I lowered my voice, my gaze swept the area, and I said, “If I didn’t think I’d get slapped with a sexual harassment charge, I’d recommend he visit your brother.”
Will’s eyes widened, his head swiveling before he said, “You umm… wait… which brother?”
“Ewen. I didn’t know you had more than one.”
Will cleared his throat and whispered, “Ollie. He works the front door.”
“The little guy.”
Will snorted, laughter braying from him like a donkey. “No one’s ever called Ollie little.”
I got what he meant. Ollie cut an imposing picture, so I clarified, “They do in my world.”
“So… you’re…”
“A member? Yes.”
Realizing how close I was to divulging too much, I followed after Leif, Matt, and Joey while Will stood gawking after me. When he caught up to me, he leaned in and said, “So, do you have a… umm… person? I don’t want to assume roles because clearly size and attitude doesn’t play into it.”
Fear ran through me. Thankfully, Will stood behind me and couldn’t see my face.
“Good on you, Coach Grigor. Not many people realize that. And no, I don’t have a boy,” I said, again without thinking. Cringing, I clarified, “I met someone, but it didn’t work out, so I’m licking my wounds.”
Not quite the truth, but it wasn’t like I could share who I met. Or that Aiden and I were both members. Or that I fucked a player I met at the club without realizing I fucked a player until coming face-to-face with him in the player’s lounge my firstday on campus. Yeah, none of that was at all possible, so I didn’t elaborate further.
Instead, I called for Hawk. “C’mon, Hawk.”
I stepped into the press room, and fell into a sea of craziness I fucking hated and definitely hadn’t missed. Anxiety-ridden people stood all around, their hands up like over-eager know-it-alls as they reached out, yelling as soon as they caught a glimpse of me.
“Coach!”
“Coach!”
“Coach!”
The other coaches and staff, minus the team doctor, were already sitting with two chairs left open in the middle. Will and I took our places and waited. This show of unity and force before the gaggle of press did nothing to take the focus off me. I hated this shit as a player and it seemed like the theme would be continuing as a coach. The people on either side of me looked as uncomfortable as you could imagine when faced with a sea of reporters and camera crews. Everyone was fidgety and twitchy. When the season started and I told them they’d be facing the firing squad with me, they all looked around to see if I was joking. Now, they knew I wasn’t. As the loses would be my hit to take, the least they could do was sit their asses down in the chairs next to me.
When it appeared the shouting insanity wouldn’t be dying down anytime soon, I tapped the mic in front of me. The media hounds didn’t flinch.
So, I turned to the left, then to the right, and muttered, “Cover your ears.”
Everyone’s eyes widened, but they did as I said. When they were ready, I let out a long, shrill whistle directly into the microphone.
That got their attention.
Everyone grumbled, but they immediately shut up, and sat down. I crossed my arms on the table before I leaned into the mic.
“Now that we’re all on the same page and ready to have a conversation, who wants to go first?”
Hands shot into the air, but one over-zealous guy shot to his feet and yelled, “Storm, what’s with the entourage? Afraid…”
“Everyone’s afraid of something, but you can sit. I didn’t call on you.”
Pointing at a young woman in the front row who looked out of place, “What’s your name?”
“Gabby Lindell with The Bear Facts. Coach, there’s been some buzz about your guide dog…”
“Hawk is a service animal, not a guide dog. It’s an instance of all guide dogs are service animals; however, not all service animals are guide dogs. The difference is I don’t need help getting around, not unless it’s an extremely busy, chaotic area, but I do need his help with safety issues since I’m deaf and legally blind on the injured side.”
