Status: Very slow updates, I will try to get them out as quickly as possible.

Sweet Disposition

Chapter 15

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Claude sat impatiently in the waiting area, glancing at the door for what felt like every few seconds. Time moved at an incredibly slow pace, almost painfully so as he waited for Claire to come out. He had given them all they needed to know about their relationship, placing emphasis on the ground rules she had set from the very beginning. He had also made it very clear that she would never allow him to miss or show up late to a practice unless he was drastically ill or in the case it was detrimental to his health of physical shape.

He even went as far to point out, rather boldly, that his playing hadn’t suffered under any strains in their relationship, nor had she distracted him in any way. She made sure of that. Maybe it was the fact that they worked together or maybe it was the fact that he always seemed to play better when she was there. Whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t hurting him at all gamewise. She kept him focused, more grounded and he was damn well sure to let the GM know.

He could tell that Paul wasn’t very happy with the situation. He just hoped that his points would be taken into consideration and that Claire wouldn’t be fired and reprimanded for their actions.

His ears perked up at the sound of the door opening, his eyes darting over to see his girlfriend walking out of the office. As soon as the door closed behind her he could see her visibly deflate, her body slumping a bit as the confident façade she had built up drained away almost instantaneously. She shuffled over to the seat beside him, all but collapsing into the chair. His hand found hers the moment she sat, giving it a reassuring squeeze, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

“Comment ça s'est passé?” (How’d it go?) he murmured, switching into French so the secretary couldn’t eavesdrop on their conversation. “Je ne sais pas,” (I don't know.) she replied softly, taking comfort in the warmth of his hand in hers. Neither could find the power to speak, the uncertainty of their future weighing down upon them like a ton of bricks.

“Je crains que Claude,” (I’m afraid Claude.) she whispered, her voice timid and fragile. He held her hand tightly, fighting the overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms. He had never seen her look so vulnerable and genuinely afraid and it pained him to see her like this, in fact, he hated it. “Tout va bien se passer, ma chérie. Nous allons le découvrir, d'accord?” (It’ll all be okay, darling. We’ll figure it out, okay?) She nodded, relaxing slightly under his soothing green gaze.

“Mr. Giroux, Ms. Dubois,” the secretary’s voice tore them from their little world, calling their attention to her desk near the GM’s door, “Mr. Holmgren would like to see both of you.” They nodded, reluctantly letting go of each other’s hands and walked into the office once more.

They exchanged greetings for a second time as the young couple quickly took a seat, internally bracing themselves for what was to come. After the exchange of pleasantries, Paul got right down to business, not giving the inevitable awkward tension the chance to even attempt to settle in, “I just got off the phone with Ed Snider about our meetings today and I’ve given him the run down on the conversations that I’ve had with the two of you.”

Claude could almost feel Claire’s body stiffen much as his did at the mention of the owner of the organization. “We’ve taken everything that the two of you have said this afternoon into account. I’m going to be honest, we’re not happy with this situation. The fact that you’ve kept this from the organization and failed to bring it to our attention for almost 5 months doesn’t exactly sit well with us. However, we do agree that you’ve handled this well on your own in keeping it discrete and out of the media. We are also very pleased with the fact that you keep Claude’s playing ability in mind and that the two of you keep your private lives out of the work place.”

Claude chanced a quick glance at his girlfriend, whose face remained stoic and calm as Paul spoke. She gave a small nod in thanks for his praise. For the first time since he had admitted to his feelings for her and convinced her to give them a try, he truly appreciated Claire’s insistence on the ground rules for their relationship.

“Because of this, Mr. Snider and I have decided that we’re going to allow this to continue, so long as you stick to the policy that in the case your relationship negatively impacts Claude’s game play it will end, immediately or you will be fired. Is that understood?” The young couple looked at the general manager in shock, unsure if they had heard him correctly.

“Y-yes, sir,” Claire managed to blurt out, her mind recovering more quickly than Claude’s, “Thank you, Mr. Holmgren.” He nodded, giving her a small smile, “We have no intentions of firing you Claire. The team likes you and from what I’ve seen and what Jim’s told me, you’re very good at what you do. Keep it up.”

She nodded, thanking him again, glancing at her boyfriend who had a small, shocked grin spread on his lips. Pleasantries and thanks were exchanged briefly once more before they were dismissed from his office. However, before Claude made it out the door, Paul called him back to talk for a moment. Claire smiled, reassuring him that she would wait for him outside, closing the door behind her and leaving Claude alone once again with the GM.

“So,” Paul started, bringing the 22-year-old’s focus back to himself, “I know you’ve been keeping this out of the public eye, but for how much longer do you plan on hiding it?” Claude stiffened slightly before clearing his throat to answer, “We were thinking of holding off a little longer before making this public, if we can. When we do though, will it be possible for us to ask for the organization’s help with the media if we need it?”

"I think that can be done, no problem. Just don’t do anything stupid that we have to pull out all of our resources for, okay?” Claude chuckled, “I think we can try to avoid that.” With a polite smile and a handshake, Claude excused himself from the office. His eyes locked with Claire’s, leaving the waiting area together. They stayed silent the entire way down to the lower level en route to the players’ areas.

They were about halfway to the gym when Claude couldn’t take it anymore. Gently grabbing her wrist, he pulled her into his arms into the embrace he had been longing to give her since she had walked into Paul Holmgren’s office. She squeezed him back like her life depended on it, nuzzling her face into his chest as he buried his in her hair. They stood like that for a little while as the shock of the GM and owner’s decision overtook them.

“Nous l'avons fait,” (We did it.) she whispered, still not quite believing the great news, “Nous putain il l'a fait.” (We fucking did it.) He chuckled softly, kissing her hair, “Oui, nous l'avons fait.” (Yeah, we did.) She took a shaky breath as the surprise slowly drained itself from her small body, “Je ne peux pas croire qu'ils nous laisser être ensemble.” (I just can't believe that they're letting us be together.) His hands rubbed her back as he pulled away from her slightly, placing a finger under her chin, bringing her eyes to meet his, “Vous ne pensiez pas que j'allais te laisser partir si facilement, tu as fait?” (You didn’t think I was going to let you go that easily, did you?)

“Non, je suppose que vous le feriez pas,” (No, I suppose you wouldn’t.) she giggled, “You’re too damn stubborn for that.” A devilish smirk formed on his lips, “Oh, really? Too stubborn, eh?” She nodded, a cheeky grin plastered on her face, but before she could respond, his lips were on hers. It was a simple kiss, nothing too heated or needy, rather soft and affectionate, filled with relief. He drew her into his arms once more when they broke apart for air, neither saying a word.

It was Claire who broke the comfortable silence, saying that they should probably head back to work. He reluctantly agreed, releasing her and following close behind as they finished the rest of the short trek to the gym.
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Once again, I'm so sorry that I've been so terrible about posting. I'm in London studying abroad now and classes just started and I have a large amount of reading to do for all of them as well as seeing a ton of shows and traveling and such. I will be working hard on getting out new chapters as quickly as I can, but no promises that it will be soon. In other news, I posted the missing chapter 13 that I for some reason thought I had put up and reposted chapter 14 so, in truth you actually get two new chapters tonight! Thank you so much for those of you who've stuck with me through this, you guys are incredible, especially the few of you who've commented, you guys are awesome!

Thanks and I hope you're enjoying it! Comment, subscribe, recommend, read, enjoy!

-Alex