Page 58 of One Good Puck (Denver Bashers #5)

Gavin

I ’m pacing around my office, my nerves firing off like crazy. It’s five minutes past when Greg asked me to meet him.

I’ve never had a one-on-one meeting with the team owner before, so I have no idea if this is typical of him to be late.

I also have no idea if Alan is going to show up too. I’m guessing he will. He’s the one who wants me gone. I’m assuming he and Alan are going to fire me together.

I scrub a hand over my face and force myself to take a deep breath. If this is how it ends, that’s fine. I just wish they’d get it over with so I can move on.

I take a look around my office and think about the last few years I’ve coached this team. The highs and lows, the stress, the crazy schedule, the countless meetings, the relationships I’ve made with the other coaches and team staff and players…

I think about how I get to work with my daughter almost every day.

My chest aches. It’s going to hurt to give this all up. But I can’t think of a better reason why. I’d put my job on the line to help Abby and Emma again without a second thought.

A knock at my closed door pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I say as I step to my desk.

Greg walks in and sits down in the chair in front of my desk.

“Apologies for making you meet with me on such short notice,” he says. “Especially after the night you had last night.”

I’m not sure if he’s talking about me leaving the game to find Emma or the Bashers’ loss.

“It’s fine,” I say.

“Alan filled me in on what happened with your girlfriend’s daughter.”

“I’m sure he did,” I say, trying not to sound too irritated.

“Is she alright?” Greg asks.

“Yeah. She was pretty upset when it all happened, but she’s okay now, thankfully.”

“Glad to hear that.”

He clears his throat and loosens his tie. “I’ll cut to the chase. Alan wants to fire you.”

I brace myself.

“But I don’t.”

My brow lifts, surprised. “You don’t?”

He frowns and shakes his head. “Of course not. Look, I want everyone who’s part of this team to take their job seriously.

I want them to work their asses off. This isn’t a regular job where you put in eight hours and then go home.

It requires long hours and sacrifices, like time away from your family.

But I like to think that we’re a reasonable organization too.

And when a family emergency happens, like what happened last night, you drop everything and go to your family. ”

I’m quiet, surprised to hear Greg say all that. He has a reputation as a workaholic billionaire and has been divorced a bunch of times. I figured he’d take Alan’s side in all this.

“That’s how I feel too,” I say.

“What happened last night was an emergency,” Greg says. “You left a game to save your girlfriend’s daughter. I would have done the same for my kids in a heartbeat.”

He’s quiet for a moment, glancing down at the photo of Sophie on my desk.

“I don’t know you well, Gavin. But it’s clear that you’re a good man. A family man. And that’s the kind of person I want working on my team. You still have your job as head coach of the Bashers.”

I let out a quiet breath, relieved and heartened at what he’s said.

“Thank you,” I say. “What about Alan? He’s the one who wanted to fire me. I don’t think he’s going to want to work with me after all this.”

“That won’t be a problem, seeing as I fired him this morning.”

I look at him, surprised.

“I hired him as a favor to a friend years ago,” Greg says. “He did a fine job for a while, but I honestly should have gotten rid of him sooner. Most people didn’t care for him. He rubbed a lot of people on the team the wrong way with how inflexible he was.”

I nod, quietly agreeing with him.

“We’ll get started on the hunt for a new general manager this week,” Greg says. “In the meantime, I’m sure Alan being gone won’t affect your performance.”

“Not at all. ”

He stands up, then shakes my hand.

“Thank you, Greg. It means a lot that you went to bat for me.”

He nods and starts to walk out of my office. “Oh, before I forget, have you finalized things for my daughter Madeline to start working as a skating coach for your players?”

“Yeah. She can stop by HR any time to get started with her onboarding paperwork. The sooner the better, if that’s possible.

I’d like to meet with her so we can go over training plans ASAP.

I have a player who’s currently on long-term injury reserve.

He’ll need her help getting back into skating shape once he recovers. ”

“Great. I’ll let her know she can start immediately.”

Greg walks off, leaving me alone in my office.

I fall forward, bracing my hands on the edge of my desk and let out a laugh of pure disbelief.

Holy shit. I still have my job. It all worked out.

The second I open the front door, I hear Christmas music echoing from inside the house.

When I walk in, I see everyone sitting at the dining room table decorating Christmas cookies.

Emma holds up a gingerbread cookie covered in white icing and red sprinkles.

“Look, Mom. My gingerbread man is a red man.”

“Nice job, honey,” Abby says.

Sophie and all the guys, even Ryker, chuckle.

A second later, Ryker frowns at Camden’s cookie. “What is that?”

“It’s a sled,” Camden says.

“It looks like a deformed slug,” Ryker says .

Camden leans back like he’s offended. “You need to get your eyes checked, Georgie. That’s the most perfect sled cookie ever made.”

Abby and Sophie chuckle.

Ryker’s jaw bulges, and his eyes narrow at Camden. “Call me Georgie again, and you’ll need to be rolled out of here in a sled.”

“Hey, now. Enough with the threats of physical violence,” Xander says, looking over at Emma.

She looks up at Ryker and Camden. “Are guys going sledding together?” Her tone is so sweet and innocent.

Camden and the guys laugh. Ryker’s frown eases, and the corner of his mouth quirks up.

“Oh, yeah. Ryker and I are sledding buddies for sure.”

Ryker rolls his eyes at Camden, who’s grinning smugly.

Abby glances up and sees me. “Oh, hey.” Everyone looks up from the table at me. “You’re back soon,” she says.

“Is this a cookie decorating party?” I ask.

She smiles softly. “The guys wanted to stick around to be your moral support when you came back. Emma thought decorating Christmas cookies would be a fun way to pass the time.”

“Thanks for sticking around,” I say to them, heartened by their gesture of support.

Abby’s expression turns to concern as she walks over to me.

“How did it go with Greg?” Abby asks.

“I still have a job.”

Abby beams. “You do?”

I smile at her. “Yup.”

The guys and Sophie hop up from the table. She comes over to hug me.

“Dad, that’s amazing news! ”

“Yes!” Xander yells.

“Hell yeah!” Camden says.

Ryker elbows him and nods at Emma. “Language.”

Camden clears his throat. “Sorry. I mean, heck yeah.”

“What happened?” Abby asks.

“Greg told me that he supported everything I did last night. He didn’t agree with the way Alan handled things, so he fired him.”

All the guys and Sophie look shocked.

“Jeez. Really?” Xander asks.

I nod. “I didn’t think Greg would go to bat for me like that. I’m surprised, but really, really happy.”

“We’re happy too,” Xander says. “And we’re pumped to play the rest of the season for you, Coach.”

All the guys say yeah. A few of them pat my shoulder. Sophie hugs me again.

Warmth courses through me at the way things worked out. I have my job. I have my daughter. I have Abby and Emma. I have a team of players who were willing to put it all on the line for me.

Emotion lodges in my throat as I look at them all. “Thank you,” I say.

Abby slides an arm around me, pulling me against her. I gaze down at her, soaking in the loving look in her eyes, still in awe that I get to be with her.

For the longest time, after losing Nicole, I thought I’d never fall in love again. But I did.

“Wanna celebrate you keeping your job by decorating Christmas cookies with us?” Abby asks.

I smile. “Absolutely.”

Everyone heads back to the dining room table. I sit at the table next to Abby. After a few minutes, Emma taps my arm .

“Look what I made.” She smiles and points at the five gingerbread cookies. Two look like boys and three are girls.

“It’s you, Mom, Sophie, and me. And Xander too because Sophie said they’re getting married soon. We’re a family.”

My heart swells in my chest. Sophie’s eyes go misty as she smiles at Emma, then hugs her. Xander flashes a heartfelt smile at Emma, then gazes at Sophie, a lovestruck look in his eyes.

I glance at Abby, who’s also fighting tears as she smiles. “Oh, honey. That’s so sweet.”

Emma beams at me. “Do you like it, Gavin?”

Emotion surges through me as I smile at her, feeling overwhelmed with joy. “Kiddo, I love it.”