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“There’s no way we can stay under the salary cap and keep Bertelson, Belmont, and Bell, with the money they’re looking for.”

I look around the table, taking in the frustration on the faces of my grandfather; Scott; Dave; our new assistant coach, Stanislav Pretrov; and Barry Betlach, our director of hockey operations. “I have a solution.”

Barry shakes his head. “We have to lose one of them.”

“No. We can do this. We can change how we do business in this cap era.”

“How?”

“By carrying twenty-two players instead of twenty-three.”

The room falls silent, every face pulling tight. Except Scott’s, because he and I have already talked this through.

“What?” Grandpa finally says. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I expected this reaction, so it doesn’t faze me. “Teams typically carry either fourteen forwards and seven defensemen, or thirteen forwards and eight defensemen. But we could go with thirteen and seven.”

They’re shaking their heads already. Except Scott.

“Think about it. It’s the perfect model.”

“With eight healthy D-men, practices are slower,” Dave says thoughtfully. “You don’t get enough reps in.”

“But you don’t know you’re going to have eight healthy D-men,” Grandpa points out. “Guys are always getting injured.”

“True. But we’re in a good position because our farm team is nearby,” I point out. “If someone gets hurt, we can get a guy from Pasadena here in an hour, if we need to.”

“Yeah.” Grandpa’s still frowning.

“It does make calling a player up easy,” Scott adds.

I can see they’re coming around to the idea.

“So let’s look at which defensemen we definitely want on the roster and who we can send down,” I continue. “That’ll save us money and give us room for our top three forwards.”

The air in the room changes from flat to vibrant, and excitement sizzles over my skin. I love it when I solve problems in unique ways. We all turn to face the screen where I’ve got my charts projected and get to work.

* * *

When I get home Lacey’s waiting for me. I expected this.

“What the hell!” she cries on seeing me, rushing toward me.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She lays her fists on my chest like she’s going to pound on me.

I rest my hands on her hips. “I couldn’t tell you. You know I couldn’t.”

She’s nearly in tears. “Taylor’s going to be so hurt.”

“I know.”

“This is awful!”

“I get it.”

The news broke today that Manny’s been traded to Nashville.

She leans her forehead against my chest and says nothing, but I can feel the emotion vibrating in her.

“It’s a business,” I say softly, running my hand down her hair. “I’m sorry. I had to do it for the team.”

She gives a tiny nod and says in a small voice, “I know. It’s still hard.”

“Yeah. It is. I’m dealing with people. Their lives are impacted. It makes it hard.”

“I know. And I admire you for being able to do what you do. I’m just ... hurting for Taylor. She and Manny just got together.”

“Maybe she’ll go with him.”

Lacey lifts her head and blinks. “Maybe?”

I shrug.

“But then I’ll miss her too!” She sighs. “Well, I do have some good news.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Today I was at my class, and my instructor told me that Gina Peregrino approached her about someone to work with her on the set of her next movie.”

“Who?”

“Gina Peregrino. She’s a makeup artist in Hollywood. She’s worked on a couple of big movies. Anyway, my instructor recommended me! I’m meeting with Gina tomorrow!”

“That’s fantastic!” Pride expands in my chest.

“Yes! Milly Bobby Brown is going to be in this movie! I’m so excited!”

“This is something to celebrate.”

“Yes! But maybe not tonight ... I’m going to stand by in case Taylor needs me.”

“Okay.” That just makes me love her more ... that she wants to be there for her friend instead of celebrating her own success. “I fucking love you, Lacey.”

“I fucking love you too.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. “Even if you did trade away my friend’s boyfriend and break her heart.”

“Shit.”