Page 60 of Game Misconduct

What an idiot. I was immensely grateful I hadn’t told her how I felt. How humiliating would that have been? I’d never be able to look her in the eyes again if I’d stood there while she told me that she only saw me as a friend after I poured my heart out to her.

Maybe the universe was watching out for me. I thought it was working against me, but now it seemed like it had my back. More so than my roommate. I wasn’t sure I could consider him a friend after this.

I let my anger and hurt simmer until it was time to get up and change into my suit. I pulled on my jacket and slipped on sunglasses. I didn’t want anyone taking a picture of me looking as dejected as my face currently depicted.

“Hey, you ready for this, Garrison? You were looking good earlier.” Brandon and Lance were walking down the hall and waited for me to catch up.

This was perfect. I needed a distraction, and being around them wouldn’t let me slip back into my pity party.

“Yeah, I’m feeling good.” It was a lie right now, but within a few minutes, I’d be back to normal. I was good at compartmentalizing. I could slip out of my normal life and into player-mode like flipping a switch after this many years of practice.

“Should we knock and get Mitch?” Brandon asked. “I think he’s the only other one on this floor.” He looked from the row of doors then to me. He probably expected me to know which was his, us being friends and all, but I just shrugged.

“We can wait for him downstairs.” I kept walking to the elevator.

Lance stayed at my side. “Did you get a chance to watch the videos Coach sent? The Gators have used the same play in their last four games, heavy on the defense. I think they’re starting to rely on that, so you guys have to watch for openings.”

I agreed. “Yeah, I wondered why they were relying so heavily on defense. I don’t think their injured list is that bad.”

“Me either,” Brandon added from behind us. We stepped onto the elevator, and he pressed the button for the lobby.

“Have you heard any talk about their offense being weak this season?” I asked. The Gators hadn’t been playing this way for very long, maybe only a few weeks before my trade.

“Not really. Maybe this is a new strategy they’re trying,” Brandon replied.

“Nah, I think it’s their goalie,” Lance said. “He’s a young guy, only been in the league for one season, but he’s the best they’ve got. I think they’re trying to keep the other team from even entering their zone.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Well then. There’s their weakness.”

Brandon smirked. “Let’s spread the word.”

Lance chuckled as we walked out, looking even cockier than normal. He walked up to Hartman and Schultz and began talking to them.

“I’ll talk to them.” Brandon nodded toward Brassard, Fisher, and Koslov.

I was about to walk toward Jason, Jake, and Derek until I realized Mitch was with them. I couldn’t avoid him forever, especially not if I wanted to keep what happened between us and not have the entire team know about my embarrassment, but I could delay speaking to him for a while longer. I sighed and headed over to Murray and Letang.

Twenty-One

Vivian

All I wanted was dinner and a bath. If Jess wasn’t home to discourage me from ordering take-out for the third time this week, then I was going to call my trusty Thai restaurant and have them bring my favorite noodles while I soaked away the day.

Things weren’t normally this busy for us at work, especially in the first quarter of the year, but with all the growth we’d had, the board thought we should move forward with full force toward early product launches in the next few months.

I tried to get Jonathan to see that things were working so well because we found a process that worked. Our engineers and designers were working at a comfortable pace that allowed them to yield amazing results. Pushing them now would ruin all of that. When was the last time a great product, or even an upgrade, was released under pressure? That was when mistakes were made. That’s when corners were cut and people grew frustrated.

The board wasn’t in the office, ever. They didn’t know that the atmosphere we’d created allowed the teams to thrive. They weren’t around to watch exhaustion take over. They didn’t see even the happiest of employees grow resentful if their work hours got too long.

Nothing I said worked. Jonathan was under pressure from the board to produce. He should have stood up for his teams. He should have been their advocate and pushed back on the demands. His loyal employees had built the company to what it now was, success and all, and they deserved for him to have their backs.

It was disappointing, to say the least. Even though I ran things behind the scenes, coordinated projects, and kept things on track, at the end of the day, I was just his assistant. He was the big boss. He was the decision-maker. I wasn’t there to have an opinion or give him advice.

Things were fine, for now. No one would feel the impact for a few weeks, at least. But the stress would set in. Maybe I could find a solution that Jonathan would agree to before then. This was the first thing I’d felt passionate about in a while here. I wanted to maintain the culture of this company and make sure the people here felt valued.

The apartment was silent when I walked in. Jess mentioned a wedding coming up, but I wasn't sure of its exact date. She must’ve been working on it tonight.

I ordered dinner online and had forty minutes before it was expected to be delivered, so I went to my room and started the water in the tub. Lavender or eucalyptus? Both sounded divine, but did I need relaxation or relief more? I tried to roll my tight shoulders. Eucalyptus it was.