As soon as I open the door and see Shively sitting stiffly in the chair, my gut clenches. Fuck. However, I offer the room a smile as I come inside, not giving anything away. Idon’tknow what this is about. Not for sure.
That is, not until I step up to the table and Shively looks at me, on the verge of a panic attack. My gaze falls on the images in front of him. More specifically, the one of us kissing at the airport.
“Okay, good. You know,” I say and reach for Shively. “Up. Come here.”
Shively jumps to his feet and moves toward me. I take him into my arms and murmur into his ear, “Take a breath, Shiv. Focus on breathing right now. Ignore everything else. Just breathe.”
Now that he’s on his feet, I don’t miss the way everyone shifts in their seats at seeing how he’s trembling. His breathing is loud and shallow. He’s not doing well.
I gently move my fingers against the back of his head, massaging his scalp. “That’s it. Another deep breath. Good. Let it out slowly. Perfect, Shiv. That’s it.”
His grip on me doesn’t loosen. It tightens instead. The calmer his breathing, likely the clearer his mind gets as we work through his panic. However, the clearer his mind, the more tense his body becomes. Panic is a fog of intense emotion with a physiological effect, and once that fog clears, the weight of the situation settles a little heavier.
I continue to ignore everyone in the room and let them bear witness to me working Shively through this near panic attack. While it isn’t something that should be shared with them, the way they approached this situation has left me no other choice.
Then again, there’s a very good chance that they addressed it delicately. Shively has been on the verge of panicking about being caught since the beginning of our relationship. He had no warning, and maybe some warning would have helped him prepare for the confrontation.
When I’m sure he’s going to be okay, I shift us so I can look at the faces around the table. I hadn’t truly acknowledged their presence once I realized Shively wasn’t doing okay.
“Hello,” I greet belatedly.
Edries grins, amused.
Sylvan bows his head slightly. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but do you need a moment?”
Shively minutely shakes his head.
“We’re good, thanks. I’m guessing that you haven’t called us in here about watching us practice,” I answer.
“We watched you practice to see if you were being treated differently than your teammates,” Marta Adams, my favorite HR lady, informs me. “You haven’t been.”
“I know,” I say, frowning.
“In light of the situation, we wanted to see it firsthand,” Sylvan says.
“You wanted to gather a case,” I correct, nodding. “That’s fine. So you see that I’m not treated any differently. Now what?”
“This isn’t appropriate for the workplace,” Banks informs me.
“I agree. That’s why no one has been aware or even guessed at our relationship because it’snotappropriate for the workplace,” I say.
It’s clear he wasn’t expecting that remark since Banks simply blinks at me. Marta smirks but turns her attention away. She clears her throat. “Regardless of your feelings on the situation, Banks, they are not breaking policy, and there has been no hint as to or suspicion of their relationship anywhere that hockey is the key theme.”
Okay, so we have Marta in our corner. Cool. Banks is not. I look at Chase to determine whether PR is for or against, and he appears rather indifferent. Even when I meet his eyes, there’s no indication that he cares one way or the other.
Sylvan doesn’t look overly pissed. He’s still eyeing Shively, likely concerned. Edries looks more amused than anything.
“Regardless, workplace fraternizationisagainst policy,” Banks argues.
“You’re always in a hurry to fire people, with or without backlash,” Marta says, disapproval heavy in her voice.
Shively flinches then picks his head up to look at the room. “You can fire me if you want. In fact, I’ll quit. I’ll use whatever reason you give me. I want this relationship more than my job,” he says, his voice even. His hands are still digging into my back, so Iknowhe’s still working through some shit.
“There’s no need for that,” Edries says, and I’m surprised when everyone at the table looks at him. It’s obvious from their expressions that he hadn’t made his position on this clear one way or another. “As someone who has experienced meeting a partner in the most unlikely places, I understand why you chose to risk your careers for your relationship. Some people are worth the risk.”
“I agree,” I say and hug Shively to me.
“We already have one couple on this team,” Edries says, “and Winnipeg is stronger for it. Felton Badcock is in a much better place, and his game has only improved since being with Ren. I understand that there were some other circumstances removed from his life to facilitate this change, but I think we can all recognize that Felton’s improved headspace is in large part due to the support of his partner, yes?”
