The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 69

She wanted to sneak a peek back at Jove but couldn't bring herself to do it, instead rigidly affixing her gaze to the car window and attempting to steady her breathing.

Jove, still clearly watching her, laughed.

"We're here," he informed her as the car slowed to a stop.

Kat craned her neck forward in an attempt to discern the function of the large, white domed building in front of her. She turned back to him, her confusion assuaging her embarrassment.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"C'mon, you'll see."

He leaned over Kat and swung open the latch to her door then did the same for his, stepping out first and crossing behind the car to meet Kat and take her hand as she stepped out. Despite the short drive, they were in a part of town that was completely unfamiliar to Kat, what appeared to be a warehouse district of sorts with a decent smattering of large, industrial style buildings and brick-faced two story production facilities.

The street looked like a typical industrial park except for the giant, white dome that Kat and Jove had parked in front of, a cleaner and more sparkling white than should've been possible with the elements affecting the outdoor structure. The puffed, circular dome looked almost like an impossibly large, inflated tent, and Kat had never seen a building quite like it, had no idea there was one in the city.

They approach it hand in hand, Jove waving to the car's driver who swung the car out of the lot and back towards the street as they neared the dome.

"So, like I said," Jove began. "I probably overhyped it."

Kat looked up at him, smiling, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his.

"But I think you'll like it," he went on. "Remember everything we were talking about that day we went to my grandma's? About what made me enjoy boarding school and all that? Well, this was part of the reason."

The parking lot was now completely empty after the departure of their chauffeur, and Kat was left entirely sure what to expect as Jove reached for the front double doors handle.

He pulled open the door to expose a blast of cold that made Kat yelp. He laughed, wrapped an arm around her, then pulled her forward into the building with him, tucked into the warmth of his half embrace.

"Oh," Kat breathed, realization setting in on her as she inspected their white walled surroundings. "The hockey and skiing and stuff, is this an ice rink?"

Jove nodded, bustling through the plain, stark white lobby and to another set of double doors on the back wall.

"No skiing, the closest indoor skiing is in Jersey, but this is the city's only private ice rink."

"It's yours?" asked Kat.

Jove shook his head.

"Not really. I mean, I bought it, but a bunch of people use it."

"Let me guess," Kat asked. "Your college buddies and your boarding school buddies, is that a bunch?"

Jove pushed open the second set of double doors to reveal a cavernous, stadium-like room with the largest ice rink Kat had ever seen gleaming in its center. The space could easily seat over ten thousand people, and the riser set up of the seating made the entire space seem more enormous, the seats that were the furthest back being the highest off the ground.

The ice itself dominated much of the actual floor, and glass borders separated the ice from the lowest seats in thick, clear panels. The space was so large that Kat could barely take it in at all at once, and she turned in small circles while still holding Jove's hand, marveling at the cold, white vastness.

"Also them," Jove replied, answering her earlier question by pointing upwards to the rafters to reveal multiple iterations of the city's hockey team jersey on display.

The Arctic Foxes were one of the best teams in the nation, and even with her complete lack of hockey knowledge, Kat was well aware of how proud the city was to be home to the 16 time Stanley Cup champions.

"They practice here?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Yea." Jove responded casually, steering her towards a tunneled entrance on the left side of the rink. "They have their stadium and all, but I know a couple of guys that play for them, friends of friends really. They come scrimmage here, or practice certain plays, just whatever. For half of them, it's the only place they can take their kids to play. There aren't that many rinks in the city and it costs an arm and a leg to rent the whole thing out for privacy so," he shrugged. "They just come here."

"That's actually really nice of you Jove," Kat said distractedly, still taking in the vastness of the room as he led her to the entrance of the tunnel.

"Actually?" Jove griped playful. "I'm nice."

"Yea, yea," said Kat. "Where are we,"

"To get skates," he replied before she could finish.

He looked down at her, assessing her attire.

"And you need a jacket. We'll see what we have."