“Good to hear. Kate bought us both season tickets this year, so we’ll be in the stands cheering them on.”
Toni didn’t miss a beat with the syrup, cream, and toffee chips, handing over the two cups with a wink.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours?”
I laughed and took a test sip, not quite suppressing a moan.
“You know it.”
Saluting her with my cup, I returned to the heat of the day and hustled back to the rink to get Cian O’Leary’s content over and done with.
“Blair. Do you have a minute?”
Dante appeared out of a corridor on my right, signaling with her head to follow as she continued on without breaking stride. As usual, her blonde hair was perfectly styled in a neat French twist, her power suit screaming boss bitch to the tune of her sensible black pumps clicking across the floor. I looked down at my overalls and Crocs and, once again, felt the inadequacy build. Even when I put effort in, I never looked as cool as her.
“Are you coming?”
Shaking myself out of the impromptu self-flagellation session, I repeated my mantra and fell into step behind her.
New day, new me.
No more picking apart my appearance. No more negativity.
This self-improvement stuff was fucking hard.
Dante strode through the door of one of the vacant offices and turned, resting her hip against the empty desk. She crossed her arms and studied me with a critical eye as I followed her inside.
“Close the door for a sec.”
“Okay… Is everything alright? I’m supposed to be getting some shots in with O’Leary before they start for the day.”
I stood awkwardly in the space, both hands full of coffee cups and wishing I’d tied my unruly hair back. A ginger curl stuck to my lashes as I blinked. Using my forearm, I tried to brush it away but failed, as my glasses foiled my attempts. With a sigh, I gave up and set the cups down on a low counter, finally giving my full attention to my supervisor.
“This won’t take long. How have you been liking your role with the Aces?”
Her face was inscrutable.
Had I done something wrong?
The coffee cups beside me felt like glaring accusations of wasted time and resources. Maybe I should have taken less breaks.
Her pale blue eyes were steady as she waited through my internal panic.
Speak, idiot.
“Uhh, I love it here. It’s my dream job, so yeah. I, um… love it.”
Heat crawled up my neck and I cursed my pale skin. I never did well with confrontation because it was difficult to keep a position of power while glowing like a traffic light.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Considering she clearly meant further afield than drinking the coffee beside me and surviving the session with O’Leary, I didn’t know how to answer her.
“I’m not sure, but I hope it will involve staying with the Aces, or at the very least, working in hockey,” I said carefully, studying her perfectly made-up features for hints of what this could be about.
In an uncharacteristic move, she broke eye contact first, taking a stroll around the empty office. The window was her first stop. Cracking the blinds, she gazed outside for a moment, like there might be something interesting in the staff parking lot. Without a word, she let them fall shut and ran her fingers across the desk next, brushing the dust off on her skirt before returning to her lean in front of me.
“This isn’t common knowledge yet, but I don’t plan to renew my contract with the Aces next year. I love this job and the team, but it’s time for something new for me.”
