Page 5 of Face Off

It wasn’t like I had any other choice. “I just wish someone said something before now. I feel blindsided.”

I wanted to speak to Coach. He had to know more about what was going on. Maybe they’d taken him by surprise too. I didn’t want to believe that he would let me go into that meeting blind if he had a chance to talk to me first.

“We should have suspected some changes with the players after the president and GM came in, but I wasn’t concerned for you.” Jackson checked his phone. “I’ve got some calls to make. Focus on yourself and what you need to do to improve. If you need extra physical therapy, I’ll make it happen. If you need more practice time, I’ll find a rink. Whatever you can think of.”

“Thanks, Jackson.” I sank into a chair while he let himself out. I needed a few minutes to myself. A bomb had just been dropped on me, and I had days, maybe weeks, to disable it and save my career.

Were any of the other guys getting this talk? I couldn’t be the only one. There were guys who cost more than me and were performing worse. I hated thinking of my teammates, my brothers, that way, but I was being shoved into a corner. Chris and James weren’t thinking about the Fury as a hockey team. They saw the organization as a business. They would make their decisions based on profit and losses, not what was best for the men on the ice. They wouldn’t care about angering fans with bad trades. They would only do what their spreadsheets said would make them more money.

In all my time on the team, I had never felt like a pawn. Like a number, here to make money for other people. I’d put my heart and soul into the only thing I’d ever loved. My stomach rolled. Was this how it was going to be from now on? I couldn’t survive like that.

I wanted to talk to Coach. And Hartman. If there were things I needed to improve, I needed to know now. Well, a week or a month ago would have been better, but I couldn’t fixate on that. I could only change things moving forward.

I stood and pushed the door open, meeting resistance.

“Oh!” A female grunted as her papers dropped to the ground.

“I’m so sorry. Here, let me help.” I knelt and gathered the papers and held them up for the woman I’d accidentally hit.

She was stunning. Beautiful in a wholesome way with warm honey hair that fell like a sheet over one shoulder and deep brown eyes I wanted to get lost in. Those eyes didn’t look particularly friendly though, and her full, pink lips were frowning. She was glaring at me with more anger than one accident deserved. “You’ve done enough.”

She took the papers and walked away, leaving me to clumsily stand and face Chloe and Taylor, who wore matching looks of disgust.

“Way to make a good first impression.” Taylor sized me up before heading after the woman.

“Who was that?” I asked Chloe.

“Don’t worry about it.” Her eyes searched my face, and I flinched. The woman had supernatural powers, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her level of crazy.

“Fine.” I turned and started toward the elevators when she grabbed my elbow.

“What was that meeting?” she asked quietly. This was Reese’s wife and Erik’s sister, Chloe. Not boss lady. She was concerned, as a Pride member.

“Chris and James are disappointed in my performance. They’re talking about letting me out of my contract a year early or sending me to the farm.”

Her eyes widened. “What? That’s insane. We’re only down by two points in the division. You guys have all been killing it.”

I shrugged. “Evidently, not me.”

She glanced around. “Have they talked to anyone else?”

“Not that I know about.”

“I’ll find out what I can.”

That was a promise. She could be forceful and overstep from time to time, but she was also the biggest advocate for the players. She was powerful and had a way of making things work in her favor.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”

She offered me a sad smile and squeezed my arm before letting me go.

It wasn’t until I was walking to my car that I remembered the new woman. If she was working with Taylor and Chloe, it was only a matter of time before we all knew who she was, where she was from, and her entire life story.

I’d never admit it to the guys, but this was the first time I was interested in finding out. Which was horrible timing. I needed to focus and train. Crushing on a woman that seemed to already hate me was not an option.

3

Holly