Power Play, page 20
“Okay. Yeah.” He sounded flustered.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m so sorry this happened, and the timing couldn’t be worse, but don’t worry about the team. Short-term, you have a great coaching staff in place, and Dom and Drake could literally jump in to help out while you’re dealing with this.”
“I appreciate you, Harper. More than you know.”
“Whatever you need.”
We talked for a few more minutes before disconnecting.
The universe was definitely trying to tell me something.
It was reminding me that family came first.
Life happened.
And work wasn’t everything.
One of many things I would talk with Gabe about when he got home.
I was up early, showering and changing into a pinstripe pantsuit. I put on a simple button-down royal blue blouse that Gabe said matched my eyes, and simple black pumps. I wanted to look feminine but professional. I needed everyone to think of me as their boss, whether they found me attractive or not, but I refused to pretend to be someone I wasn’t. I was a woman. Period. There was no reason to wear dowdy clothes or put my hair in a bun so that the male-dominated staff would be more comfortable. That wasn’t my job.
I was disappointed Autumn wouldn’t be there with me, but I’d already booked Sloane on a flight for this morning, so she’d arrive by midday.
I gazed across the patio at the guest house, wondering where Gabe was. He hadn’t texted me back yesterday, and as far as I could tell, he hadn’t come home either. It was possible his flight had been delayed or something, but there was no way he hadn’t seen my text.
And for whatever reason, he’d chosen not to respond.
I couldn’t worry about that right now, though.
Today was the day.
The first day of the season from my perspective.
The day I showed up as the boss to a staff that was ninety-percent male.
There were a few ladies in the sales and marketing departments, but none were managers. One of the staff photographers was a woman, and we had quite a few women on the janitorial crew, but that was it. Beyond that, the only women were Sloane and me. When Sloane officially left, it would be Autumn and me. The whole thing was a little daunting.
I got to the arena just after seven, smiling at the middle-aged security guard at the door leading in from the executive staff’s parking lot.
“Good morning, Ms. Barrowman.” He nodded.
“Morning, Bruce.” I held out the basket of muffins in my hand. “Muffin?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He plucked one from the basket and sniffed it. “This smells delicious.”
“Enjoy!” I’d wanted to make them myself, but there had been no way for me to bake ten dozen muffins this morning. I’d hired Brianna to make them and she’d dropped them off at six o’clock this morning.
She was truly a lifesaver.
She was going to get a nice Christmas gift this year.
“Morning, Harper.” Dom nodded in my direction. He and Drake were waiting for me as I rounded the corner to the hallway that led to the main conference room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked automatically, taking in the looks on their faces.
“Eddie and Tim are here.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I demanded.
“I wish I was.” Dom met my gaze. “Tell us what you want us to do.”
“I have to handle it,” I said after a moment. “I can’t let the team or the staff see that I’m intimidated by them. In the future, however, I want them banned from the arena. Take away their parking passes and all credentials allowing them access to the business offices or locker room area.”
“I’ll handle that,” Drake said, nodding.
“And we’ve got your back today, no matter what. Just be prepared for what’s waiting in the conference room. It’s a party right now.” He glanced down at my basket of muffins. “And they told the boys they provided breakfast.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? I have the receipts for the coffee and breakfast sandwiches I ordered.”
“Yeah, well, they seem to think you won’t embarrass yourself by bringing that up.”
“Then they don’t know me very well.” I straightened my spine. “I need to lock my things in my office and then head down there. You have anything else on your mind?”
“I’m going to go keep an eye on things,” Dom said.
“I’ll walk with you, if you don’t mind?” Drake said, falling into step beside me.
“Not at all. Have you talked to Henrik yet today?”
“Yeah, he told us about his ex.” Drake shook his head as we stepped onto the elevator. “That’s fucked up.”
“Right?”
“How’s Brandy? Do you know how surgery went?”
“What?” I looked up at him in confusion. “Brandy?”
He frowned. “Gabe’s daughter. She was injured in her game yesterday. He called Henrik to get Doc Ritter’s phone number.” Dr. Ritter was the team’s ophthalmologist.
“He… Dammit.” Now it made sense that he hadn’t responded to my text and hadn’t come home last night, but it hurt that he hadn’t felt like he could reach out to me in an emergency.
“You didn’t know?”
“We had a fight,” I admitted, putting away my things. “He went to Denver without me and we haven’t talked since Wednesday night.”
“Oh, shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean to talk out of turn.”
“No, it’s fine. I would’ve heard anyway. Henrik probably spaced with the situation with his ex dying.”
“Yeah.” He paused. “I guess that’s two.”
“Two what?”
“Two bad things happening on the first day of the new season. I hope this doesn’t mean there’s one more. You know, how bad things happen in threes?”
“Actually, if Tim and Eddie are here, that’s the third bad thing. So we should be in the clear once I give them the boot.”
I locked my office and headed back to the elevators.
I was going to handle Eddie and Tim and then talk to my team.
My team.
I’d find out what was going on with Brandy as soon as I spoke to Gabe, but everything else would have to wait.
30
Harper
I would have been a liar if I said I wasn’t nervous as I walked toward the conference room. I could hear voices and laughter all the way down the hall, indicating we had a happy group and it pissed me off that Tim and Eddie had beat me to the punch this morning. That had been by design on their part. I had no doubt of that. If I’d gotten here at seven fifteen, they probably would have been here at six, even though none of the players would have been here yet.
With Drake behind me, I stepped into the room and took a look around.
Players milling about, many with coffee cups in their hands. Some had bottled water, others were on their phones, but no one seemed to be in any hurry to get started with the day. Tim and Eddie were holding court in the corner, laughing with Philippe Lilleberg. He’d been on my list of people to trade, but no one had been willing to make a decent offer, so I was stuck with him for now.
The players invited to camp technically didn’t have to be here until eight, so I’d wait until eight to make any kind of announcement. However, I was going to deal with Tim and Eddie immediately.
I strode across the room toward them without making eye contact with anyone else.
“Tim. Eddie.” I cocked my head. “What are you doing here?”
“This is still our team,” Tim replied, fixing me with a condescending look.
“We’ve been running the team with Dad for most of our lives,” Eddie added.
“What are you talking about?” I snapped. “You spent four years away at college and then five in Europe, working for the company your father got you a job with. You haven’t spent any significant time here since you were in high school. And even during the short time when you did work here, you let Tim handle everything.”
Eddie’s face was a little red, and I knew people were watching, listening, but I had nothing to hide.
“But I have, and no one wants you here,” Tim interjected, lifting his hand and motioning around the room. “Everyone knows you manipulated Dad into changing his will. And we’re going back to court to prove it. It’ll save you a lot of humiliation if you walk away now, Harper.”
I chuckled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But there was no manipulation, and the judge already ruled that you don’t have a case. If you’d like to spend your inheritance going back and forth to court, knock yourselves out. In the meantime, I need you to leave my arena because I have a team to run.”
“It’s not your arena!” Eddie protested, laughing.
But Dom had just come in flanked by two security guards, and the room fell silent.
“You’re just embarrassing yourself,” Tim hissed.
“I’m not embarrassed,” I responded calmly. “I own the team and I work here. You, on the other hand, are both sad, pathetic excuses of bitter men who are behaving like toddlers who just lost their favorite toy. This is my company, my team, my conference room. And I want you out of it.” I turned to look at everyone who seemed to be watching us intently. “Any of you who don’t want to be here are welcome to leave. Contact your agents and/or attorneys and we can make a trade happen this week. I don’t need you here if you don’t want to be here. There are a dozen guys in the minors who would give their left nut for a chance to come to camp. And it’s not too late to get them here.” I turned to Dom. “Can you see these gentlemen out please? And make sure they can’t come back.”
I walked to the head of the long conference table and opened the basket of muffins.
“These were made by Brianna James, a gourmet chef and the wife of Declan James, from Nobody’s Fool, for those of you who enjoy a little rock and roll. Please help yourself as we wait for everyone else to arrive. In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, feel free to open a dialogue with me. That’s partly why I’m here.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as Eddie and Tim were escorted out by security, with Drake overseeing the process. Dom hovered near me, as if concerned someone might attack me or something, and Gerard seemed to be working the room. This wasn’t how I’d envisioned the first day, but there was no help for that.
“Hey, Ms. B.” Jensen Bang came over to me with a smile and plucked a muffin out of the basket. “I’m not going anywhere, and I think it’s great to see a woman at the helm. I’m excited for the changes that are coming. It sure as shit wasn’t working the way it was.”
“Thank you.” I smiled back at the six-foot-five-inch defenseman who made me feel tiny.
“And these are freakin’ awesome!” He motioned to Shane Finnegan. “Dude, you gotta try one!”
A moment later, a few more players came over to the table and took muffins, giving me a smile or introducing themselves, and I slowly began to relax. Gabe had told me Jensen was called Big Bang by his teammates both because of his size and because he was the world’s biggest fan of the television show, “The Big Bang Theory.”
Gabe.
I was so frustrated with our current situation and that he wasn’t here.
I was also worried about Brandy, but since he hadn’t reached out, I had no way of knowing what was going on. I was going to call him when I had a moment, but it was almost eight and more players and staff were wandering in.
“Welcome, everyone.” I got everyone’s attention right at eight. My nervousness seemed to be letting up now that Tim and Eddie were gone, and I looked around the room at both familiar faces and strangers. Hopefully, they would all be my friends—or at least friendly employees—by the end of the season.
“Thank you for coming and welcome to a new season of Phantoms hockey. I know you all probably have a lot of questions. You’ve heard the rumors, many of you were here to see Tim and Eddie trying to embarrass me earlier, and some of you remember my late husband, Edward Barrowman. I want you all to know how much he cared about you and this team. That’s why he left it to me and not to his sons.
“He put Tim in charge when he got sick and I don’t need to tell you how tough the last few years have been. The fact of the matter is, not everyone can run a hockey team. Or even a business. Edward loved his sons, but he also loved this team. So, I’m going to say this once, and then we’re never going to talk about it again. He left everything to his sons. I’m talking hundreds of millions of dollars. Everything he had.” I paused dramatically. “Everything except this team. Because he didn’t trust them to fix what’s been broken. He trusted me.
“If you believe I somehow coerced or manipulated him, then you haven’t been paying attention. Why would I take this on? I have money. I have an MBA and am highly employable. I don’t need the kind of bad publicity, drama, and stress this job is bringing me. But I’m doing it because in the years I was with Edward, I came to love this team too. So you can join me in making the Phantoms a force to be reckoned with in the hockey world, or you can ask for a trade. It’s that simple. Love me or hate me, we’re going to be a contender this season, and I won’t put up with any bullshit.”
Now it was time to get real.
The mild-mannered, softspoken lady in me was momentarily stepping out.
The college-educated businesswoman who had something to prove was about to give everyone something to think about.
“You want to talk about my tits? Great. Go for it. If that’s what it takes to get you scoring goals and winning games? Knock yourselves out. But you will not talk smack about me outside of the locker room. If I find out you are, your ass is gone. I don’t care how much it costs. You don’t have to like me, but you will treat me with respect. You will show up every day and do what your coaches tell you. You will work hard and give this team everything you’ve got, every fucking day.
“And you know what you get in return? A second family. Your hockey family. If you have an emergency, come to us. If you need something, ask. This is more than a job for me, and it should be for you too. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next seven or eight months—”
“Nine!” Jensen called out. “We’re going all the way. Come on, boys, let’s see some excitement in the room for a playoff run!”
A few guys laughed while others clapped and whistled.
“That’s right.” I smiled. “We’re going to remind everyone that the Phantoms are contenders. That we’re back. And we’re back with a vengeance. We may not win the whole thing, but we will win back our dignity and respect within the league. And I want to hear every single one of you say you’re in.” I turned, pointing to Jensen. “You in, Big Bang?”
He chuckled. “I’m in, boss!”
I turned to Henrik. “What about you, Coach?”
“Fuck yeah.” He nodded.
I went around the room, pointing out each and every player, coach, and senior staff member. By the time I was done, I knew a lot of names and also had a pretty good idea who was going to get traded. The good news was that the majority of the team seemed excited. They might not have been thrilled with me, but my gut told me they were going to give me a chance. At least I hoped so.
“That went pretty well,” Dom murmured to me as Henrik and the assistant coaches took over, giving the rookies an idea what was to come this week.
“I think so.” I nodded. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Absolutely.”
“You think my speech was too much?”
“No. I think you showed them you’re in charge and that you mean business. They’ll either come around or they won’t. And if they won’t, well, like you said, they can leave.”
“I’m going back to my office to take care of a few things, and then I was thinking we’d spend some time watching the rookies before lunch.”
“Sounds like a plan. I have a few calls to make too, so ping me when you’re ready to come back down.”
“Will do.”
I slipped out of the room and took my phone out of my pocket.
Still no word from Gabe.
And it hurt more than it should have.
I knew he was busy and distracted, but he should have let me know. If for no other reason than it was the first day of training camp and he wasn’t here.
Yes, he’d reached out to Henrik.
He still should have told me.
I had to fix things between us.
If only I knew how.
31
Gabe
It had been a brutal twenty-four hours. Brandy had needed emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her eye, not to mention fixing her dislocated jaw and broken nose. We’d also discovered that the pitcher who’d thrown the ball that hit her was playing illegally. This tournament was for nine- and ten-year-olds, and that girl was almost twelve. What that meant was beyond me.
I honestly hadn’t paid much attention to the details since the only thing I cared about was Brandy, but it was supposedly a huge problem. There were also rumors that it had been done intentionally, because they knew Brandy was the better pitcher and they’d wanted to put her out of commission before the final inning. That kind of thing pissed me off, but short-term, all I wanted was to make sure my daughter was okay. I had no doubt Tricia would deal with whatever else was going on within the softball league once they got home.
When I’d gotten down to the field after the hit yesterday, I’d never been so scared in my life. There’d been so much fucking blood, and Brandy had been writhing on the ground holding her face. I’d seen tons of injuries in hockey, including a few of my own, but it was a totally different thing when it was your child. Especially one so young.
All things considered she was a tough kid. She didn’t cry when she got vaccinations, didn’t complain when she had to take medicine that tasted bad, and according to Tricia, she was pretty chill when she was sick. To see her lying there whimpering in agony had almost undone me and made me want to hurt people.
