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“You’re welcome. I packed your gear too. Make sure they get that to the rink to wash right away. No time to do it here. Take care, man.”

“Thanks again.”

No reply likely meant he’d moved on to the next task of getting the team out of here.

I scrubbed quickly, even though I’d be happy to stay right here and not deal with any of this. That kid I kept tucked away near my heart pushed hard to be let loose.

When I got to my locker, only my suit hung there, my gear in its bag and my luggage sitting next to it.

I grabbed my phone. Mom had messaged. She’d seen the news and said I could call tonight if I needed to or we could talk tomorrow. I texted back in case she was still awake and let her know I’d call tomorrow. Bobby had messaged too with a similar text.

Austin had messaged too. A simple open-mouthed emoji.

Wow was an appropriate reaction.

Hey. I don’t get to come home. I play in Phoenix tomorrow night. I’ll figure out what this means to my schedule and the summit. I miss you so bad and I’m pissed I don’t get to see you tomorrow. Gotta get dressed since the ride to the airport is here. I capped the message with my usual kissey face and heart.

Despite telling myself for days I was prepared for this, my heart was heavy because I wasn’t going home. It took all my strength to hold back tears as I followed Helson and Feldman out.

TWENTY-EIGHT

AUSTIN

I HAD BARELY TOUCHED my dinner, and now that I had to make remarks, I thought I might throw up even though I’d eaten so little. Normally, I enjoyed these summits. The afternoon had gone well—at least, I thought it had. Tamara had other thoughts based on the meetings she’d had, and the evening had gone from one problem to another.

As I talked in a group with the chief of technical innovation for General Motors, Jack gave me a thumbs up from across the room. Kyle’s plane had finally landed, but no way he’d get here in time to do our presentation.

As if on cue, Tamara appeared at my side. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow Austin for a moment.”

Tendrils of anxiety spread through my chest. Even though it didn’t directly relate to our business, Kyle not being here to speak would reflect on me. It didn’t matter that he’d been pulled away to Phoenix five days ago.

“At least Kyle got us a backup.” She flipped some pages on her tablet. “Terry and Adriana have been delightful, though a few people are disappointed they aren’t meeting your boyfriend.”

I nodded, and she fixed an understanding look on me. The past few days hadn’t gone well. Between Kyle leaving so quickly, the board asserting more oversight over this summit, and the intensity of the FBI/MC3 investigation, nothing was status quo. Kyle’d been great about listening to me, and it helped a bit in the moment. Thank God, he wasn’t someone who just advised calming down

It had seemed like he’d make it. But that wasn’t happening.

“You going to be okay? You look a little gray, and I don’t think it’s the lighting.” Her on-going look of concern only made me feel worse since we had a room full of people to dazzle.

Kyle had melted down when he found out he wouldn’t be able to leave when he’d planned because of last-minute press commitments. I knew it ate away at him. He’d been excited to talk about after-school programs helping him as a kid and now enjoying the work he did with them. Tamara hadn’t supported this aspect of the program, but our sales team had liked the idea of bringing in a sports person to break up some of the business talk. It all tied to how kids in after school programs would make up the leaders and innovators of the future.

We had a small silent auction running too that included items from the major Detroit sports teams. Kyle had sent a package of Phoenix items as well. The proceeds would all go towards the foundation.

“Let’s get the program started,” Tamara said. “We need to leave as much time for one-on-ones as possible.”

I nodded and shoved my confident businessman facade front and center. “Agreed. Wish me luck.”

She nodded and pasted on a smile just like I did. “You got this. Just like always.”

She returned to her table where she hosted a group from Chevy.

I headed for the stage and appreciated the bottles of water I spied next to the podium. My throat had gone dry talking to Tamara, so I needed some of that.

After a drink, I flipped on the mic, and I found my everything’s great voice to address the audience. “Welcome, everyone. We’re so glad you could join us tonight as part of our innovation summit. You’ve already heard a lot from us on what we’re working on, and now I’d like to introduce you to Terry Kennedy, captain of the Detroit Arsenal. He was kind enough to fill in for our planned guest…”

TERRY’S PRESENTATION WAS GREAT, of course.

But I missed Kyle so hard I ached. He’d texted that they’d hit traffic, and I’d replied with a picture of Terry at the podium and told him things were going fine. The evening needed to end though. My facade wouldn’t last much longer even as I worked to prop it up.