Page 33 of Secret Husband
“Next five years.” She winked at me. “World domination happening right now.”
“A privilege to witness it, my Bella.” Vadim pulled his wife close and nuzzled her nose. “Alexei is bored and I am just about to convince him to join us on the rink. Do not scare him off with talk of early risings.”
“I’d rather you kept your early risings to the bedroom, Vad.” She grinned at me. “Sorry, too much?”
“Not at all. It is good to see the mighty Petrov whipped by a woman, even if that woman is his wife.”
Her green eyes lit up. “I just had an amazing idea. We’re down a couple of mentors for the Rebels youth hockey camp. Want to help out? You’d be doing me a favor.”
“Would I be skating with you?”
“No, my old bones don’t work so well on the ice anymore. But some of your teammates will be out there—Hatch and Conor Kershaw.”
“Conor? He’s not a Rebel.”
She rolled her eyes. “Try telling him that. He might play for Detroit, but I’m going to have to bring him onto the roster, if only to justify how much he eats from the players’ lounge. We’re short of volunteers because Theo retired from doing it to spend more time with his family and Jason’s busy nesting.”
“Might take your mind off things,” Vadim offered.
Isobel looked curious but she didn’t pry.
I sighed as if it was a great imposition. “How much time do you need?”
“Two weeks.” Isobel hugged me, already assured of her victory. “If only my husband wasn’t here, I would give you a big old smooch.”
“You have a thing for Russians, I see.”
“Only the ones who do my bidding. Okay, I have to run—starts a week from Monday. I’ll text you the details.” And then she was gone.
“Is she usually so … forceful?”
“My Bella has always known what she wants. Nothing gets in her way.” He tilted his head. “This will be good for you.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren
* * *
“I appreciate you both coming in today.”
Leon Shay was a Chicago Rebels player back in the day, which I assumed was the only reason he was bothering to talk to me. His son, like Arkady Volkov, was one of the hottest prospects in pro hockey. Felix Shay was being courted by everyone, so I was lucky he was gracing me with even ten minutes of his time.
“Most agents would wine and dine us,” Leon said as he spread his thighs to give his balls plenty of room to breathe. “Sure you want in on this action?”
Felix rolled his eyes. “Dad, Lauren’s got a great reputation.”
“Just saying we’ve had some nice steak dinners out of it so far.”
I pinned on a smile. “Well, I like to focus on the potential client and how we can work together. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to expense nice steak dinners later.”
Felix huffed a laugh. His father just sneered.
The kid was nice, so different from his dad, who had held a rep for being the most-hated guy in the league three decades ago. He had played on the golden team, the one that announced the Chase sisters as a force in pro hockey. Of course, he had hated everything about the team’s culture—the women in charge, the gay general manager, the so-called wokeness of it all, yet it didn’t stop him from enjoying the fruits of it. After that first Rebels’ Cup win, he was promptly traded out so his assholery could become someone else’s problem. He didn’t last long on his next team, or his next. Within three years he was out of the league.
I encountered this a lot. Big-mouthed fathers looking to use their kids to make up for what they missed. Shay had made it to the big leagues, but he was obviously hoping to relive his glory days through his son.
“So, Felix, what are you looking for in an agent?”
