She sighs again. “We were trying to keep this quiet, but Tucker’s gone and blown it all up, so I might as well tell you because it’s out there now. This morning while I was getting ready to go into the office, I came across a video from Tucker’s ex-fiancée, Violet Sinclaire. She was talking shit about him and their breakup last year,” she says, and I realize that’s probably why she gasped while getting ready this morning, not because she’d almost dropped her phone like she told me. “I sent it to the Hartmann family’s PR team, and when I was meeting withTucker this morning, Preston sent him the video. Tucker and I talked about it, I told him his family’s PR team would handle it and asked him to stay off social media. I thought it was all set. But at some point overnight, he posted a video he took before they broke up. And it’s not good.”
“Not good, how?”
“I haven’t seen it yet, obviously, but Preston said it’s a video of him flying to Miami to surprise her, and then walking into her hotel room only to find her cheating on him.”
“Why would he want the world to see that?”
It all happened while I was on IR, and I don’t know much about the breakup, except that it was splashed all over the news for a day or two as a “mutual parting of ways.” The next thing I heard, Tucker left Hartmann Enterprises and became the new CEO of the Boston Rebels. He seems good at his job, but I don’t get the sense that he has the kind of passion for the sport or the organization that most people who work for the Rebels do.
“The video his ex-fiancée posted basically claimed that the breakup was his fault, and he not only left her heartbroken, but also left her family with a hundred-thousand-dollar bill for the wedding.”
“And she was the one cheating on him?” I clarify.
“Looks like it, but I don’t know for sure. I need to go get ready. I have to be at Hartmann Enterprises in an hour. You should go back to sleep,” she says, leaning over and giving me a kiss. “You have a big game tonight.”
“Aren’t you on vacation right now?”
“Yeah. But when Preston Hartmann tells you to meet him at the Hartmann headquarters, you show up.”
“You don’t work forhim,” I remind her, still wondering why she needs to be involved in this at all. Then again, I’m pretty sure if Preston Hartmann told me to jump, I’d ask how high. He’s got that kind of air about him, likecross me and I’ll bury you.Whichdoesn’t make me particularly comfortable that Morgan’s headed to his office.
“Right, but I was the one who found Violet’s video in the first place and sent it on to the firm that handles their family’s PR. I was the one who was with Tucker when Preston sent him the video. And it’s going to bemyjob to keep this from making the Rebels look bad, since apparently I’m their go-to for crisis situations. Sadly, it looks like I have some work to do this weekend.”
“Please tell me this isn’t going to affect our New Year’s Eve plans tomorrow.” I have a game on New Year’s Day, so we’re not going out tomorrow night. But I’ve planned dinner with all our friends followed by a romantic night in for the two of us, and I’ve been looking forward to several surprises I have in store for her.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen. But I can promise you this: I will be at your game tonight, in your jersey, cheering for you. And I’ll make sure I’m home tomorrow night for New Year’s Eve.” She leans into me, wrapping an arm around my back with a quick hug. I’m proud of her for the way she’s setting boundaries these days, even if they’re still not quite as tight as I’d like them to be. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry—you didn’t do this. But don’t be surprised if I punch Tucker in the fucking face next time I see him.”
“I’m going to have to recommend against that,” she says with a chuckle. “Please don’t make even more work for me, trying to burythatstory too.”
“Because I love you, I’ll refrain.” I lean over and give her a quick kiss on her forehead.
“All right, go deal with the stupid shit. I’ll see you at my game tonight, if not before.”
“Love you too,” she says, giving me a quick kiss before she hops out of bed.
Once she’s in the shower, I get up and make her coffee, like I do every morning I’m home. While it brews, I grab a protein bar because she’ll probably be hungry, and a bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters from the secret stash I keep for her stressful times, and drop them both into her work bag. Once I hear the water go off in the shower, I add milk and sugar to her coffee and bring it into the bathroom for her.
She smells like coconut and shea butter, and the scent makes me think of the day we spent together in Bermuda before that storm rolled in.
“You know what I was thinking?” I ask her, pressing a kiss to her wet hair.
“Hmmm?” she says as she takes a sip of the creamy coffee I’ve handed her.
“I think that once the season’s over, we should head back to Bermuda.”
Her chest shakes with a quick laugh. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I feel like there must be other beach caves we haven’texploredtogether.”
She shakes her head at me, but her smile is huge and her laughter is light. “We do likeexploring.”
“Maybe I’ll look into it today when you’re at work.”
“I think you should do that,” she says, pressing up on her toes so she can give me a quick kiss. “Maybe pick out a new bikini for me while you’re at it.”
“No way,” I say with a laugh. “I want you in that yellow one.”
