"Don't worry, Sydney," Amelia said in a motherly tone. "Things will get better for you. You're going to be fine."
"I hope so."
Ryan's mom nodded and followed her son to the elevator with Sydney finally closing the door on the pair.
She tried to get everything straight in her head again. Ryan was headed to the airport now even though his flight didn't leave for a few more hours. The only reason he was leaving now instead of later was because of his mom. So that meant… Did Andy leave to avoid her? Why didn't he leave later since he didn't have to get on a plane for several more hours?
She needed her coffee. Again. Badly. But just as Sydney picked up the mug from the counter, she saw something that had been sitting underneath it. A white business card with "Andy" and a phone number scribbled on the back. The front looked like a typical business card for any business. This one had Andy's full name, his title, the team's logo, and a phone number that didn't match the one on the back of the card. Maybe the one on the back was for his personal phone. Maybe he had thought about her before he left and he did still want to talk to her. Maybe she had jumped to too many conclusions. Maybe that lack of trust from her job was making things look negative in other parts of her life.
She did know Andy, at least she thought she knew enough by now. The Andy she knew wouldn't have just left. Although maybe a "Call me," or "In case you need anything," would've been a nice touch to not make it look so clinical.
She was still staring at the card trying to figure it out when her mind was pulled back to reality by her phone ringing, and Lucy's name flashed up on the screen. Sydney took a deep breath. She wasn't about to start talking to Lucy about this whole nonsense just yet so better to just act normal and not freak out about the guy she slept with who left her a business card.
"Hey, Lucy," she tried to say casually. "What's going on?"
"Nothing good," her lawyer replied. "The S.E.C. is starting to put their case together against John, and they have questions. Lots of them. I need you over here as soon as you can get to the office."
Sydney wearily rubbed a hand over her face and sighed. "I need to get ready, so can you give me an hour or so?"
"You have an hour," Lucy said. "Oh, and John is here in the other conference room again. You can't talk to him or even acknowledge his existence. It will just make things messier for everyone."
"Right. I will remember that," she replied.
"Sydney, I promise I'm going to get you through this."
She swallowed hard to push down the emotion in her throat. At least Lucy hadn't left her alone to fend for herself in Detroit.
"That's why I'm glad you're my lawyer."
"I'll see you soon," Lucy replied quietly.
"Yeah, soon."
Sydney hung up and put her phone down on the counter. It was time for her to get into a power suit and a killer pair of heels.
It was time to forget about Andy's card.
Chapter 16
Road trips were fun with the Detroit Pirates until about the fourth day. The fourth day was when things get bleak. Different hotels, different visitors locker rooms, different set of hostile fans. The breakfast buffets were usually the same, but that only made things worse.
This particular fourth day was having more of an effect on Andy than usual. It was the fourth day in a row that he hadn't heard from Sydney. He had spent so much time with Sydney worrying about her old boss or crying over a goldfish or sharing food made by Ryan's mom. There were also the more intimate moments with her, the ones that Andy would think about late at night with no way of relieving the tension with his assistant trainer sleeping in the other bed in their hotel room. Stupid hockey league and their stupid rules about players and staff needing to room together.
And stupid Andy. He left Sydney naked in her bed four days ago. She still hadn't called or texted him. She hadn't even tried to send him an email on the work account listed in his business card. Ugh, that stupid business card. To be fair, he wasn't totally thinking straight when he left it there. It was too early in the morning and that was the easiest way to leave his contact information with her. But now, he wondering if it was too formal or too clinical, especially when combined with the fact that he left her without saying goodbye. He thought he made himself clear to her that it wasn't just going to be a one-time thing for him, that he would want more of her — and not just sexually. He wanted more of everything from Sydney. He just couldn't really explain all that on a business card.
But Andy had other people besides Sydney to worry about now. He grabbed his iPad from the nightstand and ran through his list for the night. The team had a game tomorrow, and he needed to make sure his players were as ready as they could be.
"I'm going to do the checks," he told his assistant trainer.
Mark stopped digging for something in his suitcase and gave him a surprised look. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I thought it was my night to do the checklist."
Andy nodded. "Yeah, I'm just getting sick of being stuck in a hotel room."
"Just don't complain when you come back and I'm in my boxers watching sports highlights."
"As long as you can tuck yourself in, we're good," he replied.
Mark gave him a sarcastic smile and turned back to his bag. "Don't let Logan give you a hard time about his shoulder," he said. "He's fine to play but needs to ice it."
"Got it," Andy replied before heading out the door.
Luckily, the team didn't have too many injuries to deal with. Aside from Logan Moore's shoulder, there were some stitches here and there, their winger's strained groin, and Ryan, who's non-playing related injury was the worst on the list. Andy specifically reserved Ryan's check up for his last one of the night, which is how he found himself an hour later in Ryan's room, checking out the rookie's recovery.
"Hey, don't I know you?" Ryan said with a sarcastic smile when he answered the door.
"I think we've met before," Andy replied as he walked in and looked around the nondescript hotel room. "You have this place to yourself?"
"Yeah, that minor leaguer they called up to fill in for me still gets my room assignment, so it's just me," Ryan said.
Andy stared at him. "You kind of sound disappointed about that?"
"I guess." Ryan shrugged. "I thought being back on the road would make me feel better about being with the team, you know? But I'm only skating at practices and being in my own room doesn't feel like I'm really back with the team."
"I get that," he replied. "And you aren't the first player I've dealt with that has felt that way. But we'll get things back to normal soon, OK?"
Ryan nodded and gave Andy a thankful smile, then sat down on his bed. Andy took it as his cue to come in and do his usual check up with the rookie, clicking open a file on the iPad to bring up his notes on Ryan.
"Any pain tonight?" Andy asked.
"No."
"Does the skin look weird around the incision?"
"No," Ryan replied.
"You mentioned your frustration, but what about depression or extreme mood swings?"
"Does Alex extremely grossing me out count? Because other than that, I feel fine."
Andy starting typing some notes on the iPad without looking up at his rookie. "Do I dare ask what's going with Alex?" he said with a smirk.
"It's about Sydney."
Andy stopped typing and looked up at Ryan. "What about Sydney?"
"It's stupid."
Andy put the iPad down on the bed, hoping he could keep control of his own emotions and not expose the panicking going on in his head.
"I'm sure it's not stupid. What's going on?"
Yes, please, he thought. Tell me what that guy wants with Sydney.
"Alex is bugging me to give him Sydney's number, and I keep telling him no. Because I should be telling him no, right?"
"Why should you be telling him no?"
Andy sounded like Ryan's therapist now, but he really didn't care. Besides, a real therapist wouldn't be trying to
pry information out of a patient like this.
Ryan smiled awkwardly. "It's like I told you before. Sydney is a good friend so I'm protective of her. I know Alex, and I know me, and I know the kind of guys we are when it comes to women. I just want Sydney to be with someone better than that."
Andy nodded quietly.
"So yeah, I do miss talking to the team like I did before this whole appendix thing," Ryan said. "But I'm doing the right thing by not giving Sydney's number to Alex, right?"
Andy swallowed hard, trying to find the right answer.
"I mean, Sydney can make her own decisions," the trainer said.
"Sure, I get that. I just feel like someone has to protect the good women of Detroit from Alex." That got a laugh from Andy, which seemed to spur Ryan on some more. "It's not like it's you asking me for her number."
That quickly made Andy stop laughing. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I would give your number to Sydney, no problem. You would be a good person for her." Ryan grimaced. "And now I'm sounding like my mother," he muttered.
Andy looked away, suddenly feeling like he needed to stare at the crappy hotel art on the wall to avoid Ryan's gaze. He considered them friends, of course, and he had hung out with Ryan and Sydney a lot lately so whatever relationship he did or did not have with Sydney was bound to come up. But was now the right time to do that?
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Ryan asked.
Ryan was an immature rookie, but he could be very calculating and thoughtful when he wanted to be. It could sneak up on someone if they weren't careful and underestimated him. Like Andy had done just now. He took a deep breath and gave Ryan a determined stare.
"I gave my number to Sydney," he replied matter-of-factly.
"Really?" Ryan stared at him some more. "So that's a good thing, right?"
"Sure," he said with a dejected tone.
"No, no, no. Don't just 'sure' me when we're talking about Sydney," Ryan said. "Why isn't that good thing?"
"I gave her my number and she never used it."
"Maybe she's been busy?" he replied.
"We both know she doesn't have a job anymore. And I…" Andy took a deep breath. Ryan was going to find out anyway at some point. Better to have him find out from Andy. "I left it for her after I slept with her."
Ryan sat up straighter on the bed. "Wait a minute," he said with a bit of anger in his voice. "You had a one-night stand with Sydney?"
"It was more than one night."
The rookie just stared at his trainer in disbelief.
"Was it good?"
Andy gave him a surprised look. That was the question Ryan wanted an answer to?
"I mean, did you like it?" Ryan shook his head, his face scrunched up in frustration. "Sorry, this is coming out wrong. What I meant was did you like her? Like, do you like her?"
Andy gave him an awkward smile and relaxed his shoulders a bit. "I do like her. A lot."
"But she didn't call you back?" Ryan asked.
"No, she didn't call me back."
Ryan gave him a sympathetic smile like he felt bad for Andy. "Sorry, man."
"Whatever," he replied with a shrug.
"Not whatever," the rookie said defiantly before clearing his throat and calming down again. "I don't care about you and Sydney or whatever. But you know my mom."
"Your mom?" Andy said skeptically.
"My mother would get really pissed off if she found out you slept with Sydney and then didn't pursue a relationship with her, especially when you obviously like her."
Andy smirked at him. This wasn't about Ryan's mom, but Andy wasn't about to tell Ryan that he thought it was nice that the rookie was looking out for his next door neighbor. The next door neighbor who happened to be gorgeous and strong but sweet and amazing in bed and…
"Andy!"
"What?" Andy's eyes snapped back to Ryan.
"I thought I lost you for a second there," he said. "Where did your mind wander to?"
Silky skin and brown hair spread out on Sydney's bed.
"Nowhere."
"Sure," he replied sarcastically. "Anyway, we're back in Detroit on Monday. If she doesn't call by then, I'll figure something out."
"You'll figure something out?" Andy said skeptically.
"I know, I know. This doesn't sound like something that Ryan McCloud would do—"
"Especially not when he refers to himself in third person," he muttered.
"I don't fully understand what that means, and I don't care," Ryan said. "We'll figure out a way to make this work with you and Sydney."
Andy shook his head. "I can't believe I'm about to trust you with this."
"Good," Ryan said with a stupid grin. "That makes two of us."
Chapter 17
It had been almost a week since Andy had left his card on her counter, and Sydney was no closer to gaining any time to think about it, much less call the number on the back of it. Instead, she had been stuck in her lawyer's office, sitting only a room away from her former boss who swindled a bunch of people out of their life savings. There was only a wall between them, but it felt like a deep chasm the size of the Grand Canyon.
Sydney thought about Andy standing in her apartment that night, his honesty almost too much for her to bear.
"Trust me," he had whispered in her ear.
That night she did. She had no problem trusting him in her bed. But then she got here. Every time she walked into this office, every time she got up to get a Coke from the vending machine to keep her going, every time she came back from lunch with Lucy, John was sitting there. To be honest, he wasn't looking good. The John Martin she worked for always dressed well, always commanded attention when he was in a room. But now, he looked like a shell of his former self. His hair was disheveled and there were dark circles forming under his eyes. His suit looked rumpled, his shirts were wrinkled, and his tie was never on straight like it used to be.
And yet, Sydney couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for him. He deserved everything he was getting right now. Because when Sydney wasn't thinking about the way John looked, she was sitting in a conference room looking at the work John had done. She poured over the ledgers and documents that the law firm had printed out for her, becoming more and more angry as the evidence stacked up against him. The worst was when she scoured the financial statements of John's clients. She was so thankful that he never touched the money belonging to her own clients, because his portfolios were a mess. He had invested his clients' money in fake accounts and bogus companies. He moved money from this place to that like he was playing a shell game on the Atlantic City boardwalk, tricking people with his sleight of hand. She was particularly upset with the portfolio of an elderly couple that would come in on a monthly basis to check their investments. Almost all the money they had given John was gone.
It was snowing outside on Friday afternoon when Lucy ducked her head into Sydney's conference room.
"Come on, Barton. Get your coat."
"I need to get some more work done," Sydney replied. "I haven't finished taking care of the list of questions for the S.E.C."
Lucy walked in with her coat and briefcase in her hand, looking like she was ready to leave when it was only 3:30 in the afternoon.
"Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm your lawyer. I'll handle it."
"And where are we going?"
"The bar," she replied.
Sydney leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "I don't want to go to the bar."
"Don't care. Get your coat."
Sydney was trying to weigh her options. She could argue with Lucy about not wanting to go somewhere in public again, or she could deal with the stares from the random strangers who recognized her from the news. She took a look at Lucy, who was standing there defiantly and ready to drag her out of the building. Sydney sighed. She would just have to deal with the rude people at a bar. A fight with Lucy was not worth it.
She grabbed her coat and purse, thankful that at least she did
n't have to drag her own briefcase to work anymore now that her job was non-existent. Luckily, the bar was only a block away so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
The snow was beautiful as they stepped outside. It was falling in fluffy light flakes, but there wasn't a bit of bone-chilling wind along with it. It was just the perfect quiet moment in the city, one of those moments that would've been even better with her arm holding on to a man, snuggled up against him as they romantically strolled the streets of Detroit. But there was no man there, just Lucy.
It was partially Sydney's own fault. Or maybe not. Or maybe. She couldn't figure any of it out. If anything, a drink with Lucy is exactly what she needed to try and sort out what was going on with her and why she didn't want to actually call the attractive man who left his phone number behind. A phone number she still hadn't used. No calls, no texts, nothing. She was busy with the S.E.C. crap, but even she knew she could find some time to call if she really wanted.
The two women finally made it to the bar and tucked themselves in a booth with a window before Lucy ordered a pitcher of their favorite beer.
"Do we really need a pitcher?" Sydney asked her as the waiter walked away with their order.
"Yes, we need an entire pitcher. I need something to cleanse myself after seeing John sitting in my office all week and not saying a word to him."
"I can agree to that."
The pitcher arrived, and Lucy expertly poured two pints, making sure to limit the foam.
"I'm always so impressed with your beer skills," Sydney said teasingly.
"I learned some important things in law school." Lucy raised her glass in a toast. "To not worrying about jobs or men," she said, clinking her glass against Sydney's before taking a drink.
Sydney followed her lead and drank, the beer cool in her throat. Damn, she really needed that. But the toast? Ugh, that had to be dealt with. Because after this past week, she had both of those things weighing on her mind.
"So we can't worry about jobs or men then?" she asked.
Buried Treasure (The Detroit Pirates Book 2) Page 11
