Page 20 of Pucking Around

“K—hey, are you comin’ here today?”

But he hangs up before I even finish the sentence. Asshole. He’s always doing that.

“Hey,” says Jerry. “What’s this I hear about a hot new doc on the block?”

I groan. We’re only two hours in to her first day and already the team is buzzing like a hive of damn bees. This can only end in disaster. My plan is to just sit back, grab the popcorn, and watch as she eats them all alive.

9

“So, everything looks great with your records, Price,” says Doctor Tyler. He’s a lanky older guy with the body of a marathoner. Silver hair, dark eyes. He never seems to stop smiling. It’s a major change from Doctor Halla.

He clicks around on his laptop screen. “You’ve had a great mix of primary care and PT, which I always love to see. It’s been a major juggling act here. As we race towards the start of the season, I find myself in serious need of a deeper bench of clowns.”

I laugh. “Well, sir, I can juggle with the best of them.”

“Looks that way,” he replies.

“Please don’t ask me toactuallyjuggle anything,” I add quickly.

He smiles. “I’m not gonna lie, I think you’re a better fit for our team than the first Fellow they assigned. I did some research on Doctor Halla’s rehab center and I admire the holistic approach he takes with all his preventative therapies. Healing the body before it breaks. Very forward-thinking. I want that kind of innovation for the Rays.”

“Well, whatever I can do to bring that kind of care here, I’m ready,” I say.

He claps his hands together. “Excellent. Well, right off the bat, we’ve got a couple guys on our injured list. You’ll work with them closely, keep them on track towards recovery.”

I nod, slipping my tablet from my backpack, ready to take notes.

“You’ll be working with Avery this season. But go gently,” he cautions. “He likes to think he knows everything…if you know what I mean,” he adds with a knowing look.

“Yes, sir.”

I’ve been doing this long enough to read between the lines. And seeing as I just spent an hour with Avery in the rehab center, Tyler’s not-so-subtle warning tracks. Avery is a control freak and he’ll likely have trouble taking advice from a woman. Maybe I’m wrong, but he’s got that vibe.

“All our starting guys are about to go through their last round of physicals,” Tyler goes on. “I’d love for you to be in on those,” he adds. “You’ll be our hip and knee tsar. No player is gonna hit that ice unless he getsyourapproval first.”

Nerves flutter in my stomach as I sit forward. “Wow, that’s—you haven’t even seen me in action yet, sir. You really want to give me power to bench your players?”

“Well, is anything in your records a lie, Price?”

“What? No, of course not—”

“You graduatedsumma cum laudewith a degree in kinesiology from USC?”

“Yes—”

“An MD from UCLA specializing in sports medicine, where you completed internships with the LA Lakers and the Galaxy?”

Did he memorize my resume? It feels odd to have it listed out like this. “Yes, but—”

“Most recently you were two years in on a three-year primary care residency program with the Cincinnati Sport Clinic.”

“Yes.”

“You were working directly under Doctor Benjamin Halla, one of the best in the biz—don’t tell him I said that,” he adds in a fake whisper.

I’m smiling now. “Yes, sir.”

“And while there, you treated athletes, providing physical therapy, primary care, cortisone injections—you’ve even clocked hours in the operating room,” he adds, clearly impressed.