Chapter Four
She couldn’t help but look up Brock Thaddeus online. After the party, she lounged back in her bed and turned her laptop on. She entered Brock Thaddeus into Google. There were hundreds of pages of results. Under the image tab, there were countless pictures of Brock. He was standing with his arms crossed in front of a weight bench, he was doing a one-handed pull-up, and he was smiling halfway up a rope ladder.
He had won Men’s Fitness Trainer of the Year four times. His weightlifting books were international bestsellers. He had appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America and the Daily Show where he had taught proper weightlifting form to the anchors. He had a degree in sports medicine from John’s Hopkins.
She found out that he used to be a hockey player, but he shattered his right leg during a practice in his freshman year of college. He had to rebuild his entire life in the aftermath. But opportunity can bloom from tragedy. Once he could no longer play hockey professionally he devoted himself to his studies and graduated top of his class.
Now he was interested in her. Michelle sat back against her headboard and looked at the handsome face of the man she had a date with. She wasn’t the kind of girl who went for famous boys. She wasn’t interested in her life becoming public fodder. While Brock was famous, he wasn’t that famous. He wasn’t followed by paparazzi and he seemed to live something resembling a normal life.
He was also wonderfully human. There was no magic in him at all. His aura was a good one, though. It was bright yellow and smelled like a meadow in the early morning. It floated around his body in a calm wave. He had a quick wit and was ready with a smile. She couldn’t ignore the butterflies that started to fly in her stomach when she thought about him.
It had been a long time since she’d been on a good date. She was a high-powered attorney who made a lot of money. She worked with politicians and music artists and professional athletes. She had encountered a lot of men who couldn’t handle that. Somehow her success made them feel inadequate. It seemed impossible to these men that Michelle had a life of her own that had nothing to do with them. They took her success as a personal threat and the relationship usually ended before it really got off the ground.
It bothered her, but she never doubted herself. She wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who hid her light to make a man feel better. She had worked damn hard to get where she was and she had no intention of going backward. It was hard to find a good guy, but she was sure he was out there. She had kissed a lot of frogs but was still searching for her prince.
Maybe it would be Brock. He was well-off and successful in his own right. But even if he didn’t have all that success, she felt that he still wouldn't be threatened by hers. Brock was self-possessed with an easy, relaxed report that spoke of strong confidence. He could have been a bartender and he still would have been cool with Michelle’s job.
***
Three days later, Michelle was back in a business suit with her briefcase in hand. Cain was having a press conference to announce the signing of his new contract with the Black Hawks. They were in a large auditorium in the United Center. There was a long table up front for Cain, Liz and the coach. The rest of the room was filled with reporters milling about waiting for the press conference to begin.
Michelle was there in case there were any questions about the contract. But she had never really been needed, no one had ever asked her anything. She was pretty sure Cain invited her so he could show off. He wanted her to see him in front of all these people. He would be the center of attention. This whole thing was a celebration of him and he wanted Michelle there to witness it. She didn’t mind, it got her out of the office for the morning. She arrived on time with a smile on her face.
Michelle was sitting at an empty bar. The stadium wasn’t technically open. They were just having the press conference here. There were no bartenders, waitresses or patrons, just Michelle on a barstool flipping through a thick contract for one of her other clients. The sound of the paper rustling echoed in the empty room around her.
It felt strange, being in an empty place that would normally be crowded. She kept expecting someone to come over to her and ask for her number. Empty stools lined the bar and there were empty tables and chairs all around her with a great view of the rink.
“Hey,” she recognized Cain’s deep voice. He was standing in the doorway to the bar, leaning against the door jam and looking over at her.
“Hi,” she said smiling at him.
“Is that my contract?” he asked as he walked towards her.
“No,” she said closing the file. “It’s for a different client.” Her smile wavered as he approached. Something about his aura was different. It was red and angry and lashing out. His aura looked like a fire, flames licking the air around him it as if it was desperate to catch hold of something else and set it ablaze.
She noticed his aura before she noticed his expression. His face was set in a hard frown and their normal flirty banter was missing. Her stomach dropped and she quickly looked past him and towards the rink.
He sat down on a barstool next to her. But instead of saying something charming, he just ran his finger around a circular water stain on the bar. Michelle could tell that he had something to say and her stomach clenched as she waited. Had he discovered that she was another Magical? She waited for him to speak, the seconds passing slowly.
“You’re going out with Brock?” he finally asked.
“Um...yeah. Is that a problem?” she replied. Was this what he was mad about, really?
He ran his hands through his hair and frowned.
“Why?” he asked.
“What do you mean, why?” she asked. “He’s an eligible bachelor, I’m a single woman. He asked, I thought about it and I said yes. It’s just a date. We’re not getting married.”
“Why did you say yes to him, but no to me?” her heart sunk when she looked at him. He didn’t look angry anymore. He looked miserable. His handsome face was hanging and he had perfected that whole “puppy-dog” eye thing. Her heart hurt from looking at him. This was the last thing she had wanted.
She was used to viewing Cain as a Hockey God. She was used to seeing a smirk on his face and confidence in his eyes. She was so obsessed with him being a Magical, that sometimes she forgot he was also a person. She didn’t think he was capable of being this sad about something. She hadn’t realized how serious his feelings for her were. It wasn’t just silly, fun flirting, there had been something real behind all of that.
“Cain,” she said, reaching out to put her hand on top of his. “I’m your lawyer. We can’t date. I would get fired for that. Plus, it’s very unethical. I work in your best interest. If we date, then personal considerations can come into play and then I’m not an objective lawyer looking over your financial interests, but your girlfriend. I can’t let emotions like that come into play when I’m working with your contracts. The rules against clients and lawyers dating are good rules and they should be followed. There are too many ways for that relationship to end badly and for the client to be negatively affected. This is for your own good.”
“I know what’s good for me,” Cain said pulling his hand out from under hers. “I wasn’t joking all of those times I asked you out. I wanted - I want - to be with you.”
Michelle didn’t know what to say to that. The aura around him had died down a little bit, the flames were subdued with his sadness. But it was still there, those lights, that burning smell. He was her client and he was a Magical, it was too complicated. She didn’t want complicated. She wanted simple, human Brock.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a shake of her head. “You’re a great guy and you’re gonna find someone who’s perfect for you.”
He got up off the bench in a huff. He was breathing deeply and shaking his head as if he were arguing with himself. He was about to storm off when he stopped and turned to her one more time.
It was a credit to Cain that she wasn’t afraid of him. He was bigger than she was and he held powerful magic within him, but she trusted that he would never hurt her. She didn’t need to wince or pull back. Cain wasn’t the kind of man who would hit a woman.
She sat in her seat and looked up at him. She felt awful. He was a good guy and he deserved better than this. Should she tell him the truth? That she was Magical and she knew he was too, but where would that lead? She imagined telling him was like a dark well that she would have to jump into. She had no idea what would happen once she was inside. There would be no coming back from that conversation.
“I wish I had fired you,” he said, his aura flaring up dangerously around him. It reached up to the ceiling and traveled down beneath the floor. His frown deepened as he turned around and walked out of the bar.
Michelle let out a long sigh and slumped down. She hadn’t wanted to break Cain’s heart. She had always thought this joking flirtatiousness was just that, a joke. But he had been serious and sincere the entire time.
From far away she could hear the snapping of cameras and the shouting of reporters. She looked around the lonely bar as a few doors down people fought and yelled for Cain’s attention.