Page 74 of He Has It All (Boston Brawlers Hockey)
He’s talking about the cement-walled corridors under the seats where the locker rooms and offices are in the bowels of the Garden. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea because that’s where the media invariably hangs out before going into the locker rooms and I don’t want to see them.
“Really?” I say.
“We’ll be fine. Put a hat on.” Levi pulls a Brawlers hat from his pocket and pops it onto my head. I slip into the jacket I’ve been carrying and hope for the best as we make our way down.
Standing twenty feet away from the locker room, away from the crowd of sports media, I figure we’ll go unnoticed, but I’m wrong. One of the reporters who knows me from my short stint in the Brawlers PR office spots me and heads for us. Others follow because I swear the media runs in packs, like jackals or rats.
I turn away, but the question is loud and clear.
“You’re the secret witness. You’re the one who outed Tiffany Fagan as a fake?”
Turning around, I face him. “Yes.” Because that’s what I signed up for and I mean for Ryan to be exonerated if I can help it. And I believe I can. “How did you know?” I ask.
Levi and Maggie flank me and Levi leans down and whispers, “Someone leaked the affidavit to the press.” He doesn’t admit to it, but I wonder if it’s him when I slide a look at him. Maggs is trying not to smile, but she takes my hand and holds it.
After we refuse to comment further about three thousand times because it’s a legal matter, Ryan finally emerges from the locker room and is similarly barraged. He smiles and mumbles the same thing, saying he can’t comment and they should know better. He’s more charming about it than I am. He’s like magic.
Then he sweeps me up and we head for the garage and his car.
We drive to Maggs and Levi’s new place and I’m surprised when Eli shows up, but he’s Levi’s cousin, so it’s no big deal. But when Ham shows up I know this is more than after-game cocktails and snacks. Even so, Maggs and Levi provide plenty of drinks and food and I’m starved because I couldn’t eat my pretzel during the game, I was so nervous.
Eli tells us he provided my affidavit to the Brawlers management after I quit and that the team concluded their review and made the announcement before the game. That explains a lot about why the fans and media were so much more supportive than I expected.
“The team said they found that Ryan was being accused wrongly and that they are taking no action until and if any new information is revealed in the future.
“I’m now in negotiations with the Fagans’ attorney to have them dismiss the case.”
“What the fuck?” Ryan grins. “What brought this about?”
Maggs and Levi tell us the story.
“We had a plan,” Maggs says. “And we executed it perfectly.”
Levi says, “We know Tim, so we called him and arranged a meeting. The key was getting him to agree. When I found out his lawyer hadn’t told him about Chelsea’s affidavit, I emailed it to him and he agreed to meet. We had him come to our place because we knew it was going to be a tough conversation.”
“What did you say to him?” Ryan asks.
Maggs says, “We told him his wife is a whore.”
I laugh, but oddly, Ryan is not amused. He’s a very loyal friend.
“I told him about the night his wife came to our room looking for you at one a.m.,” Levi says, “and about how you turned her away.”
Maggs says, “Tim tried not to believe Levi, but he knew. We could see it in his eyes.”
“Fuck,” Ryan says. “I owe you, man. That had to be one tough conversation.”
“Leave it to you to worry about my conversation when you’re the one facing a lawsuit,” Levi says as he clasps hands with Ryan over the table.
“I can’t believe you went behind my back with your lamebrained scheme,” Eli says.
I’m finishing up my drink, trying to hint to Ryan that this might be a good time to leave, when Eli’s phone buzzes and he studies it like it holds the secrets of life.
We’re all quiet, watching him when he looks up.
“That was Tim’s attorney. I think we have a deal. I’m sending him the agreement and should get it back signed tomorrow.”
Levi and Ryan high-five and whistle, Maggs gives me a squeeze, but Eli throws up his arms.
