Dom and Ray walk slowly with me before finally getting to the center. “You okay, Ari?” Kip asks.
“Uhm… Yeah,” I say as everyone stares at me.
“You’ve been doing this for three years, and you can’t walk on ice?” Elijah asks hatefully.
“Stop,” Ray says with a warning in his tone.
“No. If she is going to be our assistant, we deserve someone who can at least walk on the goddamn ice,” he argues.
“Eli,” Dom says. “This is not the place for this.”
“Where is the fucking place then? All I have seen in the last day is everyone fucking babying her,” he says, nearly yelling.
“When you get violently raped with hockey sticks before getting your head beaten into the ice, then you can talk about how fucking easy it is to get on this rink. Until then, shut the fuck up,” I yell at him. “When being a good person nearly gets you fuckingkilled, then you get to have an opinion. The last thing I want is for anyone to baby me. I don’t need anyone’s fucking pity. I need a little fucking patience because this is the first time in six months I have stepped on the ice since they ruined my fucking life. So, for once in your goddamn life, just shut the fuck up.”
“Are you really going to let her talk to me like that?” Elijah asks Dom.
“That’s all you have to fucking say?” I scream at him. “God, you are just fucking like them. Both of you.”
“Slow down,” Ray says, turning me to face him.
“Ray,” I snap. “I don’t need to fucking meditate; I need those two fucking assholes to stop being so goddamn bitter about the team I came from.”
“Is that what this is about?” Dom asks Elijah, glancing at Jovian.
“Why are you looking at me?” Jovi asks.
“Bullshit travels in pairs,” Dom says flatly. “We have been trying to get her to come here for years. I offered her the job several times, many of which were while she was in college. She is here because she graduated at the top of her class and got a master’s in business administration by twenty-two. She is here because she is good at what she does. Sutter was a fucking idiot for firing her, but a monster for letting her get hurt in the first place. Now, if you two limp dicks would shut up, I need to explain something that affects the PAs. Okay?”
“Fine,” Elijah sighs.
“The PAs?” I ask.
“Yes, so the Hawkes were banned from the North American Hockey League for the season after all but three of their players tested positive for steroids,” he says. “So, we are having to shift the entire schedule. We should have had a home game with the Titans the week after next, but it’s changed to an away game this Friday. I am not making everyone ride home that late, so I need hotel rooms for the guys the night before and the night after. Everyone needs to be on the same floor, so make sure you are sharing your schedules with each other. Ari, I still need to get you a company card, so just use Ray’s. Guys, this is the first game with them since you almost got yourselves kicked out of the league. I have no fucking problem replacing you, so don’t fuck up. Got it?”
I hardly hear his answer as the room starts to spin. I take a few steps back and try to slow my breathing. I can only hear the thumping of my heart in my ears as my vision tunnels. I am panicking silently, and I can’t make it stop. I can’t melt down here. I have to get away from everyone.
“Arianna?” Ray asks when our eyes connect. I’ve panicked so hard before that I’ve made myself pass out. I can feel it coming on, but when I take another step back, one foot catches the other.
“Oh shit!” someone says as I trip and fall backward.
The next thing I know, someone is cradling the back of my head as I lie on the ice. I have my hands covering my face, but they get pulled away. “I’m okay,” I whisper.
“You are going to give me a goddamn heart attack, Arianna,” Ray says.
“I just tripped. I’m okay,” I say again. I am shocked when I look over and see that it is Elijah who caught me. I frown at him, but he stands and grabs my hands to pull me up.
“You’ve already bloodied up one rink. Let’s not make it two, hmm?” Elijah says with a smirk.
“Ass.” I laugh and punch his arm.
“Ow! Did you see that, Dom?”
“Didn’t see a damn thing,” Dom says. “Can you guyspleaseget along?”
“Yes,” Elijah says.
“He’s still a dick, but yes,” I say.
