“Exactly,” I say. “Both of the colleagues I have in mind are men, and they both specialize in cases like yours.” I don’t elaborate because the situation with Owen’s parents isn’t common knowledge. I don’t know how much Dante knows. The League reps probably know even less. I dance around the root of the problem in ways that I hope Owen will understand. “You aren’t aggressive with your teammates. I’ve seen no evidence that you’re aggressive in your personal life. I don’t think a PR spin is enough. I think you have things you need to work through, either through an anger management program or some form of therapy.”
Not because I think he’s dangerous all the time. Because I think he’s been surviving in emergency mode for far too long.
Owen wilts. He shrinks in on himself. “Oh.” The tremor in his voice devastates me. That one tiny sound hurts more than Dante screaming ever could.
“You need to learn tools that can help you avoid repeat events in the future. And unfortunately, I can’t be the one to facilitate that process.”
Especially not when my own judgment where Owen is concerned has already become dangerously compromised.
Owen closes his eyes. He sways slightly in his chair. “Okay.”
“And you think someone else can fix him?” Dante asks.
I immediately hate the wording.
I breathe through my nose. Honestly, it’s a miracle that nobody has punchedDantein the face. At the moment, I’mtempted to do it myself. “I think someone else will be better equipped to have these conversations with Owen, yes. And they’ll have a better sense of how to approach conversations about impulse control.”
Even as I say it, I know that reducing Owen to a control problem misses half the truth.
Dante’s lip curls up. “Therapy.Ha.Well, if that’s what it takes.”
“Perhaps we can discuss this later. In private.” I smile at the League reps. “If that’s okay with you?”
“I think it’s a good idea, Miss Callahan. In fact, this would address the League’s concerns more effectively than anything we had discussed in private.”
“Wonderful.” I want to reach for Owen. I want to tell him I’m sorry, but that I tossed and turned all night, and this is the best solution I could come up with. I want to tell him this feels awful because I care about him far too much already.
The Dallas players went after me to taunt him, and it worked. And I can’t shake the memory of Owen’s face as he beat that man bloody on the ice. From what I’ve heard since, the worst of Clovis Toutain’s injuries actually came from smashing through the plexiglass, but even so. As hard as it is for me to be sympathetic to that asshat, there’s no denying the fact that I keep returning to:
Owen scared me yesterday. Not because I thought he’d hurt me. Because I saw how completely fear can take him over. I’d convinced myself that the punch that started this whole affair was an outlier, but now that’s demonstrably untrue.
I can’t rein Owen in. He needs help I can’t provide. And hating this decision doesn’t automatically make it the wrong one.
“Of course.” I stand up from my chair, and the others do the same. Only Owen remains frozen in place, still processing everything that just happened.
Dante suddenly steps into my path before I can leave.
For one terrifying second, I think he’s about to start yelling again.
Instead, he offers me his hand. “Miss Callahan,” he says gruffly, “despite this entire clusterfuck, it’s been a pleasure.”
Slightly stunned, I shake his hand. “Sir?”
“You handled yourself well,” he continues. “I’ll keep you in mind if the organization ever needs your expertise again.”
Coming from Dante Giovanetti, the words feel strangely significant.
“Thank you.”
He nods once before immediately turning back into a hurricane. “Now, somebody get me an aspirin and my wife before I sue the entire goddamn League.”
A startled laugh almost escapes me, but then I glance at Owen. And the ache comes roaring back.
There’s nothing I can say to make this easier, and I have work to do. So even though it feels a little like ripping something open inside my chest, I finally do the thing I should have done weeks ago after our first hookup. I walk away.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Owen
