Icebound Rivalry

Chapter 5- The Hotel Conference Room

Chapter 5

Maya arrived at the team bus at five thirty in the morning.

The parking lot lights cast long shadows across the asphalt.

She checked her phone once and then slipped it back into her jacket pocket.

The air held a sharp chill that made her pull the zipper higher.

A few staff members were already loading equipment.

She stayed near the front of the bus and waited without speaking to anyone.

Players began to appear in small groups. Some carried coffee.

Others walked with headphones already in place. Liam Hayes gave her a quiet nod as he climbed the steps.

Jazz Whitmore followed a minute later and offered a short greeting before finding a seat near the middle.

Maya remained standing until most of the roster had boarded.

She chose a seat two rows behind the coaching staff and set her bag on the floor between her feet.

Alex was among the last to arrive.

He moved up the steps with the same measured pace he used everywhere else.

His eyes passed over her once without pausing. He took the seat across the aisle and one row ahead of her.

The bus doors closed. The engine started.

Maya watched the facility disappear through the window as they pulled away.

The ride stayed quiet for the first hour. Most of the players slept or stared at their phones.

Maya opened her notebook and reviewed the notes she had prepared for the Montreal games.

The pen felt steady in her hand even though the early hour left a dull weight behind her eyes.

She wrote nothing new. She only read.

Alex shifted in his seat once.

The movement was small but she noticed it.

He did not look back.

His shoulders remained set against the seat in a way that suggested he was fully awake despite the hour.

Maya closed the notebook and rested it on her lap.

The bus continued north through thinning traffic and stretches of dark highway.

When they reached the hotel in Montreal the sky had turned a pale gray.

Staff members directed the players toward the lobby for room keys.

Maya waited at the edge of the group until the crowd thinned.

A team assistant handed her a key card and a printed schedule for the next two days.

She glanced at it and saw her name listed beside two leadership meetings and one evening session with the captain.

She rode the elevator with three other players who said little.

Her room was on the twelfth floor.

The space was standard. One bed. A desk near the window.

A bathroom with clean towels. She set her bag on the chair and unpacked only what she needed for the day.

The schedule showed the first meeting in ninety minutes. She had time to shower and change.

The meeting room on the second floor was already half full when she arrived.

Coach Langston stood near the front speaking with two assistants.

Alex sat at the far end of the table with his arms crossed.

He looked up when she entered and then returned his attention to the papers in front of him.

Maya took an empty seat midway down the table and opened her notebook to a clean page.

The meeting covered systems for the first game and travel logistics for the following day.

Maya spoke only when asked a direct question.

Her answers stayed short and clear. Alex offered two comments during the entire hour.

Both were directed at the coaching staff and both carried the same flat tone he used in every formal setting.

When the meeting ended the players rose and began to leave in groups.

Maya stayed seated to finish a final note.

The room emptied until only she and Alex remained.

He stood near the door with his key card in one hand.

The silence between them felt heavier in the unfamiliar space.

“You are still taking notes after the meeting ends,” he said.

“I prefer accurate records.”

Alex stepped closer to the table but did not sit.

“The evening session is at seven in the small conference room on this floor. Do not be late.”

“I will be there on time.”

He studied her for a moment longer than necessary.

The scar through his eyebrow was more visible under the hotel lights.

Maya kept her hands still on the notebook and waited.

Whatever he intended to say next stayed behind his teeth.

He turned and left without another word.

Maya remained in the empty room and listened to the door close.

The printed schedule still sat beside her notebook.

The evening session was only a few hours away.

She gathered her things and stood.

The hallway outside was quiet except for the distant sound of a cart rolling over carpet.

She walked toward the elevators with measured steps.

The road trip had officially begun. Shared schedules.

Shared spaces. No easy distance left between them.

Maya pressed the call button and watched the numbers light up as the elevator rose.

The next session would take place on unfamiliar ground, and she already knew neither of them was ready for what the closed doors of a hotel conference room might force into the open.