Playing the Game

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO“Paige, are you coming or what?” Melanie’s heels clicked against the tile as she strutted down the hall. Her tall stature and long dark hair radiated confidence and she was stunning. A commanding presence followed her every step. “Will you stop worrying? These guys are teddy bears.”

Paige couldn’t help but worry. She was tiny next to Melanie. Well, maybe not really, but she felt like she was. A petite five foot two, even heels didn’t give her the height advantage that Melanie had. But Paige didn’t spend her free time at the gym for nothing; a fit, healthy body helped give her confidence to make up for her lack of height. And although her brilliant blue eyes and blonde hair might look innocent enough, she could be tough when she needed to be.

But there was something about a sexy hockey player that brought her to her knees. Figuratively speaking. She twisted her long blonde hair between her fingers as it fell to shade her face. Maybe this was a mistake. Will I fit in? Maybe jumping in as assistant to the Renegades’ Director of Communications was not the best decision. “I didn’t realize I’d be working one-on-one with the players.”

“Well, sometimes you will. It’s really not a big deal. They’re all very nice. They’re like my extended family after being here all these years.”

Paige trembled as they walked towards the ice; her hands shook and her stomach flopped. A trace of nausea crept into her throat and she swallowed hard, not sure why she felt this way. Melanie wanted her to meet the team. She’d already met Coach Walker, assistant coach Sal, and Ben, the team owner, and they’d all been very welcoming to her.

Melanie turned to her just before they reached the Renegades bench. “Relax. They’re good guys.”

“There she is,” Coach Walker called. He blew the whistle to gather the players. “Men take a knee. Melanie wants to talk to you for a minute.”

“Hey guys. I just wanted to introduce you to my new assistant. This is Paige Martin.” She turned to Paige. “These are the Renegades, all except for… looks like, Tyler?”

“Yeah, Ty hit the showers early. I’m sure she’ll have the pleasure soon enough.” Coach Walker quipped.

She waved confidently to the team. Her pulse calmed as she glanced around the ice, recognizing some of the faces, and she was thankful that Tyler Kidd wasn’t here. With a cleansing breath Paige brushed the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She wasn’t sure if she would be a babbling i***t or simply faint when she met him. How was she ever going to work one-on-one with the handsome player? He was every girls dream—well, he was her dream. Why did I think this job would be a good idea?

“Okay, so this is the team, minus Tyler Kidd.” Turning back to the team, Melanie continued. “Guys, when I am not available, Paige is in charge. I expect you’ll treat her with the same respect you show me.”

A catcall came from the back of the group. Heat rushed into Paige’s cheeks; hopefully they weren’t turning pink.

“Matt.” Melanie called with a pointed look like a teacher. “Grow up and zip it, because I’m still talking.”

Matt silenced. It was amusing how much respect they had for her. She continued to run through Paige’s credentials: she’d worked in public relations for the last six years, and her last job was Communications Manager for Saint Vincent’s College.

“She is talented and more than capable of taking over when I’m not here. Paige will step right in for me when needed.”

“Well, welcome aboard, Paige,” Coach Walker said. “Men, I’m sure Paige knows some of you from seeing your ugly mugs on television, but make sure over the next few days you make an effort to go introduce yourself to her.” Coach nodded at Paige, and then turned back to the players. “Okay men, laps!”

“Well, that’s it. Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Melanie waited for Paige to walk down the hallway first.

“No, it wasn’t. But where was Tyler Kidd?” Paige looked around, trying to take everything in as she headed back towards the offices. The players’ equipment lined the hallway, and photos of past teams and trophy presentations hung on the walls.

“All Coach said was he hit the showers early, and you don’t question Coach. So who knows where he was? I just work here; I can’t get involved in any of that drama.” Melanie pointed ahead towards the offices.

“Drama?”

“Oh please, you can’t tell me you don’t follow it all on social media.”

“Well, sometimes, maybe.” Paige’s face warmed again.

“I figured. It’s hard to miss it. It’s none of my business, but I’m the fixer, if that makes any sense. The one who steps in and cleans it all up. But I don’t get involved unless I have to. That’ll be your job soon enough, so get familiar with Ty. I’m sure he’ll stop by the office soon.”

“My job? I just sort of figured I’d be sitting in the office doing the paperwork that you didn’t want to do.” Paige smiled as they entered her office. Her office. She liked the sound of that. Her name graced the plaque on the door, and a large desk sat at the back of the room. A television hung on the wall on the opposite side of the room. The leather furniture looked soft and comfortable.

“No way, girlie! You’ll be in the middle of all the chaos with me. You’ll see, don’t worry. So get your big girl pants on and find your mean voice, because we need to be able to show them who is boss.”

“Excuse me.” A large young man with dark blond hair that kept falling into his eyes entered the room. “Sorry to bother you ladies. If I’m interrupting I can come back.”

“Nonsense, Kaden.” Melanie moved to his side and gave him a small hug. “Paige, this is Kaden O’Conner. He’s our star goalie.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” His face turned a light shade of red. “Now Dominic, he’s a star.”

“Oh, Kaden, please.” Melanie squeezed his shoulders. “He’s so modest.”

“Well, I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. So, hi. Welcome to the team.”

Paige smiled at him. “Thanks, Kaden. I appreciate it. Melanie has nothing but good things to say about you guys.”

“Good to hear.”

Another light knock sounded at the door, and they all turned as another man walked in.

“Oh look who it is, the star himself.” Kaden chuckled and shoved the tall young man playfully. “Paige, you’ll have your hands full with this one. When he wins a game, the media swarm him. They adore this guy. I think it’s the tattoos.”

“Whatever, dude.” Pink filled Dominic’s cheeks as he looked at Paige with dark blue piercing eyes. Holding out his hand to her, he flashed a shy smile. “Paige, it’s nice to meet you.”

His strong hand gently shook hers.

“Nice to meet you, Dominic. Thanks for stopping by.”

Melanie grinned. “I told you these guys were great. See? Teddy bears.”

“Has Captain stopped by at all?” Kaden asked.

****

“So, how was your first day, dear?” Gram sat at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee. She’d mentioned her hip had been bothering her all day, so the girls offered to make dinner. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help you?”

“Absolutely not, Gram. We’re fine.” They were far from fine. Paige frantically flipped the burgers, as smoked poured off the stove, choking her. The burgers were charred on one side and raw on the other.

“Paige, what did you do to this rice?” Rylee pulled the bowl from the microwave. The white and yellow rice was brown and hard, everything it wasn’t supposed to be. A strange smell wafted from that direction, a mixture of oatmeal and singed toast. “Paige, it’s burnt.”

“No it isn’t. Let me see that.” Grabbing a spoon she attempted to stir the dense mass, but it was like a rock. Chipping away at the solid edges of the bowl, she tried to see if there was any soft rice below the hard, dry exterior.

“Paige, it’s burnt.”

“Shut up, rice doesn’t burn. I followed the directions; it should be fine.”

“Honey, I think we should just put that in the sink. Fill it with water and let it soak.” Gram said, slowly trying to stand up.

“Gram, sit down. We have it, don’t worry.” Paige patted her hand, then kissed her on the cheek before filling the bowl with water like she suggested. She loved Gram so much, it didn’t matter that she wasn’t her actual Grandmother. What mattered was that the old lady was her Gram in every way that counted. She’d taken Paige in as a child and raised her as her own; Paige grew into the woman that she was because of Gram.

“I’ll just put a salad together instead.” Rylee pulled a head of lettuce out of the refrigerator. “Paige, turn that flame down. Those actually look done.”

“You think?” She truly hated to cook; ordering out would’ve been so much easier.

“Yeah, unless you want the smoke alarm to go off, they are.”

“I like my burgers well done anyway.” Gram moved the silverware around the table and smiled sweetly when Paige set the plate down in front of her. “It looks good, honey.”

“Thanks, Gram.”

“Do you think you’ll like the new job?” Gram asked, as both girls sat down at the table. She spooned some salad on to her plate.

“Sure. The girl I’m working with, Melanie, is very friendly. I met a few of the players today.” The garlic in the homemade salad dressing caught her nose. The burgers might be less than desirable, but the salad was delicious.

“Did you meet your boyfriend yet?” Rylee asked, while making a kiss face.

“Cut it out, Ry. No, I didn’t meet Kidd yet. He wasn’t there when I met the team.”

“You’re not going to go all fangirl when you meet him, are you?” Rylee made googly-eyes before stuffing her face full of salad.

Paige glared at Rylee as she took a bite of burger. It was burnt, like hockey puck burnt, and she feared she may have just broken a tooth on it.

“How have the players been?” Gram asked, ignoring Rylee. “Will you be working with them a lot?”

“So far they’re great, all very friendly and well mannered. I think I’ll be working with them more than I thought.”

“All joking aside, be careful around Tyler Kidd. He has a reputation, you know.”

“Oh Rylee, don’t scare her. She’ll be fine. Now let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

“I’m just saying that boy has bad habits. It’s all over the internet.” Rylee mumbled. “Oh, don’t look at me like you don’t know.”

“What are you talking about?” Paige frowned, more than annoyed at this point. Bad habits? What did that even mean?

“I’m just saying be careful with that one. He’s known for being with a different girl every night and sometimes more than one. That’s the kind of fun you’ll have to clean up after him.”

Please, he can’t be that bad. He’s grown man and the face of the hockey league, not to mention the Renegades. She must be exaggerating. I hope.