In the Company

The next morning, I emerged from the bathroom to find Tyler’s surprise waiting for me on my bed. Picking it up, I laughed.

With a note attached in his sloppy handwriting, there was a white t-shirt proclaiming the Bruins’ victory in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Wear it! Or else…

I pulled off the plain yellow shirt I had already put on and swapped it out for the hockey wear. With a tweak of my ponytail, I hopped down the stairs to find another guest in the kitchen.

“Mr. Seguin,” I smiled. “Nice to meet you.” Despite my late night, I was feeling much more chipper than I usually would be.

“Paul, please,” he shook my hand. “I’ve heard about what you’ve down with my son. That’s quite an undertaking.”

“Just doing my job,” I shifted back onto my sandal clad feet and slipped my hands into my back short pockets. “And all the guys do their best to be accommodating.”

“Even though we still give you hell,” Tyler’s voice came up behind me as he slung an arm around my shoulders. “Liking the shirt, Rose.”

“I was threatened with unknown punishments if I didn’t wear it, so I figured it shouldn’t mess around,” I teased, accepting the coffee mug Jackie passed to me. “And about today, I want you all to know that I won’t be getting in the way of your celebrations at all. I’ll be completely in the background and am only here to make sure Ty doesn’t go overboard.”

Paul put a hand up. “Rose, please.”

“You’re our guest,” Jackie smiled. “You’re more than welcome to be a part of the celebration.”

“Yeah, don’t be a party pooper,” Tyler squeezed my shoulder. “We’re gonna have lots of fun.”

“Are you drunk already?” I stood up on tiptoes, trying to sniff his breath.

“Nope,” he shook his head. “Just really happy.”

And he certainly was. Soon enough, we all piled into his dad’s SUV, driving down into the city area of Brampton. I was wedged between Candace and Tyler in the very back row with Tyler only making it worse by doing a silly little dance.

“I could probably make millions by filming your little potty dance and putting it on the internet,” I slapped his arm down to prevent him from elbowing me in the head.

“But Deena would kick your ass,” Tyler pointed out. “And you would deserve it.” He paused. “And it is not a potty dance!”

I snorted. Tyler was almost acting childlike. It was almost adorable. Like Patrick that night he got drunk.

Don’t think about him! I scolded myself.

It was getting hard to keep my mind off both David and Patrick. Hopefully, the day’s events would keep me busy for a little while.

Hitting downtown, we stopped outside of a large high rise with a black Range Rover parked out front. The street was almost empty. With the car just barely in park, Tyler dove over the row of seats in front of us and out the door, yanking his jersey over his head.

“This is so exciting!” Cassidy jumped, her voice a low whisper. Identical to her sister, mother, and a full camera crew, she held a camera, ready to document the day. I figured I might not get to witness something this cool again and pulled out my own camera, leaving my BlackBerry turned off in my bag.

On the curb, pictures were taken with his family and the esteemed award. I smiled, watching their faces react to Tyler hoisting the Cup for fans hanging out of office building windows.

“Rose,” he waved me over. “Come get a picture!”

“I’m fine,” I assured him, not wanting to encroach. I wanted to keep my promise from earlier. I was here to do my job, nothing more.

“Rose, go on,” Jackie smiled, taking my camera.

“It’s the Stanley Cup,” Candace reminded me.

“Okay, okay,” even though I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard fan, I did know enough to appreciate it.

With the Cup between us, Tyler and I posed for a few pictures.

“Hang on,” I put up a finger. Hesitantly, I pulled my phone out of my bag and turned it back on. Tossing it quickly to Cassidy, I smiled for some more pictures.

“You ready to pick it up?” Tyler asked with the Cup over both our heads.

“What?” I asked as he shoved the trophy into my hands. “I don’t think so.” It was a little heavier than it looked.

“Sure you do,” he smiled stepping away. “Put it over your head.”

Slowly, I lifted it up, only holding it there long enough for one or two shots before I had to bring it down to the ground.

“Let’s get this day started!” Tyler fist pumped the air as an NHL official loaded the Cup back into a fancy case.

“First stop?” I asked.

“Local hospital,” Cassidy said handing me my BlackBerry. “You have a ton of messages.”

I could see that for myself as I opened my text message inbox. And sure enough, I had fifteen unopened texts- all from David. An inspection of my missed calls-I skipped the voicemails- found a dozen unanswered. That was all within the last 12 hours.

Before I could do anything, I felt my phone being plucked out of my hand.

“Stop worrying,” Tyler wagged his finger. “We’ll deal with Douchebag David when we get back to New York.”

I let out a deep breath and nodded, ready to continue on with our day and do my best to ignore all thoughts of my ex-boyfriend.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Okay,” I said against the setting sun. “I think you’re done for the night.” I took the now empty beer bottle from Tyler’s hand. He’d had two already and multiple shots and was slowly beginning to slur his words. “Food instead.”

He pouted but nodded all the same. “Who you texting?”

“Ryleigh, catching up on what I’ve missed,” I lied. In actuality, I wasn’t texting. I was reading an article. On Pat.

I knew I shouldn’t be getting information about a client from anywhere other than the files we were provided with, but I was curious to see Pat as the media saw him. And so far, from what I was seeing, he was obviously a party boy. Why wouldn’t he let other people see the sweet side of him?

“No work,” Tyler scolded and before I knew it, I was over his shoulder with Cassidy laughing and taking pictures. “It’s not allowed.”

I shrieked in surprise as he plopped me down on a table with my butt resting next to the Cup. I huffed and looped my arms around the silver trophy. That day, we’d been to the hospital for a good two hours before going to a parade and lunch. After, we’d gone to a small ceremony where Tyler was presented with the Key to the City and he met with fans.

Stifling a yawn, I picked up my buzzing phone, expecting it to either be another message from David or Ryleigh. It was neither.

New Message from: Patrick
Having fun without us?

I felt a girlish grin come over my face, but with Tyler leaning on the table next to me, I did what I could to stifle it.

Yes, actually. And I’m wearing a really nice Bruins shirt…

That sounded too flirty, I groaned inwardly after I had sent the message. He was a client.

A client you like. My brain decided to remind me.

“What are you grinning at?” Tyler leaned over my shoulder to see my phone and when I tried to shove it back in my pocket, he grabbed it, checking the messages.

He ‘ooh-ed’. “You and Patty-Cakes?”

I was sure a deep blush was raging on my face. “Us nothing. We’re just…texting.”

“More like text-ually flirting,” he said opening the next message. “Doubt it’s that nice. But I’m sure it looks good on you. Damn, that boy’s got it bad.”

“Give me that,” I lunged for my phone, only to miss and end up face first in the grass. “Ow, fuck!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” Tyler pulled me up and purposefully placed my phone in my hand. “And I took the liberty of responding.”

My eyes went wide, afraid of what a slightly drunk Tyler had done.

I look damn good. Can’t wait to wear my Hawks jersey! ; )

“Why a winky face, you ass?!” I groaned, slapping his shoulder. “That’s it. I’m done for the night. I’ll see you in the morning, Ty. Early flight out.”

I ignored his protests, saying good night to his family. Once inside, I opened up the new message.

New Message from: Patrick
Can’t wait to see you in it. When you get back, we should go out again.

I didn’t know if he meant the whole group or just us, but I found myself hoping it was the latter- much to my dismay.