“Right.” He cleared his throat again. That had to be, what, twice in the span of a couple of minutes? “Well, she needed my help. I think she knew Pat Zummo. I don’t know how or from where, just seemed like she knew him and she casually mentioned that I was her boyfriend.”
Seraphina knit her brows together and dropped her eyes to her desk. “Were you aware she was going to say that?” she asked.
“Hell no,” Alec said, maybe too insistently. He re-crossed his legs, resting his foot on his knee, and held up both hands. “Trust me, I would never think that something like that would ever come out of her mouth ever. Like, never.”
Seraphina’s lips curved up. “Are you telling me there’s someone in this world who can resist the Alec Sinclair charm?” she asked.
Alec’s cheeks pinched. It took him a moment to realize he was blushing. Him. Alec freaking Sinclair was blushing. He didn’t remember a time when such a thing had happened to him before.
“Uh, well…?” He went to clear his throat but stopped himself. He didn’t want Seraphina to think there was something wrong with him – which she would if he kept coughing up a storm.
“You can talk to me, Alec,” Seraphina said. She leaned back in her chair, waiting. “You aren’t going to get in trouble. My job is to try and make you feel as comfortable as possible playing for my team. Your job is to be your best person on and off the ice because whether you’re in uniform or not, you are always a Mayhem player. The reason I brought you into my office earlier this week is to remind you of that, is to hope that the name on the front of your jersey is more important than the name on the back.”
Alec smiled at the Herb Brooks reference.
“I don’t want you off my team, Alec,” she continued. “You’re one of my best players. You and Jack together have such chemistry, it’s like you guys are twins. Who am I to mess with that? However, if you aren’t focusing, if your play is affected for some known reason, I need to get involved so I can get you back on track. Do you understand?”
Alec nodded.
Seraphina sighed. “Look,” she said, leaning back towards him, hands on her desk once again, “the last thing I want to do is lecture you. I’m not your mother. But if there’s something we can do to get everyone off your back and to help you focus, I want to do just that. If you did have a girlfriend, I’d like to know about her.”
“I mean…” It was hard for Alec to tell Seraphina the truth and he didn’t understand why. Why couldn’t he just get the words out? Tell her that Noah and him weren’t together? “My friend needed help. I don’t know why.”
“Your friend?” Seraphina arched a brow. “Okay, so she’s your friend now? I thought she was someone you didn’t like? Your sister’s friend?”
Alec grunted. “You know,” he said, holding up an index finger, “what I meant by that was –“
“Look, Alec, I’m not interested in the bullshit,” Seraphina said. It was the first time she cut him off. “All I care about is you and your play. That’s it. I only called you in here because Zummo talked about you having a girlfriend. Honestly…” She flipped through a couple of papers on her desk, but it didn’t appear as though she was actually looking at what the papers said. “I think having a girlfriend would be good for you. It might ground you a little bit.”
Alec opened his mouth, ready to defend himself. Did Seraphina think he wasn’t grounded? However, it took a moment for her words to sink in. Having a girlfriend was a good idea. If he was doing something Seraphina Hanson agreed with, then that meant he could potentially earn her trust back. And if he earned her trust back, that meant there was a good chance the public would stop assuming he was some dick who only cared about getting laid. They would see him for what he actually was – a damn good hockey player.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s, uh, she’s my girlfriend. Happened recently. So, uh, yeah.”
“Good,” Seraphina said. “I’d like to meet her. We’re doing the annual Mayhem Meet & Greet this weekend. Bring her.”
Alec wanted to open his mouth and argue, but judging by the look she gave him, arguing did not seem like it was an option.
10
Noah
It shouldn’t have surprised Noah that there was an article, written by Pat Zummo, that came out the next day, about Alec Sinclair and Noah dating. The article went viral online, and suddenly, Noah’s head buzzed and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Lily was going to see this. Lily was going to see this and kick her out.
Her eyes skimmed over the words.
The quote is from the young nineteen-year-old herself, who claims she and Sinclair started dating recently, but it’s serious enough to where they’ve already moved in. Sinclair agrees with this sentiment.
Thank God Alec agreed with her. Thank God he corroborated her story. Yes, she was going to have a lot of explaining to do with Lily, but for now, this meant that she had someone solid she could count on. She didn’t expect Alec to protect her from Aaron – and Noah knew Aaron would come for her eventually – but Alec didn’t leave her out for the wolves, and that meant more than anything.
Noah sucked in a breath and plugged in her phone to charge. It was the third number she had gotten for herself in the last
