Page 128 of The New Guy
There’s a security desk just inside, and I don’t recognize the older man behind it.
But he recognizes me. “Mr. Newgate? Welcome back to Colorado!” He smiles, which makes his handlebar mustache twitch.
“Thank you, sir,” I say with about as much enthusiasm as a dead man.
“Coach Powers is waiting for you in his office. Do you know where that is?” He points toward the elevator.
Sadly, I do. So I give him a nod and a wave, and ring for the elevator, which takes me all too quickly to the third floor.
Before I’m ready, the elevator burps me out into an attractive room carpeted in Colorado Cougar blue. Liana rises from her chair to greet me. “Welcome to headquarters,” she says with the same serious frown she wore before. “Thank you for being on time.”
“Kind of scared not to be. You know where I live.”
I was hoping for a laugh, but I don’t even get a lip twitch. “He’s waiting for you. Can I bring you anything to drink?”
“No, thank you.” I don’t plan on staying long enough to chug a beverage. “I’ll just go on through, if that’s okay.”
She nods, and I head for the walnut door of the head coach’s office. My body feels like lead.
This malaise won’t last, I remind myself. As soon as I hit the rink with the other players, the old instincts will kick in. The feeling of steel against ice will work its old magic.
It won’t hurt this much tomorrow.
It couldn’t possibly.
Coach Powers looks up from his laptop when I walk in. I’d expected to be greeted by the GM, too. But the coach is alone in his office.
I brace myself for a jocular greeting that I’ll be expected to return. But he regards me thoughtfully instead. “Come on in, Hudson. Close the door if you wouldn’t mind.”
I do it. Then he rises from his desk and stretches out a hand to shake, his icy blue eyes holding mine. “It’s really good to see you here.”
Swear to God, I almost can’t respond. But that’s no way to start off with a new team. And I’m kind of an expert on that. So I force myself to extend my hand and shake.
His grip is strong, but not obnoxiously so. And he takes his seat again gravely, like he understands my hesitation. “I’m sure getting traded was a shock. Your father tells me you would have preferred to remain in Brooklyn.”
“Nobody asks to get traded,” I point out, my voice scratchy from disuse. “Not often, anyway.”
If he disagrees, he doesn’t say so. And his smile is fleeting. “I’ve been watching you, Newgate. And when they gave me the top job last year, I decided that Colorado needed you back. So I sincerely hope that bargaining hard for you is not deeply disruptive to your life.”
There is nothing positive I can say about that. And I don’t have the energy to tell a white lie. The tank is empty. So I end up just staring at him. It’s awkward, but I don’t care that much.
He sighs. “Getting traded is hard. I get it. But I need you. I need your experience, and your tenacity. I need your leadership. And we both need a championship ring. You want that, right?”
“Of course,” I say quickly. “You know I do.”
It’s just that I want a lot of things now, and they aren’t all compatible. It’s so confusing. Life was easier when I only let myself care about hockey.
He nods thoughtfully. Like he knows there’s more I’m not saying. “First things first—this is your early renewal contract.” He opens a folder on his desk and passes a stapled sheaf of papers across the shiny wooden surface. “I haven’t even sent it to your father yet. I’ll do that tomorrow. But I didn’t trade for you just to get a cheap test drive. I’m already sold. Have a look at the terms.”
Numbly, I take the contract and glance at the cover sheet. The terms are bulleted neatly onto the first page. Four years at three million dollars per year.
And a no-trade clause that kicks in on my twenty-seventh birthday.
If I were one-percent less stoic, I might actually break down crying. This is exactly the contract I’ve always wanted.
From exactly the wrong team.
“You can take your time with it,” he says. “The offer doesn’t expire until the start of regular season play, in October. It’s the best terms we can provide. And if you choose to sign, it will give you a lot of insurance against any injury you might suffer. But I realize that Colorado wasn’t in your travel plans. So if you decide to wait until your contract expires next summer, I won’t take it personally.”
