Seraphina was in the Sea Side gym when Katella found her. Seraphina was in workout clothes – shorts that just covered her backside and a tank top that clutched her curves and kept everything in place. Her hair was thrown up into a ponytail and her earphones were in her ears. She was running; even though she absolutely detested it, but she needed a healthy way to get the frustration out of her system. And this seemed like the most logical choice. Interestingly enough, it seemed to be working.

She had been here for the past couple of hours, going between running and walking and then back to running. She started out cycling but needed to stretch her legs, needed to move her entire body and pretend she was actually getting somewhere. Because she certainly wasn’t getting anywhere with her personal and professional life.

“Sera.”

Seraphina glanced to her right and found her sister in a light blue Gulls shirt and white jeans. She had no idea how Katella could look so pretty without putting much effort into her appearance. Even now, the only makeup she had on was lip gloss and mascara.

Seraphina nodded at her sister but made no move to get off the treadmill. Katella rolled her eyes and reached over to turn the treadmill off. Seraphina furrowed her brow and shot Katella a look.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked as the treadmill came to a stop.

“Yeah, you can tell me what the heck is going on Sera,” Katella said. “You’ve been incredibly withdrawn all day. I saw Brandon stomp out of your office and he looked pissed. I don’t even think you’ve had lunch yet, and you’ve been running for who knows how long. I’m allowed to be concerned about my baby sister. I’m allowed to check on you.”

Seraphina looked like she wanted to respond. She wanted to snap back, but she couldn’t. She was exhausted and Katella was right. Seraphina was acting off, Brandon was pissed for good reason, and Seraphina was… exhausted.

“What’s going on, Sera?” Katella asked. “Did you and Brandon get into a fight?”

“What?” Seraphina furrowed her brow and shook her head. “No. No, of course not.”

“Then why did he stomp out of your office, completely pissed off?” Katella asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Seraphina looked away. “Because Phil Bambridge is blackmailing me,” she said in a low voice. “And he’s using Brandon to do it.”

Katella’s eyes went wide and she took a step back. “How’s he going to do that?” she asked in a voice just above a whisper even though there was no one else in the gym.

Seraphina clenched her jaw and looked away. She hadn’t told Katella about the moment she had shared with Brandon in the lobby of the Vegas hotel while she was waiting for Phil Bambridge. She hadn’t told anyone about that kiss. Now, Phil was ready to tell everyone, to reveal something that needed to be kept secret.

“Brandon and I kissed in the lobby,” Seraphina told Katella. “It just happened. We were arguing and he just kissed me and I let him. I even kissed him back. But Phil caught us. Apparently, he whipped out his cell phone and took three shitty pictures of me and Brandon while we were kissing before he let us know that he was even there.” Seraphina furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I never should have…” She couldn’t even finish that sentence. If she finished that sentence, that meant that she would have to regret the kiss. And despite the predicament she and Brandon were in at this moment, there was absolutely no way she could ever regret that kiss. “I got swept away, Kat. I didn’t even realize he was there. Hell, I completely forgot that anybody else was there. That’s how distracted I was. I feel like such an idiot.”

Katella reached out and gently squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “Don’t feel like an idiot,” she said. “We all get swept away in kisses, especially if they’re from our true loves.”

Seraphina raised an eyebrow at her sister. Katella rolled her eyes.

“Look,” she said, “I know it sounds corny, okay? Trust me. Negan and I have only been dating for six weeks but I already know that he’s the one I’m going to settle down with, the one I’m going to have kids with. I can’t explain how I know, I just do. So when you tell me Brandon kissed you and you forgot about everything and everyone else, I believe you. You don’t have to explain it. What I need you to explain is why Phil Bambridge is blackmailing you. Are the pictures definitively you and Brandon? Can you make the argument that there’s nothing conclusive about them?”

Seraphina shrugged. “I can show you them so you can see them for yourself,” she offered. “I feel as though I’m too close to it to see things from the outside. I know what I wore and I know Brandon like the back of my hand. Phil saw us so he definitely knows that’s us. Brandon did say something about how no one for sure knows it one way or the other but I’m not sure I want to take that risk. It isn’t just about me, you know? It’s about Brandon and the team and ugh.” She gripped her forehead before dropping her hand. “I can’t believe I got into this mess. Not that I regret the kiss, but…”

“Well, let’s not stress right this second,” Katella suggested. “You know who you should talk to before you even get the lawyers involved? Talk to Drew Stefano. He might know laws and what the best way to handle this would be.”

Seraphina nodded. “I’ll call him right now,” she said. “After I shower, I mean.”

“Good idea,” Katella said, wrinkling her nose playfully. “You smell.”

Seraphina smiled despite herself. Count on Katella to say the most ridiculous things to get a smile out of her.

* * *

Drew Stefano was good looking and reserved. He was actually very similar to Brandon in personality but with a touch of awkwardness about him, like he knew his position on the ice, but when he was participating in fan events, he wasn’t sure how to act or how to handle himself.

His team gave him shit because there was one fan he seemed to stare at a lot, even though he had a serious girlfriend who acted and did an online talk show for a cable network. From what Seraphina knew, she had blonde hair and was very pretty, but not as put-together as women in the acting world where makeup covered their whole face and they went to a salon before a game.

“Hey,” Seraphina said with a warm smile.

To say Drew Stefano looked uncomfortable would be an understatement. He kept shifting in his seat, almost as though he was expecting the other foot to drop.

“So, I’m not trading you,” Seraphina told him. “You don’t have to worry about that.” Drew’s shoulders sagged forward and a sigh of relief came out of his mouth. “Sorry, I hadn’t even thought that it would totally seem like I was having a meeting with you to tell you that you were being traded. My bad. But we want to hang on to you for as long as we can. You’re an integral part of our team, Drew.”

“So what do you need?” Drew asked. The question came out insistent and perhaps a little sharp but that was probably because he was still getting over the fact that he wasn’t being traded like he originally assumed.

“You majored in criminology, right?” At Drew’s nod, Seraphina continued. “Okay. I need your help in whatever way you can help me. I’m going to talk to you about some sensitive information that I’d like you to keep between you and me. Can you do that?”

Drew quirked a brow, somewhat confused and perhaps a tad intrigued. However, he nodded his head. Seraphina smiled and told him everything – not that she and Brandon were serious about each other but they kissed, Bambridge had pictures, and now he was blackmailing her into a trade that would see the team lose Thorpe.

“So I need to know what to do that doesn’t have me lose Thorpe, put a target on his back or mine, and how to get Phil Bambridge from releasing the photos,” Seraphina concluded, almost breathless. “I know that’s a lot of information, most you didn’t particularly care about. But I trust you and I’d love to get any advice you can give me.”

“Honestly, I would talk to your lawyer about this,” Drew said. “Just to understand what your legal responsibilities are, what you can and can’t do based on what the NHL expects, and how to combat this. However, you asked for my advice, so I’m going to give it to you: in my opinion – and this is in no way actual legal advice – you should take away Bambridge’s power.”

Seraphina furrowed her brows and gave Drew a long look. “And how should I go about doing that?” she asked. “He has the pictures, not me.”

“I know,” Drew said with a nod. “But you don’t need the pictures. Come out head on against him and it takes away all of his power.”

“So,” Seraphina said slowly, shifting her eyes to Drew before looking down at her planner, “you want me to actually admit Brandon and I kissed?”

Drew shook his head. “It does not have to be as obvious as that,” he said. “All you need to do is come out, tell everyone he’s blackmailing you. You don’t have to get into the specifics. It could be something generic and imply that he’s acting on sexist assumptions. It’s completely your call.”

“By doing this, what happens?” Seraphina asked, pushing her brows together. “I apologize for my ignorance but what does this help me gain?”

“Like I said,” Drew said with a small grin, “it takes away his power. Let’s say you call a press conference and say Bambridge is blackmailing me because he is saying I won’t take his trade due to the fact that he believes Thorpe and I are having an affair. By talking about it before he does, you control what gets released and what doesn’t. Sure, they may question Bambridge and sure, he may release the photos just to spite you. But he’s making a power move and if he has no power, he has no move.”

“He has no move,” Seraphina murmured to herself, her eyes shining. She stood and stuck out her hand. “Thank you very much for this incredibly informative discussion, Drew. You have no idea how helpful this was to me. Thank you.”

Drew stood and shook her hand. He seemed unsure, like he didn’t really think it was already over. “Yeah, no worries,” he said.

When he left, Seraphina picked up her office phone and dialed Brandon’s number. He picked up on second ring. “Brandon?” she asked after he greeted her with a hello. “How are you?”

“Still frustrated,” was his response. “I haven’t thought of a way out of this mess.”

“I think I have an idea,” she said. “I talked to Drew and I’m going to set up an emergency meeting with my lawyer later today if possible, but Drew gave me an idea. I wanted to talk about it with you before I make any decisions because this does involve you. Do you have the time?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said. He paused and Seraphina could hear him sigh through his nose. “I’m sorry about earlier. I hate not being able to do anything and I just –“

“Hey, it’s okay,” Seraphina said quickly. “There’s no need to apologize.”

“Listen, we’re still on for tomorrow night, right?” Brandon asked, almost tentatively. “With my sister?”

Seraphina’s brow pushed. She had completely forgotten about dinner with Cameron Thorpe. She had been too distracted by what was going on that she hadn’t even remembered to be stressed at the fact that she was meeting Brandon’s sister or elated that they were at this step in their new relationship.

“Of course,” she managed to say.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You hesitated.”

She rolled her eyes.

“And you rolled your eyes.”

“Everything will be fine, Brandon,” she said, trying to hide her attitude. Damn him for knowing her too well. “I will be at your place tomorrow night. I’m really looking forward to meeting Cameron. Okay, got to go, love you!”

And she hung up before she could hear his laughter.