Page 17 of Pucking Around

“She’s here?” comes a loud voice from the hallway.

I glance over my shoulder to see a tiny woman with perfectly styled blonde curls rush through the main door of the office suite. She’s got bright blue eyes and a wide smile. Like Vicki, she’s dressed in business attire, her stylish black heels clicking as she walks right in, dropping her massive bag to the floor. Okay,shehas fierce Elle Woods energy, not me.

“Are you our new Barkley Fellow?” She’s got a thick southern accent. Georgia maybe? Alabama?

I stand, offering out a hand. “Yes, hi. Doctor Rachel Price.”

She looks at my hand and laughs. “Oh sweetie, here in the South we hug.”

Before I know it, I’m being squeezed for the second time in as many minutes.

She lets me go. “I’m Poppy St. James, head of PR for the Rays. And can I just say that I amsoexcited to have our team participate in the Fellowship program this year? I mean, who doesn’t love good press? And when I learned thatyouwere going to be our new Fellow? Well, I just about died!” she adds, placing a hand over her heart as she flashes Vicki a smile.

My own smile begins to falter. I think I know where this is going.

“I mean, it’s enough that you’re gorgeous andso deeply talented,” she adds, emphasizing each word. “But then I found out about your family. I mean, nothing goes with hockey quite like rock and roll, right?”

Just wait for it…

“Say, do you think your daddy might be interested in coming out for a game this season?”

There it is.

My smile is officially fake. But this is the life of a celebrity’s daughter. The second people make the connection, I cease to exist. I become merely a conduit through which people seek to reach him.

“Umm, you know, I’m not really sure of his schedule,” I hedge.

“What are you two talking about?” says Vicki, clearly confused.

Poppy glances around me. “Oh, you hadn’t heard? Our talented new Barkley Fellow has some added star power. Her daddy is Hal Price from The Ferrymen!”

Vicki blinks. “Is that a band?”

Poppy gasps. “Aband? Vicki, they’re only one of thebiggestrock bands ofalltime! The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin—they’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for heaven’s sake!” She turns back to me, her hand on my arm. “I swear, when I told my brother, he nearly fell out of his chair.”

“That’s great,” I say, still wearing my patient smile.

“Say, does he ever play the National Anthem? You know, like Hendrix? Oh, wouldn’t that be amazing, Vic?” She all but squeals with excitement. “The Ferrymen in our arena! Can you imagine?”

“That would be really great,” Vicki replies.

“Yeah, you know, I can ask,” I say, knowing this won’t end until I say something.

Poppy has her eyes on her phone as she reaches inside the massive purse she dropped by the door. “Sorry, I’ve got like three press events stacked up this morning and I’m trying to hunt down Claribel. I wanted her to get a few pics of Rachel in action—oh—do you mind if I call you Rachel?”

“Poppy honey,breathe,” says Vicki with a chuckle.

Poppy stands still and closes her eyes. She takes a deep, cleansing breath and opens them again. “Thanks, Vic. I needed that. I’m sorry, I’m just a big ole mess these days. It’s all this stress leading up to the first game day.”

“We’re all a little on edge,” Vicki assures her.

Poppy smiles, stepping forward with a folder in hand. “I promise I’m not always like this. I can be normal. You’ll see. Hopefully once the season starts, we’ll all find our rhythm.”

“Of course,” I reply. My esteem for her is rising again. I can appreciate her for being honest. She’s being totally neurotic right now, but at least she knows it and she’s sorry.

I take the folder from her. “What’s this?”

“That’s a schedule for some upcoming public relations events,” she explains. “With a new team, we can’t leave it to just the players to help put the Rays on the map.”