She grabbed a new vase as her dad said, “Hi, Sweetie. Hi, Emmalee. Okay, so you know how I’ve been working on that project to rebuild the Glaciers’ team image?”
Katie nodded. “Especially after all the damage that the Player Who Shall Not Be Named did.” For not being a huge fan of professional hockey, Katie knew a good number of random things about Denver’s team. Mostly because her dad was in charge of branding for the team. She just didn’t know much about most of the players.
“Exactly. Well, my plan to have the players spread out to help out with Christmas festivities in towns all around the state is a go. My team and I have jumped through all the hoops to get it approved and everyone on board, even the players.”
“That’s great, Dad,” Katie said as she tilted her head at the roses she had just put into the vase, seeing if it looked like enough to create the picture she had in her head.
“I think so, too. And I am calling in an official capacity for the Denver Glaciers to offer a short-term contract to you to be a videographer for one of the players.”
“Wait. For real?” The thrill of a job for her very own company with the Denver Glaciers hit at the same time as the deep-in-her-soul resistance she always had to people trying to do things for her that she could do herself. “Dad, I can’t take it. I need to build my company by getting jobs because of my own merit, not because I’m your daughter.”
“You did get this because of your own merit.”
Katie picked up a stem with a few white azalea blooms and dark green leaves but didn’t do anything with it. “I’m listening.”
“We asked the players to submit names of towns they’d like to do some Christmas outreach with. Then my team and I split the state into areas and I assigned each area to someone on myteam. We want videographers local to each area we are sending players— we aren’t just doing this for our image, we’re also doing it to help out the communities who support us, which includes supporting local videographers.
“Each of my team members scoured the areas assigned to them for the best videographers. Then they brought their list to our meeting and, area by area, we voted on which videographer to ask.
“I knew you wouldn’t want me to, so I didn’t say a single thing about you. My team found you on their own and had no idea at the time that there was a relation between me and KatieVid. When the portfolios of videographers in our area came up for a vote, they chose you unanimously.”
“They chose me? For real? Without knowing who I am?”
“For real.”
She might have squealed. Or maybe it was Emmalee. It was probably both of them. “I’ll take the job!” She had filmed and edited videos for quite a few sporting events (high school games and little kids’ soccer matches) and plenty of Christmas events. Lots of weddings, milestone birthdays, concerts, recitals, performances, and the occasional family reunion.
Never anything like filming a professional hockey player doing town Christmas events, though. To be able to put the Denver Glaciers on her site as one of her clients washuge. “When do I start?”
“Likely within the next week or so, depending on the player’s schedule— I’ll get you the details as soon as I can. A lot of the players are set for different locations, but ours isn’t yet. I’ll still get you the contract to sign soon, and then we’ll get with the mayor and come up with a plan.”
After thanking her dad profusely, she hung up the phone.
“This is huge for your business,” Emmalee said.
“My website is going to look so great having the Denver Glaciers’ logo in my client’s section! I might be able to start getting business outside of the Mountain Springs area. I might be able to see some real growth.” Katie had set some major goals for her business that she had hoped to accomplish by the end of the year, and she was worried that she wouldn’t meet the goals. This would definitely help.
She and Emmalee just grinned at each other. Then Emmalee asked, “Which player do you think you’re going to get? Oh, maybe it’ll be Bradshaw.”
“Which one is he again?” Katie really should memorize the players some time. She didn’t need to know them as well as Emmalee did, but her dad had worked for the Glaciers for five years— she should know them by now. She just hadn’t really found a love for the sport yet.
“The super hot one with the dark wavy hair. Therecently singlesuper hot one. I hope it’s him. Ooo, maybe it’ll be the bad boy, Ackerman. Although, no, your dad would never assign him to you. In fact, if there isn’t a player that your dad approves of for his youngest daughter, he’ll likely assign a married player to Mountain Springs.”
Katie nodded. She was totally fine with that. “Maybe it’ll be that one guy with the adorable wife and two little kids. The one that just had a baby.”
“Davis? I’m obsessed with him and his cute family. Seriously, relationship goals there.IfI was going to ever get into a relationship again, which I’m not.”
Katie patted her friend on the shoulder. “Of course, you aren’t.” She totally was. “And my dad said he asked the players where they wanted to go, so I’m sure he’ll honor their wishes first.”
“True,” Emmalee said, tapping a rose against her lips as she pondered, the top thorn getting dangerously close to herchin with each tap. “So it could be anyone. I would assign you homework to learn who all of the players are, but we both know you’re not going to do it unless someone makes you. So, as your boss in this shop, for the next two hours that you’ll be on duty, I am your teacher. I’m going to give you a rundown of all twenty-one players. By the time we finish today, you’ll be able to recognize any of them on sight. Because girl, you need to know who is on your own team.”
She really did. As someone who grew up a thirty-minute drive from Denver, the Glaciers were “her team.” As Reid Allred’s daughter, they were doubly her team. By blood. Plus, she needed to be prepared for whichever player she got assigned, so she nodded. “Let’s do this.”
two
CONNOR
Connor strodeover to the aisle with shaving razors, a shopping basket on his arm, his phone at his ear, listening to his sister, Laura. She was making her way through his house, gathering things he needed.
