I would have loved to see them, but I had a problem.
Hatch.
I couldn’t reveal that he was my reluctant knight-in-hockey-pads. That he had whisked me away to safety and given me a roof over my head.
That I had tried to repay his kindness with a little role-playing and a kiss for the ages.
“It’s okay. I think I should be on my own for a while.”
We signed off with promises to check in in a couple of days. I didn’t want them worrying about me or asking too many questions.
They were right about one thing: Ryder wouldn’t give me my job back. Onto Plan B. Next, I called Scott Kincaid in Rebels Talent Development.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Scott, it’s Summer.”
“Summer! You’re the last person I expected to hear from.”
“Did you get the report I sent? It should have landed in your mailbox a few days ago.” Three days before the wedding, in fact. I’d worked on it, eager to take my mind off my topsy-turvy life. Maybe I should have thought more about my upcoming nuptials instead of NHL prospects.
“Yeah, I got it. Great work as always. I figured you’d be so busy with everything.” He paused a moment, then asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am. I know it didn’t look good, how I handled it. Anyway, I just wanted to reach out to talk about continuing the work we’ve been doing together.”
If I phrased it as a collaboration, maybe he would be more open to the idea.
“You said you wanted to enjoy married life for a while and that’s why you quit your job.”
I sighed. “It was more that Dash didn’t like the idea of me working. He thought it didn’t reflect well on him.”
“Okay. So what do you want to do now? I don’t see you going back to the front office.”
“No, that’s not likely. But I had hoped I could be considered for the Rebels intern program. I’ve produced good work for you, and you had said you’d put a good word in with Ryder.”
He hummed. “Right. But things are kind of complicated now. We have Carter to think of, and for us to be offering his ex-fiancée a position?—”
“Unpaid.”
“All the same. It would smack of disloyalty.” He took a breath. “But …”
Hope flared. “But?”
“You’ve got a great eye for hockey prospects, and your reports are excellent. I think we just need to wait for the dust to settle and see where we stand.”
That was probably the best I could hope for. “I appreciate your willingness to be neutral here.”
“Don’t know about neutral. But I recognize talent when I see it and I’m not talking about Carter.”
I smiled. This. This was what I was supposed to be doing. Why had I not put my foot down with Dash and told him this was what I wanted?
Because your instincts are terrible, Summer. Otherwise you wouldn’t be kissing Hatch Kershaw …
“So, now that you’re not on your honeymoon and you’re out of a job, it sounds like you have some time on your hands.”
“Do you need some work done?” Maybe Hatch had a computer I could borrow.
“I’ll send the specs to your email.”
