He took a seat across from her, but seemed to have regressed to his older glummer self – and not at all like the dashing man-about-town beaming back at her from the PC screen after yet another successful public outing.
‘You OK?’ she asked by way of a hello.
He slumped down. ‘Too much standing around last night, I think. Leg’s bothering me,’ he mumbled. ‘And I got home later than I wanted to.’ He scowled, wincing a little. ‘I was supposed to join some guys from the team to practise some light training today; see how things are shaping up, but I called it off. I’m tired and then I had to trudge all the way down here too.’
Hannah swallowed guiltily, uneasy at the prospect of setting his recovery back because of something she had done.Again.
‘Ah, I’m sorry about that,’ she replied earnestly. ‘I didn’t know about the practice. And as for coming here, next time just tell me if you’re not feeling up to it, OK? I could just as easily have come to you.’
He met her gaze and after a beat, his green eyes softened. ‘Nah, it’s OK,’ he conceded. ‘I rescheduled the training thing for later in the week. Just felt a bit stiff, you know?’
‘Probably the dress shoes too,’ she commented, glancing at his trainers. ‘I know how I feel after a night in four-inch stilettos.’
He finally smiled. ‘Yeah, well, at least you’re something to look at.’
Hannah’s mouth went momentarily dry, and she felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Quickly, she reached for her laptop and turned it around to face him, hoping it would take his attention off of her face. Dangerous ground.
‘Seriously, though,’ she stammered, quickly moving on, ‘look at this coverage. The media shots are so good. You look great.’
He leaned in to get a closer look at the screen and two lines appeared in between his eyebrows.
‘I look like a bozo. And now I’m giving hockey lessons to some rich jackass’s kid. I dunno, Hannah, I felt like a pet monkey or something.’
‘It’s three lessons, and the kid’s just seven years old. And you don’t have to do it until you are fully fit and back on the ice again. Plus, you raised so much money for a verygoodcause, remember? You might have to give lessons to a rich kid, but the money you raised will help a lot ofsickkids.’
While he had never truly opened up about it, Hannah had done enough research on Ward to find out that he hadn’t had the easiest time growing up. She supposed there might be a bit of a projection as to why anything that helped less fortunate kids was always something he could be more easily persuaded into, but she would never dream of asking him about it.
‘Yeah, I know, I know. I guess you’re right,’ he admitted.
Hannah also knew that conceding someone else could be right about something was equally hard on him, so she didn’t labour that either.
‘So,’ she continued, smiling. ‘A great success all round.’ She saw him shift in his seat and he averted his eyes, this time looking at the wall. ‘What’s up?’ she asked, realizing he had something else to say.
He shrugged again. ‘I don’t know. I mean, yeah, great that some money was raised and kids will be helped. But rubbing elbows with some of those people … it feels so phoney. The fancy tux, crazy money being thrown around, that’s just not my scene.’
‘But it was all for a good cause …’
‘I’m just afraid people are going to think I’m a sell-out now. I’ve never hung with that crowd. Feels like I’m doing it for the wrong reasons like it’s all about me getting papped.’
‘No one is going to think that. You’re Ward McKenzie. Tireless grinder who’s just as capable of scoring as making an assist allowing a teammate to take the spotlight. You did a good deed last night. Others in your position do that stuff too … Gretzky, Iginla, Phaneuf,’ Hannah listed on her fingers. Working with him, she had little choice but to become well-versed in ice hockey – but she also knew that he liked being reminded that some of his sports heroes and counterparts put themselves out there too. ‘Those guys are all genuine community-minded success stories who give back. No one suggests they do it just for publicity, just like no one would suggest the same about you.’
He sat up a bit straighter then and Hannah knew she had scored a point in her favour.
‘You’re right. All in all, it’s the outcome that counts, right?’
She offered him a thumbs up. ‘Exactly. And speaking of outcomes … ’ She beamed, ready to raise the real reason she’d wanted this debrief in person. ‘I spoke to Bernie and he’s thrilled with how everything’s going. To the point that he got a call from Craig Sumners, asking if you’d attend his wife’s charity benefit happening soon.’
Ward groaned. ‘What? How is my having to kiss-ass at yet another fundraiser a good thing? I thought you said this was going well. I’ve been breaking my butt with all this PR stuff to get the top brass back onside. And now Sumners wants me to jump through even more hoops?’
‘That’s the thing though, it’s not just you. The whole Panthers squad is invited and lots of media too, it seems. Very big affair, atthe Plaza Hotel. Bernie gets the sense that there’s more to it than meets the eye and that the event is merely a platform for something bigger. Something public. And if that something gets even more eyeballs on his wife’s favourite charity then all the better.’
‘Aw, you know I hate that stuff, Hannah. I don’t belong there.’
She laughed. ‘No one belongs there, Ward. Everyone’s just pretending they do.’
‘Wait—’ he narrowed his eyes as if only now registering what else she’d said ‘—the whole team will be there?’
‘Yes. Now, I don’t want to pre-empt but, according to Bernie, the board is happy,veryhappy with how well your rehabilitation, both personal and physical has been going. And he’s wondering if this might well be the perfect opportunity for a big announcement. Return of the prodigal son, maybe?’
