But with Bennett, I want to believe.
So fucking bad it hurts.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand and I pounce on it, hoping it’s him.
Daddy: Here are the tickets for tonight’s event
Daddy: 7 PM at the Manhattan Carrington Club
Daddy: I’m not attending
Daddy: You and Steele go. Show donors our house is in order
Fuck.
The last thing I want to do is trot Bennett out in Manhattan society. My circle.
We can barely hold it together with our own team. Now we’ll be in enemy territory, with everything to lose.
I bite my lip and stare up at the ceiling. Maybe I can still get us out of it.
Tori: I need to show my face at the office. Send Keller instead?
The blue dots swirl and I swear they’re moving faster than normal, tiny angry bees waiting to sting.
Daddy: No way. Keller needs to focus on winning our first game back in NY
Daddy: Clear your schedule for tonight. Mission critical for the organization
But not important enough for my father to walk into the lion’s den himself.
Tossing my phone on the bed, I huff out a sigh. There’s no way I’m getting out of this. He doesn’t trust anyone else to represent the team, not at an event this important. Especially after the humiliation of last season, with my lovely stepmom cheating on him with the former coach.
No.
Max Prince is out for blood — and I’m his dutiful soldier.
This should be fun.
I reach for the phone to text Bennett. There’s so much I want to say.
But I can’t say those things — important things — over text.
Tori: Manhattan Carrington Club, 7 PM. Donor event. We’ll leave 6:30
I roll out of bed to pack. We fly to New York this afternoon. Then in less than twelve hours, Bennett and I will be in the center of Manhattan society. All the glamour and judgement on full display.
I should have pushed harder for Keller.
The Manhattan Carrington Club is old New York money at its peak.
Dim lighting, dark wood, deep jewel-toned brocade fabric. A men’s-only lounge.
It practically screams boys’ club.
Everyone who’s anyone in New York belongs to the Carrington. I’ve been here a few times — investor meetings mostly — but also with my father for a few hockey events.
Each time’s been more uncomfortable than the last.
