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* * *
Calista went back out to the rink. Up ahead, Ronan, Kiernan, and Liam stood talking to Dodo. Her brain felt twice the normal size with the news in her head, but she couldn’t share Zee’s business, especially not with Dodo standing there.
Dodo turned to her, his face bright red. “Why in the ever-loving hell would you give those boys five-star locker rooms?”
Dodo was the pin to her balloon. How had Dahlia lasted a week with him? Her cousin deserved the world, this guy deserved the boot.
“Watch your language,” Ronan snapped.
Dodo looked surprised but nodded. Kiernan looked like he was holding back a laugh, and Liam simply widened his bright green eyes to take them all in.
Calista clasped her hands together. She had to get a handle on speaking up in hostile situations, and crowds…and one-on-one. She spared Ronan a quick, greedy glance. Where did they stand? She couldn’t go there now. She’d concentrate on the easier piece of the puzzle. Frankly, she was getting straight up tired of Dodo questioning her, doubting her, bringing her sunny days down. The ownership decision needed to be over with. She’d ask Olivia to poke the arbitration hearing with the judge and move the date up.
Her heart caught, but the decision felt right. The limbo phase they were in was worse, well, possibly worse, than losing the team. She needed to move forward without Dodo ragging on her every decision. She stood straighter. “Our guests deserve solid accommodations. We want to play all teams at the top of their game.”
“No.” Dodo shook his head and popped his knuckles. “We don’t.”
He did not love hockey like she did. There was no reasoning with him. Why bother? Calista turned away.
“What about my guys?” Dodo asked, as if at any point he’d given her free rein to make changes, and she’d overlooked the Snowers. Did he not remember the recliner fuss?
Calista hesitated and turned back. This was clearly an opportunity. Dodo had now seen, or at least heard, firsthand what she could produce. There was a possibility they could move forward for the best interests of the Snowers. She was giving him one more shot. “Beta testing.”
The men looked blank, as if she hadn’t provided a concise explanation for the visiting team’s locker room renovation. “The visitors will test out the new layout, give feedback, and from there, we’ll build out for the Snowers, giving them the larger, more improved version they deserve.”
“Hell yeah.” Kiernan puffed out his chest and pointed in the direction of the locker room. “I want an extra body jet, one more than they get.”
“Women.” Dodo shook his head. “You don’t get the game. These men need it rough. Gives them war stories to talk about, and conditions to bond over.”
Private showers seemed basic to her.
“Eh?” Liam shook his head hard. “I want a mini fridge.”
“And what’s with llamas humping the players’ legs?” Dodo frowned and asked the ridiculous question, as if it warranted her attention.
Kiernan snickered. He and Liam did a synchronized air hump.
They were having fun, and she shouldn’t have to explain Vivien’s computer glitch. Calista lost her patience with Dodo’s picking. “Go look for yourself, then we can talk.” She paused. “Through my attorney.” She stalked off and pretended not to hear Kiernan’s, “Whoop.”
* * *
The game with the Geels went amazingly well, and the final score separated the teams by one point, with the Snowers on top. Calista glowed to see her team popping to the top of the national rankings. The team had it all, she knew they could hold their place. The current players were exactly right to win under the perfect leadership of Ronan Stromkin.
If a future acquisition brought on the twins, and Zee... Whew, the Snowers would exceed heights beyond what any fan could envision. As Calista watched the practice the next day, her mind spun with images of four Czerski brothers playing hockey here at this stadium. Amazing. If that didn’t happen, these guys would shine on their own. Look at them, the win the night before had exhausted the players, but they brought their all to practice not one day later.
A flash of movement to her right and a delicate floral perfume clued her into the fact that she wasn’t alone. Dahlia took the seat next to her, on the row where they’d come to countless games since they were little. “The Snowers have cleaning crews tidying the visitor’s locker rooms and moving their stuff over. They’re claiming the space until you renovate their own. I can’t believe how amazing that space is. I would have helped, you know.”
“Next bit, we’ll do together.” Calista gentled her tone to explain, “I didn’t want to make it worse for you with Dodo.”
Dahlia smirked. “Dodo is put out, like it’s a big deal to change an electronic nameplate on a door.” She rolled her eyes. “You know how superstitious he can be.”
Yes, she’d heard about Dodo’s lucky puck. His sensibilities didn’t matter, the Snowers did, and they were so taken by her efforts that they wanted to switch spaces. That felt good. “Vivien’s not here, I’ll go program in the Snowers names.” Calista hopped up and went down to the new locker room. “Want to go?”
“Nah, I’ll get in your way with that. I’m working on social media, getting highlights from last night out there.”
Fun. “I’ll watch for those.” Calista moved down the aisle, and around the rink to the visiting locker rooms. A rewarding happiness floated through her as she slipped inside. She could give back a small bit to a team that had meant so much to her. Imagine how great the stadium and the players’ experience as a Snower could be if she had free control and could get their input without being shot down by Dodo.
She went to the control panel and typed in the Snowers’ names, assigning their lockers.
