TERMS OF ATTRACTION

Jaxon stormed into the locker room, hurling his helmet against the locker.

"Shit!" He kicked the bench, clenching his fists so tight that they turned white.

"Chill, Captain. It's just one loss—"

"I never lose!" Jaxon growled at his nerdy teammates who tried to comfort him.

"Sheesh! Relax, man. He was trying to be nice. After all, this is our loss as well. Not just yours," Connor Hayes, Jaxon's long-time friend, gently pulled him away from the teammate.

Jaxon pulled his hand away from Connor and sighed, "Dammit! Fucking Montreal Canadiens. They'd better watch out, I'm crushing them next time—"

"Ugh... Captain..." The teammate who had previously been growled at approached again, this time looking like he'd encountered a ghost.

"What?" Jaxon snapped, not in the slightest mood for cheering up.

"I... I think you have something bigger to worry about..." The teammate slowly lifted his phone to Jaxon's face.

Almost immediately, the colour drained from his face.

From some anonymous account on 'X', a very suggestive picture of himself in some nightclub was posted. But that wasn't the juicy part.

The maddening part was the familiar blonde influencer whose arms were suggestively draped around his neck, her mouth pressing firmly close to his lips.

The scary part was... he'd never even spoken to the lady before!

The headlines were brutal, aimed to instantly taint his pristine image: THORNE OUT OF CONTROL: Boston Bruins' Golden Boy Spirals in Late-Night Scandal!

"What the fuck?" Jaxon murmured, unmoving.

He could already see his career crashing.

Endorsements are being pulled off.

Benched.

Or even worse... traded to some dysfunctional team.

"Now this is some shit to be crazy about," Connor muttered behind Jaxon.

"Fuck!" Jaxon cursed, punching his fist into his locker.

"This is clearly some rival PR stunt. Those bastards," Connor said, frowning.

Suddenly, the locker room burst open, and in walked a very angry GM, plunging the room into extreme chillness.

"What is this madness?!" The GM growled, his face turning red with anger as he glared at Jaxon.

Jaxon gritted his teeth and straightened. "Harper, I—"

"You not only lost a fucking game, but now a fucking scandal under my name?!" Harper barked, breathing heavily.

Jaxon lowered his head, controlling his rage.

"I'm sorry, Harper, it won't happen again—"

"No—it won't. One week. That's all you get. Sponsors are circling, the league wants a clean image, and right now you're a problem." Harper paused.

Then, with a colder tone, he said, "Fix it. Make them believe you're committed—to something, or someone. I don't care how you do it. Just make it convincing. Or you're out, Thorne." He narrowed his eyes at Jaxon, turned, and stormed out of the locker room.

"Shit..." Connor muttered.

Jaxon stood motionless, staring at the door Harper had walked through.

One week?

How was he supposed to fix such a huge scandal in a week?

"Jaxon?" Connor gently tapped Jaxon's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm screwed," Jaxon muttered, raking his long fingers through his sandy blonde hair.

"Not if you can sell the committed image the fans and the sponsors want..." Connor smirked.

Jaxon scoffed, "Yeah... I can just ring up my non-existent girlfriend and tell her it's time to act lovey-dovey for the spotlight."

Connor shrugged, "Well, GM said to make it convincing... Not real..." he said, watching the realisation dawn on Jaxon's face.

"Convincing..." he murmured, quickly pulling off his gloves.

"You bet, Connor," he patted Connor's back and ran out of the locker room.

The PR needed convincing, right? He was about to bombard them with commitment and stability.

His car screeched to a stop in front of a café, and he hurriedly got out, striding into the shop.

"Hey, over here," a beautiful, slim lady in a short blue dress waved at him from the back.

Not wasting time, he hurried over to her. "Isabel, thanks for waiting for me." He kissed her cheek and slid into the chair beside her.

Isabel smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. "Of course, Jaxon... anything for my childhood friend." She winked at him.

Jaxon exhaled softly and cleared his throat.

"About the favour I asked... I'm sure you've seen the trend online?" he asked slowly.

Isabel nodded. "Who hasn't? Whoever is behind that must be so brave... that poor influencer, her life must also be miserable... but about your offer... I think it's risky," she said, sipping her coffee.

Jaxon shook his head, taking her hand in his. "I promise you, I've thought it through, no loopholes. I'll never suggest it if it'll put you in harm's way. Please, Isabel... be my girlfriend," he asked softly.

"Fine," Isabel sighed.

Jaxon smiled handsomely. "Thank you, thank you so much, Isabel. I owe you my fucking life." He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Alright, alright, I need to go now, I'll see you tomorrow—"

"Tomorrow?" Jaxon stood, catching Isabel's hand in desperation.

"I already told you I have a few things to settle before I'm fully ready," Isabel reminded softly.

"Tonight, Isabel... please. GM is on my neck, my career is on thin ice. Please," Jaxon begged.

"Alright, just give me an hour. I'll meet you at your house and we can go over this contract of yours—" she was interrupted by the incessant ringing of her phone.

"Excuse me," Isabel picked up her small bag from the table and pulled her phone from it.

"Hello?" she answered, and her face immediately turned ashen.

Jaxon froze; something told him his plan with her was about to fall through... his only hope for a stable image was about to slip away from him.

"Y-yes, I am Isabel Louis, yes, yes, t-thank you, I will be there now," she quickly threw her phone in her bag and slid away from the table.

"Hey, everything alright?" Jaxon asked, following her out of the café.

"I'm sorry, Jaxon, but I need to be in the hospital right now," With that, she strode into her car and slammed the door, leaving Jaxon standing like a lost dog.

"Shit!" Jaxon kicked the air in front of him, gritting his teeth as he watched Isabel slowly drive away.

Suddenly, Isabel's car stopped, and she got out of it, looking dishevelled and angry.

Jaxon wasted no time in running over to her. "Hey, everything settled?" he asked cautiously.

"No! This fucking car decides to break down at this moment!" She glared at her car.

Jaxon was desperate; he was ready to do anything to just help Isabel settle whatever her urgent matter was, just so they could get back to his contract.

"I'll drive you... just give me the address—"

"No, no, I'll get a cab, I don't want to inconvenience you," Isabel shook her head.

"We're friends. I'm helping you, come on," he took her hand and led her to his car.

He held the door for her, and once they settled, he headed straight for the hospital.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Lumen General Hospital, and Jaxon followed Isabel to the ER.

He watched her on the sterile ER hallway floor, crying. When a doctor arrived, the news hit hard enough to shatter his plan with Isabel.

Her mother—her only parent—had been caught in a severe fire.

"Shit..." he muttered, clenching his fists as the image of that anonymous 'X' post flashed through his mind.

After a few minutes of consoling his friend, Jaxon decided to leave, defeated.

However, as he turned the corner of the ER hallway, he froze as his eyes landed on a familiar figure.

Someone he never thought he'd see again.

Someone who shouldn't be there in the first place.

He should never speak to that person, but desperate times...

He had found the solution to his scandal.