Page 29 of Behind the Bench

I wonder why it took him so long to come up with a one-word response. While I’m busy pondering that, he texts me again.

Head Pain in my Ass

Can you get here at 6:30 so we can go over our lineup and game plan before meeting with Jerry? I don’t know what this meeting is about but I’d like to be prepared and on the same page before walking in there.

Hmm. He sounds just as nervous as I do. Maybe he thinks he’s getting fired too, which would be stupid, because as much as I hate to admit it, Lincoln is damn good at what he does. I’ll never say that to his face, though.

Not a problem. See you in a bit.

Head Pain in my Ass

Bye

Who sends a “bye” text? I shake my head and put my phone face down so I can enjoy these last five minutes of peace and quiet before getting ready for the day. I finish my coffee and put my mug in the sink before making my way down the hall to my bedroom.

Before I hop in the shower, I need to decide what I’m going to wear. What does one wear to a mystery meeting with her boss? Oh my god, I’m totally overthinking this. I grab my navy business suit and a white blouse before heading into the bathroom.

The shower is where I do some of my best thinking and crying. It’s like the perfect place to wash everything away and start the day off fresh. Literally. There will be no crying today, but I will definitely be doing some thinking. Well, overthinking is more like it.

What is this meeting about? Why is it so urgent? Why doesn’t Lincoln even know what it’s about?

As I stand under the stream of scalding hot water, I have an epiphany. I don’t even turn the water off as I sprint out of the shower and into my bedroom, butt ass naked.

I find my phone and open my email to the most recent email from Lincoln.

Well, I’ll be damned.

That email was sent only to me. No one else.

Why the hell isn’t Grayson invited to this meeting?

I didn’t get any sleep last night, which is getting really fucking old at this point.

After Hunter dropped me off at my apartment, I was actually able to fall asleep a lot more quickly than normal. Although I think that had more to do with the two glasses of whiskey rather than a clear mind, because not even an hour later, around one, I shot upright in my bed, foggy and disoriented, drenched in sweat, my whole body trembling, and my heart kicking like a bass drum.

Another night, another nightmare. But what’s even more unsettling is that this nightmare was different. Every nightmare, including this one, has one thing in common: my father. The only difference this time was that I wasn’t alone with him. Someone else was there. Ellie.

This time when my father went to punch me in the face, Ellie jumped in, pushed me out of the way, and took the hit for me. I have no idea what that could even mean, but what I do know is that this time I was thrashing so hard I woke myself up.

I make a mental note to scheduleanother emergency appointment with my therapist because this no sleep thing needs to end.

There was no getting back to sleep after that nightmare so, as usual, I distracted myself with work. The only problem is, there’s not much to be done when the regular season hasn’t even started yet. But our first game is tomorrow and there’s no such thing as being too prepared.

I watched a bit of game tape from our last preseason game, jotting down a few ideas I have for our penalty kill, and shot off a couple emails to Ellie asking for her thoughts. She was probably asleep with the majority of people in Green Bay but she could read them and be prepared to discuss at our coaches’ meeting this morning

Before I know it, my alarm starts blaring, telling me that it’s 5 a.m. I lean over my notes to try to reach my phone that is sitting on my nightstand. When I go to slide the alarm off, I see an email marked “Important” come through from our GM, Jerry.

Huh. That’s odd. We have a call scheduled this afternoon. Maybe he’s canceling it.

I tap on the notification so I can read the email and my heart immediately starts racing.

To: Lincoln Scott

From: Jerry Bateman

Subject: URGENT: Meeting Today 7 a.m.

Lincoln,

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