“I wasn’t actually expecting you to tell me the truth.” She chuckles humorlessly. “I thought we would end up having to open up an investigation, or at the very least, you and I would be in here for a lot longer while I wore you down.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I simply cross my arms and wait.
She rubs her forehead. “When did this happen?”
“Does that matter?”
“Yes, it fucking matters!”
“Look, it wasn’t her fault. This is on me.”
“Of course it’s on you,” Alice sputters. “Youare the coach.Youare the authority figure here. Yes, she’s not a minor, but there are rules in place for a reason. You abused your authority and position.”
“I know, fuck, I know that.” But I won’t say I’m sorry because that would be the first lie I tell in this room. Because I’m not sorry. I can’t apologize for the way I feel about Lennon. I hang my head. “I tried, Alice. Listen to me, and I know you’ll probably just assume I’m bullshitting you right now, but I tried not to let it happen. I tried to push it down. To pretend like it wasn’t happening. But…I couldn’t.”
“When?” she demands again.
I sigh. “I don’t know, a couple of months ago.”
Alice’s face slackens with shock for a moment before morphing back into anger. “Months?”
I clamp my lips shut.
“Fucking hell…” she shakes her head. “Did you not realize what this could mean for you? Forhermore importantly?” Shenotes my silence and looks away. “Or more just didn’t care, I guess. That’s it?”
“It’s not?—”
“I stuck my neck out there for you. You came in here with no coaching experience, a bad fucking attitude, and absolutely nothing going for you. And this is what you do with it.”
“I didn’t intend for this to happen.”
“No, but you surely didn’t stop it either.”
“I know, but—” I rake my hands through my hair. “It wasn’t something I set out to do. I didn’t even want to be here! I didn’t want to work with her or this team. But once we started training…I mean you said it yourself. She’s special. And the more I worked with her and saw her grow and evolve…I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.”
Alice holds up her hand to stop me, as if what I’m saying physically pains her. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear you try to justify it. I can’t.”
“Alice—”
“No more talking. You’re done.” She grabs her jacket and drapes it over her arm. “This is what’s going to happen. Are you listening?”
Her condescension grates against my skin, but I keep my mouth shut and nod.
“I think it’s obvious that you’re not coming to the game Sunday. You no longer have a job at Haulton University or with this team. I’m not going to fire you, because that would just cause a shitstorm that I’d like to avoid. You’re going to quit for personal reasons next week since the season is officially wrapped and go quietly.
“I’m going to speak with Lennon again, but from what I’ve gleaned, she’s said the same thing as you. That it was mutual. Consensual. I will discuss with her again once the season is done, and if she tells me anything differently, then I swear toGod, Luke, it will not matter that I have known you since you were a boy. I will launch a full investigation into you and make sure that you are punished to the highest degree.”
“Why aren’t you doing an investigation to begin with?” It’s a stupid fucking question for me to ask, and I should just keep my mouth shut, but I’m genuinely curious. That’s what I assumed would happen. An investigation, public story, media persecution.
Alice rolls out her neck on a heavy sigh. “Because as much as that would hurt you, it would also hurt her. And unlike what you clearly have been doing, I’m thinking about Lennon’s future. What a huge story this could turn into and how that would impact her. She doesn’t have a cushy NHL retirement to fall back on. She’s twenty-one years old, just beginning her life. I don’t want to destroy her life because you broke the rules.”
Grateful isn’t an emotion I thought I’d be feeling during this conversation, but it floods my entire chest. “Thank you.”
She scoffs. “Do not thank me. I’m doing this to protect her, not you. And like I said, if she changes her mind and reports something different to me, I will come after you.”
“I understand.”
“I want your resignation on my desk first thing Monday morning. I don’t want you anywhere near the game Sunday, or you to have any contact with any players, staff, or parents. And that includes Lennon. Got it?”
