Page 16 of Face Off

What was the big mystery? Did she have a dark past? Was she an ex-criminal? Have a bad reputation? Sure, she was a little bold and brazen, but that didn’t mean much. If that was something we should stay away from, then Reese’s wife would be number one on the list of women to avoid.

“Got it,” I finally caved. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded and grabbed his stuff before heading out.

What could be so terrible that he wanted everyone to stay away from her? She didn’t seem like the jersey-chaser type, so that was a positive sign at least. If there was anyone that had all the answers, it was Chloe, and by default, Reese. I had no choice but to trust him.

I really did want to make up for such an awful first impression. I didn’t generally care what people thought about me. As a professional athlete, people’s opinions of you were easily given, with or without you asking. I normally let it go, but something about her not liking me bugged me. She caught me on a particularly bad day, and even though that wasn’t an excuse for being rude, even if it was completely unintentional, I wanted to make up for it.

By the time I reached my car, I had an idea for the perfect way to set things right and hopefully lessen her hostility toward me.

7

Holly

Cam, Matt, and Taylor were ready to work the moment they arrived in the office on Friday morning. I managed to arrive a few minutes early. Thanks to Sadie’s newfound excitement about school, she didn’t drag her feet over every single thing I asked her to do. Once she was awake, she let me help her get dressed, ate breakfast, and brushed her teeth with little to no complaining. It was a miracle.

I spent the morning sitting with each member of my social media team for an hour or so as they brought me up to date on their projects and what they had coming up. I also asked for their ideas and suggestions for changes. I didn’t know how much influence I had, but I wanted to make things as efficient and satisfying as possible for everyone involved.

After lunch, George checked in, letting us know he would be setting up in the meeting room before practice started so he could get some pictures another department had requested of the players.

Cam finished showing me new templates he created for playoffs to use on our social media platforms, then it was time to get things going.

Matt showed me the room we’d be using while Cam called the animal shelter, and Taylor sent out one more reminder to the players.

“Doesn't that seem excessive? We’ve told them in person, through email, and text multiple times for the past few days,” I asked Matt on the way to the meeting room on the top level of the arena.

“You could tell them the moment before they leave their house, and they would forget by the time they arrived for practice. I bet at least one of them won’t show up because they forgot, and we’ll have to hunt them down.”

That had to be an exaggeration, but they knew better than I did.

“Okay, this is it.” He pointed to the closed door. “Taylor is telling them the room number, but I’ll make signs too.”

“Should we also put signs in the locker room?” I asked while checking out the long, narrow room. The entire length of one wall was glass, and it looked like you could slide the panes to open them. A white backdrop was set up at the far end of the room with lights and various stands for a camera.

“It might confuse some of the players who aren’t needed for this, but we can add a list of names so they know who needs to come up.” He paused. “It could help some of them if the guys remind them.”

I nodded and made a mental note to print flyers when we got back to our desks. “What is this room used for?” I went to the windows and looked down at the ice. It was so small from up here.

“Team events and corporate events, usually. It’s the VIP room before games,” he mentioned casually.

“Do people watch the game from up here?”

“No, normally just the pregame warm-ups. Once people eat and shmooze, they go down to their boxes or seats.”

I never thought I’d see this side of a sports team or the inner workings of an arena. While going back to work was shocking, this was pretty cool. It was hard to believe I was actually here.

“Let’s get those signs made and post them downstairs before practice starts,” I said while heading back to the door.

Matt took over the assignment and offered to go down to the locker room to hang them up.

“The puppies are on their way,” Cam announced with a grin.

“No cats?” I asked.

“The shelter only has two right now, and one is on hold and the other one is a bit aggressive,” he answered.

The thought of one of the big, macho hockey players, like maybe Mitch, struggling to contain a hissing cat almost made me laugh out loud, but I caught myself.