Page 17 of Face Off

“Cam, why don’t you go down to the entrance and wait for them while we go up?” Taylor suggested. She checked her watch. “Matt might stay down there to direct them up.”

“Sounds good.” Cam drummed his thumbs on his desk before standing.

Taylor taped signs to the walls once we got off the elevator and walked down the hall to the reserved room. When we entered, I paused, thinking we were in the wrong place.

“Where did this come from?” There were two couches, a half dozen dog beds of various sizes, and three tables of food and drinks.

“Guest services,” she replied. “I put in the request last week.”

“Wow. This is great.” I hadn’t expected such nice accommodations, but it was an important lesson of what resources I had available for the future.

“I’ll make sure you get a list of everything we have available through the arena’s staff. Food, decorations, and furniture like this.” She pointed to the couches.

“That would be great to know, thanks.” This wasn’t the first time I felt overwhelmed by what I didn’t know. This job felt reminiscent of when Sadie was a newborn. I thought I had a general idea of what to do, but once she was home and I was on my own, I realized I didn’t have a clue. At least this time, I had a whole team to help me. Something I would have given anything to have back then.

Taylor seemed to sense the change in my mood. “Hey, no one expects you to handle everything on your own. You don’t need to remember, or be responsible for, every detail. That’s what we’re here for. Matt and Cam are some of the best guys I know. They don’t care about personal credit or taking the glory. They just want the team to succeed.”

“That’s really good to hear. Thanks.” I allowed myself to relax.

“Things have been rough for you, and I get that you’ve had to learn to only rely on yourself, but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Not only at work, but personally too. We want to be here for you. We want you to feel like you have as much support outside the office as you do in.”

I sucked in a breath. She just summarized the past three years of my life. My mother-in-law loved taking Sadie for afternoons every few weeks, but other than that, it was all up to me. Trusting them, allowing them in, was going to take some time to adjust.

“I appreciate that.”

“I hope so, because once the others meet you, it won’t be much of an option. They’ll become a part of your lives, whether or not you want it.” She smiled, and I had to admit, that didn’t sound too bad.

“Here we are,” Cam’s voice announced his arrival, and I turned to the door to see paradise walking in. There were so many puppies, I couldn’t contain my squeal.

“Hi! Welcome.” I stepped up to the woman standing next to Cam. “Thanks so much for coming. I’m Holly.”

“I’m Thea. We love this day probably as much as you guys do,” the older woman said. “Most of the dogs get adopted before the calendars are even released.”

“Thanks to our social media posts,” Cam explained when I glanced over to him.

“That’s wonderful,” I said while staring down at the small, spotted dog with a tail that looked unable to stop wagging. “And who is this?”

“This is Rascal.” She held up the small dog so I could pet him before turning to the other volunteers.

“Go ahead and let the dogs explore if you think they’d be comfortable,” Taylor said. “And help yourself to any food or drinks.”

Cam closed the door to prevent any puppies from escaping, and soon the room was full of curious dogs exploring every nook and cranny. There was a good mix of ages and sizes, even if I considered them all to be puppies.

“How do we decide what player gets what dog?” I asked Cam.

“In the past, we’ve said first come, first served. The guys can pick them as they get here.”

That sounded easier than trying to make assignments.

“I’ll keep track of what dogs have been photographed, so we don’t have duplicates,” Taylor offered.

“Thanks.” I kept expecting to feel overwhelmed, but every time I thought I had something to do, someone else took the responsibility. I was starting to feel guilty about not doing enough.

“Hey!” a loud voice called, and I glanced at the door as Olli Letang and Derek Aston walked in to the room. The two goalies. They were supposed to be in the picture together. I ran through any other mental notes I had about them, but couldn’t think of anything else.

“Guys, come over here.” Cam waved them toward us. “Have you met Holly?”

Olli grinned. “I heard we got a new social media manager. Nice to meet you.”