Once morning skate was over, Brandon stopped by Seraphina’s office, his bag over his shoulder, his dark brown hair dripping with water from a shower he just took. He frowned upon seeing her, probably because Seraphina’s face was in her hands, her shoulders hunched forward, her elbows on her desk, wrinkling her papers. He knocked, alerting her to his presence.

She picked her head up and Brandon noticed her eyes red from crying. Immediately, Brandon tensed. He stepped into her office and shut her door before dropping the hockey bag at his feet and drawing the blinds so nobody would be able to see the two of them. He furrowed his brow, narrowing his pale green eyes as he looked at her.

“What happened?” he asked in a low voice. There was an edge to it he hadn’t expected to come out of his mouth but he didn’t apologize for it.

Seraphina shook her head, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and leaning back in her chair, her eyes going over to her computer screen. Brandon’s heart tensed, worried she was shutting him out. She tended to do this when something happened with the team as a whole. At least, that was what he observed. It was as though she took on the burden herself and thought she needed to solve it on her own.

“It’s –“

“Don’t say nothing,” Brandon said, interrupting her. He took a seat in front of her. Part of him wanted to reach out and take her hands within his, but something caused him to hold back, to wait. She seemed tense and he didn’t want to touch her if she didn’t want him to. And if he did that, he knew for certain she would keep her mouth closed and hold everything back. “Sera, I’m here for you. You can tell me anything.”

Seraphina looked like she had to think about it. Brandon ignored the shot it took to his heart that her response wasn’t immediate. But he kept that to himself. This wasn’t about him, this was about her, and something seriously was wrong if she was this withdrawn. Seraphina was reserved, certainly, but not this much.

“Okay,” she told him, “but you aren’t going to like it.”

Brandon’s forehead wrinkled as he pushed up his brow. He tried not to make assumptions, didn’t want to think this was a talk that involved them going back to the way it was, where they were friends and nothing more. He highly doubted Seraphina would do that to him. Still. He didn’t like that she thought he wouldn’t like it. But he wanted to give her the opportunity to at least tell him herself without jumping in and demanding answers.

She gestured at a seat across from her. “You might want to sit down,” she suggested.

Brandon did as she told him, clenching his teeth together in order to keep from saying anything.

She’ll tell you when she’s ready, he kept chanting to himself. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.

Seraphina straightened her spine and looked at Brandon, taking care to meet his eyes with hers. She had to know it was obvious she had been crying. She probably hated the fact that she couldn’t wipe away the evidence. Not that she liked to hide herself from him, per se, but he knew she didn’t like to appear vulnerable.

“Phil Bambridge requested a trade,” she said, each word sharp and enunciated. “He wants you in exchange for three of his core players.”

Brandon furrowed his brow once more. “Who?” he asked.

“I don’t think that’s relevant,” Seraphina told him. “I’m not going to do it.”

“Then why have you been crying?” Brandon could hear his heart thump through his mind, like an echo reminding him that just because Seraphina was the love of his life didn’t mean she also wasn’t a business woman.

Seraphina pressed her lips together and turned to her computer. Brandon almost snapped at her to focus on what was going on now instead of hiding away behind her computer. However, when she stopped typing, she locked eyes with him and nodded her head, silently beckoning him to come over and look at her monitor.

Brandon stood up and walked around her desk. She pointed to three pictures on the screen and immediately, Brandon recognized him and Seraphina wrapped up in each other in a passionate kiss. He recognized that kiss. It was their first kiss, one he initiated because she had pushed him to the point where he couldn’t help but kiss her, not with what she was saying. Plus, he wanted to kiss her and needed a reason to. He knew how she felt about dating players and how it would make her look to the public, but in that moment, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

He had to kiss her. So he did. And the best part was when she kissed him back.

To be honest, Brandon hadn’t even realized someone had been taking pictures. He had forgotten that other people were even there in the first place. All he cared about was that moment with her in his arms and his lips on hers. She had felt perfect, he didn’t want to let her go. Hell, he wasn’t planning on it until Bambridge made his presence known.

In a way, Brandon was glad that Bambridge had seen them. He had never been the guy to believe in marking territory, so to speak, but at least Bambridge would know Seraphina belonged to him, and if anything happened to her while she was with Bambridge, Brandon had no problem taking care of it.

Except something had happened and Brandon had done nothing. And now, Bambridge was using it to his advantage.

“What the hell is this?” Brandon asked, tilting his head to look at Seraphina.

“He has pictures of us,” Seraphina said, glancing over at him and raising a brow. “I don’t know how he got them. I don’t know if he saw what was going on and then took a couple of pictures or if someone else took pictures and he managed to get his hands on them. I guess in the end, it doesn’t really matter.” She snorted and rolled her eyes at the last sentence that came out of her mouth. It was too ridiculous, the situation too tense, and Seraphina couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.

Brandon raised his brow at her behavior but didn’t comment, which was probably a good thing.

“So he’s threatening to release these photos publicly unless you go through with the trade?” Brandon guessed, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Pretty much,” she said.

Brandon clenched his jaw. Seraphina could feel his fury rolling off of him in hard, choppy waves. It was the kind of anger someone could drown in if they were pulled tightly into his orbit.

“So,” he said slowly, through gritted teeth, “what are we going to do?”

“I’m not going to go through with the trade, obviously,” Seraphina told him, picking her eyes up so she could lock eyes with him. She hoped he knew that, that she didn’t have to actually say that, but she wanted to anyway, just to make sure he really understood.

“When do you have until?” Brandon asked.

“The twenty-eighth.”

Seraphina continued to watch Brandon with wide eyes, wondering what he was thinking about why he was so mad. Yes, of course, the situation was extremely frustrating. Seraphina had spent the past fifteen minutes crying over it. But she didn’t want Brandon to think the situation was hopeless, that nothing could be done.

“What are you going to do about this?” he finally asked. His words were clipped, as though he was trying to figure out what should be done but he also recognized that this was her problem and she needed to make a decision about this as well.

“I…” Seraphina pressed her lips together. Perhaps she should have been researching her options rather than crying about the predicament she was in. She clenched her jaw and internally shook her head at herself. She couldn’t believe she had been so selfish. So helpless. Her grandfather raised her better than that. Don’t mope. Solve the problem the right way. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just know what I’m not going to do.”

Brandon nodded once, quick jabs of movement. “We need to figure this out, Sera,” he told her. “The twenty-eighth is only a couple of days away. He could release those photos at any second and –“

“I know,” she snapped. “Don’t you think I know this? I don’t know what I should do, Brandon. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.”

He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Hell if I know,” he said. “Your grandfather’s received offers for me before but he never took them. As far as I know, he never even considered them.”

“Yes,” Seraphina said slowly. “The difference being that my grandfather isn’t around and if he was, I highly doubt he’d be getting blackmailed right now.” She pressed her lips together. “Brandon, what the hell should I do? Should I resign? I could give the team to Kat, but she’s with Negan and…” She groaned, shaking her head.

“Have you spoken to your lawyer?” Brandon asked. Seraphina could tell he was trying to keep his own patience, but she didn’t know if it was due to her erratic behavior or because of the situation in general. “Maybe she’ll be able to help you figure this whole thing out. That’s why you have her on your payroll, right? Talk to her and figure it out.” He placed his hand on Seraphina’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’m here for you.”

Seraphina forced a smile and placed her hand over his. “Thanks,” she said. “How are you?”

“Honestly, I’d like to fly to Vegas and beat the shit out of Bambridge,” Brandon said, “but I don’t think that’s the healthiest response to what’s going on.” He looked down at her, his pale green eyes brimming with grass-green frustration. “I wish I could do more for you, Sera. I feel like I can’t help you at all and I’m pissed because it’s my fault we’re in this situation in the first place.”

Seraphina furrowed her brow, cocking her head so she could look up at him with a questioning stare. “What do you mean, your fault?” she asked.

“I kissed you,” he reminded her. “I was sick and tired of waiting for you –“

“For me!” Seraphina exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting for you to make your move. I just, I’ve been with a few guys that I’d pursued. I wanted to know I was worth the chase, that someone would go out of their way to try and be with me.”

“And when I did, you ran,” Brandon pointed out.

“I ran,” Seraphina agreed. “I had no idea what I was doing, what I was going to do. But that still doesn’t make the kiss your fault. I need to talk to my lawyer.” She met Brandon’s eyes, her tone firm. “We need to figure this out because I’m not going to let Bambridge try and take you from me. From this team.”

“What happens when we run out of options, Sera?” Brandon asked. There was an edge to his voice, a sound that wasn’t familiar to Seraphina’s ears. She didn’t like it, truth be told. It was negative and angry and frustrated all at one time. “What happens when your lawyer comes back to us and tells us that we’re screwed. I would rather you trade me than give the uncles your team.”

“We don’t even know if that’s what it’s going to come down to,” Seraphina said. “Please. Don’t talk like this.”

“What do you expect, Sera?” he asked. He wasn’t yelling, exactly, but his words were pointed and sharp. “You were right about everything. Our first kiss and it’s being used to blackmail you into either admitting you love me or getting rid of me.”

Before Brandon could continue, Seraphina reached up and pulled his head down so she could lock lips with him. He was tense under her touch but after a moment, relaxed into it and allowed her to kiss him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step back. “I can’t think about anything else. Not until we figure this out.”

“Brandon –“

“I can’t lose you, Sera,” he told her. “I love you. And I have you. You aren’t the type of girl I can just let go of.”

Before she could stop him, Brandon left, all but slamming her office door behind him.