Another whistle cuts through the room. The replay rolls, and the call still doesn’t look right.
I watch it for a second, then lean forward, bracing my forearms on my thighs. “And now they’re bringing Greer in.”
That gets a glance from Talon. “How you feelin’ about that move?”
“I’ve played against him,” I say. “Played with him in juniors for a bit, too. Never been a fan.”
Kade lifts a brow. “Why’s that?”
I shrug. “He’s just… not a team guy. Everything’s about him. Like he thinks he’s owed something. Always been that way.”
Owen leans back a little. “That’ll go over well here.”
I scoff. “Yeah. We’ll see.”
We don’t say much after that. On the TV, the game keeps moving like nothing’s off.
“The media’ll be onto something else by the time we play our next game anyway,” I say after a second.
“It never lasts,” Kade says. “Headline for a day, then they’ve moved on.”
Talon glances over at me. “That’s kind of the goal though, right?”
The room goes quiet again.
Talon shifts slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Reed said the same thing earlier.”
I look over at him.
“He doesn’t think it’s over. Stuff like this doesn’t just disappear, you know?”
Owen nods. “It just gets buried.”
Talon exhales.
I push off the arm of the couch and stand, more to stretch my legs than anything. I’m already over the conversation, ready to go upstairs and check on Brinley.
“Brinley got access to the account.”
That gets their attention.
Kade frowns. “What account?”
“The one her mom set up,” I say. “Every payment Dawson made, she had it all put in there instead of spending it. It’s hers now.”
Talon nods once. “That’s good.”
I rub my hand over my shoulder, working out the tension, glancing down at the floor. “She showed me one of the statements.”
Owen’s eyes flick up to mine. “And?”
I hesitate for a second.
“Well, for starters, the deposits didn’t stop. Brinley was surprised by that, because when she showed up at his office, he made it sound like he paid her mom off—like it was a one-time thing tied to the NDA. Not like he’s been paying her ongoing since.”
No one says anything.
“That’s not the only interesting part though…”
