Page 11 of Heartless As Puck

“That’s all well and good, but I’ve been looking into the new team owner and the manager he appointed, and I don’t think they’re searching for the most technically competent player to make captain. They want someone stable.”

I snapped my mouth shut, irritated when a nerve beneath my eye twitched, revealing how little I wanted to hear whatever he said next. I hated the politics that went along with playing a professional sport. Decisions should be made on merit and nothing else.

“I’m stable.” I silently challenged him to disagree. “I’ve been on the team for years, and even when we’ve done poorly, I’ve still had some of the best stats in the league. I’m not some fame-hungry kid who’ll move on as soon as he can.”

I wanted the captaincy, and honestly, I think I deserved it more than most of the players on the team. Nick could give me a run for my money, but no one else had been there as long or performed so consistently well.

Gus pressed his palms together to form a steeple. “I know, Austin, and I’m sure they do too, but that’s not quite what I meant. The Chaos has a reputation for being, well… exactly that. Chaotic. A hot mess. When I say I think they’ll want someone stable, what I mean is that they need to give the younger players someone to look up to. A rock. A calming influence.”

“You don’t think I can be that?” I had to admit, it hurt. I knew I wasn’t the most effusive guy, but I liked to think I did what I could to guide others on the team.

Gus held his hands out, placating. “I know you can, but you have to see this from their point of view. Your contract is ending this season, and you’re single, with no children. You could up and move. You could decide to retire or seek a contract with another, more successful team. They have no guarantee that, even if they were to offer you a renewal, you’d stick around. You need to show them you’re not going anywhere.”

“Okaaay.” I honestly wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “But Coach Dunn asked me about my opinions of the other players earlier and how I thought the team might best be structured to work together. Surely, he wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t at least considering me for the captaincy?”

“He did?” That gave Gus pause. “That’s great, Austin. A solid start. But I think you need more.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I asked reluctantly, “Like what?”

He looked pained. “Hear me out.”

Uh-oh. Nothing good ever follows that phrase. “Tell me.”

“You could find a girlfriend—a serious girlfriend.”

I stared at him, scarcely able to believe my ears. “What the fuck?”

Gus’s mouth twisted, but he didn’t look away. “The numbers show that players with long-term partners are more likely to be made captain. I can only imagine that’s even more true for teams like yours.”

“No.” As if it needed to be said. “I don’t have time to find a potential girlfriend, much less win her over. My entire focus needs to be on my game. Shouldn’t that be what matters most? That I’m willing to give one hundred percent to the Chaos?”

Not to mention the fact that I had absolutely no desire to be in a relationship, courtesy of my parents. They’d been toxic, even when I was young. Dad was consumed by his need to craft me into the best player he possibly could—so he could live his NHL fantasy vicariously—and Mom was too timid to ever stand up for me.

Nothing I’d done had ever been enough for Dad, no matter how hard I worked, and the last thing I wanted was to start dating someone and find out I wasn’t enough for them either.

Cutting him out of my life had been almost impossible, but it had given me time and space to recover. I wasn’t about to make myself vulnerable to anyone else.

“No,” I repeated firmly. “I don’t want a girlfriend, and it wouldn’t be fair to use a woman like that anyway.”

“What about if you had genuine feelings for her?” Gus asked, exasperation creeping into his voice.

“Not even then.” I doubted I was actually capable of feeling much more than mild interest toward someone at such a turbulent time. My focus was on hockey. Anything else would have to take a back seat.

Gus was quiet for an unusual length of time, and his silence made me nervous. Eventually, he sighed and rubbed his temple.

“It doesn’t have to be real.” He glanced over his shoulder at the poster of me, as if reminding himself that I was worth the hassle. “You could pretend to be with someone if they knew the score up front.”

“I don’t understand.” Was he suggesting I magic up a woman out of nowhere and ask her to play along with a sham of a relationship?

Even if I was willing to, it was too close to a relationship for my liking. What if the woman started getting ideas about making it real?

“I think you do.” He tilted his head back, stretching his neck. “And you have the perfect candidate right under your nose.”

I stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“Jane.”

“Jane?” I repeated, stunned. “Jane works for me. Why the hell do you think she would make the perfect fake girlfriend?”