Icebound Rivalry

Chapter 9-The Same Room?!

Chapter 9-The Same Room?!

Maya boarded the team bus the next morning with the rest of the staff and players.

The departure from Montreal happened under gray skies and light rain.

She took the same seat she had used before and set her bag on the floor.

Most of the roster stayed quiet during the first hour of travel.

Some slept. Others stared at phones or out the windows.

Alex sat several rows ahead and did not look back once.

The ride to the next city lasted longer than the previous leg.

Maya reviewed her notes in short intervals and then closed the notebook to rest her eyes.

The motion of the bus and the low hum of the engine made concentration harder than usual.

She kept her posture upright and her breathing even.

The schedule for the coming days already sat in her mind. Another set of meetings.

Another private session. Another hotel that would keep them in close range.

They arrived in the late afternoon.

The hotel lobby was crowded with other travelers and team staff moving in different directions.

Maya waited near the side of the check in desk while the assistants distributed key cards.

She accepted hers without looking at the room number right away.

The card felt cool in her hand. She slipped it into her jacket pocket and followed the group toward the elevators.

The twelfth floor hallway looked similar to the one in Montreal, Same neutral carpet, Same soft lighting.

Maya found her assigned door and unlocked it.

The room opened into a small entryway that led to a living area with a couch and a desk.

A short hallway continued toward two separate bedrooms.

She stood still for a moment and checked the key card again.

The number matched the suite listing on the printed sheet she had been given.

She set her bag on the desk and walked the short distance to the first bedroom.

The space held a single large bed and a window that looked over the city.

The second bedroom was identical. Maya returned to the living area and opened the team schedule on her phone.

Her name and Alex Callahan’s name appeared under the same suite assignment.

The booking note listed it as a leadership suite for the duration of the stay.

The door unlocked from the outside before she could decide what to do next.

Alex stepped in and stopped when he saw her standing near the desk.

He closed the door and looked at the two open bedroom doorways.

His expression stayed controlled but the set of his shoulders changed.

“They put us in the same suite,” he said.

“Yes.”

Alex walked farther into the living area and set his bag down beside the couch.

He checked the printed confirmation that had been left on the desk,the paper listed both of their names clearly.

He exhaled once through his nose and looked at her again.

“This was not the plan.”

“I know.”

“Someone in logistics made a mistake.”

Maya kept her voice steady. “It is only for three nights. The bedrooms are separate.”

Alex’s jaw shifted.

He glanced toward the short hallway and then back at her.

The living area suddenly felt smaller with both of them standing in it.

Maya stayed near the desk and kept her hands at her sides.

Her pulse had picked up the moment the door opened and it had not slowed.

“We keep the work in the conference rooms,” he said. “This space stays neutral.”

“I agree.”

He held her gaze for several seconds. The air between them carried the same charge that had been building since the first private session in Boston.

Only now there was no hallway to step into and no easy exit.

Alex picked up his bag and walked toward the bedroom on the left. He paused at the doorway and looked back once.

“The evening session is still at seven,” he said. “Do not be late.”

“I will be there.”

He entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

The soft click sounded louder than it should have.

Maya remained standing in the living area and listened to the quiet that followed.

She could hear him moving on the other side of the wall. The sound of a zipper. The shift of weight on the floor. Then silence.

She walked to the second bedroom and set her bag on the chair near the window. The suite felt too still.

She sat on the edge of the bed and opened her notebook to a clean page. The pen moved across the paper with careful strokes.

Same suite. Separate rooms. The walls are thinner than they look.

Maya closed the book and stared at the closed door that led back to the living area.

The next three nights would keep them inside the same set of walls.

The conference room sessions had already tested every boundary they had tried to keep.

Sharing a suite would test the ones that remained. She stood and walked to the window.

The city lights were beginning to come on below.

The evening session waited only a few hours away, and for the first time since she had taken the job she was not certain the closed conference room would be the most difficult space they had to share.