Not So Honest Perfection

Not So Honest Perfection

Checking her light brown hair in the mirror of her car, Lenore sighed.

‘Better to get it over with now, huh?’ she thought to herself. But before she could get out of the car, her cell phone began ringing. Not wanting to have to stall any longer, she let it go to voicemail, not caring if it was the President or her mother. They could wait.

*******

“So this is your first time here, but not your company’s. Care to share the details on that?” a reporter asked inside the venue.

Lenore took a breath. She had answered questions like it before, but she still didn’t know how to answer. “My father passed away very suddenly a few months ago. His company, Chambres Publicity, has had close ties to the Penguins organization for quite some time. He left the company to me. So now, on top of running my dancing school, I am the CEO.”

The blonde reporter nodded. “Are you enjoying your time here?”

“The atmosphere is great and who wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of hockey players make fools of themselves in tuxes?” Lenore smiled as she tried to make light of the situation.

“Very true. Do you know who’s serving you tonight?” she asked nodding again.

“I think it’s either Crosby or Dupuis, I’m not entirely sure,” Lenore shrugged.

“Well I’m sure you’ll have a great time this evening. Go enjoy the party!” the reporter encouraged.

********

And Lenore managed to do just that. She could see why her father had enjoyed this event so much in particular. Everyone was charming and talkative. Lenore was particularly shocked to find herself seated next to Mario Lemiuex and Dan Bylsma.

“We really are so sorry for your loss,” Mario said as he sipped his wine. “We all wanted to attend the funeral, but we were in Boston at the time.”

“I understand. And I’m sure my father would have as well, he loved travelling with the team,” Lenore assured him.

“I wish I would have known your father more,” Dan began. “All the players and staff have told me what a great man he was.”

“Yeah. He never had anything bad to say about anyone he dealt with when it came to the team,” she said. “He loved working with you all.”

“We enjoyed having him. Right, Crosby?” Mario asked the hockey player that was currently refilling Lenore’s water glass.

Sidney looked up quickly. “Hm? Oh, yeah, Mr. Chambres was a real great guy. Always took time for the players.”

“My dad always had a soft spot for hockey,” Lenore sighed. “Thanks, but no wine for me.” She gestured to the bottle of wine that Sidney was about to pour into another glass for her.

“Can I get you something else?” he asked.

“No, I’m fine with water. I’m underage and I’m stuck driving tonight,” Lenore shrugged. “And I have classes to teach in the morning.”

“You teach?” Dan asked.

“I’ve been the owner of a dancing school for about two years now,” Lenore nodded.

“My daughter’s been wanting to switch dancing schools for quite some time now. Can I bring her in tomorrow to register her?” Mario asked.

A smile spread across Lenore’s face that Sidney couldn’t help but admire from the corner of his eye. She had had a somber look on her face all evening. But now, as she began to talk about dancing, she seemed to brighten as though someone had flipped a switch and turned on a light. He liked seeing her lips part and her white teeth show.

“Hey! Sid, watch what you’re doing there,” Ray Shero reminded him.

He jumped a bit and realized her had almost overfilled the general manager’s glass. “Sorry, Ray. My bad.” Yeah, more like Lenore’s bad.