Page 80 of Cheap Shot
Cooper opens his mouth to respond, but Coach shakes his head. “Not you. I want to hear it from Cole’s mouth.”
“I know I shouldn’t have gone after a teammate, Coach, no matter how provoked and justified my actions were. I need to work on using my words before my fists.”
“What do you mean, provoked?”
Ah, now I understand what Cooper was getting at earlier. Especially after noticing the gold wedding band on Coach’s left hand. He has a wife and potentially children. I don’t know much about him other than he’s married, but I doubt he will stand by for the vile things Jensen was saying on the ice today about Michele. Not only is she a female, but she is also a valued employee of our team. There must be different rules that apply to any conduct toward her because of the potential for sexual harassment lawsuits. The last thing he would condone is being disrespectful to women.
“We were chirping at each other during practice. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but when we were in the huddle, Jensen went too far and needed to be taught a lesson. It not only bothered me, but Benson, as well.”
“And he told you this?”
I nod my head, sitting up straighter in my chair. “Yes. I ran into him on my way back inside, after going to cool off like Cooper suggested before coming back to speak with you.”
I’m hoping to leave it at that. Giving Coach just enough information to know what Jensen said and that there are other members of the team who aren’t okay with it, but he doesn’t let it slide. I suddenly feel more like I’m in the principal's office instead of talking to my coach. He must be more worried about potential sexual harassment charges than I originally thought.
“What did he say that had you flying off the handle like that?” Coach’s voice is calm, devoid of all emotions, but his body language says something else entirely.
I can see the muscle in his jaw twitch as he fights to keep his cool. Now I’m wondering who he’s angrier with: me for starting a fight on the ice during practice, or Jensen for the foul things he said. I’m sure I can ask him, but I’m not sure I want to know the answer.
“He made several highly inappropriate comments about Michele, the new team physiotherapist. I tried to ignore him, but he kept pushing, and I lashed out.”
Coach clenches his eyes shut before spinning around in his chair, giving us his back. I chance a glance at Cooper, and he shakes his head, murmuring, “Tread lightly.”
Tread lightly? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don’t intend to tell Coach exactly what was said, mostly because I don’t want to repeat it. But if he keeps pushing, I don’t know if I even have a choice.
Much to my chagrin, Coach keeps pushing. “What did he say?Exactly.”
“Coach, I don’t think—” Cooper begins, but Coach spins around in his chair and stands quickly.
The desk chair slams into the wall behind him with a loud thud as he plants both his hands on the center of the desk, leaning menacingly toward us. Coach is about the same height as the two of us, so his nose is only inches away from ours. His eyes focus on me, his teeth clenched. “You don’t get paid to think. Tell me what he said now, Hendrix.”
I don’t hesitate this time, having a feeling that Coach won’t let this go until I tell him exactly what was said. No dancing around it or trying to be respectful about how I phrase things. There is a time and place for things like that, and apparently, this isn’t one of them. I take a deep breath and tell him exactly what he wants to hear.
“He said that if I was going to claim her as a puck bunny, which I have no intention of doing, that I need to be prepared to share.”
A deep and guttural growl slips through Coach’s clenched teeth, and he clears the desk, using his arms. “I’m going to kill him!” Coach shouts as he picks up the coffee mug, which I thought was empty, off the end of his desk and chucks it against the wall a few inches from my head.
It takes everything in me not to flinch at the sound of ceramic shattering against the wall, liquid from inside the cup spraying across the back of my hoodie and the floor.
My head turns to my left toward Cooper, my horror at what the hell just happened probably written all over my face. “What the fuck just happened?”
He doesn’t seem the least bit surprised, leaning casually in his chair with his arm resting on the back of it, the picture of ease, while I’m currently sitting here trying to figure out what to do next. “That’s seriously the one you went with?”
I shrug my shoulders, my eyes flicking to Coach as he mutters something under his breath. “I figured this was a go big or go home moment. I honestly was trying not to repeat any of it if I could help it, but he kept pushing the subject. I had to tell him something.”
“You couldn’t have gone with,It was too inappropriate to repeat,or something like that? We’re definitely going to need to keep Coach the hell away from Jensen for sure now.”
“You two don’t move a muscle. I’ll be right back,” Coach bellows as he comes around his desk and heads for the door. He pauses for a moment, turning his attention to us, still rooted in our seats. “Where is he?”
“Gone. Beau took him back to his place. Parker wanted someone to stay with him and watch for worsening concussion symptoms.”
“Good thinking, getting him out of the building before speaking to me.”
“We didn’t want to have to bail you out of jail.” Cooper shrugs as Coach nods his head and continues out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
Cooper and I sit in the office in silence, my mind racing as I try to make sense of what just happened. “Why the hell did Coach react so strongly to what was said? I get that there’s definitely the potential for a sexual harassment lawsuit against the team if Michele ever finds out the vile things that were said, but something tells me she’d give it back just as much as she got, from Jensen or anyone else on the team.”
Cooper chuckles with a shake of his head. “You’re right, but that’s not the point.”
