Page 152 of One Good Puck
“I hired him as a favor to a friend years ago,” Greg says. “He did a fine job for a while, but I honestly should have gotten rid of him sooner. Most people didn’t care for him. He rubbed a lot of people on the team the wrong way with how inflexible he was.”
I nod, quietly agreeing with him.
“We’ll get started on the hunt for a new general manager this week,” Greg says. “In the meantime, I’m sure Alan being gone won’t affect your performance.”
“Not at all.”
He stands up, then shakes my hand.
“Thank you, Greg. It means a lot that you went to bat for me.”
He nods and starts to walk out of my office. “Oh, before I forget, have you finalized things for my daughter Madeline to start working as a skating coach for your players?”
“Yeah. She can stop by HR any time to get started with her onboarding paperwork. The sooner the better, if that’s possible. I’d like to meet with her so we can go over training plans ASAP. I have a player who’s currently on long-term injury reserve. He’ll need her help getting back into skating shape once he recovers.”
“Great. I’ll let her know she can start immediately.”
Greg walks off, leaving me alone in my office.
I fall forward, bracing my hands on the edge of my desk and let out a laugh of pure disbelief.
Holy shit. I still have my job. It all worked out.
The second I open the front door, I hear Christmas music echoing from inside the house.
When I walk in, I see everyone sitting at the dining room table decorating Christmas cookies.
Emma holds up a gingerbread cookie covered in white icing and red sprinkles.
“Look, Mom. My gingerbread man is a red man.”
“Nice job, honey,” Abby says.
Sophie and all the guys, even Ryker, chuckle.
A second later, Ryker frowns at Camden’s cookie. “What is that?”
“It’s a sled,” Camden says.
“It looks like a deformed slug,” Ryker says.
Camden leans back like he’s offended. “You need to get your eyes checked, Georgie. That’s the most perfect sled cookie ever made.”
Abby and Sophie chuckle.
Ryker’s jaw bulges, and his eyes narrow at Camden. “Call me Georgie again, and you’ll need to be rolled out of here in a sled.”
“Hey, now. Enough with the threats of physical violence,” Xander says, looking over at Emma.
She looks up at Ryker and Camden. “Are guys going sledding together?” Her tone is so sweet and innocent.
Camden and the guys laugh. Ryker’s frown eases, and the corner of his mouth quirks up.
“Oh, yeah. Ryker and I are sledding buddies for sure.”
Ryker rolls his eyes at Camden, who’s grinning smugly.
Abby glances up and sees me. “Oh, hey.” Everyone looks up from the table at me. “You’re back soon,” she says.
