Page 5 of Penalty Shots
He puts his hands up, “Oh, no. That was all Keelan.”
“Ten minutes,” I growl out to Landry over my shoulder as my heels clack all the way to the exit.
The coaching staff is waiting just outside the Heatwave locker room for my instructions.
“Nobody talks to the press until I say so,” I inform them.
They nod their agreement and enter the locker room as I approach my office. My assistant Toby rushes over to me the second I open the door.
“So don’t be mad,” he says to me.
I shoot him a glare. “What now?”
“Some of the fans watching the practice caught it on video.”
“Toby…” I know it's not his fault. Toby just happens to be tasked and paid to be the bearer of bad news. He's my second pair of eyes and ears around here and online regarding anything to do with the team.
“I think you need to watch it,” he insists. His baby blues plead with me.
I sigh.How in the world could things get any more complicated than they already are?
“Fine,” I say, opening my palm. He slips his phone into it and takes a step back in anticipation of my reaction.
There it is. My hot-headed Australian ex and the typically chill team captain of the Hockey team who I manage PR for–throwing fists on the ice.
It's not the fact that there was a fight that took place that has me on edge. It's the fact that it had nothing to do with hockey andeverythingto do with me.
“Six hundred thousand views?! Good Lord, thisjusthappened," I say, scrolling down repost after repost.
“And that’s just on that platform. Some of the others have twice that.”
I lower the phone and look up at the ceiling, attempting to take a deep breath.
I hear Toby open his mouth like he’s about to say something and then shut it.
“What, Toby?”
“It’s just… well… there’s a viral remix.”
“Viral remix?!” I repeat, looking at him in disbelief.
“News gets around fast.” He shrugs."And unfortunately, it's kind of catchy."
"Do I want to know?"
"You'll hear it even if you don't want to," he admits.
I walk up to my desk, planting both hands on it to stabilize myself before I actually lose it. Managing these situations is much easier when I’m not smack dab in the middle of it all.
Exactly thirty days ago, my husband of only two months told me he had filed for divorce. He dropped that bomb on me just as the season was getting started, and I was at my busiest.
Did I see it coming? No.
Did I think it would be a possibility in our future? Maybe.
We worked in two different cities and in two different sports. I manage PR for the Houston Heatwave NHL team. He’s the star forward for Austin’s Pro Soccer team.
We married within a few months of dating because something just clicked. Redmond was easy. He got my lifestyle, and I understood his. We figured,why not?We weren’t getting any younger. And if another one of my friends announced that they were pregnant or getting engaged–I might literally lose it.