Page 47 of Omega’s Forward

But I can’t think about anything except the way that he refused to even look at me.

I pick up my phone and dial Priya’s number, checking my watch.

It’s ten in the morning in London. She answers on the second ring. “Everett. It’s the middle of the night there.”

“We need a better search firm. I’ve not had one decent general manager candidate for the Barons. Let them know that we’re taking it away from them.”

“All right.” I can hear her typing already. “Anyone you want to try next?”

“You. I’d like you to come out here and run the place until we get someone else in.”

I can’t do this. I thought I could manage it until we got someone in, but I don’t want to. I can’t deal with Callahan. I want to go home.

I don’t say that to Priya though.

The typing stops. “Everett. I run your office. I don’t know the first thing about hockey.”

“You don’t need to. It’s a business like any other. Payroll, sponsors, lease, contracts. Blah. Blah. The hockey side stays with Sacco — he’d rather answer to someone who doesn’t pretend to know his job anyway.”

“You think he’ll take direction from your assistant?”

“He’ll take it better from you than from me. He doesn’t detest you.”

A short silence while she rearranges her entire life. “I can run it remotely from Monday and fly out within the fortnight. I’ll draft the announcement tonight. And the search?”

“Take that one too, please.”

“Understood.” A pause. “And Mr. Callahan?”

“What about him?” Priya has never interfered in my personal life. She can’t be asking what I think she’s asking.

She isn’t. There’s a pause, then she says, “His hearing is next week.”

It would serve him right if I left him to the league. But I was in the box when Berg went into the boards, and whatever else Callahan is, he wasn’t wrong about who started it.

“Call the league office in the morning,” I say. “Keep it discreet. The club’s position on appeals doesn’t change, but he’s the star player. It’s just business sense to minimize his time away from the ice.”

“Of course.”

“And have the lawyers look at Dorn. Maybe get them to have a quiet word with the league’s legal team. The guy is a loose cannon. He’s going to get someone killed and that’s going to cost them.”

If Priya has thoughts about any of this, she keeps them to herself. “I’ll send the engagement letter within the hour.”

She’s gone before I can decide whether to be annoyed.

I sit with the laptop warm on my knees and try to stop my thoughts from running away.

The heat was a momentary blip. It messed with my emotions and my brain. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Now I am.

I have another six days to go before the mandatory cohabitation ends. That’s not long.

Yes, it’ll be boring. I don’t particularly like the idea of spending the next six days confined to this room, but I’ll live through it.

After that, I’m done.

No more hockey. No more Callahan.

I open up my browser and book a flight back to London.