Chapter 42: Trey: Damage Control (II)

TREY

Coach snaps the file shut and shakes his head. "No. This doesn’t work, Mercer. Not at all."

"I was getting to that," Lindsay adds, taking the file from him. "What exactly is going on between you and Sadie? Because I’m having a hard time believing you’re doing all this over someone you’re not romantically involved with."

Romantically involved with? What is this, the seventies?

"There’s nothing going on between us." I shift in the chair, then add, "Yet."

Coach’s brows lift. "Yet? You’re still planning to do something?"

The joke dies there. My tongue presses against the inside of my cheek while I let the question hang for a moment, choosing my next words with more care than I’ve used for most of this conversation.

"Coach, I respect you. You know that. I’ve known you long enough that you’re probably the closest thing I have to a second father."

His expression changes a little at that, but I turn to Lindsay before he can say anything.

A slow breath buys me enough time to choose the version of my response Sadie would approve of. She’d probably be impressed I’ve made it this far without insulting anybody. I might even mention it to her later.

"I get that managing my image is your job. Contracts, sponsors, whatever else comes with it, fine. But who I spend time with and what I do in my personal life isn’t part of that. You don’t get to manage that too."

"I understand you’re pissed right now," she counters. "And I understand why this feels like we’re pushing into your privacy, but this is happening because of your own actions. People know who Sadie Rhodes is because of you. I saw the clip from last night. You jumped in to defend her, Trey. That is not something you usually do."

Silence feels safer than giving her the first answer that comes to mind.

"You also need to understand who follows you. A huge part of your fanbase is women who like the idea that you’re single, and once that changes, some of them are going to pull back."

"College hockey," I remind her. "That’s what I play. I’m not an idol."

"I know that," she fires back, "but your male fans are here for the hockey. Your female fans are the ones buying your merch, buying products because of you, showing up for brands they probably wouldn’t care about otherwise."

She pauses, worrying her bottom lip before continuing.

"This is going to sound harsh, but if this were someone with more social standing, we might be able to use the attention. Sadie is..." She hesitates. "She’s an omega, Trey. An orphan. You know how people are going to frame that. They’ll say she’s some delinquent from an orphanage who pulled you into a fight, that she’s chasing attention, that she—"

"Enough."

The word cuts across her before she can finish. By the time I realize I’ve stood up, my hand is already clenched at my side.

Lindsay goes still.

"Don’t ever talk about her like that."

Coach gets to his feet and lifts a hand between us. "All right. We can handle this without turning my office into another fight." His attention settles on Lindsay. "And Mercer’s right. We don’t know Sadie. We’re not going to start repeating every stereotype people throw at omegas because it makes for an easy headline."

Trex gives an irritated shove against my thoughts. [She crossed the line. I’m not forgiving that.]

Coach nods toward my chair. "Sit down."

I take my time, but I sit. Across from me, Lindsay gathers the folder against herself and says nothing.

He waits until I’ve settled. "What Lindsay is trying to say is that if Sadie is going to be in your life, you need to be careful about how public that becomes. There’s already controversy around her because of Ezra, now there’s the fight, and you’ve got an image to protect. You’re captain, hockey comes first, and publicly, you’re still single."

He rests against the desk. "You’re young, successful, and talented. Obviously, the girl wants you. Most of them your age would. If you plan to do anything about that, you need to be smart about what stays private and what people get to see."

"She doesn’t want me." The correction comes out sharper than I mean it to. "You’re doing the same thing Lindsay just did."

Coach lifts both hands. "Fair. Point taken."

I stay quiet after that, mostly because I don’t trust myself to keep it that short a second time.

They’ve spent the last few minutes talking about Sadie like she’s a problem to manage when neither of them knows a damn thing about her. Omega. Orphan. Two words doing all the work for them.

A few days ago, I wasn’t much better, and sitting here listening to it makes me feel like shit.

I judged her for how she handled things I’ve never had to deal with, then called her weak like I knew what I was talking about. Listening to Lindsay box her into a few labels makes it pretty obvious I wasn’t that different.

"She’s my tutor." Their eyes meet for a second. "I hired her to help me with the Ascension Trials."

Neither of them says anything, so I keep going.

"And for the record, she’s not interested in me. She’s not chasing me, she’s not trying to use me, and she’s definitely not the one creating this mess."

Lindsay’s face tightens.

"I like her," I add. "She doesn’t know that, and I doubt she’d want to know right now either. So whatever you both think all of this is supposed to mean to her, it doesn’t. Does that clear everything up?"

Coach looks like I’ve just told him I’m dropping out of school. Lindsay, at least, has the decency to look embarrassed.

Eventually, they both nod.

"Great." I get to my feet. "Can I leave now?"

Lindsay clears her throat. "We’ll have a Zoom call later and go over the specifics of how we handle this, if that’s okay with you."

"Fine."

I look at Coach. "See you later."

He gives me a short nod, and I head for the door.