I get the sense she’s not just good, she’s seen it all.
I slide the overstuffed folder across the table, expecting her to start rifling through every page. But she doesn’t. Instead, she rests her hand on top of it and meets my eyes, steady and direct.
“Let’s start with you, Liam,” she says. “Tell me about yourself.”
I clear my throat, caught off guard. “Uh… where do you want me to begin?”
“How old are you? Where are you from? What are your financial stressors? What are your goals?”
I clear my throat, trying not to sound awkward. “I’m, uh, almost twenty-five. Started in the league four years ago, played two years in college before that.”
She nods knowingly. “So you missed the NIL payday wave, huh?”
“Yeah. Timing wasn’t exactly on my side,” I admit.
“Kids these days are millionaires before they even play a minute of college hockey,” she says, almost laughing. “I’ve got clients who haven’t set foot on campus but already have investment portfolios. But I’ve seen some blow through it just as fast. It’s the wild west out there now.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard,” I say.
“Anyway, back to you. You’re twenty-five, and Nikolai tells me you have an underwhelming contract and some family obligations. Those are the two things weighing down your ability to grow your income.”
I nod, feeling that weight in my chest. “That’s the story. Pretty much sums it up.”
“Tell me more?”
She waits patiently, sipping her cinnamon coffee.
I hesitate, rubbing the back of my neck. “Honestly, it’s kind of embarrassing.”
She sets her cup down and folds her hands in her lap. “Liam, I’ve seen and heard it all. Like, guys getting ripped off by family members and female athletes being blackmailed by ex-lovers. I’m not here to judge. I’m here to help.”
I chew on my lip while I try to figure out if I really want to tell this story for the third time in as many weeks. Finally, I sigh and start with my mom.
“My mom’s an alcoholic. Years of drinking and drug use wrecked her body. She’s only fifty-two, but her liver and kidneys are trashed, and she needs full-time care now. She never held a job long enough to qualify for social security or disability, so when everything went downhill, I had to place her in a nursing home. And I couldn’t put her in some shitty place, so I found her the best one I could. It’s eleven grand a month, but at least she’s safe and looked after.”
Ellie gives me a sympathetic look. “Taking care of her like that really says something about you.”
I shrug it off. “She was a mess my whole life. I didn’t want to end up being her caretaker forever. I wanted a life of my own. Hockey. Freedom. I’m not a saint for that.”
She nods. “Fair enough. What else’s going on?”
“My contract’s garbage,” I admit. “Nik hooked me up with a new agent, so we’re working on that, but who knows if it’ll pan out. And my dad was a gambler. I bailed him out more times than I can count, so I’ve never been able to save anything. I drive acrappy Honda, and I’m still living in my dad’s old house because I can’t afford anything else. I just…” I trail off as the frustration surfaces. “I just want to get out of this hole. I’m a pro athlete, for Christ’s sake. I should be living better than this.”
Ellie holds up a hand. “Hey, breathe.”
I let out a slow breath, surprised how much that helps.
Something about Ellie puts me at ease, as I’ve accidentally sat down in a therapy session instead of a financial meeting. She’s calm, grounded, and it makes me feel a little less like I’m drowning.
She gathers up my paperwork, flipping through it with an easy confidence.
“I can help you,” she says. “Here’s what we’ll do. First, we’ll set up a simple investment account to get things moving. Once your new contract is finalized, we’ll focus on short-term goals, such as saving for a car or watching your money actually grow. After that, we’ll start looking at the bigger picture. Down the road, maybe a house, a real rainy-day fund. Step by step.”
“You think that’s even possible?” I ask, my voice low. “Honestly, some days it feels like I don’t even have two pennies to rub together.”
She smiles, reassuringly. “It’s more than possible. You’re young, you’ve got years left on the ice. And I’m very good at what I do.”
“I assume you...charge a fee?” I ask sheepishly, “Because I literally just told you I can’t afford a big fee at the moment.”
