Fred POV
“You can’t do that. She was the best thing that happened to this team. She made us look good again. She is making us look like a fucking family,” I say as everyone looks at me. All my teammates stay silent as I am standing in the middle of the locker room shouting at the bosses for getting rid of Tatum.
“She was the best thing that happened to you. Maybe she broke her contract. She knew she couldn’t get involved with players Ashford,” the coach says and I shake my head as I throw my stick against my locker.
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” I shout and this time Thomas places one hand on my shoulder, stopping me from making things worse.
“In my office now,” the coach shouts back at me and I shake my head as I keep throwing my equipment around.
“You’re not going to get anything by throwing a tantrum,” Thomas says, but I ignore him before I walk out of the l
Tatum POVGrace is coming back tomorrow and I am nowhere near to having the money I need for school, so I decide I need to talk to Thatcher. I know I promised myself I would do it alone, but this is not for me, this is for Grace. That is the best school for her. I take a deep breath and press his name on my phone.The phone rings several times, and it goes to voice mail. I close my eyes as I take a deep breath hearing his message, “Hey, this is Thatcher, leave a message and I will get back to you, beep,” I hear.“Thatcher, it’s Tatum, I need you to call me, please. It’s about Grace.” I say and then press the red button on my phone, ending the call. I don’t want to leave too many details on the voicemail.Today I have my first shift at the hotel I will be working. I will be working at a housekeeping. At least I will stay in the background and no one will see me, not while the press is still trying to find out what
Tatum POV“Grace, come on baby, put your shoes on,” I shout from the living room while I put my apron on top of the black dress I wear for work. I look at my reflection in the mirror and shake my head. I hate my job. My boss is a prick, and he keeps trying to get on with me.“I’m ready,” Grace says and I smile as I watch her walk into the living room in her uniform. Fred got Grace the scholarship and I finally don’t have to worry about paying for school. It was like God finally looked at me and blessed me.“Come on, we’re going to be late,” I say as I wrap my jacket around my body and rush Grace out of the house. Tomorrow Thatcher will be in New York and he wants to take Grace to watch his game. I still don’t know how I feel about that because he will be playing against Fred.After dropping Grace at school, I rush to work, and when I arrive, my boss is already waiting for me in the changing rooms
Tatum POVThe game is today, and I am not working. I asked for the day off and it was a nightmare to get it. I had to lie that I had a doctor’s appointment and that I needed to take my daughter to have some vaccines after. Obviously, the filthy and disgusting man who manages the housekeepers didn’t believe me, so I had to go to hotel management.I know he won’t be happy that I did this, but he left me with no other choice. The man is disgusting and he won’t allow us any breaks or time off. I can’t let Grace go alone with Thatcher because I don’t want her sitting alone in the middle of an enraged man watching hockey with their beers and cursing in front of a child.I look at my reflection in the mirror and I can’t help but smile. I am wearing Thatcher’s jersey, but underneath, I have a smaller version of Fred’s. It’s hidden, and only the two of us know I am wearing it. The doorbell makes me jump and I ru
Fred POV“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Jude asks and I nod as I look at him. We’ve been using the gym in his house every day and I feel like it’s the best thing I have done. The adrenaline of fighting him makes the blood move in my body and I feel a lot more relaxed. Obviously, he takes it easy on me because I don’t have his skills, but who knows? I might get there someday.“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you after the game?” I say and he nods and I grab my stuff before leaving his house. I should be leaving my house right now, not leaving him. I still need to get my stuff and I know I will get a massive told off for being late. But I am okay with that.Arriving one hour later at the stadium was definitely a mistake. My teammates are all ready to go warm up while I am still shoving stuff into my locker. “Ashford, get your ass in here,” the coach says and I take a deep breath, slamming the loc
Tatum POVAs we get to our seats, I can see that Grace is agitated. She keeps biting her nails and Mara is super excited. “I never knew there was so much testosterone in a place like this. I am loving it,” she says and I shake my head as I watch Thatcher stretch in the ice. I remember the first time I watched him do this. It drove me insane how the other girls looked at him.The way their hips move as their legs spread almost looks sexual if your mind turns that way. Grace stands near the glass and watches as her father laughs while he stretches. When he is done, he skates around for a little while and then he stops in front of her and he smiles.“Hey baby girl,” he shouts, and she smiles as he passes one puck through the top for her. I grab it and give it to her as other fans gather around us, banging on the glass to get Thatcher’s attention. He smiles and waves around while Grace holds onto the puck.“Come on, let&rsq
Fred POV“I need you all to stop behaving like brats. What the fuck is wrong with you?” The coach shouts as I rest my hand between my hands. I take a deep breath as I raise my head and his eyes lock with mine.“What the fuck was that all about Ashford? Are you really going to fuck your career over a woman?” The coach asks and I stay quiet while Thomas rests one hand on my shoulder. “You are professional athletes, behave like it, not like children that are playing field hockey. This is your career, your life,” the coach says and everyone nods.“And you stay the fuck away from Hill,” the coach says, pointing at me.“He fucked us up. He sent Moore to the hospital and you expect us to stand around and play nice while they provoke us. They talk about our girlfriends, kids, wives, and mothers. While they tell us how they are going to fuck our wives tonight and we’re gonna watch?” Corey says as he
Tatum POVThat game was my worst nightmare and now, here I am, sitting in Thatcher’s room with Grace next to me while she holds her daddy’s hand. Her eyes are threatening to close as she gets tired. Today has been very emotional for everyone, especially for her little heart. Watching her daddy play and then get hit like it wasn’t easy on her. Thatcher has two black eyes and a broken jaw that didn’t need surgery. And let’s add a broken nose to everything else. Obviously, he will be okay, but I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here and go find Fred.I still don’t know what happened to him and what the damage is. I haven’t been able to find anything in the press. It seems like the team hasn’t done a formal release informing their fans of what is going on, neither with Fred nor Moore. I shake my head, trying to push those thoughts away. I am not the PR anymore and I shouldn’t be worrying about the press release.
Tatum POVAfter dropping Grace at school, I decided to quit my job at the hotel. I have the uniform inside my bag and with a smile on my face I walk through the double doors at the front and I can tell the receptionist is not happy.“What are you doing? You need to use the back door,” she yells and whispers at me at the same time and I smile as I rest my bag on the reception desk and retrieve the horrible dress washed and ironed. I put it in front of her and she scrunches her nose as if disgusted by the material. I know. I hate it too.“Take that thing from here, the guests will see it,” she says and I smile as I look around the lobby which is completely deserted.“Don’t worry, I won’t take long. I am just here to drop this off and…” I say as I stop grab the white envelope from the bag and hand it to her.“That is my resignation letter, effective immediately,” I say, and her eyes gr
Fred POVBeing home with Tatum and Grace is the best feeling in the world. The last couple of months after Tatum went to Mara have been absolutely insane. You see, when you think things happen for a reason; you think always good things, now I think of bad things as well. I never thought I would say the words I am about to say, but I admire Thatcher Hill. The man was a hero and no one will ever know. He died to save his family.After Tatum asked me to distract the police officers during that day, Thatcher came to me and told me the most insane plan. He was so nervous that I actually felt bad for the guy. He told me about Mara’s plan to kill Tatum and how he pretended to be on her side. How he pretended to be in love with Mara so he could find out what she was doing. He figured out a while ago that Mara was losing her shit. So he started playing a part with her. I have to say; the guy was a genius, and I feel bad that Grace lost her father because a woman was obses
Tatum POV“Sit,” Mara says, pointing at the armchair next to me. I look at the chair and then at my daughter, who is so scared. I wish I could just run to her and give her a hug, but Mara is not okay, and she has a gun. I don’t want her to use that. I have nothing to defend myself and I am not stupid enough to do it without a gun.“You see Tatum, you always got everything that I wanted, you always got everyone’s attention while we were growing up, and then in college, all the boys wanted you, and I always thought I was invisible,” she says and I shake my head.“What are you talking about? I was bullied when we were kids. They all made fun of me, and you were always defending me. You know everyone hated me,” I say, and she laughs out loud as she goes back to brushing Grace’s hair.“No. They loved you, and the only way they had to get your attention was by doing that, and I kept them away. You alwa
Tatum POV “I am not letting you leave this apartment on your own,” Fred says, and I cross my arms as I stare directly into his eyes. “Get out of my way Fred, I am being serious, this is about my daughter, and if you don’t understand I have to go alone that’s not my problem, you don’t have kids, you don’t understand, I would do anything for my kid, now move out of my way,” I say and Fred shakes his head. I can see the fear in his eyes, but I honestly don’t care right now. “Grace needs me. If you don’t move right now, I will end our relationship. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t understand my need to save my daughter,” I say, and now he is angry. I can see is in his posture as his entire body stiffens. “Are you for real right now? I just want to go with you. That woman is crazy and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you,” Fred says, and I take one step toward him. “Are you going to forgive yourself if anything happens to Grace because you are being stubborn and
Fred POV“Fuck, I didn’t want you to find out like this,” I let out through greeted teeth. I bet Thatcher released that information. My management team said they wouldn’t release the information, and they requested the other team to maintain silence about the offer for the contract.“Find out what? That you’re moving to a different country? Or find out that you’re hiding contract offers from me?” Tatum asks me, I can hear the pain in her voice and I know I should’ve told her about what Thatcher is doing, but I was trying to find another way, and then this happened and… Fuck.“I am not going,” I say as I look directly at Thatcher and he shakes his head slightly, watching me. His eyes blazing with anger as Tatum covers her face with her hands. She leans forward and I touch her back, but she moves away from my touch.“You can’t,” she lets out. If I wasn’t paying
Tatum POVI still can’t believe what is happening. Thatcher is going crazy as he walks around the house, pacing, taking deep breaths, and punching walls. He is controlling his anger, even though now would be a good moment to let go and explode, because that’s how I feel and that’s exactly what I want to do. Explode.Everything Thatcher told me about Mara seems so weird to me, I never thought she would be interested in him, she always seemed so annoyed by him, and now it kind of makes sense, if he turned her down for me… No guy turns her down for me. She is amazingly beautiful, bubbly, and the life of the party. I was always bullied and made fun of, shy, and she always took me under her wing.I bet it didn’t feel good for her to be rejected because of her best friend. If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved with Thatcher, but then I wouldn’t have Grace. I think Mara would never hurt Grace. She wouldn&rsq
Tatum POVToday has been a day from hell, and I am exhausted. I have been dealing with a girl claiming she is pregnant by one of our guys. He swears he has never seen the girl in his life and this is becoming absolutely stupid. Obviously, DNA test will be done. Why can’t these guys keep it in their pants? Is it that difficult?I am picking up Grace today, Thatcher had a meeting with his management team and I know he can’t tell them he can’t just show up, they are all in negotiations for the new season, who’s staying on the team, who gets transferred. It’s always a very stressful time for everyone involved.I know Fred hasn’t received any transfer offers and I have to say I am happy about that. I don’t know how I would feel if he left New York. I know it’s not impossible, but it would be difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship especially because they travel a lot during the season. Obviously, at some point, he would come to New York and the team would go to wherever he is, b
Fred POVLetting Tatum leave my side is the worst thing I have to do every day. We’re still hiding our relationship from the press and from the public and I am enjoying this time just the two of us, without people knowing, without people making up stories about us.I have to say the most surprising thing that has happened since Tatum and I got together was Thatcher calling me and asking to meet for a chat. And that’s why I am getting ready now. I am going to be face to face with my team captain who hates my guts and loves the woman I love. He thinks he has some stupid claim over her because they have a child together.Even though Tatum says he has been great, not standing in the way and keeping up the appearances she needs, he is not really talking to her. He has been avoiding her like the plague for the last week. I put my watch on before I grab everything else I need before I leave the house.We agreed to meet at the stadium, as it would be the most private place we could be without
Tatum POV“Come, I want you to meet my mother and my brothers officially,” Fred says, and I look at him with horror plastered all over my face. We have been fucking for hours on end inside this room and I bet they know that and he expects me to meet them right after a full-on sex session?“Are you sure now is the best time for us to do this? This room smells of sex, and so do we. We haven’t even showered. I have dry cum down my legs and you expect me to meet your mother?” I say and he chuckles as he lightens up a little. He doesn’t look as sad as he was, but he doesn’t look like his old self as well.I know what happened took a big toll on his life, and I know he will never be the same person he was before. Events like these tend to change a person, and the way it happened is bound to leave a mark on him. Fred will always be associated with Caroline’s suicide. He decided to keep her letter private. He prefers to be seen as the bad guy than to expose her. He is a brave man, a good man,
Tatum POV Julien sent me the address to Fred’s mother’s house. That’s where I am supposed to meet him. The coast is clear there because she is with him and the press won’t be around the house, not when they are not there. His family has been through the scrutiny eye of the press and everyone around them. The amount of scandals they have been going through is unbelievable. Their father is one of the biggest fuck ups in their lives, and I can’t even imagine how they all feel about him, what I read about the man he is a piece of shit and he uses their name and money for many fucked up things. Fred never really talks about him, and when he does, I can hear the hatred in his voice. The man is terrible. The Uber stops at the gate and presses the button, and I lean forward to speak. “How can I help you?’ I hear someone say. “Tea Time,” I say as the code word that Julien told me to say. The gates open and the Uber driver takes me to the front door. The house is gigantic, and I never thought