Page 43 of Wild Card 13

Outside the glass walls of my office, the executive corridor had become noticeably busier. Staff moved steadily between departments carrying laptops, game-day packets, clipboards, and radio headsets. Somewhere down the hall, someone was laughing loudly enough that it echoed.

The building felt different now. Closer to game time. Closer to becoming what it was built to be.

Freya brushed powdered sugar from her sleeve and glanced toward the arena bowl beyond the windows. “Who am I supposed to bully tonight if Alois is sitting in hockey jail?”

“He'll still be in the building,” Bea sighed.

“Which somehow feels unfair.”

“Alois would agree with you.” A genuine smile tugged at Bea's mouth.

Freya shook her head. “Hockey players are fascinating.”

“Hockey players are exhausting,” Bea corrected.

I raised my coffee in agreement. “Finally. Someone speaking the truth.”

“Excuse you,” Freya scoffed. “I spend my entire day treating these whining tough guys. I know exactly how exhausting they are.”

“Fair.”

“Liam threatened to ignore his recovery schedule this morning.”

I blinked. “What happened?”

Freya's expression flattened.

“He informed me that because he's thirty-three years old, nobody can tell him what to do.”

I laughed. “That sounds exactly like Liam.”

“Then he tried to convince me stretching was optional.”

Bea nearly choked on her tea. “No.”

“Yes.”

“What did you say?”

Freya smiled pleasantly. “I reminded him that I control whether he returns to full-contact drills.”

“That's evil.”

“That's healthcare.”

“Terrifying.”

“Thank you.”

The conversation drifted naturally after that.

Marco De Luca had apparently spent part of yesterday attempting to flirt with a local television reporter. Bea had shut it down before he accidentally created a media problem.

Kjell Larsson had somehow gotten trapped in an elevator with Frostbite and emerged visibly traumatized.

Zee Hendrix had nearly posted a draft social media video featuring strategy notes visible in the background.

The entire team, it seemed, required constant supervision.