Page 13 of The Closed Off Captain

She stares at my face, and I can see I’ve totally shocked her. “I...we can’t...” She falls silent. “I can’t,” she finally says, and my chest aches.

“Okay,” I say simply.

“It just wouldn’t work. We both work for the team. I’m your agent; you play for the team. We have nothing in common, and neither of us are good actors.”

“It’s fine, Chloe. I'll figure something out. I’m heading back to the facility. I’ll see you there.” I stride towards my truck and climb in but keep an eye on her to make sure she gets to her car okay. She seems lost in thought for a moment before she finally walks over to get in her car. I keep a little distance but follow her back to the facility. She has a lead foot; she’s always in a hurry to get wherever it is she’s going. When we get back, she nearly bolts from her car and walks quickly to the door. I give her time before I follow as it’s not my intention to make her feel uncomfortable.

When I get into the building, I decide to go deal with this now. I don’t want it to be awkward and uncomfortable between us. I’ll tell her to forget about my suggestion, and I’ll find somebody.Somebody somewhere has to be willing to date me. Right?I’m suddenly not so sure. And not somebody who’s just a puck bunny. I grimace; that would be terrible. When I get close to Chloe’s office, I hear yelling. I quicken my pace. I recognize Stan’s voice; he’s a hot head. But when I hear my name, I don’t slow as I walk in.

“Hey,” I say upon entry. “Don’t yell at her. If you have a problem about what went down today, you talk to me. I’m the one that did the interview.”

He turns on me, eyes narrowed. “What’s with you? Threatening the director of SportsStop? Do you even want any endorsements?” I don’t respond to his tantrum. He turns back to Chloe. “I thought you were going to deal with this Jenny issue.”

“I did,” Chloe says calmly. “I told them explicitly that she was off-topic for today, but—”

“Well, you obviously didn’t do a good enough job if our player had to deal with it.”

“Hey…” I interrupt, but Chloe’s ahead of me.

“I know.”

Stan shakes his head. “This whole thing is a mess! Chloe, you’re supposed to keep these things from happening, not cause them. Get it fixed now, or I’ll find somebody that can.”

He walks out, slamming the door behind him. “Is he threatening to fire you?” I ask incredulously.

She sits behind her desk, looking exhausted all of a sudden. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” She sounds so defeated and tired, I study her face a moment. I take in the dark circles, the pale skin, and her pronounced cheekbones and frown.

“Are you okay, Chloe?” I ask suddenly.

She gives a tired laugh. “I’m peachy, Coftman; thanks for asking. Today has been a stellar day.”

“No, I mean. Are you feeling okay?”

Her head snaps up. “Why?” her eyes are narrowed, and I get the impression to tread lightly.

“You just look tired.” I keep my voice relaxed.

Her whole body seems to sag in relief, and I take note. “I’m fine.” I don’t say anything, but I don’t think she is fine. I make a mental note to check in on her more often. Of course, that’s going to be difficult because...she’s Chloe.

Chapter 7

Chloe

It takes me twenty-four hours to come to the realization that there’s no way around this issue. I stayed up late last night, looking at everything online. Then I spent an extra hour combing through all the rules the Green Thunder organization has put out, and I couldn’t find a single rule that said we couldn’t date. I can’t believe how many people are all over this story already. Two different sports stations besides SportsStop were talking about it. The couple names have already started. “What is with names?” I ask in frustration. As far as couple names go, they’re the worst. Our two names just do not go together. Gunnie is the best one, and even that one is a hot mess. I worked late last night and didn’t sleep well. But after a few hours of sleep and coffee this morning, I look at it objectively. Putting aside my own personal feelings and donning my business mindset, I realize that there’s really only one thing we can do, and that is to go forward with this trainwreck. It’s what I would make any of my other players do if this weren’t me. The problem is—itisme; and it’s Gunner. I vowed to never humiliate myself in front of him again, and that means never getting close to him. But there is literally no way around this. I’ve beat it to death; and now, I have to accept it. I head to my closet where I have a whole closet full of all different jerseys, shirts, and sweatshirts from Green Thunder. I search through them for one that has his name on the back.Coftman.I sigh as I put it on. Of course, I’ve worn his jersey before. I’ve worn all the guys’ jerseys. I cycle through them, but this feels like more today.

I get to the arena early. It’s game day, and that means a full day for me. I hit the ground running and barely have a chance to lift my head before it’s afternoon. Afternoon is when it really kicks up. I don’t have a chance to talk to Gunner until it’s time for them to take to the ice for their pregame warm-up. Before I get there, I get snagged by one of the trainers for an injury update, and a member of the press when I check the press area to make sure it’s good to go for after the game. I walk faster when I glance at my clock. It’s getting close to game time. I make my way down to the ice, well-practiced in traversing the steps in heels. When I finally make it to the ice, the team is coming off the ice and into the tunnel. I wait for Gunner, who’s one of the last off the ice.

Most of the guys just nod at me as they leave the ice. They’re in their pre-game heads now. When Gunner skates over, if he’s surprised to see me, he doesn’t show it. He steps onto the black runner. “Coftman,” I say by way of greeting. I know we don’t have much time, so I make it fast. “Did you find anybody?” He doesn’t give any pretense of not knowing exactly what I’m talking about.

“I don’t want anybody beside you to do it, Chloe. Thought I made that clear.”

I take a breath. He’s definitely in game mode and super intense right now. I hate that we’re doing this right now; I don’t want to distract him. But I know he’ll be asked about this after the game.

“Okay. I’ll do it.” He stares down at me, and I can’t read anything off his face.

“Good.”

“I, uh, don’t really know what all to do, but I wore your jersey.”

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