“No, I didn’t contact him, I contacted Dingy.”
“Then how did Aldridge get involved?”
“Great question.”
I’m sittingin a suite beside Dean high above the arena, watching my team gain control of the puck at the drop.
“Alright, you sure about this?” Dean asks as he stands.
“A man like Aldridge Shaw will walk through an unlocked door if he wants answers. I want him to reveal himself.”
Dean nods, “He’ll only show his true colors if he thinks he has the upper hand. You scare him, you won’t see shit.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You got this. I trust you to protect the people you care about. And I trust Aldridge Shaw to be exactly who he is when he thinks no one is watching.”
When he leaves, I stand here now in the dim light of the suite, the hum of the arena vibrating through the walls. Ten seconds pass. Fifteen. Twenty. One full minute.
And then it happens. A soft click. The door handle is turning. Aldridge Shaw walks into the suite without knocking, without hesitation, without even pretending to see if it is occupied. Of course he does.
He steps inside fully, scanning the room, and then his eyes land on me, and he closes the door behind him. This is confirmation.
“When you didn’t respond to my call, I wondered if you would actually be here,” he says.
I nod to the ice, “I’d be down there if I weren’t sucker punched by your boy.”
“He didn’t walk away unscathed.” He says as he walks up and stands beside me, hands in his suit pockets.
I turn and lean back against the glass, arms crossed, “I knew you would come.”
“I know,” Aldridge replies.
Aldridge studies me for a long moment. Measuring. Testing. Searching for weakness, he will not find.
“Let us speak plainly,” he says. “You reached out to Dingy. You rattled him. My daughter is now asking questions. And that puts my family, my franchise, and my future son-in-law in a precarious position.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Sounds like a problem on your end.”
He chuckles once. “Indeed. And that is why I am here. Because a man like you will tell me the truth even when it is inconvenient.”
I lift a shoulder.
“My daughter believes Dingy should step up for the child,” he says. “I was not aware of the situation when?—”
“The situation? That little girl has a name.”
“Yes, she certainly does.”
My jaw tightens. “She’s his; he knew this and opted out.”
“And my daughter convinced him that a man should take care of his responsibilities.”
“If you think I hadn’t already summarized that, you’re not the man I thought you were.”
“I’m exactly the man you think I am.” He snaps.
I want to tell him he has no idea what I’m thinking, but if I’m reading this right, he and I want the same thing.
“He doesn’t deserve her.”
Aldridge nods once. “Then we agree on that point. Good. Because I do not want him near that child. I don’t need thescandal or publicity. But you don’t seem to care either way. You know he’s impulsive. Unstable. But my daughter sees none of that.”
