Page 138 of Face Off With Fate

“Coach Monroe.” Dana finally looked me in the eyes. “You just received an award for coach of the year, but your career has experienced some dark moments. Care to comment on that, and what’s changed?”

“I came into this role with a lot of walls up. I think that was visible to anyone who’d been in the same room as me for more than five minutes.” Thatcher covered his laugh with a cough, but I continued. “I spent a long time being angry at the NHL and not being honest about why. Someone helped me figure out how to put that down.”

She tilted her head. “Someone on your staff.”

My brows furrowed at her statement and how she looked down at her tablet, lips twisting into a line.

The energy in the room shifted.

My pulse ticked up.

“Coach Monroe.” Her voice changed. “I need to ask you about something that appeared on our live feed shortly before you came in. A woman identifying herself as Graciella Barrera, your former publicist, came forward on camera.” Dana looked down at her tablet, then back up at me. “She made a statement that she had pursued you in an inappropriate manner, given your relationship status and your working relationship.”

The room was very quiet.

I tried to register what she’d just said. “What?”

She set the tablet on her knee and folded her hands over it. “There’s more. Ms. Barrera alleged that Vincent Langley, owner of the Dallas Desperados, had been actively working to end your coaching career.”

Thatcher went still.

“Ms. Barrera alleged that Langley threatened to leak a fabricated story to the press.” She continued reading from the small screen. “One claiming you were having an affair with her while in a relationship. She said she was coming forward before her actions could tarnish your name.”

I couldn’t hear past the pounding in my ears.

She watched me with an expression that almost looked pained.

“The story is gaining traction. Ms. Barrera’s statement is already being picked up. But Langley’s camp hasn’t released a comment yet.” She paused, offering a sad smile. “I…I want to give you the opportunity to respond.” Another pause. “Live.”

She gestured to a phone on a tripod.

I looked back at her, suspicion thick on my tongue. “Why? The first story ruining my life wasn’t enough?”

She shook her head, seeming unperturbed by my venom. “No, that’s not it. I want to give you an opportunity to tell your side, unfiltered, because Ms. Barrera didn’t seem to me like a woman scorned by a man who’d rejected her as she claimed.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It seemed to me more like a woman willing to do anything for the man she loved. But maybe I’m wrong. Either way, you get to decide.”

My answer would change everything.

My career. My contract. The organization’s trust.

Everything I’d spent years building back from nothing.

But it could also take the woman who’d mended all my wounds. The one who held my heart.

I looked directly into the camera.

“I don’t care if this costs me my job.” I squared my shoulders. “The only thing Graciella has done is walk into my life at a point when I was doing everything in my power to push people away, and she didn’t fucking flinch. Didn’t walk away.” I shook my head, adrenaline surging through me. “The relationship that’s been reported on over the last few months was for optics. A decision approved by this organization and agreed to by me. It was fake, but what Graciella and I have is real. I pursued Graciella, and it was wrong of me to put her in this position. Or the team.”

I reached into my pocket, hands shaking, and pulled out my phone, flicking to my camera roll.

Graciella, with my key. Her asleep in bed at the Draft. Her in the Miners jersey.

Graciella holding Goldie in the fort, kissing the top of her head…

My chest ached looking at them, and the dozen more I’d snapped or saved since meeting her. Because that’s when I knew she was special.

Special from the moment she looked me in the eyes and told me to be less of a bear.

I pulled up my social media, and looked up at Dana. “The only real relationship in my life is with Graciella, and I’ll prove it.”