It’sjustbefore6:00p.m. when the car sent for me arrives at the hotel where the gala is being held. For a second, I feel like a celebrity walking the red carpet. Due to the large number of sports celebs in attendance tonight, there are even a few paparazzi hanging around, but a random doctor doesn’t warrant much excitement, so I just keep a neutral expression on my face and make my way into the hotel.
I had texted Nadia and Irena that I was on my way, so they’re both waiting for me inside the ballroom after I get through security and check my coat.
“Oh, Dr. Ben, I’m so grateful you agreed to step in tonight!” Irena exclaims, wrapping her arms around me in a crushing hug. “I know you hate doing this stuff, but thank you so very much,” she whispers in my ear.
“You’re welcome, Irena. Thanks for asking me.”
I give her an extra squeeze and turn to Nadia, who wraps me up in her own warm hug.
“Thank you, Benny. You know how much I appreciate you helping Irena out,” she whispers.
“It’s nothing,” I say to her, and she takes a step back and holds on to my shoulders, one eyebrow raised.
“It’s not nothing, and you know it. We appreciate you.” She gives me a fond smile.
“Ben, why don’t you go mingle for a little bit. I’ll come and snag you about ten minutes before it’s time for you to go on. Is that okay?” Irena asks.
I nod, trying to will my roiling stomach to calm down. “Sure.”
Nadia tucks her hand into my arm. “Let’s go get you a drink,” she says. “Just one to take the edge off.”
I look down at her and nod, although I’m not sure putting alcohol into my nervous stomach is the best plan, but I decide to roll with it. She leads me over to the bar at the side of the beautifully decorated ballroom, where she orders me a whiskey and ginger ale, and I finally crack a smile as I overhear her asking the bartender to go heavy on the ginger ale. Nadi knows me well.
A few moments later, she hands me my drink and takes a sip of her own. I give her a grateful smile. “Thanks for babysitting me, Nadi. I wish you didn’t have to though. Christ, if I fuck up a speech, the only thing getting hurt is my ego. No patients to even worry about, and I’m a damn mess.”
She rolls her eyes and waves her hand in the air. “Don’t be ridiculous. Hanging out with you isn’t babysitting. And you know as well as I do, Doctor,that fear of public speaking is a legitimate thing. Stop beating yourself up and drink. The ginger ale should help settle your tummy, and when you’re done with the speech, I’ll make sure you get a real drink.” She waggles her eyebrows at me, which earns her a laugh, even though my gut is still in knots.
“Does that count as bribing me, I wonder?”
She arches a brow. “Benjamin Jacobs, I didn’t raise three children into functioning adults without learning a thing or two. Now, I see Irena waving at us. Let’s go get this shit taken care of!”
“Right,” I say, downing the last swallow before following her up to where Irena is standing at the front of the room beside the giant Christmas tree.
“Okay, are you ready?” she says, reaching out with both hands and grasping onto my arms. Most of the guests have taken their seats or are at least heading in that direction, so I know it’s go time. I close my eyes briefly, trying to focus on the moment and doing some of the deep-breathing exercises I use whenever I have to speak publicly. Not that any of the techniques ever work all that well, but I still try all the tricks, and I’m usually able to get through it without having a panic attack.
As Irena walks out onto the small stage, my heart races, blood thrumming in my ears and my palms sweating. She lists off my credentials for this room full of athletes and other sports types, most of whom won’t have a clue what any of them mean. When she calls my name, I take one last deep breath and step out onto the stage, making my way to the podium as polite applause fills the room.
“Thank you so much, Ben. You’re going to kill it,” she whispers in my ear before stepping back with a beaming smile.
I swallow hard to keep my voice from cracking and take a quick look around the room. I can only see the first couple of tables in front of me, but I do notice a couple of doctors I’ve met in the past. Reed Morrow is an ER doc I’ve known for many years, and as I meet his eyes, he gives me a friendly smile. I’ve talked with him before about my issues with public speaking, and it does help to have a friendly face in the audience to focus on. Taking one last deep, cleansing breath, I paste a smile on my face and start talking. “Good evening, everyone. Thanks for having me tonight…”
As normally happens, once I start the actual speech, I’m able to find a kind of rhythm. Since I’ve presented this speech once before, I find my groove faster than usual, and before too long, I finish up to another round of polite applause. I exit stage left to find Nadia waiting for me with a huge hug and a flute of champagne.
“Perfectly done, as usual.” She smiles. “Now, I want you to relax and enjoy your evening. And Ben, thank you again.”
I shake out my arms and roll my head on my shoulders for a second, allowing the tension to bleed out of me before taking the champagne flute from her, pushing down the urge to shoot it like tequila. “You’re welcome, Nadi. It wasn’t too bad tonight. But I’m real fucking glad it’s over.”
Dinner is about to be served, so I stick with Nadia as she leads me to the table we’re sharing with several other medical professionals. Reed, my unwitting savior during the speech, is there, so I get a chance to thank him for serving as my focal point during the speech. He’s amused and very gracious about the whole thing. As we make polite conversation and enjoy the surprisingly good food, I glance around the ballroom to see which sporting celebrities are in attendance. There are several tables filled with players and executives from both the NHL and the NFL. I also clock folks from Major League Soccer teams from several West Coast cities. I’m pleased to see how many people from the professional leagues have shown up tonight; it seems like more than in the past. A few years ago, there’s no way this room would have been full of this many hockey and football players and team executives. It’s taken a long time, but hopefully, maybe, people are starting to pull their heads out of the sand about the dangers of head injuries in sports.
As we finish dinner, the adrenaline rush from my speech finally runs out, and I find myself yawning.
“God, Ben, you look like you need to go home and curl up in bed for a few hours,” Reed teases, and I laugh.
“I was up late last night, and I’m beat. I think I’m probably going to ditch out of here early and do exactly that.” We make small talk for a while longer before I excuse myself and start making my way toward the coat check area. I cannot wait to get home and slide into my bed. I just wish I wasn’t going to be alone. It would be so nice to have a warm body to snuggle with tonight to celebrate my small victory over my phobia and the success of this event. Against my will, my mind flashes back to last night and how incredible Aleks felt curled up against me.
Goddammit.Gritting my teeth, I shove that thought aside. Last night was a one-off. And there are plenty of reasons it wouldn’t be a good idea, even without the history between our fathers. For one thing, while the sex was amazing, the fact is Aleks Warren is alotyounger than me. I’ll just add that onto the list of reasons I should not be sparing this guy a second thought.
As I’m almost to the door, I notice Carson Wells, the Sasquatch GM, heading toward me. He’s a good-looking guy, tall and slim, with dark hair. Very bookish-looking, with a quiet confidence that seeps out of his pores, making him very attractive to be around. He’s been straightforward and honest while we worked with our legal reps over the past few weeks, and he was calm and unflappable even when it looked like the players' union might torpedo the entire plan to get the helmets into live gameplay. I like him a lot.
