“Good morning, Mr. West,” Clark said with a gentle smile as he opened a folder in front of him.
“Morning,” he replied, glancing at Mrs. Clark, who was eyeing him curiously and leaning back. He felt like he was back in high school, being called to the principal’s office for breaking into his brother’s locker. Again. But Dax had always been losing his keys, so what choice had he had?
“You’re the newest member of the Hawks, aren’t you?” Clark asked, pulling out a pen.
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Yes. I guess so.”
Darron Clark nodded. “So, how are you enjoying being on the team?”
“It’s good.”
The older man laughed. “Could you be a bit more specific?”
Jack raised the corner of his mouth even though he didn’t really feel like it. He thought of Penny sitting on the bed with her shoulders sagging, her sighing and swallowing, about how she hated the idea of being judged. He just couldn’t bring himself to bemorespecific.
The coach was right. He was always polite. Always friendly. There was no need to worry about him. But right now…right now, it was incredibly difficult to remain neutral.
He cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Excuse me, Mr. Clark. I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I like being on the team — but I get the feeling that you’re merely making small talk before you get to the important stuff. If you don’t mind, I’d like to fast forward a bit so that I don’t waste your time, and you don’t waste mine.”
Clark opened his mouth in surprise but then smiled. “Very well. You like it direct. I respect that. I thought I’d talk to you first because you’re new and weren’t here when I was head of the team. You have a fresh perspective on things and can perhapsgive me a more objective answer as to whether you think my daughter or my son is a better fit for the organization.”
Jack had to force his jaw from cracking loudly. A tight knot formed in Jack’s chest, and he pulled his hands off the table so that the person opposite him couldn’t see him clenching them. It was exactly as Penny had said.
He said nothing for a few seconds, simply pondering how he could politely get off his chest what he needed to get off his chest. Finally, he replied, “I’m not going to answer that.”
This time it was Mrs. Clark who spoke. And her face was a poster for the wordastonishment. “Excuse me?”
“I’m not going to answer,” he repeated matter-of-factly. “Because it’s not right that you are forcing your children to compete against each other. And it’s even more wrong to force us players to choose between them.”
Mr. Clark smiled faintly while his wife looked visibly shocked. Apparently, it was unusual for people to speak to her husband like that.
“Gareth and Penny are two strong personalities, Mr. West,” Clark said calmly. “They can handle the competition. They grow from it.”
“Yes, maybe,” Jack replied stonily. “But what about their relationship with you? Does that grow from this? Do you truly believe that the right way to show your children how much they mean to you is to bureaucratically decide which of them is ‘better’?”
Shocked, Mr. Clark opened his mouth. “I don’t think I understand.”
“You heard me.” Jack rose and nodded at him. “Go ahead and ask the others. I, however, have no desire to be a part of this. I’m here to play hockey and to win for you, not to get involved in your family affairs. Have a nice day.”
Then, he turned and left the room before he said or did anything worse.
Chapter Twenty-Two
By the time Penny had showered, dressed, and mentally prepared herself for the meeting with her parents, an hour had passed and she was officially late. Her father had sent her a formal text message ordering her to be at meeting room E at eleven o’clock sharp, where he and her mother would be waiting for her.
It was now five past, yet she found Gareth in the lobby when she stepped out of the elevator. As always, he wore a suit and appeared to be exhausted. Today, however, he also wore a grim expression. He nodded at her and Penny wrung her hands. “Have you spoken to him yet?”
Gareth shook his head. “He wanted to talk to us separately, but I refused to talk to him without you. We might have to play his game, but not by his rules.”
A sweet pull settled in her chest, and she exhaled in relief. “Thank you,” she murmured and squeezed his hand. “Well, shall we?”
“Um hm,” he muttered and headed for the hallway to her left. His shoulders looked strangely tense, as they had been for the past few weeks. Penny worked hard, harder than most, but no one worked as hard as Gareth. She had started to believe overthe past few weeks that he slept in the office. At least, she had recently discovered a toothbrush on his desk. The thought of him losing the team left a bitter taste in her mouth, but so did the thought of having to leave LA.
“It’ll be fine,” she murmured, nudging him with her shoulder.
He laughed dryly. “What? I don’t want to lose — yet somehow I don’t want to win, either.”
Yes, she understood what he meant. “He won’t make a decision today.”
