ensure your compensation and also give you a bit of a package for your exit.”

Jimmy laughs. “What? Oh, come on. What’s this?” His eyes bounce around to everyone before landing back on Sutton. “You’re serious?”

Sutton looks at Anna. Grinning, Anna holds out her phone and hits play on the recording. As Lara and Jimmy’s faces both go ghostly white, Sutton signals Anna to turn it off.

“I am.” She shakes her head. “You know, Dad wanted to give you something so you had a piece of the pie, so to speak. He didn’t give us the Renegades so you could inflate them,” she snaps, looking pointedly at Lara, who I swear shrinks a little, “and sell them off so you two could make some money.”

“So that we would make money,” Jimmy says, looking at his sister like she’s the crazy one.

“But I don’t want to do that.” She shakes her head. “No, Jimmy. What you’ve done is morally corrupt. You’ve messed with the team, their mental health, and to top it off, I find out you two have been skimming off their contracts for promotional and marketing work.”

Lara’s jaw all but slams on the pavement while Jimmy’s face goes paler still. The palest of the pale whites I’ve ever seen. It’s glorious.

“I can explain…” Jimmy begins, but Sutton laughs.

“I don’t care.”

“Dad wanted me to be a part of this with you.”

Sutton points at the paper. “Dad wants you out. Look at the paper. The whole board hopped on an emergency Zoom with me thirty minutes ago to push this through. Get it through your head, I’m done. He’s done. We’re all done.” Then Sutton looks at him and snickers. “But, best of all, you two? Are well done. Get out of here.”

Jimmy stands, stunned, as Lara creeps away holding their valet ticket and asking for the car to be brought around. At least she gets it. She knows where she’s not wanted.

But Jimmy? He’s still holding on.

“Sutton, surely you and Gavin don’t want to be alone in this. Mostly you, he’s not even here.”

“Jimmy.” Sutton shakes her head. “The thing about family is that we don’t get to pick who we’re related to. I used to reconcile you in my mind because we are family. I’ve stuck up for you, gone to bat for you. I’ve helped you to understand this business only to find out you’re flipping trying to do me dirty in the process. Me,” she says, tapping her chest. “Your family.”

When he doesn’t say anything, she goes on. “I didn’t choose you, Jimmy. I will always love you because we’re blood, but I do not like you.” She takes a giant breath through her nose and lets it out slowly. “And I’m in no hurry to find a way back. So be gone for now.”

For a very long and awkward moment, Jimmy stands with us. He finally shoves his hands in his pockets and turns to walk away, only Ben stops him.

“Wait,” Ben calls out. “We forgot one very important thing, Jimmy.”

Jimmy stops, looking up to the heavens before he turns around like a petulant child. “What, Ben? What.”

When Ben goes to step up, I take my hand from Anna’s and hold up a finger to Ben. “I’ve got this.”

I take my time sauntering up to Jimmy, watching him cringe with each step.

“Now that the whole team knows you’ve been skimming off the top for the last year, we’ve also made a pact.” I bend down so I’m as close I can be to his face without actually touching him. Look, I like using my big old brute-iness on the ice, not so much off…but this? This is a good cause.

Sutton pulls out another document and hands it to me. “This paper has a breakdown on it of all the money you owe the players. We want every penny of it back. Each cent. And it’s to go to Danny Denault.”

A gasp of surprise behind me comes from Anna. I look back over my shoulder at her and grin. “It was an easy ask, trust me. The guys are more than happy to do it for your dad.”

When I look back at Jimmy, he’s not even attempting eye contact with us now, his eyes searching for Lara and the car.

“So?” I poke him in his chest. I can’t resist. I won’t hit him. I want to, but I won’t. Anna asked me not to when we got here. “Do you agree?”

Jimmy looks around at everything and anyone but us before he finally nods his head. “Fine. I agree.”

“The money will be in Danny’s account by Monday morning?” I press.

Jimmy’s eyes widen. “It’s a lot of money to move in a few days…” he starts to protest, but when I treat him to my best scowl, I love it when he nods quickly.

“Okay, it’ll be there by end of day Monday.”

“We have your word?”

Behind me, Anna waves the phone in the air.

“Yes,” he barks as his car pulls up and Lara calls his name. “You have my word.”

He tosses one final glare his sister’s way before he disappears into the back of his black town car and is gone.

“Well, that was exciting,” Molly says as Ben claps me on the back and Anna cheers. “I feel like we were stuck in an episode of Succession for a second.”

Sutton laughs. “I’m so sorry, y’all. It’s gonna be different from here on out.”

“I can’t believe the guys all agreed to do that for Dad,” Anna whispers beside me.

I turn to face her, thankful she’s here by my side. “Danny’s an unsung hero at the arena. He keeps the ice looking good.”

As I wrap an arm around Anna, ready to take my date inside and dance the night away, a beep escapes her purse, signaling a text. She grabs her phone and glances at the screen, her lips tight as she looks back up at me.

“I’m sorry, Ollie,” she groans. “I need to go.” She looks at me sadly.

“Is it your dad?”

“Kind of.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “You go inside and have fun. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay.” I search her eyes for something more, but she does a good job of avoiding me. I feel like there’s more here, but I’m going to do what I’ve always done with Anna and take her at her word. If she needs to tap out for any reason, I’m gonna respect her boundaries.

Using my forefinger, I tilt her chin to bring her lips to meet mine and lay the gentlest of kisses on her mouth. “I’ll call you later?”

After she nods, I walk to the valet and hand over my ticket, asking the driver to get her home. I watch as she pulls away, questioning the sudden change of heart, but also having to trust. It’s been an exercise in that for the past few weeks, so what’s another night?

“She’s the best, isn’t she?”

When I turn to look, Molly’s joined me at the valet.

“She is,” I say with a sigh. “It’s crazy to think I fell in love with one of my best friends.”

Molly’s eyes almost bug out of her head. “You’re in love with Anna?”

Laughing, I nod. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Then who were you at lunch with the other day?” she asks, threading her arms tightly in front of her chest.

“At lunch?”

“Claire’s. With that woman.”

“My sister?”

As Molly’s face falls, I look at the disappearing brake lights as Anna leaves.

“Oh, Ollie,” Molly says as she covers her face with her hands. “I totally stepped into something when I shouldn't have.”

As Molly explains to me what she saw, and subsequently told Anna, I feel a sickening bolt from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.

I need to fix this. Now.