Page 3 of Season's Schemings
2
MADDIE
November
“You can do this, Madelyn. You got this. Everyone will take you seriously and nobody will laugh at you.” I smooth down the front of my favorite long-sleeved black blouse—the one with the flattering but demure V-neck and all the tiny buttons down the front—and nod at my pale, freckled reflection.
I’m talking to myself in the mirror in the public restroom of Atlanta’s brand-new RGM arena, in case you’re wondering.
It’s not a habit I indulge in often, but trust me, it’s helpful when you’re in a pinch. Like I am today.
I’m about to start my new job for the Atlanta Cyclones NHL team. They’re currently third in their division, and though it’s still early in the season, there’s already lots of buzz around them potentially making the playoffs for the first time in nine years. All thanks to their new star center. Number 19, Sebastian Slater.
Who, as an aside, is quite possibly the hottest man I have ever laid eyes on.
And when I say “laid eyes on,” I mean that Adam once pointed him out to me on TV as his favorite player.
Not that it even matters if he’s hot—if he’s Adam’s favorite player, he’s probably a massive douche. And anyhow, I have been a man-free zone sinceThe Incident, in that I am forgetting men exist entirely and am instead throwing myself into my career.
Evidenced by the fact that I did a whole lot of job research before today.
In my former life, Adam was the hockey fan, and I didn’t give a damn about sports of any kind. He took me to a game once, on a date, and I snuck in my Kindle to keep me entertained.
But now that a hockey team has given me a job, I amalllllabout hockey. Miss Number One Hockey Fan over here. I’m super interested in all things pucks and sticks and slapshots and wrist shots and… why are all hockey terms so innuendo-laden?!
Michael Scott would have athat’s what she saidfield day with this sport. Or rink day, I guess. (Can you tell I read an entire hockey lingo book to prep for my first day at work?)
I should also clarify that my new job has nothing to do with actual hockey. Thank goodness. I’ll be doing mostly meal prep, working under the team’s chef and head nutritionist. It’s an entry-level position, but this is a perfect place for me to get more experience in the nutrition field. Hockey players follow a very strict, high-protein and veggie-heavy diet, and I know how to make a mean green smoothie and can transform protein powder into a variety of surprisingly-edible sugar-free, flour-free desserts.
In fact, it’s all I’ve been doing on my new TikTok channel: showcasing ways to make treats healthier and more nutrient dense.
Starting a TikTok was a great way to distract myself after the breakup. It was also something I’ve been wanting to do for a while—combining my love of baking with my education on nutrition so that I can help people create healthy treats they can enjoy.
Adam would’ve probably thought it was stupid, but if I’m honest, I think it’s what landed me this job. The hiring manager saw my videos, and apparently hockey players are a big, hungry bunch who want lots of taste and variety, but also need like a million grams of protein per day. And despite the fact that I know—knew—next to nothing about sports, I couldn’t exactly say no. It’s not like I was drowning in job offers after my holiday baking show stint.
So, hockey it is.
“Yay, sports. Or something,” I mutter aloud, grabbing a wad of paper towels and blowing my nose, loudly. The sound echoes around the bathroom.
I’m just hoping that my new boss will let me be creative and might eventually use some of my recipes as part of the team meal plan.
And while I’ll be relegated to the industrial kitchen that’s part of the team’s training facility—and so, will have absolutely no interaction with the actual players or be required to attend the actual games—it’s almost laughable that I’ve landed a job working for Adam’s favorite NHL team.
But I don’t laugh. Because I don’t think of Adam anymore. At all. Ever.
Thinking of Adam makes me want to cry, and I’ve only allowed myself three pity cries sinceThe Incident:
1. After my mother called to tell me that she’d heard the news of our breakup from Adam’s mother, and she wanted to know what, exactly, I’d done wrong and how I planned to make it up to him.
2. Last week, when the firstHoliday Baking Bonanzaepisode aired and I, like a true masochist, watched the entire episode, including the little intro about each team where Adam gushed about how much he loved me. Which was false. Because he’d already bought a ring for Elizabeth at that point.
And last but not least,
3. On my way into the arena this morning—with impeccably terrible timing that had me fleeing to this bathroom in the first place—because the Instagram post I’ve been dreading finally popped up on my feed.
Adam and Elizabeth are engaged. And I doubt that the timing is a coincidence—he kind ofhadto get that ring on her stupidly slender, long, perfect finger beforeThe Incidentepisode airs in just over a week.Andaccording to that same post, he—they—recently opened his new dream dessert emporium, too. So the happy couple have more than one thing to celebrate.
Of course everything came up smelling like roses for Adam, while I’m standing in a smelly public bathroom, crying before my first day on my new job as a kitchen lackey.