Page 290 of Cross Check

“That’s implying there will be another woman in the NHL,” Ethan says.

“You really think none of the guys we play against might like someone other than women, E?” Hudson asks.

“Oh.” Ethan blinks. “Shit. You’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“We need to get to work,” I say, clasping my hands together. “I was preparing for med school in college, not law school, but I have someone who might be able to give us some more insight.”

“Who are you going to call?” Riley asks. “Do you know someone who works in the legal department?”

“Nope. Someone else.”

I swipe my phone off the table and find James Phillip’s contact information. We haven’t talked in years, both being busy with our careers and life and growing up. I press my phone to my ear, hoping it’s still his number.

“Everett,” James says when he answers. “It’s good to hear from you, dude.”

“James.” I laugh. “Remember how you told me Amelia Green would never look at me? Surprise. She’s the love of my life, and I’m finally giving you that call. I’m only a few years late.”

“Look how that worked out. Guess you won.” I can tell he’s grinning from the other end of the line. “I saw all of that shit go down about suspensions, but I didn’t know if your relationship was true. Are you doing okay?”

“As well as I can be. Amelia was suspended for eight games while I only served a one-game ban. Not quite sure how that’s fair, since we both did the same thing, but the league is so backward, it makes almost makes sense.” I sigh. “That’s why I’m calling, actually. I’m with some of my teammates, and one of them suggested that I should propose an addendum to our CBA. None of us are lawyers, obviously, and I was hoping you could help. You do contract law, right?”

“Yeah, but my experience with sports contracts is minimal. I might know someone who can help though. Can I call you back in a few?” James asks.

“Sure,” I say. “Any leads you have would be great.”

“Give me ten.”

I hang up and look at my friends. “Maybe this is too ambitious. Writing the rules sounds like a big ask.”

“I don’t think it is. Why not give it a shot?” Maverick walks out from the kitchen holding Murphy. “You love Amelia, don’t you? You want to spend the rest of your life with her, right? So why not try exhausting every option you can to get what you want?”

“He’s right,” Liam says, and I’m surprised by his optimism. “If you throw enough legal shit at them, maybe they’ll agree.”

My phone rings again, and it’s James calling back. I hurry to answers it, and I put him on speakerphone.

“Hey, James,” I say.

“Hey. I’m patching someone in,” he says, and a beep echoes in my ear. “Henry? Are you there?”

“I’m here. Thanks for adding me in. Grant? I’m Henry Dawson.”

“Hey. Nice to meet you,” I say. His name doesn’t ring a bell, but if James trusts him, he has to be good at what he does.

“You too. James gave me the condensed version of your situation, and I think I can help,” Henry says, and I almost fall off the couch.

“Really?” I grab Ethan’s knee, shaking his leg. “You can?”

“I’ll give it my best shot. I used to do sports contract laws, and while the CBA isn’t technically in my wheelhouse, I know sports leagues like the back of my hand. I made my clients a shit ton of money because I pushed until people said yes,” Henry explains.

“Shit. Okay. You’re making me very happy, Henry.”

“First, you need to lay out everything for these people. The league has their own set of lawyers they use, and if there’s any loophole, they’ll find it and use it to their advantage. I’m talking exact wording and covering every avenue you can think of. This is about personal relationships, correct?”

“Yeah. I’m dating—was dating—a coach of another team. She was never in charge of me. There was no abuse of power. We had a consensual relationship the league didn’t agree with, and she’s the one paying the price,” I say.

“Some things never change. Okay. Look. Your best bet is to be specific about what you’re trying to accomplish. Is it to protect her job? Is it to lessen the punishment? Is it to set a precedent for all relationships going forward? Once you’ve figured out your end goal, you can shoot me an email. I’ll add in all the legal jargon, make it pretty, and send it back to you so you can file it through the NHLPA,” Henry says. “Again. The more specific, the better. You don’t want to give them a gray area they’ll take advantage of.”

“I can do that. I’ll start drafting something right now.” I grin. “Holy shit. This is the most hopeful I’ve been in days.”