Page 151 of One Good Puck
I also have no idea if Alan is going to show up too. I’m guessing he will. He’s the one who wants me gone. I’m assuming he and Alan are going to fire me together.
I scrub a hand over my face and force myself to take a deep breath. If this is how it ends, that’s fine. I just wish they’d get it over with so I can move on.
I take a look around my office and think about the last few years I’ve coached this team. The highs and lows, the stress, the crazy schedule, the countless meetings, the relationships I’ve made with the other coaches and team staff and players…
I think about how I get to work with my daughter almost every day.
My chest aches. It’s going to hurt to give this all up. But Ican’t think of a better reason why. I’d put my job on the line to help Abby and Emma again without a second thought.
A knock at my closed door pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Come in,” I say as I step to my desk.
Greg walks in and sits down in the chair in front of my desk.
“Apologies for making you meet with me on such short notice,” he says. “Especially after the night you had last night.”
I’m not sure if he’s talking about me leaving the game to find Emma or the Bashers’ loss.
“It’s fine,” I say.
“Alan filled me in on what happened with your girlfriend’s daughter.”
“I’m sure he did,” I say, trying not to sound too irritated.
“Is she alright?” Greg asks.
“Yeah. She was pretty upset when it all happened, but she’s okay now, thankfully.”
“Glad to hear that.”
He clears his throat and loosens his tie. “I’ll cut to the chase. Alan wants to fire you.”
I brace myself.
“But I don’t.”
My brow lifts, surprised. “You don’t?”
He frowns and shakes his head. “Of course not. Look, I want everyone who’s part of this team to take their job seriously. I want them to work their asses off. This isn’t a regular job where you put in eight hours and then go home. It requires long hours and sacrifices, like time away from your family. But I like to think that we’re a reasonable organization too. And when a family emergency happens, likewhat happened last night, you drop everything and go to your family.”
I’m quiet, surprised to hear Greg say all that. He has a reputation as a workaholic billionaire and has been divorced a bunch of times. I figured he’d take Alan’s side in all this.
“That’s how I feel too,” I say.
“What happened last night was an emergency,” Greg says. “You left a game to save your girlfriend’s daughter. I would have done the same for my kids in a heartbeat.”
He’s quiet for a moment, glancing down at the photo of Sophie on my desk.
“I don’t know you well, Gavin. But it’s clear that you’re a good man. A family man. And that’s the kind of person I want working on my team. You still have your job as head coach of the Bashers.”
I let out a quiet breath, relieved and heartened at what he’s said.
“Thank you,” I say. “What about Alan? He’s the one who wanted to fire me. I don’t think he’s going to want to work with me after all this.”
“That won’t be a problem, seeing as I fired him this morning.”
I look at him, surprised.
