Page 5

The rest of the day is filled with meetings.

I meet with my captain, Niko Koskinen.

He’s one hell of a player and has been the captain here for the past five years.

He’s got a great head on his shoulders.

You can tell his life as a single dad has shaped him into an incredible human.

He’s a beast on the ice, and a natural-born leader.

I’m excited to work with him.

I also meet with the rest of the coaching staff which consists of a goalie coach and video coach.

My friend, Hunter, was hired as the video coach, so that meeting is more or less just us catching up.

We also have a part-time skills coach, Lawson, who will split his time with us and our AHL team in the developmental league.

Unfortunately, when all the fines were paid by the organization after the hazing scandal, the budget was on the smaller side when it came to hiring a new coaching staff.

Regardless, I think we have a solid crew.

Each coach, including Ellie, seems focused and ready to work.

The rest of the staff seemed just as shocked as I was when they saw Ellie for the first time.

I’m not exactly sure if their shock was because she’s a woman, or because she’s the most beautiful woman they have ever seen .

Fuck, I don’t know which one of those is worse.

I rub my hand down my face and I hear a knock on my door.

“Come in.”

My other assistant coach, Grayson Sanders, saunters into my office.

Grayson was an amazing player and he knows his stuff, but ever since the moment I met him, I’ve had a bad feeling.

That was solidified today when he met Ellie for the first time.

I thought for sure she was going to take a swing at him when he referred to her as a Barbie doll, but Ellie surprised me yet again.

She didn’t bat an eye and shook his hand with her chin held high.

I’m no fan of Ellie, but comments like his are unacceptable, and I’ll be sure to let that be known once we’re done doing whatever it is we’re doing here.

Grayson’s cockiness comes off him in waves as he takes a seat in the chair I stole from the coaches’ lounge and crosses one leg over the other.

I really need to order some stuff for this office.

With far too much gel in his slicked back, black hair, and a stupid fucking mustache, he leans down and rests his elbows on his knees before speaking.

“Hey. All the coaches are heading down the street to The Corner Bar to have a couple drinks to celebrate the first day. You in?”

I’m not usually the type to spend my free time at the bars.

I’ve been there, done that.

I’d much rather stay in and watch Yellowstone with a cold beer.

Alone.

Considering I need to get to know my staff, I surprise myself by saying, “Sure. I’ll meet you all there after I finish up here.”

Grayson jumps up out of his chair, startling me.

“Awesome. See ya in a bit!”

Before he can exit the office I call his name.

He turns with a curious look on his face.

“Yeah, Coach?”

I fold my hands in front of me and narrow my eyes at him.

“Earlier today when you met Coach Montgomery, you referred to her as a child’s toy. ”

Grayson smiles and chuckles under his breath.

When he looks back up to me and sees the look on my face, he tries to hide his amusement.

“You’ll refer to her as Coach Montgomery, and only Coach Montgomery. If I hear you refer to her, or any woman, with such a lack of respect again, we’re going to have a problem? Got it?”

He nods his head once and walks out of the office.

It’s not exactly how I want to start my evening, but I refuse to let him walk around here degrading women like that.

After about thirty more minutes of answering emails, I make my way down the street to The Corner Bar.

I walk into the bar and am hit with a combination of scents.

It’s both smoky and charred, which leads me to believe I’d enjoy a burger here.

But I’m also getting hints of hops and malts.

Seeing the wide array of beers on tap at the bar in the middle of the room, I can see why.

Taking a step closer to browse at their selection, I see they have everything from local brews to hard ciders on tap.

Above the bar, there are multiple flat screen TVs broadcasting a variety of live sports.

In between the TVs hang license plates and Wisconsin sports memorabilia.

I get the feeling that this is a hometown bar and I think I’m really going to like it here.

Turning to survey the rest of the bar, I spot my coaching staff at a high top table in the corner near the dart boards and lone pool table.

It’s pretty hard to miss our goalie coach, Dimitri, who stands at six-five and has a shiny, bright bald head.

He towers above most people even when he’s sitting down.

I pull up a chair and take a seat and immediately notice one thing.

Ellie isn’t here.

And it fucking irks me to no end that it’s the first thing I notice.

Probably because the atmosphere in here is so relaxed, and I don’t sense anyone sitting shooting daggers at me .

I look toward the bar to see if she’s there ordering a drink, but still don’t see her.

The waitress drops off a pitcher of craft beer.

I fill up my glass before asking the guys, “Hey, where’s Montgomery?”

Grayson snickers as he takes a sip of his beer.

“If I had to guess, she’s probably at home doing her nails while watching some baking competition.”

Is this guy stupid or did he honestly forget about the conversation we had less than an hour ago?

I absolutely refuse to have someone on my staff undermine Ellie simply because she’s female.

My resentment and hate toward her has nothing to do with the fact that she’s a woman.

I will not tolerate that bullshit.

Glaring at him as hard as I can, I notice Hunter elbow him in the ribs.

“Dude. What the hell?” He gives me an apologetic look before taking a long gulp of his beer.

I used to play with Hunter when I was playing for Boston in the NHL.

I give him a nod and turn my attention back to Grayson.

Grayson looks over at me and straightens his posture a bit.

“I’m kidding. What I meant to say was, I thought tonight could be for us boys. You know, get a lay of the land and scope out the prospects. If you catch my drift.” I see him eye a group of women at the table next to us.

The fucking dude tries to pull a Joey Tribbiani and nods his head and asks, “How you doin’?”

Listen, I love Friends just as much as the next person, but only Joey can pull that shit off, okay?

I squint my eyes at the dumbass sitting across from me who is trying, but epically failing, to flirt with the women next to us.

“Maybe you should concentrate on your damn job and not worry about pussy right now. We have a lot of work to do and I don’t need my assistant coach distracted by his next conquest. ”

Hunter spits out his beer and Dmitri nods his head at my comment.

We spend the next half hour talking about the team.

Hunter has always had a knack for the game that goes above and beyond typical hockey smarts.

He sees things most other people miss which is exactly why he’s a phenomenal video coach.

He goes over a few things he’s already noticed in film, even though he only spent a few hours watching it.

I can’t help but smile and be overcome with happiness that my friend is on this journey with me.

Just as Grayson’s about to say something, I see his gaze flick over my shoulder.

He seems to have lost his train of thought, and dare I say, he even looks a bit scared?

He takes a long gulp of his beer, his eyes never leaving the spot over my shoulder.

Following his eyes, I turn my head to see what has him utterly speechless and I think my jaw hits the damn floor.

Ellie just walked through the door.

She must’ve run home to change because she’s no longer dressed in her sophisticated suit.

Now she’s dressed casually in jeans, a team polo, white Converse shoes, and her hair is pulled up into a messy bun.

Although she’s rocking the girl next door look, she still looks just as fierce as she did in her suit.

As soon as she notices us seated in the corner, a smile stretches across her face.

With all the confidence in the world, she turns on her heel and heads our way.

Grabbing a chair from a nearby high top table, Ellie drags it over and makes room for herself at the corner of ours.

She’s sitting on the opposite side of the table from me, but it’s a table for four, so she’s still within arm’s reach.

As cocky as I’ve ever seen her, she rests her arm on the back of her chair and looks at each of us.

“My invitation get lost in the mail, boys?”

Dmitri, Hunter, and I all lower our gazes, sheepishly avoiding eye contact.

We may be ashamed, but not Grayson.

No, his eyes stare straight into Ellie’s.

I’m pretty sure I can see the muscle in his jaw twitch.

The waitress makes her way to the table, causing Grayson to avert his eyes from Ellie straight to the waitress's ass. What a dick.

I clear my throat and with a single look, give him a silent warning to keep his eyes up.

He has the decency to shift in his seat and take his eyes off the waitress while Ellie orders her drink. “Strawberry margarita on the rocks, please.”

Once Ellie’s drink arrives, she fits in seamlessly with Dmitri and Hunter. Grayson chimes in every now and then, but he’s still distracted by the group of women sitting next to us. Hunter and Ellie seem to be going on about some TV show they’ve been watching, laughing loudly and freely together.

As for me, I sit back and take in the scene in front of me. Ellie has always been carefree and exudes happiness, but for some reason I’m still wary, unsure of who she really is as a person. Sitting back in my seat with feet crossed at my ankles, I simply watch.

Dmitri joins their conversation about the ridiculous TV show, trying to imitate one of the characters in his thick Russian accent, and it sends Ellie into a fit of giggles. She reaches for her drink on the table and catches me staring. I raise my glass in salute to her and take a sip of my beer, my eyes still watching her over the rim of my glass.

She takes a sip of her margarita and as soon as she sets it down on the table, Grayson leans over to whisper something in her ear. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand and my grip on my glass grows tighter. What the hell is he up to?

As he’s whispering in Ellie’s ear, a dark look moves across her face and she leans away from him. Grayson raises his hands in surrender, laughing obnoxiously, before he speaks loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Just a joke. Chill.”

Ellie downs the rest of her margarita and turns back to Grayson. “Well, Grayson, since you’re an assistant coach, exactly like me , it was probably the same guy who’s dick you sucked to get the job too.”

Dmitri and Hunter both laugh to themselves while I do my best to hide a smirk behind my glass. Ellie catches me smirking in her periphery, and her own menacing grin appears as she turns back to Grayson. “How about we go to HR in the morning and you can ask them.”

Grayson cowers and slumps back in his seat, seemingly done with the conversation.

Ellie, completely unfazed, turns back to Hunter and picks up right where they left off.

It’s nice to see that Ellie still has the same fire she had when we were kids. I’m still not sure how I feel having her behind the bench, but she made one thing clear tonight.

She can definitely hold her own with the boys.