“Okay, I’ll see if they can have the paperwork ready for when you get there. Thanks, Hudson.” And as quickly as he came, he’s gone.
“You’re still living with him?” Bell asks.
Honestly, I’d kind of forgotten he was there. Adrian has a way of demanding my full attention. “Yeah, he’s the best,” I reply easily, hurrying to get out of the rest of my gear so I can shower.
“And it doesn’t bother you that he’s gay? Are you worried about what people might say about you moving in with him two seconds after your wife kicks you out?”
I turn to face Ollie. I might be in a hurry, but I can’t rush this. “I can’t tell if that comment was homophobic or not, but it’s important that you know I have a zero tolerance policy for that shit. Adrian is an amazing person, and we’re lucky to have him working for our team. Idon’t care how good you are out on the ice, this team is accepting of everyone, and if you can’t get behind that, I won’t hesitate to harass the coaching staff to trade you.”
Ollie puts up his hands like he’s trying to prove his innocence as he lets out a surprised laugh. “Hey, man, I’m the last person you have to worry about that with. I was just surprised. I thought that ancient people like you were more concerned about that bullshit,” he teases, and I drop my warning glare.
“Fuck off, man, I’m not that old,” I say with a laugh, glad that this kid is a good one. He’s so young, and the team has invested pretty heavily in his success, plus we’ve always gotten along well, so it would really suck to find out he was an asshole. I’m relieved he isn’t. “But nah, people can talk shit all they want. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the truth. And hockey. They should always focus more on hockey.”
“So true,” he agrees with a shake of his head. “Well, have fun with HR.”
“Thanks, man.”
“I’ll haveone small iced coffee with a splash of cream and a large iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso,” I order, relieved that the coffee cart is still open. I know Adrian seemed like he was in a rush, but hopefully he’ll appreciate the coffee enough to not care if I’m an extra minute or two late.
“That will be right out,” the barista promises with a smile. I leave a generous tip before moving to the pickup area, and in no time, I’m walking into the reception area of Human Resources.
I wonder how people end up with these jobs. I always wanted to play professional hockey, but do people actually grow up wanting to work in HR? I used to love daydreaming about all therandom things my kids might want to be one day, but now when I have those sorts of thoughts, it bums me out.
I know my life isn’t actually over, and my chance of having kids isn’t completely gone. But what used to feel like such a close future plan now feels like more of a fantasy, and the time that it’ll take to get me back to that I-could-be-a-dad-soon feeling seems horribly long. My parents had me in their twenties. I’m almost ten years older than they were, and they know better than anyone how quickly life can change; how future plans can be gone in an instant.
I don’t like to focus on such negative thoughts, but it’s hard to ignore them sometimes. I know I should probably be more upset about losing Shelby, but she showed her true colors with how she ended things, and I honestly haven’t missed her like I probably should.
“Oh my god, what is that?” Adrian asks as he steps out of one of the conference rooms off the reception area I’m standing in.
“Your coffee?” I check, glancing behind me before holding it out to him, not completely sure if that’s what he’s asking about or if I missed something.
“You got me coffee?”
“Yeah, of course.” I shrug, taking a sip of mine as he does the same.
His eyes widen, and he stares at me in shock as he slowly lowers the cup. “You got memycoffee. Like, the correct order and size and everything.”
“Should I not have done that? You don’t need to drink it if you don’t want it.”
He gasps, holding the cup closer to his chest and turning away slightly to guard the cup like I’m going to try to take it back. “Of course I want it. Chocolate and caffeine are my love languages. I just wasn’t expecting it is all.Thank you.”
I smile and wink. “Anytime, Prince. So what’s the plan here, do we sign something, or…?”
Adrian’s cheeks darken before he straightens like he’s physically going back into professional mode. I immediately miss the more relaxed posture he’s had more and more around me, but I appreciate how on top of everything he is, so I try to focus on why we’re here like he is.
“Yes, Natasha was kind enough to stay a little late to help us get everything done before the home opener tomorrow. I’ve already explained the situation and the importance of avoiding media involvement around your separation. She agreed it was better to do it now while less people are around. We started the paperwork so I think you’ll just have to sign a few things. It should be easy.”
“Thanks, Adrian. Hey, Natasha, sorry to keep you here so late,” I apologize as I follow him into the conference room. I take a seat across the table from her and Adrian sits next to me. It looks like he’s already signed some things and there’s a stack in front of me with highlights next to where I assume my signature is needed.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous all of a sudden. This should be no big deal.
But for some reason that stack of papers feels more important than the ones Shelby served me.That probably says something about how shitty my marriage actually was.
“Hello, Hudson. It’s no problem. I’m sorry to hear about your divorce,” she says sweetly.
“Thank you,” I respond, and I know that’s all I really need to say, but I can’t seem to stop talking. “Yeah, I had no idea we even had to do this or I would have come in sooner. I’ve heard of people needing to declare when they date a coworker, but it’s not like we’re dating, so I had no idea.” I shrug apologetically, but then I realize how that sounded, so I rush to add, “Not thatdating Adrian would be a bad thing. It wouldn’t be; Adrian is great.”
Fuck, did that make it sound like I wanted to date him?
