‹ Prequel: The Fear Is Paralyzing

Our Secret Hiding Spot

Deux

Kris sat at the table at the restaurant, trying to ignore the girls around him that were all pointing at him and talking about "how cool it is to have an NHL star right there!" Usually he wouldn't mind the fans. In fact, he was one of those players you could walk up to on the street and he'd sign an autograph and take a picture. But, today was not one of those days. Not when he was meeting with Evan to discuss his contract with the Penguins.

Evan had had several meetings with Shero and Mario, but he never seemed to be optimistic when he spoke with Kris on the phone. This was the first time they were meeting face-to-face since the summer began. "Just give me the facts," Kris stated, not wanting to do any more small talk. They had already ordered their food, and they were halfway through their meal. He didn't want to waste anymore time. He just wanted some answers.

"They're still not willing to up the numbers, Kris," Evan told him, and Kris sighed. The management were throwing out numbers that were meant for a guy who just finished their intro contract, not someone who had been with the team since 2006. "I don't know why Shero won't budge on this. Mario seems to be fighting a little harder for you, but Shero just doesn't seem to care. What the hell did you do to piss him off?" Evan wondered aloud.

"Hell if I know," Kris mumbled.

"He wants you to waive the no trade clause, and he says he'll up the offer," Evan told him.

Kris shook his head immediately. There was no way he was going to sign a contract without a no trade clause in place. He wanted to end his career with the Penguins, with Quinn. That was why he asked for a long-term deal with a no trade clause in tact. They had made it clear that they weren't willing to give him much money if they were to give him a no trade clause, and the deal just wasn't working for Kris. "No. I'm not taking a deal without one," he told Evan, leaving no room for argument. It was one thing he wouldn't budge on.

"I know, and that's what I told them. It just seemed to piss them off more," Evan said. "Maybe you should ask your fiancée to get in there and talk some sense into them."

Kris glared at him. Evan knew that Quinn was off limits, and even if the older man was joking, Kris didn't approve. "Maybe you should fight a little harder and get them to budge," Kris said, getting a little feisty.

Evan clearly didn't like that. "Don’t act like I'm not fighting for you. I'm working my ass off to try to make a deal. You want me to just accept their shitty offer just so you can stay here?" he questioned, and Kris sighed, knowing he had a point. "Like I told you yesterday, I think you need to start looking at other teams. There's a good possibility that a deal's just not going to happen here, no matter how badly you want it."

"Who are we looking at?" Kris asked, taking a sip of his water, wishing it was beer. He could really use some alcohol right now.

Evan pulled out his phone where he kept the abbreviated notes of the offers other teams had come to him with. "Edmonton is offering you eight years, sixty million, and a no trade clause," he began, and Kris had to admit, that sounded like a pretty good deal. But, Edmonton was far away from Quinn. He needed to get over that pretty quickly, though. If a deal couldn't be made in Pittsburgh, no matter where he went, he was going to be far away from Quinn. "St. Louis is giving you more money but not a no trade clause," he continued. "And the Flyers are offering a little less but putting a clause in there," he told him.

None of them sounded appealing. He wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, but he knew he needed to keep an open mind. "I'll think about it," he told Evan.

"Look, I know you love it here, but not everyone can retire where they were drafted, you know that's just not realistic," Evan told him. Kris nodded, knowing he was right. "I'll call you tomorrow and see what you're thinking," he said, giving the waiter his credit card to pay for their lunch.

Kris made his way back home and immediately went to bed. He may not have done much today, but he needed a nap. He woke up a few hours later and headed to the gym for a little bit before going back home once again. He really wished he hadn't told Quinn that he would go to her family's dinner tonight. Their weekly dinners were hell on a normal week, but it was going to be downright brutal tonight with his contract on his mind.

Quinn walked through the front door a little after six, knowing she needed to change quickly if she and Kris were going to make it to dinner by seven. Her mother tended to complain if they showed up late. "Tell me what Evan said," she told Kris as she went directly to the bedroom to grab her dress for the night.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it after dinner?" Kris asked. Either way, she wasn't going to be happy. It didn't really matter when he told her the details.

Quinn looked over at Kris. "If you're trying to put it off til after dinner, it must not be good. Just tell me now," she said, as she walked into the bathroom that connected to their bedroom and started fixing her hair and makeup.

Kris walked over to the bathroom doorway, leaning against it, watching as Quinn worked quickly to get ready. "Shero isn't really budging," he told her. "Look, I know you don't have anything to do with my contract, but do you know what his deal is?"

Quinn stopped putting on her mascara to look over at Kris. "Babe, you know I don't know anything," she told him, and Kris frowned. He wasn't upset with her, he just wished he knew what Ray was thinking. "In our meeting, he seemed to be willing to just give up and let you go," she confessed. She never spoke about anything that happened in her work meetings, so Kris was a little shocked she was telling him this now. "But, Mario stood firm and said he's going to keep trying. That's all I know," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Evan said they want me to give up the no trade clause. I'm not going to do that," he told her, and she nodded her head. She knew that was one thing he wasn't going to change his mind on, and she understood that, and she wasn't going to fight him on the matter. "Edmonton, St. Louis, and Philadelphia are all interested," he added, and Quinn's hand froze with her mascara in front of her face.

"Wow," she said quietly.

"I told Evan I want him to do all he can to make a deal here work," he told her quickly.

"You've got to think about other offers," Quinn told him, regaining her composure and finishing up her makeup. "I mean, we can't just assume you'll make a deal here even if it's what we both want."

"Let's just not think about it right now," Kris said. "Let's just get through tonight."

Quinn nodded her head. She knew this dinner was going to be a bitch, and she really wished she had an excuse not to go. But she used all of her "get out of dinner free" cards during the season when she'd have to miss the weekly dinner to attend a game.

They drove to the Myrick's house and got there with two minutes to spare. They walked inside to see the other members of the family were already there. Quinn's two stepbrothers, Dean and Noah, were in the kitchen with her mother, Corinne, and her stepfather, Garrett. It appeared that the older stepbrother, Noah, hadn't brought his wife, Claire, and their two kids, Riley and Anna, along tonight, which saddened Quinn. Her sister-in-law and nieces helped her get through the evening with Corinne and Dean.

Corinne always found something to criticize Quinn about. Usually it had to do with her owning the team or her engagement to Kris. She was very vocal about how she didn't believe Quinn should be marrying someone on the team she owned. But everyone knew that Corinne just didn't like Kris, though she had no real reason to dislike him. Her husband and Quinn's stepfather, Garrett, liked to stay quiet during Corinne's attacks on Quinn. He'd much prefer a peaceful marriage than protecting his stepdaughter, even though Quinn knew he cared about her as he did his sons.

Dean was just a vindictive person, who always seemed to have it out for Quinn. When she had first inherited the team from her father, he had done everything in his power to get the team from her. After a year of trying, he finally gave up and put his sights on other weak business owners that he could easily overtake. Though he may not be trying to get the Penguins from Quinn, that didn't meant that he still didn't like making her life a living hell. And, he and Corinne were the reasons she dreaded going to the weekly dinners.

Noah was her saving grace. He had always been her protective brother growing up, saving her from Dean. And, even now he was still looking out for her. He was the sole reason Dean hadn't been able to get his hands on the team, having used his slick legal skills to write a bulletproof contract between Quinn and Mario that would not allow Dean to ever get a hold of the team unless he could convince both owners to give up the team.

Quinn grabbed Kris's hand, giving it a squeeze. He knew she dreaded these dinners as much as he did. Half the time he didn't go with her just because he didn't feel like Corinne complaining about their relationship or hearing her or Dean dig into Quinn. He had gotten into fights with her family on more than one occasion by standing up for Quinn, though she had gotten better about standing up for herself. The only people he did get along with was Noah and his family, as well as Garrett when he didn't bow down to his wife.

Kris talked a little bit to Noah about random things before they sat down at the dining room table, getting ready for dinner. "So Quinn," Dean began, setting his sights on his stepsister. Quinn slowly turned her head to face him. She really didn't want to hear what he had to say, it was never anything good. "Word's going around that you're shopping out your fuck buddy over there."

Quinn glared at him. She was sick of Dean calling Kris her "fuck buddy", and she sure as hell didn't want him talking about any dealings with Kris. "Mario deals with anything to do with Kris," she said simply, stabbing her ham with her fork.

"You're not fighting for him to stay? Some fiancée you are," he spat.

Quinn bit her lip, telling herself not to reply. Dean was looking for a reaction from her, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of one. "So I got this new client today," Noah spoke up, trying to get the attention off of Quinn, but she should have known that wasn't going to last for long, as Corinne kept the conversation on her daughter.

"Do you really think you could handle a marriage if you're thousands of miles away from each other?" Corinne questioned.

"Mom, nothing has been done yet," Quinn tried to tell her, but her mother continued talking.

"That's what broke up your father and I in the end," Corinne told her, causing Quinn to pause, surprised she was talking about her biological father, Mitchell Layman, who had died two years ago and had left Quinn the team. She didn't know much about her father. He had left her mother and her when Quinn was just seven, and he never had any relationship with her after that. When she had been told that he had left her the team he was part owner of, she was shocked. She hadn't even known he remembered her. "He was just too focused on that damn team, and it was the most important thing in his life."

"Mom, I'm not Mitchell," she stated. "The team is important to me, but so is Kris. No matter what happens, we'll make it work."

"I'm just saying, it's damn hard to keep a relationship going when you're constantly apart. No matter how much you claim you love someone," Corinne continued, staring at Kris. Quinn shook her head, unable to believe her mother right now.

Kris set his napkin on the table, looking over at Corinne. "With all due respect," he said, staring her directly in the eyes. "Quinn and I are a little different than you and her father. We love each other, and we can make it through a little distance, if that's what happens. But, as she's already mentioned, nothing is set in stone," he said, the tone of his voice daring Corinne to try to talk back to him. He was sick of hearing her talk down to Quinn, and he wasn't going to sit there and take it all night.

Corinne folded her hands neatly in her lap. "Well we'll see what happens," she spoke, not even glancing in Kris's direction.

Noah, once again, began talking about the new client of his, and this time, everyone listened to him instead of reverting the conversation back to Quinn. Kris didn't speak again during dinner, and either did Corinne. Quinn knew the relationship between them would never be fixable, and she was past the point of trying to mend it.

As dinner wound down, Quinn tried to get out of there as quickly as possible. Dean had made a few more digs at Quinn and her ownership and how he didn't think she was cut out to be making decisions about contracts and trades and signings, even though she had handled herself just fine the previous summer. Quinn didn't allow him to get anywhere with his suggestions, though, always changing the conversation.

She and Kris made their way out to his car with Noah quickly following them. "I don't know why you still come to these things," Noah said to her as they walked down the driveway. "Hell, I don’t know why I still come to these things," he said with a chuckle.

"Because we both know it'd be worse if we didn't. My mom and Garrett would never stop talking about how disappointed they are they don't get to see us. Even if my mom does like to spend the whole time finding faults with me," she sighed.

Noah looked over Quinn's head at Kris. "Take her home and get her a drink. She deserves one after tonight," he told him.

Kris nodded his head. "Definitely. I'll see you later," he told Noah, who gave Quinn a quick hug goodbye before hopping in his car and heading home to his wife and kids.

Quinn got in the car and leaned her head against the headrest behind her. "Can we please go home and open a big bottle of wine?" she requested.

Kris laughed. "I was going to suggest a bottle of vodka, but whatever you want," he smiled at her as he put the car in drive.

"Vodka, much better. Just make me forget this awful night," she told him, looking out the window. Tonight might have been horrible, but now she had a full week to recover before she had to do it all over again the following week.
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