Page 56 of Puck Me Secretly

You’re dismissed.

His blue eyes looked between my father and me. Seeing far too much. “Have a nice weekend.”

Without letting either of us reply, he stepped back and disappeared.

A long moment passed before I had the nerve to speak.

“Dad, what was that about?”

“What?”

I blinked at him in disbelief. “Why were you goading one of our players?”

My dad flushed. “I wasn’t.”

“Yes. You were goading Max Logan and trying to get a reaction out of him. I want to know why?”

“Why do you care?” he threw back. My dad had a hairline trigger.

“Because you gave him to me as a project. I don’t appreciate you taking shots at him and setting him up to fail.”

My dad stared at me for a long moment and then a smile broke over his face. “God, you remind me of your mother some days.”

Thinking about Baxter, I replied, “He’s got enough coming against him.”

Dad’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

But a call from Mom interrupted us. He kissed me on the cheek and then I was alone.

Ola,one of my best friends from grade school, met me for dinner in Gastown. After dinner, we walked down the street to a high end bar that promoted subtle glam and yet had the same buzz as a New York bar. The decor was black with muted lighting, low couches, and secretive booths and beautiful waitresses. We found seats in a curved booth that overlooked the entire bar and ordered over-priced cocktails.

We caught up on life and although I didn’t tell her about Max, I shared how tough it was to work for my dad. I even elaborated on some of my less fortunate run-ins with Katrina.

“She sounds awful.”

“From the moment I met her, she seemed to dislike me.”

I pulled out my phone and showed her the hockey gurl tweet.

“Who would write that?” Anger flashed in her eyes. “Do you think it’s this Katrina chick?”

“I don’t know, but if it is, how do I prove it? If I can make it through this season, I can move on. I won’t be anyone’s daughter. I’ll just be a person making it on my own.”

Ola’s phone rang. “Sorry. This is my boss. I’ll answer outside.”

Waiting, I sipped my drink and almost choked as I watched a group of huge men walk into the bar.

It was the Vancouver Wolves.

Holy shit.

My eyes sought out Max. He walked between two of his teammates and laughed at something they said. He looked beyond sexy, with his black button shirt and a pair of dark jeans. He reminded me of the Max I had noticed in the airport bar. Expensive and confident.

The group sprawled out in a reserved section of low couches and glass coffee tables. They attracted a lot of interest from the rest of the bar patrons and no less than four waitresses appeared in front of the team to take their drink orders. I leaned back, so the shadows obscured me. The last thing I wanted was for them to notice me.

Max smiled up at one waitress. All heat and sexy male. Did he know how gorgeous his smile was? It was lethal. The waitress touched her neck and flushed.

“Sorry that took so long,” Ola slid into the seat beside me.

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