“Ken Doll?—”
“I can’t listen to her try to fix this when he won’t even pick up the phone”—her voice cracks—“when he’s too proud to reach out to his own daughter.”
I want to tell her that avoiding her mom is only going to make things harder, but I also know that she’s hurt. She deserves the time to process that without being forced to talk.
“I feel guilty,” I say, kissing her. “I’m the reason you’re in this mess. You had more to lose than I did.”
She leans into me, and we sit there, watching the city wake up through the windows.
“Make love to me,” she says, and I lay her back on the couch.
We don’t talk the rest of the morning. Instead, we lose ourselves in each other and in the pleasure. When the clock hits nine, I get dressed and have my driver deliver me to my meeting.
Getting me mic’d up and ready for TV takes fifteen minutes. I position myself tall, with my shoulders back, because my publicist said it makes me look “accessible but successful”—whatever that means. At exactly ten o’clock, the interviewer walks in, and I’m face-to-face with Diana Walton, a reporter who’s been covering hockey for twenty years.
She doesn’t waste time with pleasantries, per usual. “Patterson, there’s been a lot of speculation about your suspension. Can you tell us what happened?”
“Coach Hart and I have a difference of opinion. He considers it insubordination.” I keep my voice even. “That’s all I’m prepared to say.”
“Some sources are saying this is about his daughter. Can you confirm that you’re in a relationship with Kendall Hart?”
“I can confirm that my personal life is personal,” I say, and it rolls off the tongue.
“So, you aren’t dating Kendall Hart? But the photos from this weekend?—”
“Were taken without our consent by photographers who had followed us from a private dinner. Tell me, Diana, are you dating every person you have dinner with?” I let a hint of edge creep into my voice because I want them to know I’m not a pushover.
Diana pivots smoothly. “What about the team? The Angels have lost three straight without you. Do you feel any responsibility for that?”
The hockey questions are actually harder than I thought. I stare at her. “I’m responsible for being the best player I can be when I’m on the ice. Right now, I’m not on the ice.” I shrug.
“If your team suspension was removed, would you play?”
I think about that for an awkward amount of time. “I’m not sure how I would answer that.”
I hear one of the camera operators gasp, which means everyone will be talking about that one comment.
“Wait, are you retiring? You’re so close to beating your personal record, but also passing up Nick Banks’ league record.”
I smile at the mention of his name. “My decisions about the future are currently up in the air.”
“But you’re in the middle of negotiating a contract renewal.”
“You’re right. And that’s between Dennis and me.”
She watches me for a long moment. “Do you think Coach Hart is making the wrong decision?”
I pause long enough to consider the question. “I think he’s a man who does what he wants, even when it’s costing him. I respect that about him, actually. He sticks by his word. There aren’t many coaches who do that anymore. Even so, doesn’t mean I agree with him.”
The interview wraps up a few minutes later.
“Your media training? Wow,” she says. “No one will trip you up.”
“On or off the ice,” I tell her, standing and stretching.
“Figure it out, kid. Hockey needs a star like you to keep it interesting,” she tells me, then walks away.
They take off the microphone, and I’m escorted out of the building like a cheap thrill.
