Page 55 of Puck Me Secretly

He turned to go.

“Max.”

My head whipped up. Max was passing by my office, and at the sound of my father saying his name, he stopped in the doorway.

“Mr. Ashford.”

Icy blue eyes glanced at me for a nanosecond before focusing back at my dad.

“You have homework.”

My dad had his polite tone. The one he saved for people he was about to crush. I got anxious.

Max considered the package in his hand. “Coach wants me to watch some videos from last season.”

My dad rocked on his heels, but didn’t speak.

To Max’s credit, he didn’t react. He lifted his eyes up to Dad with a benign expression on his face.

“Do you feel you’re learning a lot?” My father’s tone patronized.

I felt myself go still. Like a deer standing between two wary wolves.

“Yes, sir,” Max used the word sir, but there wasn’t an ounce of respect in his voice. How he sounded insolent and amused with only two words was beyond me.

“That’s great,” I interjected, trying to defuse.

Max’s eyes moved to my face.

Dad made a noise in his throat. I recognized that noise. He wanted to pick a fight.

What was going on? What was Max triggering in him?

I needed to break up this conversation before it escalated. “Well, I hope you enjoy watching those videos.”

Max held onto my father’s gaze for a moment too long. There was a challenge in his gaze. Two alphas, sizing each other up. Together they would make an incredible team. Pitted against each other, they had the potential to destroy each other.

Max broke his gaze with my dad and he glanced at me. His eyes dropped to my mouth.

I widened my eyes at him, telling him to obey.

Dad’s voice patronized. “Our regular season game is Monday. Make sure you’re rested.”

Translation. Don’t party this weekend. Which was insane because this was notoriously the biggest party weekend for all the hockey teams. The last hurrah before the season started.

“I’ll be rested.” Annoyance replaced the calm expression on Max’s face.

Before my father could say anything, I stepped closer and worked to calm down Dad. “I can’t wait until the regular season starts.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

My comment distracted Dad. He turned towards me with a smile on his face. “Really?”

“Really. We have such a strong team this year. I think we can go all the way.”

I could see Dad relax. He loved talking about winning. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

I flashed my gaze at Max, needing to get him out of here. “I hope you have a nice weekend, Max.”

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