Page 76 of Delicate Storm

Although I have a feeling I could spend a lifetime doing that.

There’s just something about her. Something that draws me in. Intrigues me. And it’s a shame I can’t explore that further.

When I’m dressed, I grab my bag, ready to head to the meeting room, but pause when Keeley enters the room, her expression serious.

One of the guys tries to get her attention, but she shakes him off and continues on her path, stepping up onto her usual bench and yelling to get our attention. “Hey! Quiet. Now. Eyes on me. I’m not messing around today.”

The room hushes immediately. Keeley often calls for attention, but she’s never that aggressive about it.What the hell is going on?

“Coach Pierce will be back in a minute along with Tray McGuire, and I need you all to be on your best behavior. For once. Can you do that?”

One of the guys says something about being a good boy for Keeley, and I have to stop myself from decking him. Other than that, the room stills as Coach and our general manager, Tray, arrive. We don’t need convincing to hush. The fact that Coach didn’t tell us all to shut the fuck up is a little unnerving.

“Thank you all,” he says once again out of character. “I know this time would usually be spent on me telling you all to get your heads out of your asses, but let’s face it, they wouldn’t fit right now with how big they’ve grown. While I don’t want you to get ahead of yourselves, I can agree that you are killing it out there. So if you keep that up, we’ve got another shot.”

Now I definitely know something’s up. He’s being too nice.

“That aside. I’m not here to compliment you. Or tell you what you did wrong. That will come later. I’m here for Tray. But I’ll let him fill you in.”

Our GM steps up and the already quiet room stills. “There’s no easy way to say this, but I’m moving on. This place has been my life for the past decade, but I’ve neglected my family and they want me back. It’s time for me to take on a new venture and let another sucker take the reins. It’s been a pleasure manning this ship, and while I might be gone, I’ll still be cheering you on from the sidelines. I’m a Storm boy for life, and I expect you to be the number one team again this year. Make me proud.”

He steps down and walks away without any further interaction, and you could hear a pin drop.Because what the actual fuck?

Coach jumps up again and thanks Tray for his years of service, talking about his achievements as a GM, crediting him for getting the team to where it is today. And when he’s done, theshock finally wears off. But he too doesn’t give us a chance to question him before they’re both gone.

I expect an uproar, for questions to be flying around, or at least for there to be whispers of speculation. But after they’ve left the room, no one says a thing. Almost like it never happened.

People resume their conversations but the energy is off. The tension is palpable. Whatever just happened was not what they made it out to be. There’s no way he left of his own accord. He would have demanded a proper send-off.

There’s definitely more to it.

I try to catch Keeley’s eye before she slips out of the locker room, but when I raise an eyebrow, she subtly shakes her head. Either she doesn’t know anything, or she has no plans to tell me. Either way, I’m going to ask. Because while I normally wouldn’t care or get involved in matters I’m not a part of, the last thing I need is for the team to fall to pieces. Not when my personal life is a mess.

Word spreads that our meetings are canceled for the day, and the locker room clears out not long after that announcement.

I follow suit, heading home early, and I’ve just pulled into my parking space, ready to switch into dad mode when the messages begin.

Luke: What the fuck was that?

I curse under my breath because I should have seen this coming and switched off my phone. But once I start reading, I can’t stop.

Reed: I don’t know, but I don’t like it

Dylan: What did I miss?

Luke: Tray got the axe

Dylan: What? Why?

Reed: He didn’t get the axe. He resigned

Luke: Bullshit. My money’s on D’Angelo

Dylan: I thought you said he was cool

Luke: I thought he was

Reed: He is. We don’t know he’s behind this

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